Well, here we go. Diving in head first. Father/son in Gilbert AZ. We bought a 1952 Chevy 3100 last year and was able to get it running/stopping along with some minor body work. Sold the truck, and a few other toys, and bought a fish and ski boat for the family. Love the boat and the family time but really regretted letting ole "Bessy" go. Needed to buy my son a vehicle for him to get around in. Got a great deal on a 1996 Ford F250 with the 7.3 diesel. Well, we had some money left over after that and started looking. I've always loved the 1948-1950 Ford F1. I call them "Snoopy" trucks because the front end/grill reminds me of Snoopy. After going to car shows, watching shows on tv, etc, we have really grown to like the "patina" trucks. Our 52 Chevy was purchased mostly stripped and primed. Really wanted something that had some character. Well, we found it, down in the Old Pueblo, Tucson Arizona....



Engine (6 cyl) had been mostly stripped, no interior, no glass, but patina galore!!! Seller had just posted it up earlier that day, so we didn't get to negotiate the price much. He did throw in a 2003 Crown Vic front suspension that he had purchased for it. After input from several of you in my intro thread, https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...way-to-go.html , that is now up for sale and hopefully will bring in some cash to help us with getting it on the road.

Let's load it up! Oh, and it was about 114 degrees that afternoon...











Success! Thanks to Travis, seller, for his help and winch! What we didn't take pictures of was us struggling to get the CV front end into the bed of the truck. Tailgate was rusted shut. Tailgate on the tow vehicle was stuck for some reason, so we backed the trailer down into a small wash, used a couple of old 2x6's that were laying around as ramps, pushed a pull cart up the ramps and chalked the wheels, and then hoisted it up into the bed. Remember, 114 degrees. I was closing to passing out. Water!!!!

Stopped in Tucson for an eegee's and snapped a pic....



Bathrooms were closed at this location and we really wanted to wash up. Rather than dealing with rush hour traffic in town, we decided to hit the road and stop at the eegee's in Casa Grande....



Hot pastrami sub, fries with ranch dressing and a large strawberry eegees. How much better can life get?

Home....




We plan on taking it down to the frame, cleaning/patching/sealing the underside, while leaving the exterior as is. Should be an interesting project. We don't have much experience, tools, space or money. We would like to have it road worthy by next May. My son want's to take it to the prom. I'm sure the parents of his date will be overjoyed! Would welcome any/all comments, assistance, advice from all here. From the warm welcome we received in our intro post, I know that we found a great group of people.

Ron and Ryan Hill
Gilbert, AZ

 

Looks like a great project, check out my truck #2 build in my signature, also a low buck patina style truck build.

 

I look forward to your progress. Take lots of pictures and share. Ask lots of questions.
Tearing it down to the frame is a big task. It has taken me years, but it's not super high on my priority list at the moment.

Great story on picking the truck up.
The truck in my signature is also a low buck build. I'm actually staying patina to save cost. Some day I might clean it up.

 

As I was checking out the pics (great, by the way) I couldn't help but notice the coyote between the two trucks. That may be an omen for the engine you replace that stripped down 6 cyl with.

 

Thanks and thanks for the link! We can use all the help we can get!

We will take lots of pictures AND as lots of questions! Neverous about taking it down to the frame, but think it will be really cool story once back together.



Nice catch! I'm a firm believer in "signs"!

 

A walk around....

Definitely not the "best side"...






Funny thing, the drivers side window is in tact. It was rolled down and was spared the apparent target practice and/or alcohol induced teen age rage display....









Spacious cab....






















Will make for a good "anatomy of an engine" discussion...






CV front suspension....



Son and safety inspector....

 

First day of tear down! We're screwed! Took us about an hour to get the tail gate off.



Tail gate is rusted onto the hinge. Three of four hinge bolts came out just fine. Not so much for the last one. Had to apply some pressure with a screw driver between the hinge and bed to stop the bolt from spinning and finally got it off. Had to break loose a small tack weld on the right side.





Ryan went around the back door to show his mom....



Nice little collection of 67 years of dirt!!!

Inside the cab. What exactly was the "bin" used for? Was it standard for these trucks or added on at some point after?

 

The stock tool box sat on the fuel tank - they are handy items.

 

That's what I thought it was. At first, thought it might have been something add on at some point but when we took it off and saw the paint color underneath, I began to think otherwise. Then I saw another one in a different build post and realized it was part of the truck. Pretty cool!

 

The cannel bracket for the tool tray was not factory . Was it bolted thru the back wall of the cab ? Looks like it . That is a '51 -'52 tool tray . A '48-'50 is round on the ends . The tool tray has 2 low bolt holes that bolt to the same rib as the gas tank .


YEAH !!! A Magic Air heater . Being the Magic Air heater king on FTE let me know when you reach that stage & we can make it like new or if you need any parts .Check the fresh air tube under the RF fender . Maybe make it look like this :

 

Yes, the upper piece was bolted through the cab. The tool tray did have two bolts that went through the same rib as the gas tank.

The truck was titled as a 1948. The VIN however starts with a 9. I read somewhere that the 9 were for 1949 - 1951? We had the same deal with the Chevy we had. It was titled as a 1951 but had all the trademarks of a 1952. Some on a different forum thought it could have been sold as a late 1951 late in the year and Chevy had switched over to the 1952 style early. Were there any other "tell-tell" things I can look for to determine if it's really a 1948?

 

Some of the 48s had stainless grille trim pieces (there could be witness holes where it attached) or red pin stripes on the grille / wheels. The grilles were Tucson tan versus argent silver for the 49-50s.

 

Is this a steel gusset welded in from the floor to the door jamb? Is that on all 48-50's? I sure don't recall any on mine.

 

That was a shot looking down into the rear cab corner. I can take a few more later this afternoon at different angles.

 

Pulled the fuel tank yesterday....









Snip, snip...









Cleanup up a little...