Folks,
I have been watching the forum for a while.
Have owned Fords (many).
So why am I here? To learn a little bit about F800 Big Jobs. I have a chance to go and view a ex fire truck. The truck is a 1956. Supposed to be in good shape???
Am I nuts to consider one of these big Fords? This one has had the fire box removed and the frame shortened. I believe it has the 317 Lincoln engine.
Has a new clutch. Straight 5 speed.
I had Been signed up on here before but could not get my pass word reset.
So I now have a new user name. Effies 56.
The name comes from a good friend that I never met that passed away today at 93 years of age.
Her name was Effie, and she was my mom's best friend.
Any suggestions or recommendations are welcome. I may have lots of questions.
Regards,
Chris

 

The big jobs are very cool trucks. Brakes are harder to manage though. Parts are harder to come by.
Show us pictures of what you are looking at. We really love pictures.

Yes, you are nuts. The sooner you accept it, the easier it is on you. Most people will just look at you and shake their heads. But you will always get encouragement here.

Chucks Trucks is the place for these larger trucks of this era.
Chucks Trucks LLC., Chuck's Trucks, Chucks Trucks

 

Folks
Well I did get the title edited to read a little better. Looking forward to talking about Ford trucks.
Regards,
Chris

 

Joe,
Thanks for the confirmation and the welcome! If I could spell better it would read "Fords"! I will blame it on FAT fingers!
Any idea if these have the dreaded split rims? I know the tires and rims and brakes and just about everything is big! Hence the name plate!
I do not have any pictures of the truck. Yet! I have just heard stories about it for several years. Afraid to go look at it. I have several other addictions in life with big toys! No I don't really need a truck! The wife will shoot me if I bring another project home too.
I will check out your web site.
BTW I can speak a little "Y" block. I did have a 1955 Crown Vic for 30 years. Some days I wish I still had it. Other days not so much.
Regards,
Chris

 

Add my welcome. If you are new to big trucks something to learn about are its wheels. In your case there was a wide range of options so I'll not presuppose a need to rebeat the dead horse until we can see pictures of the truck. I'm sure in the mean time the 53-56 gurus will be along to add their welcome and words of wisdom. Stu

Edit - we were typing at the same time. Widow maker Firestone RH-5° wheels were one of the options, but we'll need to see what you have because 1956 was a transition year. Stu

 

Stu,
I was doing some editing and clean up of the title of the thread when you were posting.
Thanks! I may have to go look at this truck in the near future. Just to get it out of my system. Those rims will be on the list of things to look for. I am not sure any tire shop will work on split rims from a liability concern.
It has the original tires, I just never asked about the rims?. Truck supposedly has somewhere around 20K miles. Probably not unusual for a fire truck. Probably been out of service 30 years or more.
The owner was going to make a dump truck or a plow truck for his business. Never got to it. I have been teasing him about it for some time. He finally said he would sell it and put a price on it. Kind of surprised me.
I think he put a new hydrapack (?sp) on it too if that is the right term? I believe it is part of the brake system???? I may be wrong on that??
Only at the dreaming stage right now. May be a bad dream!?
Happy Thanksgiving!
Regards,
Chris

 

Chris, are you from North West PA? Wherefrom? I live in Lock Haven. There is another guy from North West PA and at least one from Erie.

 

abe,
I am in Albion, 30 miles south west of Erie. 15 miles from the lake.
Any ideas what folks do with these big trucks for fun?
I have way more questions than answers!
When I worked a small steel fab shop, just out of school, we had one of these Ford trucks with a flat steel bed. Just seemed big and awkward, but hauled the steel for the shop to the customer.
It was a god awful dull orange which made it look like the great pumpkin!
For some reason I am "stuck in the 50's! That's when most of my projects were new.
Regards,
Chris

 

Chris - let me try to at least help you know what you're looking at when you go see the truck. If nothing else to give you a negotiating edge if needed when it comes to price.

Any wheel has a center and a rim. In 1956 an F-800 could have spoke wheels, which are integral with the hubs, upon which "demountable" outer rims were mounted. Called a Dayton mounting. Or it could have fixed center discs riveted or welded to the outer rims. Generally called the Budd mounting. The center discs bolt to the hubs using either an 8 lug x 10" circle pattern or a 10 lug x 11.25" circle pattern. The 8 x 10" was used by only Ford, while the 10 x 11.25 was common and used across the industry. The Dayton system was also used across the industry and allowed use of any of a number of outer rim designs.

The gotcha on all this comes with the outer rims. The bad one is the widow maker Firestone RH-5° pictured below. Used only on Budd type mountings, not on Daytons. You will most easily recognize it on an outer rear dual where the raised band like joint is seen circling the rim. Most tire shops won't touch them for insurance and lawyer reasons. Plus so few are still in service that they don't train the young techs how to do them. The combination of this rim and the 8 x 10" pattern presents a challenging replacement scenario.

The other possible rim is called a Firestone R-5°. Similar name but an entirely different animal. This is a three piece design having the rim base, solid side ring, and split thin locking ring. These can still be serviced at the big truck OTR type shops. Pictured below.

The third rim type is the tubeless 22.5" that was first available in 1956. Look at the tire sizes, 20" versus 22.5". If you find these you've hit the Money Ball lotto. Stu

RH-5° Concave:



Dayton:



RH-5° profile:



R-5° profile:

 

Stu,
Great information on the rims/tires for this size unit. I had no idea of the variations available in wheel configuration.
Looks like the larger size would be a big plus, and avoid some handling issue if tires had to be changed. My normal luck is the opposite!
If it had the bad rims how much would a person have into changing them to something else? Are there new up to date solid truck rims that will fit these big Fords?
Does it take a grand off the asking price if it has the widow-maker rims?
Starting to get a little squeamish on this big truck idea. Not really sure what the heck I would do with one if I had it?
Since there is no bed on it something would need to be purchased or fabricated for that. I haven't seen a lot of options yet on bed designs. May do some searching on here.

I adjusted my thread title to include F800 Big Job, thought it might get some more interest on the Ford Truck forum rather than just another newbee coming on board.
Sorry I don't have any F series truck pictures to share at this time. I belong to several forums and I know pictures really help keep folks motivated. I have a lot of unrelated pictures of projects that I have worked on.
Hey I have one or two!
1953 Ford Jubilee




Our 2009 F250 hauling maple sap




F250 and fifth wheel trailer



Regards,
Chris

 

First, the 22.5" isn't really bigger than the 20". It yields the same outside tire diameters on comparably sized tires. The 9R22.5" tire is the equal of an 8.25" x 20". A 10R22.5" equals a 9.00" x 20". The differences can be seen in the rim and tire sidewall profiles. If you have Daytons the 22.5" rims are a bolt on fix.



Finding original 22.5s with the 8 x 10" pattern in a yard or online could be a life's work. And could require a second mortgage if found. Shouldn't be so hard with the 10 x 11.25". Finding a used set of 8 x 10" pattern 20" wheels having the R-5° rim might take some looking but should yield a set. Chuck, mentioned above, might have a set. Again, a used set of 10 x 11.25" should be easier to find and cheaper. Custom built wheels are another option but will also cost money. Chuck can help there too.

Widow makers would take more than a grand off value IMHO. Then you have your time to factor doing the search unless you go to a retail guy like Chuck, which naturally adds some cost as well.

Eyes wide open. Nice Jubilee! I sold my 2N a few years ago and miss it. Stu

 

stu,
I believe you have forgot more than I may ever know about rims on these big F series trucks! Still digesting info. So ideal would be the Dayton style center with 22.5 tubeless rims.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Regards,
Chris

 

Yup, Daytons yield a simple fix. And to throw some love at our friend Chuck, here is his F-7 Coleman with the 22.5s he gathered up from around the country. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family too. Stu

 

Stu,
Thanks for the picture of Chucks truck! That really looks nice. And gives me a good idea of the wheel look. If I ever get up the nerve to go look at this Big boy I will have some clues on the wheel and rim combo that can effect the down stream costs!
Any pictures of guys putting flat beds on these frames?
Regards,
Chris

 

This gets you close. If I recall correctly this F-600 used to belong to our member Kevin (Bigwin). Now having a new home. It is a M-H conversion. Stu