I've been lurking on this forum for years and most always found the info I was looking for, so thanks to all for the helpful posts. But I ran into an issue on my 51 F3 restoration project I haven't been able to figure out yet, finally decided to post a question. Has anyone installed a rear parking brake set up on a late 51 F3 axle? I am going with a T5 swap behind the flathead so the stock tranny parking brake is no longer there. I don't really want to swap the rear end out with a later model and am saving that as a last resort. Has anyone adapted parking brake set ups from other year pickups to the late 51? Mostly just concerned about the stuff in the brakes as I found a place that will make the cables, and I have an under dash handle from an early 51. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Hey Gup,
Welcome Aboard. Hopefully other F3 users will chime in.
We've got a '50 F1 & we swapped in the Explorer 8.8 in. axle & we also used the Explorer Emergency brake set up. We had no stock ebrake to start with so we had to do something.

Good luck up there in Kansas! Post some pics of your F3 - It will generate more hits for you question & get a few more eyes on here.

Ben in Austin
1950 F1 (351W/AOD)

 

Yea, I should have looked at the rear end swap from the start, to be honest I didn't realize I had this parking brake issue until I already had the stock rear end fixed up, sand blasted, painted, and installed....dumb. I'd hate to abandon the stock rear end at this point though. Hopefully someone will have some advise on how to salvage it with some sort of parking brake modification.


Finally figured out how to add pictures. This was my Grandpa's pick-up, bought new in 51. Trying to keep it mostly original, with a few modifications for driveability/reliability, as I plan on driving it a lot, and for a long time.

 

Check out Speedway Motors part # 7153250. Maybe something like this will work. Pinion mounted e brake.

 

I saw that pinion e-brake a few days ago and thought the same thing. The specs say it's made specifically for a ford 9" though. Maybe it could be modified to fit the F3 split housing rear end, but $300 seemed a little steep not knowing if it would work. Thanks for the suggestion, I will do some research on that to see if anyone has used that for different rear ends.

 

Hey Gup,
I totally understand restoring grandpa's truck back to original condition. I like that engine paint combination - Did you paint the intake & valve covers or is that steel?

You look like you are doing some work to the bed sides?

Looking good over there.

Ben in Austin
1950 F1

 

Intake and heads are aluminum. The bed was rusted all the way around where dirt collected between the metal and the wood, and the rear crossmember was pretty bad too. Luckily the rest of the truck is pretty much rust free, few spots on the fenders.