Were to start? I bought my 53 F-100 in 1989. I drove it for a couple of years and decided to tear it down to the frame and rebuild it. I blasted and painted the frame with epoxy paint. Cleaned up the bottom of the cab, replaced the rear cab corners, painted the interior and exterior of the cab. I replaced the king pins and all of the front steering components. New clutch system and all brake parts that I could get. I also rebuilt the transmission. I had to move because of my job. So for to many years it has been tucked away in three different garages that I drug it to each time I had to move and I'm talking FL. to NC. to Ga. Other than the work I mentioned my truck is bone stock, flathead 239 three on the tree drum brakes.I have retired and the wife and I have decided to get back to work on the truck. After joining FTE I have done a lot of reading and have come up with a tentative plan and wanted to get some feed back from you guys before I start. First off I want my truck to be capable of driving any where any time I also want to be able to replace any part that may fail from any quality parts store off the shelf. I want it to handle and drive so that my wife is comfortable driving it too. I want AC, power steering Disc brakes. I don't want it to set to low but I do want it to have a nice stance. I have found a 97 Explorer that I can pick up for $600.00. Lot of miles but runs good. I will rebuild the 5.0 and convert it to carburetor. Since it is 4wd I can't use the trans so I would like some suggestions as to which trans to use. I will also use the disc brake 8.8 because it has 3.73 positraction. I am looking for a Lexus SC300/400 front IFS or 01-11 Crown Vic IFS. After reading about the wheel offset I am leaning to the CV. I base these decisions on total cost of conversion vs. up grading original to disc brakes Toyota steering box . I didn't count the disc/disc under floor power brake upgrade because it will be required which ever way I go. I would put all of this in a build thread but I am not that savy computer wise and I don't know how to down load and post pictures but I am willing to learn because I want to share progress during the build. All of this being said your feed back and positive input is requested and welcome. So what do you guys think so far? Got to start somewhere right!

 

Sounds like a fun project. Why not a small block Windsor which should fit I think easier and to get parts for. Also would help resale if ever down the road.

I kept my flathead in my 53. I changed to a 9" ford rear and changed gears to 3.5. Truck drives much smoother and does hwy speeds wit less stress on engine. Can also go w performance upgrades to increase power.

As for lowering it you can take out a leaf spring and go with taller tires (slightly bigger on rear). This will improve stance and not sacrifice driving. Definitely recommend power steering and disc brakes of your daily driver or increase size of drum brakes.

Best of luck!

 

Hey Summer breeze,
We used the same Explorer rear end in your plan. Our's came from a 2001 Explorer with 3.73 gears, limited slip dif., disc brakes etc. We also used the Explorer springs. I wasn't sure if the truck would still be capable of light hauling etc. We've got 15,000 miles on it & no real issues - it cruises on the highway nice & we've hauled all kinds of stuff.

I really like having 4 wheel disc brakes. We used a 351 Windsor for our engine with an AOD transmission - it's nice to have overdrive. An AOD will test your patience setting it up - took us multiple trips to the trans. shop to get it set right.

Have fun over there.

Ben in Austin
1950 F1

 

Sounds like a good plan to me. While the IFS will take more fabrication, you being retired makes me think you can finish it out and not get stalled like many others do, and I'm sure you won't be disappointed with a smooth ride. It all sounds very reasonable.

To upload pictures, I use a free online image hosting site (photobucket.com) and then, after uploading pictures to photobucket via an app on your phone or the computer, you can copy and paste the url for the image (IMG) into your post on this site and the picture shows up. It also allows you to have your pictures organized in an album on the other website.

Basically, the pictures that you share online need to exist somewhere online where everybody's computers can grab it and view it. They can either be uploaded and hosted on this site or you can do it the 3rd party way (like photobucket).

 

Hey Summer,
The easiest way to post pics here is to join the Forum as a member. I think it's $20/yr & with
that you get rid of most of the annoying advertising & you get a paperclip icon. To post a pic you
just click the paperclip & browse your hard drive & post the pics directly from your computer.

Good luck over there.

Ben in Austin
1950 F1

 

Posting pictures no longer requires putting them on an online service, or buying a membership to post them from your computer. simply click on the insert picture icon (yellow postcard with mountains and sun) and when the dialog screen opens find it on your computer (browse device) and open it. When it appears in the preview box, click insert at the top of the screen. The screen should close and your picture appear in the posting window. Click submit.

 

Up-date. Today I drove down to Edgewater Fl. and bought a 99 Ford Explorer. It ran well enough to drive it on the trailer without knocking or making any crazy noises so I think the 302/5.0 is re-buildable. . The brakes worked and the body is in good shape so I might be able to sell any parts that I do not need. At some point I will post original equipment items for sale that I remove. I will be joining the site as soon as I figure out how to pay the annual fees. Thanks Ax for the direction on how to post Pictures, I will take some and post them as soon as I dig it out of the corner of the garage. It will be a couple of weeks since I am going on a mission trip next week.

 

Excited, made a deal today with a local yard to trade the Explorer after I remove all the stuff I want and think I need for a complete Crown vic front ifs. That means I will have the motor(302/5.0), rear end.ac parts brake system items, battery, radiator and more to include the ifs for $600.00 and change. I am going to enjoy this build.

 

I've been doing it via photobucket so long...I had no idea!

 

Hey Summer,
Not sure what you have for an Emergency Brake but we took that off
the Explorer along with the 8.8 inch rear axle. It works great.

Ben in Austin
1950 F1

 

ben73058, right now my truck is bone stock and still has a functional factory er brake handle. I will pull the er works from the Explorer just in case I need it as my build proceeds. Are there any other parts that I have not mentioned that you repurposed?

 

Hey Summer,
Enjoy your trip - where are you headed?

If I read your plan correctly sounds like you are going to use the engine from the Explorer as well. Be sure to get every bracket on the front of that engine - it's a pain & expensive to round up brackets later. We did not have a functioning Ebrake on our truck - we just put the handle down on the left side of the driver foot well. Sounds like you got most everything you need. What are you doing for a transmission?

Ben in Austin
1950 F1

 

ben73058, I am going to Beverly KY. for a one week mission trip. This will be my 4th trip to that area. Red Bird Mission is the oldest UMC sponsored mission in the US, they stared in 1921 and are still doing good work in the coal mining part of KY. We do home repairs for folks that can not do them themselves or can't afford to do repairs. Yes I plan to use the engine. It has a lot of miles on it so I will be doing a rebuild as needed. As for the transmission question I am not sure. I think I would like an AOD, but since I will not be using a computer in my truck I don't know what will work. Any suggestions? Been a long time since I worked with a ford so I need help deciding from someone who knows. What did you use. Also when I put the 8.8 in with the explorer springs are there any other parts that I need to use from the explorer to hang the springs in the 53 frame? Thanks for the help.

 

Hi Summer,
Dave (droptop77ss) does a good job of showing how to do the Explorer 8.8 rear axle & springs on his build thread. I'm sure he'd be happy to give you some pointers. It's been a while since we did our's - I believe we used Ranger shackles. We also moved one of the bed braces around
to get the shocks in a good place.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...g-ifs-etc.html

We didn't want to mess with a computer either & we went with an AOD with some beefed up internals as we have some horsepower in our truck. Baumann Engineering has a great write-up on what to look for in an AOD.

I'm happy with our AOD now but it was a bear to get it set up right. We finally gave up & had it done at a shop by an old timer. It got a lot easier once we went with a Lokar Shift mechanism. AOD's work off of a cable that has to be set just right. Very small adjustments to that cable cause very large changes in your shifts - lot's of tedious small adjustments.

We upgraded the overdrive band to the 2 inch "A" size made from Kevlar.

Have fun on your mission trip up to Kentucky. We've got a lot of really solid members up that direction if you get a chance to stop in to see their trucks.

Ben in Austin
1950 F1

 

I have been on a couple of mission trips so I have not had much time to gather parts since I picked up the 99 Explorer. Today I visited my local parts yard and talked the owner into letting me bring home an 06 Crown Vic to harvest the front IFS out of and it is a P71 vin coded unit. I don't call them junk yards because as any old car/truck lover knows there is no such thing as junk, they are just parts that have been used more than others. Any way I pulled the front end and got it pressure washed. It seems to be in good shape and will work fine since I an going to replace the calipers and rotors anyway. I also pressure washed the engine bay of the Explorer so I can start removing the engine with all components and the rear end. Can't wait to get started on the transformation. At some point I will have for sale the original flathead, transmission and front axle and rear end with drive shaft. Many years ago I rebuilt the transmission and rear end and then decided to tear the truck apart so it has all been sitting in the garage since around 1992. It will make a good package deal for someone that wants to put a stock tuck together with the correct 1953 parts. Will hopefully sell it all as a package deal. Oh well enough for now. Happy building.