I have a 1955 Ford F-100, 3 sp. - 6 cyl. that I would like to restore. I would like to keep most of it original, but I would also like to look into upgrading the mechanical to allow myself to drive it more often. Should I keep everything intact when restoring or will I greatly reduce the value of the vehicle if I upgrade to a newer engine/transmission/brakes/etc. to allow myself to use it more often?

I have a line on a Ford 302, Ford 383 and Chevy small block engine, is there a common upgrade that most people use for restoring/upgrading these old trucks that maintains/increases their value without destroying the integrity of the original vehicle. I had someone tell me a Chevy S-10 frame is popular as an upgrade on these as well? I'm new to this and trying to learn as I go, so please bear with me.

 

Welcome to the board, Mike! You'll find a lot of useful information here as well as some great people who are very helpful.

Unfortunately, I'm only here to say hello because I'm not qualified to answer your questions. But I wish you luck with your restoration and I hope you'll take some pictures of your project to share in the gallery. I know we all enjoy seeing the start-to-finish.

 

Hi, from one new member to the other you need to do only one thing on this website. that is never mention the word ch..y or suggest that you are considering replacing a ford part/assembly with a ch..y one. good luck with the resto but be warned....

 

Well, here's my $.02. I'm in the middle of a similar restoration on a 53 F100 with a 215 6 cyl. I suspect yours is a 223, but it's the same engine. As far as purely investment value, I don't know if there's a whole lot of difference. You'll almost never get your money back either way. I'm told that a stock resto at Barrett-Jackson sold for 70K, but I've never seen anything like that before. (I think those folks out there have lost their minds....but I digress.) The 6 has plenty of power unless you're going to pull a trailer or something, so don't discount it and automatically think it's going to be better to go with the small block V8. I'm tickled with my rebuild on the 6 and have learned some nice things about it if you're interested. You can find parts for it and those engines are ridiculously durable with a good rebuild. Unless you've got a freebie V8 lying around, it'll probably be cheaper to rebuild the 6. I also think it's fun to have something different from the crowd.

 

One other thing while I'm on the soapbox...you can go to one of the sponsors here or a dozen other mail order places and buy nearly every bolt of these stock trucks. Just because it's old and worn-out now doesn't mean the stock setups aren't durable. I did choose to upgrade to disc brakes, add seat belts and lower mine a bit, but otherwise bone stock. Remember, the truck lasted 50+ years to get into the shape it's in now. If you restore it right, it'll last that long again.... If you're interested in any parts sources or info, just ask. You'll get lots of help here...

 

Welcome to the forum.

From the way you worded your post, what I think you want is to keep the truck looking stock but upgrade it to improve performance and handling. Upgrades such as a newer engine, transmission, disc brakes, steering, etc., will actually improve the value of the truck. When you find these old trucks for sale you will find that the modified ones are higher priced than the originals. I think staying with a Ford drivetrain will also make it more valuable than going with a non-Ford. Forget the S-10 frame as that will make it worth less. There is plenty you can do to the truck to improve the ride and handling without resorting to a frame swap.

 

Welcome to the board.
My advice to you is this; get the truck running and make it driveable and fairly dependable. Drive the tar out of it while you formulate a plan on where you would like to go with it. This accomplishes several things; first, it give you some great lasting memories that will carry you through the hard times later on when your truck is completey torn apart and you have rust in your eyes yet one more time. Second, it will allow you to get to know your truck and work out all of the little bugs and idiosyncracies (spelling?) that tend to make our trucks special. And third, it wil allow you time to think, plan, and save some money (yea right) because these things always cost more than your thought (and take 3 times as much time)

Good luck
Bobby

 

Thanks guys, this feedback is great. I'm sold on this site and blown away by the quick response time. I'm meeting with the seller of the Ford 302 this afternoon and armed with the info here I will think about the purchase prior to diving in. I will keep Ch..y out of my future posts....thank you. Northwoods....you are correct that I'm wanting to keep it looking stock.

I have a picture of this truck on my computer....how do I post it to the site for viewing?

The seller of my truck gave me a parts book from Dennis Carpenter Co.- any comments good or bad? There's also an outfit in California that's supposed to be excellent (can't think of the name).

 

Welcome to FTE! I'm doing a similar resto on my truck and going for a stock look. If you want to have a mostly original look with subtle upgrades for driveability, you can get that with the original engine and tranny, and like other have said, it will be cheaper and less hassle. That stock 6 can give you decent gas mileage (15-20mpg) and reasonable power. You won't win any races, but it doesn't sound like that's your objective.
Here's what I've done (or am planning to do) with my truck to improve safety/reliability/driveability while holding onto the stock engine and tranny:

1) Upgraded brake master cylinder from single to a dual reservoir unit
2) Replace front drum brakes with disc brakes (an F-100 can be done with a $400-$800 kit from any of the truck catalogs)
3) Rebuild the stock rear drum brakes
4) Rebuild stock steering ($450-$600, components readily available)
5) Radial tires
6) Change rear end ratio to a more highway friendly gearing
7) Pertronix ignition
8) Rewire everything with fresh harnesses and a modern fuse block (kits start at under $200 for this).
9) Replace the generator with an alternator (For your 1955, upgrade to 12V from 6V).
10) Add seat belts and headrests

If the stock engine and tranny are in decent running condition, you can improve reliability by refreshing all the surrounding components. The deeper you go, the more reliability you'll get. Think about taking the radiator to a shop to be rodded out or recored. Change the hoses, belts, and the thermostat. Replace the water pump, fuel pump, and oil pump with new units. Have the stock carb rebuilt. All that can be done without tearing the engine apart and rebuilding.

Value is another story. If you're trying to make money in this hobby, you're fooling yourself. Almost anything you do will ultimately work out losing money. The best way to lose money would be to take a good solid original truck, chop it up, then modify it poorly or loose interest and leave it in pieces.

If you do end up going modified, my opinon is that the farther you take a truck away from stock, the number of people who will like everything you did gets smaller, especially if you're an amateur builder like most of us and your work is less than Chip Foose quality. If you happen to be a Chip Foose kind of guy and build perfectly crafted hot rods, then your professionally built modified F-100 will certainly be worth more than a well restored original F-100.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

Here is a website that will give you hours of reading, tons of reference materials, and a huge list of links;
http://www.clubfte.com/users/earl/Re..._Material.html
Also check out the sponsors section, there are a ton of links there also.

The first thing you will need to do with the pic is to create a gallery. Look up towards the top of the page, you should see a blue horizontal bar across the page, click on User CP on the left side. Now will you see a page where yuu can edit your profile, edit a gallery, edit who knows what else.
If you can't figure it out from there, let us know and one of us will walk you through the process.

Bobby

 

You can start a picture gallery by going to the "User CP" blue bar at the top of the forum page. Click on it, then "Edit Gallery" and follow the instructions. It's pretty simple.

Dennis Carpenter is a very good supplier and used by many here. Also get a Mid Fifty catalog. The most comprehensive list of parts vendors for our trucks is here: http://www.clubfte.com/users/earl/Pa...dor_Links.html

One other thing...stop talking to the guy who told you that a frame swap was easy. He is an idiot.

Welcomoe to FTE!!!

 

Amen, brother...frame swap..that's easy, right??? WTF? You'll get the best advice here. I'd second Bobby's comment about driving the old truck for a while. I only have one regret and that's that I only drove mine for a couple of weeks before I dove in. I've found some great parts suppliers that are both sponsors here and elsewhere. http://del.icio.us/stewards68 has most of them bookmarked. I've gotten a lot of parts from Sacramento Vintage Ford, Mac's, Dennis Carpenter, National Parts Depot, Blue Oval Truck Parts and LMC Truck. I would also recommend Classic Performance Products for the Power/Disc brake kit. It bolted on well. Have fun...this is more fun than a giggling contest....

 

Mike,

welcome to FTE... without a doubt the best source of Ford info on the net and the home of the most handsome, intelligent, helpful ford truck owners in the universe.

Just my opinion, but I would think if you're looking at resale value a modified (within reason) truck will have a higher resale value to a much larger field of buyers.. The stock guys (mostly) will be looking for a stock truck and will walk right past something that has shiney wheels or bright yellow paint on fiberglass fenders. Where a guy looking for a modified truck will look at most ANYTHING and consider most any modification if it fits in his idea of "the right truck"... or at least I would. But you leave me with a question ?? why would you want to sell it ?????

There lots of options for mods from mild...steering and brakes to heavy, flip front ends, wild engines and big slicks on the rear ... You just have to decide what YOU want YOUR truck to look like... we can offer suggestions, but we ain't paying for it are we ??? at least I ain't

one other idea I'll offer... it's something I didn't fully consider... the amount of time and money involved... here's an article I did that might give you some points to ponder..

http://jniolon.clubfte.com/Trialsofa...mebuilder.html


I love to welcome you (if you decide to join us) to the modifiers group... affectionately called the darkside... we're the really handsome, really really smart guys with the cookies.... either route you take.... welcome to FTE and enjoy your stay with us... without an exception, you'll find every member to be helpful and friendly... heck, some will even come over and help you drink up your beer

later
John

 

from one new member to another Welcome to FTE !! as John suggested do what you want. It's your time and money being spent so do what make you happy. I guess I'm on the darkside i like the idea of modifying from the ground up.

 

Welcome, Mike! What they said....