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Good morning. My son and I picked up a 1948 Ford F1 over the weekend. I have always loved this year truck. Over the last few years, we have grown more and more to like the "rustoration" versions of these older vehicles. When we found this one with the baked on patina, we were in love. Well, now that a few mornings have past, the realization of what we got ourselves into has become clearer.
We don't have a lot of mechanical experience or shop space. Relegated to the side yard in suburbia. We recently bought/sold a 1952 Chevy 3100 that we did some work on so we have some knowledge of what we are faced with.
The seller included a 2003 Crown Vic front clip in the purchase. Not currently installed. The engine has been picked apart and is basically just the block. It does roll. Interior has been stripped. No glass.
We would love to make this more of a "rat rod". Clear coat the shell, etc. The biggest question is how best to proceed with the engine, front end, transmission, rear end. What are the best options that will give us a little grin factor, with the least amount of rework/fabrication/money? I've done some searching on this site and it appears the CV front clip is not really a viable option for this truck. Is that correct? A neighbor down the street is building a hot rod and has indicated that he has a spare 302 that he is willing to sell us cheap. What options/requirements are needed to go that route?
I know these are pretty basic questions but I'm hoping some of you will not mind in helping a couple of noobs out. Thanks in advance!
The biggest issues are money, ability, and time - in that order. Money can overcome limitations in the other two areas. Scaling the scope of the project to what you can do might prevent an overaggressive build from becoming a pile of abandoned good intentions.
Good morning. My son and I picked up a 1948 Ford F1 over the weekend. I have always loved this year truck. Over the last few years, we have grown more and more to like the "rustoration" versions of these older vehicles. When we found this one with the baked on patina, we were in love. Well, now that a few mornings have past, the realization of what we got ourselves into has become clearer.
We don't have a lot of mechanical experience or shop space. Relegated to the side yard in suburbia. We recently bought/sold a 1952 Chevy 3100 that we did some work on so we have some knowledge of what we are faced with.
The seller included a 2003 Crown Vic front clip in the purchase. Not currently installed. The engine has been picked apart and is basically just the block. It does roll. Interior has been stripped. No glass.
We would love to make this more of a "rat rod". Clear coat the shell, etc. The biggest question is how best to proceed with the engine, front end, transmission, rear end. What are the best options that will give us a little grin factor, with the least amount of rework/fabrication/money? I've done some searching on this site and it appears the CV front clip is not really a viable option for this truck. Is that correct? A neighbor down the street is building a hot rod and has indicated that he has a spare 302 that he is willing to sell us cheap. What options/requirements are needed to go that route?
I know these are pretty basic questions but I'm hoping some of you will not mind in helping a couple of noobs out. Thanks in advance!
Ron and Ryan Hill
Gilbert, AZ
Yep, the Crown Vic front is too wide for the F-1. Front suspensions for these trucks have come and gone but I guess the current suspension of choice is the Jaguar or Mustang II. A lower cost option would be to keep the original axle. Popular rear ends these days seem to be the 8.8 Ranger/Explorer and Ford 9 inch. A 302 Ford or SBC would be a good choice for power and an AOD/700-R4 or C4/TH350 for transmission. The original rear end will take some limited abuse if you wanted to wait on that...
First off welcome to the form. Over the years we have seen your question asked a lot of times and the answer is when your sitting behind the wheel of the truck what will make YOU feel good. If you look at the trucks on this form you will find everything from soup to nuts.
You don't have to change the front end to make it a good cruiser, I didn't and cruise at freeway speed all the time. The 302 fits nicely into a F1 but you can put anything you want in depending on your wallet size.
Spend some time looking on the form and see what guys have done. When you see something that trips your trigger then go for it.
The biggest issues are money, ability, and time - in that order. Money can overcome limitations in the other two areas. Scaling the scope of the project to what you can do might prevent an overaggressive build from becoming a pile of abandoned good intentions.
Thanks for the link! I will review it later. Money and ability are definitly not in abundance. Learned some lessons on the 1952 Chevy that we tinkered with. Most import aspect of this is the time spent with my son.
Originally Posted by GreatNorthWoods
Yep, the Crown Vic front is too wide for the F-1. Front suspensions for these trucks have come and gone but I guess the current suspension of choice is the Jaguar or Mustang II. A lower cost option would be to keep the original axle. Popular rear ends these days seem to be the 8.8 Ranger/Explorer and Ford 9 inch. A 302 Ford or SBC would be a good choice for power and an AOD/700-R4 or C4/TH350 for transmission. The original rear end will take some limited abuse if you wanted to wait on that...
Shoot! Well, it seemed like a deal at the time. I'll have to see what my options are from here and will turn around the sell the CV clip. Thanks!
Originally Posted by ChuckRob
First off welcome to the form. Over the years we have seen your question asked a lot of times and the answer is when your sitting behind the wheel of the truck what will make YOU feel good. If you look at the trucks on this form you will find everything from soup to nuts.
You don't have to change the front end to make it a good cruiser, I didn't and cruise at freeway speed all the time. The 302 fits nicely into a F1 but you can put anything you want in depending on your wallet size.
Spend some time looking on the form and see what guys have done. When you see something that trips your trigger then go for it.
You have a couple options for the front end
-pay to have someone narrow your CV clip
-buy a jag kit and weld in mounts or weld it in solid
-MII kit
-Keep the beam axle
Buy and angle grinder and a welder. Take a welding class at MCC. You can do a lot with just a grinder and a welder
Welcome to the site. Lots of great people here willing to help. My advice is from my experience with my F 1. Mine was original and was street legal when I got it and drove it that way for at least a year before I changed anything. Leave the front end alone for now and get and engine in there. I have a 289 with a C4 auto and it fit easily. I have a 9" rear from a '68 Fairlane. I did put a Mustang II kit in when I tore it down.
The bottom line is, concentrate on getting it on the road, the rest will come. Great project to share with your son. Good luck with it, we're here to help. No questions are stupid. Not asking is. Here's mine.
You have a couple options for the front end
-pay to have someone narrow your CV clip
-buy a jag kit and weld in mounts or weld it in solid
-MII kit
-Keep the beam axle
Buy and angle grinder and a welder. Take a welding class at MCC. You can do a lot with just a grinder and a welder
Buy the 302 from the neighbor and go AOD or 4R70W
Thanks! I take it you are local? My youngest son has taken several welding classes at Highland High and my oldest is working with Empire Cat and is currently taking the welding class at Mesa CC. I'll leave the welding to them....I'm better at breaking stuff.
Welcome to the site. Lots of great people here willing to help. My advice is from my experience with my F 1. Mine was original and was street legal when I got it and drove it that way for at least a year before I changed anything. Leave the front end alone for now and get and engine in there. I have a 289 with a C4 auto and it fit easily. I have a 9" rear from a '68 Fairlane. I did put a Mustang II kit in when I tore it down.
The bottom line is, concentrate on getting it on the road, the rest will come. Great project to share with your son. Good luck with it, we're here to help. No questions are stupid. Not asking is. Here's mine.
Awesome truck! Thanks for the advice. I may put the stupid question theory to the test.....
Hi and welcome to the forum. I too got my F1 not running with no motor, trans, wiring, interior, and partial glass.
I built it up over a year's time got it running and reliable lowered it on leaf springs, enjoyed it for a summer show season but wasn't content. I wanted a more aggressive and custom look so just recently I finished swapping in a mustang 2 front end, a 4link rear, and an overdrive automatic.
I'm very pleased with it now, but it's all in what you want your truck to be and again what your budget, ability, and time will allow. For my truck from greatest to least, I had time, ability, and budget.
Thanks! I take it you are local? My youngest son has taken several welding classes at Highland High and my oldest is working with Empire Cat and is currently taking the welding class at Mesa CC. I'll leave the welding to them....I'm better at breaking stuff.
Small world, I also worked at Empire Cat but that was back in 1970. Got a few more miles on me since then.
06-22-2015, 08:15 AM
