Just joined FTE and working my way thru the process so I hope I have this right. My truck is coming along faster than we thought (That's a good thing) so I have a few questions. With a few more to come I am sure. We are restoring a 56' Big Window, and need to confirm the following: 1. Is the engine compartment painted black? I was advised the fire wall is the color of the vehicle while the rest of the compartment is black. 2. There are two cartridge type bolt holes on the top of the hood near the vent. What are they for? The gentleman doing this work is not the person who took it apart and lost parts so I don't blame him.


Thanks for any info you can provide it is very much appreciated.
chuck

 

I'll let one of the restorer guys answer the paint question.

I believe those two bolts in the hood are to keep the hood skin tight to the rear support brace. My 54 has a 56 hood on it and it has the bolts. I don't think the 53-55's had them. Only the 56 trucks.

 

copy and thank you. There must be more parts missing. I assume the brace.

 

I just looked at an old picture of my hood. I could have sworn They bolted through the main rear hoop/brace. But they appear to be behind it. And there appears to just be a piece of metal as a backing plate. Now I'm not sure what it's for. Maybe to prevent cracking or warping?

 

Welcome to FTE.

The entire cab is painted one color, including the firewall, dashboard, floor, etc. The fenders, hood, tailgate, bed, and the sheet metal piece under the grill are the same color as the cab. The frame, radiator, radiator support, and inner fender panels are painted black. I'm not sure if the running boards were always black or if they could be body color. I think running boards look better black anyway.

 

Ted, I went to a truck meeting this evening and that is exactly what I saw. You described it perfect.


coupe 38
Thank you, that is exactly what I needed. thank you again

 

I forgot to ask this question.
The metal pieces behind the grill, are they painted black or the color of the vehicle.
Hope that does it for now.
thanks everyone.
chuck

 

The air deflectors behind the headlights where the grille mounts should also be black, along with everything else behind there, too. Braces, etc. The intent is for the grille to stand out on it's own and have the background be background. It gets real busy and distracting back there when everything is body color no matter how nice the truck is, but you see people do it a lot. The grille gets totally lost. It makes me crazy.

 

Other than the wheel color, this 55 pickup seems to have everything about right: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...-100_front.jpg
and here is a black and white picture of a 55, either a really good restoration or from when it was new. Note that even though this is a custom cab with overdrive, it has painted bumper, no trim rings, painted hubcaps, etc. These were working trucks, not show pieces (I really like this picture): https://i.imgur.com/Y4CFp.jpg

 

53-55 running boards were black. In 56 the running boards are body color.

 

That second pic, shown below, is a Ford promotional picture. It is an excellent picture of a stock 55. I have this picture on a calender in color. It is Meadow Green. Since it is a Promo shot there is one thing that is not correct for 55. They decided, later I guess, that wheel color should be off white (colonial white) to match the grille. This was continued for 1956. In 53 and 54 the wheel colors were body color.

Also notice the original mirrors, painted hubcaps, and notice that the gas cap is black, not stainless.....



I just found a pic of a similar promo pic of a 55 without mirrors:



So, here is the first picture. So the wheel color is correct.


Here is a pic of my truck which I tried to keep stock:


My gas cap is now painted black...


Here is a picture I took of a stock award wining 55 F100 at the Carlisle Truck Nationals:




Chuck, lets see some pics of your 56. I and many others like stock trucks!

 

Thanks everyone for the pics and information. I keep looking at the black 55 and wonder if the boards are black because they are suppose to be or because they are the color of the truck. Can be confusing, or it's just me. haha. Pics of my truck could be awhile as we are still working on the body.
thanks again.

 

abe - thanks for straightening me out. I'm better at the F-1 years than the F-100 years (I'm much better at 38s, but they don't fit this forum very well...). Very nice looking truck.

 

The running boards in the 55 are black because running boards were black in 53-55, not because it was a black truck. In 56 running boards were body color.

 

Seems like you know a lot about the color schemes on these trucks, especially the wheels. I have a few questions though. First off, didn't the three quarter tons have black wheels? I know my 54 does and there is no evidence of any other paint underneath that would indicate anything else. I seem to remember that was the case, at least for 53-56. Also, is that black gas cap stock as well? I've got two trucks, a 54 and a 55, and I've seen some more around and I've never seen, or at least never noticed, a black gas cap on any truck I've seen.