Did the 1951 Ford look like the 1950 or 1952 trucks? Was the 1952 a one year only look?

 

51 and 52 were practically identical as far as looks go. About the only noticeable differences are in hood trim. The 52 had a circular badge over the center trim strips on the side of the hood running front to back. The hood nose piece is different, and I think the V8 emblem just below the hood latch was different, 52 may have just had FORD spelled out, not sure about that. Mechanically they are the same too, maybe a few small differences. I know the shop manual for 49-51 has a 52 supplement, so there must have been some difference in there.

51 and 52 look the same, 48-50 look the same but compared to 51-52, they have different grills, front of the fenders and lower fender extentions look different, rear window is smaller, dash is different, bedsides different, among other things.

Scott

 

52 did have the FORD letters on the nose, 51 did not. As Scott said, 52 had the badges and 51 did not. 48-50 are in thier own group, but have the same physical shape and share the same mechanics as the 51-52. 52 was the first year for a OHV 6 cyl engine in the light duty F series.

Barry

50 F-1

 

Here are the differences.

1951:
-3 "nostril" hood emblem in the front
-hood side mouldings are tapered at one end and squared at the other end
-hood side moulding have "FORD" and truck model (F1-F8 and Big Job for bigger
trucks) stamped into the mouldings
-top panel between the front fenders had a "V8" insignia for a V8 engine and
no insignia for a 6 cylinder

1952:
-2 "nostril" hood emblem in the front
-"V8" emblem on the nostril for V8 engines and a different crest for a 6
cylinder engine
-hood side mouldings are tapered at both ends with "FORD" stamped in and a
round trim denoting the truck model (F1-F8) attached over the trim towards
the front
-top panel between the front fenders has "FORD" letters like on '48-'50 model
years

That is the quickest way to tell them apart.

Here are pictures of both of my trucks. The red one is a '51 and the green one is a '52. Note that the circular trim isn't attached when the picture was taken. I have since attached it.




Ilya

 

Maybe a chart should be made up for all the years and put on here as a "sticky". That might eliminate so many repetative posts. They could just read the info there. I know that's a big undertaking and I'm NOT volunteering for that job! LOL!!

Barry

 

Sorry for the repetition. I am a relatively new member.

 

I'LL DO IT!

Most of the parts books for Bonus Built trucks have a diagram of front clips explaining the differences between the '48-'50 and '51-'52 trucks.

This will give me an excuse to take pictures of my Panels. I'll also scan in the diagram from the parts manual.

Ilya

 

Here's more info for you...

http://www.bonusbuilt.com/history.html

 

I went to that site, or tried to, yesterday. It's not valid.

 

Works now (Thurs 7PM in Va.)