My son and I are completely going through the brakes on his 1951 F1 and as part of the project we have purchased new parking brake cables (on front and two rear). We have broken down the backing plate (I think that is what they called that pivot assembly (with way to many parts) and cleaned it all up. We even wound our own spring to fix the pawl lever and sector gear on the parking brake lever. We are now ready to put it all back together ... and have only a couple of parts to find: FOMOCO part number 2597 which is the pair of rubber bellows/boots that go on the cable to keep the dirt out.

I have looked at and talked to all the normal companies like Dennis Carpenter, NPD, Sacramento Vintage, etc. .... and can't locate them.

Please let us know if you have a source or some alternate part. I was told that there is a part at Dennis Carpenter for the pre-1948 Ford cars with the same number (91A-2597) and am wondering if that might work ... or something from some other vehicle.

Thanks for any help you can offer!

Richard

 

The part number you're looking for is 01Y 2597-A. The other number is for passenger cars only. If it was the same, Ford would have used the same part number for both applications.

Barry

50 F-1

 

Barry, thanks for the information ... this has certainly saved me $20 to try it!

The "01Y" 2597-A isn't in any of the books in my library, only the 2597 ... how/where were you able to find out that information?

Lastly, do you know a supplier where these (or anything that will work) can be purchased?

Thanks!
Richard

 

Did you get the 2597 number from a picture? if so you then need to look up that number in the text section of the book and it gives you the complete part number. The 2597 is what is called the basic number of a Ford part. No matter what it fits, they use the same basic if the part does the same job on any Ford vehicle. You then look it up in the text section to determine the complete number by the model vehicle it fits. THe F-1 is catalog symbol "C". Under that symbol and years 48-52 , the part number is 01Y 2597-A. Alot of the repo catalogs use the pics from the Ford parts catalogs, but use thier own number system, some use the Ford system. I have all the Ford parts and accessories catalogs for 48-66 ( also 20 years Ford parts experience) so I can look up most anything you might need. I looked on a parts locator online this morn, but nothing came up. That's going to be a tough item to find. I suggest you keep looking around, someone may have them kicking around. That part number goes back into the late 30's, so it was used for quite a few years.

Barry

50 F-1

 

Barry,

I see that you are quite experienced and prolific here on FTE. We comfortable doing car repair, but have new experience with classic Ford Trucks. Although we are new here to FTE and new to the restoration scene, we are loving it so far.

Our truck does not have original paint ... it is some sort of dark metalic green ... and they did the inside of the cab too! It is too expensive for us to change right now.

We are going for the "original look", but it does have a 289 V8 and a C4 (I think) automatic transmission. We can't really afford to change that right now either.

Do you mind if I ask you a few other questions? Any help or input (from you and the whole FTE gang) would be appreciated!

1. We stripped the seat down to bare metal springs and frame. We bought a seat cover kit from LeBaron Bonney Company but it hasn't arrived yet. Do you have any recommendation to improve the seat before we recover it?

2. We plan to buy a headliner kit with door panels, arm rests and floor mat from LeBaron Bonney too, but need to decide about acoustic and heat treatment of the cab first. It sure seems like QuiteRide Solutions has some nice components, but I am not sure how well they will really work ... and they are very expensive. Any thoughts about their effectiveness?

3. As I mentioned before, we are doing a lot to the brakes, a) new shoes from AutoZone, b) turned the drums (hoping all the springs, etc in the wheels will be ok), c) wheel and master cylinder kits, d) new steel (prebent) 1/4" brakelines from NPD, e) new parking brake cables and an overall cleanup of the parking brake components, f) new brake hoses, etc. I have read a few people who really are pushing the dual cylinder retrofit for the 1951 F1 ... is that something that you highly recommend? If so, do you have a recommendation on what donor vehcles might work?

4. The body is in pretty good shape, but the front part of the upper front fenders are rusted out behind that reinforcing (I guess it is original reinforcing there?). We will fix that and then do some spot sanding and painting (particularly below the gas tank fill pipe - it is really faded out there).

Again, thanks for your input to the whole FTE forum!

Richard

 

From what I've heard and seen, the L-B kits are excellent stuff! Well worth the $$ you pay. Make sure the seat springs are ok in the drivers area, they are usually soft from time or even broken. I honestly can't answer you on the Quiet ride stuff, I've not used or seen it. Maybe someone else can step in on this.... Make sure you don't turn the drums more than .060 thousands over. That's max on any Ford drum. As for your brake hardware and springs, don't cheap out here! If it looks questionable, replace it. It's all available and was the same up into the late 70's. NAPA or CarQuest can get it all. I'm staying with the stock brake system on my truck as it is going to be 100% stock when I'm done. I've heard you can adapt a 68 Mustang Master cyl to the trucks easily. It's a option you might want to consider.
The 289 C4 combo is a good setup even in the stock form. More power than the truck will ever need. A good cruisin' motor! Good sheetmetal is a hard item to find. It took me 4+ years to find rust free fenders all around for my truck. Repair what you have if you have the skills and tools or a fat wallet!! There's alot of good guys here on FTE and alot of good advice. Sort thru it all and go with what you think is best for your situation. It's easy to get swayed one way or the other. You can do searches on the site on many of the older threads and look to see what others have done to thier trucks. Another good site is www.bonusbuilt.com . Lots of good info there and many of the guys who post here are also over there. Anytime you have a question or need a part number, just ask, that's what we're all here for!!

Barry

50 F-1

 

On the master cylinder, you can get an adapter kit from Sacramento Vintage Ford to put the mustang dual chamber cylinder on. They had two options, one was just an adapter plate to get it to fit right up to the cross member, similar to the original set up and can't remember for sure, but I think around $25. They also had a drop down adapter, which bolts to the cross member and drops the cylinder down about an inch or inch and a half, so you have some more clearance to work with checking the fluid. That kit came with a push rod extention as it is about 2 1/2 inches long, and I think I paid $60 for it. A dual chamber cylinder from a 70's era Mustang fits up to it, and I bought a remanufactured one for $25 (including core deposit) from Autozone. I haven't installed it yet, truck's in progress, but it looks like a pretty decent set up. You'll have to futz with the plumbing, the old cylinder had a fitting for 3 lines (two to front and one to back), this one I think only has 2, so one of them that goes to the front you'll have to put in a T to split to the front brakes, and a T in the other one for a pressure switch, if that's the kind of brake light switch you're using. I do not know yet if there's anything needing done as far as residual valves in the cylinder, if they need additional valves installed to keep some pressure on the line when the pedal isn't pushed.