47' 1 ton questions

[Person25]

He guys, I just joined this forum after seeing alot of good info coming from just about everyone. I have a 47' 1 ton 59AB that im in the process of semi-restoring. Im looking for any information anyone might have on where I can get king pins for her. I also know i will need to either re-shoe or find new shoes for the breaks all the way around. Does anyone know of a good companys where i can find parts and such?

As i said I have a 47 1 ton, I got her from the farm I worked at when i was younger. The truck was bought new for the farm in 47' and stayed in relativly good shape and has less than 20,000 on it. It has a bit of sentimental value for me and id like to do things to her the right way. The most important things i need are the functional things so i can get her road worthy, then ill take care of cosmetics. First thing i did when i got her home was to pull the heads. I pulled the heads and intake to find alot of crap underneath. After cleaning the heads and intake with kerosene/wirebrush, and soaking everything with marvels mystery oil I put it back together with new gaskets. I also dropped the oil pan at the same time and cleaned that as well as the rod bearings. Then i pulled the plugs and tested compresion, seemed good so i filled her up with oil and a new filter. I took out the starter and cleaned that up also. I pulled the breather and cleaned up the plunger for the fuel pump about the same time. I also then went ahead and rebuilt the carb. After doing new raditor hoses and cleaning the radiator pipes to the heads I started her up and she runs great. After getting her going I took up the fuel tank form under the seat and steam cleaned that and added a fuel filter. She is a great running little motor and moves around jsut fine but there are a few important things i need to address before registration.

Things I need information on replacements/finding parts etc.

1. King Pins
2. Wheel Seals/Brake rebuild kits/shoes
3. Tires....i have a great set of budd rims, just need 8.25-20 rubber
4. Wiring Harness Information so i can rewire all lights etc.
Other more cosmetic things i can do after registration but still need to find information about.
5. Passenger side door glass and metal frame
6. Sheetmetal toeboard and center floor board
7. Glove box and Interior kits
8. Mirrors and Original lights

Anything anybody knows or can add their two cents about when it comes to helping me find info about restoration options and places to find this stuff is welcome to contact me. thanks guys.

[51dueller]

I thought they had 17" rims and not 20"? 20" were normally on the 2 and 3 ton models.

[Person25]

yes i think they did come with smaller size rims, but I think the farm opted to upgrade them to 20s for the field and heavier loads for farm duty. The glove compartment tag says rated for 12500 lbs, and i guess i can see why they would have swapped out for the larger wheels.

[ceetwarrior]

You gotta get a Macs Antique Auto catalog. Very helpful..

[Person25]

wow. MAC's has alot of stuff. I ordered the two catologs that cover the years before and after 47. I got lost looking at all the stuff they have online. thanks for showin me that.

[ceetwarrior]

For sure! That place is awesome. So many choices and corrections.... I am still trying to figure out what Fuel Pump I need before I buy...!

[mrcman58]

Howdy person25,

And welcome to the FTE site, lot of great info here. I thought i would throw in a few sources for parts aswell.

Dennis Carpenter in charolette NC, they have a free catalog (704)786-8139 or WWW.dennis-carpenter.com ask for the 32-47 catalog..

sacramento vintage ford (888)327-5988 or WWW.vintageford.com
also a free catalog ask for the 32-48 catalog..

And i got a lot of hard to get stuff from this guy Bob Selzam at "Half Ton Fun" no e mail & closed on wed,sat,sun, his ph # (732)928-9421 Jackson, NJ he has a lot of bigger truck stuff most people dont carry, and a great source for info also.

take care and have fun with your project, Jess Soriano (mrcman58)

[46fordtruck]

Welcome to FTE, hope you find all your needed info here.

That's not a 1 ton, you have a 1.5 ton truck. The 1 ton had only 17" wheels, and were rated for 6600 lbs max. Also check out Job Lot, and your local big rig reapair shop, they might be able to help out with the king pins or know who might be able to rebush them. But with that rating, and the wheel size, don't order suspension and brake parts for a 1 ton, they are different.

[truckdog62563]

I'll add my welcome. Glad to have you.

I'm with Gary. That's probably not a one ton. Tonners used 17" single rear wheel rims with 5 lug x 6 7/8" circle. My period wheel literature shows that 20" rims with that bolt pattern existed for some applications in the mid 1930's, but in a DRW Budd style rim. If your truck was converted to these rims back in the day, you've got some real unusual wheels. More likely you've got a 1.5 ton that used Budd style rims with a 5 lug x 8" circle. That was the standard for Ford and others during the era. Be alert to the risks associated with multi-part wheels. Over on the 1948 to 1960 forum we've chased this subject around the block a lot of times. Be especially alert to the dangers of multi-part rims where the wheel halves connect at the middle of the rim. These are known as Firestone RH-5° outer rims. If you have these I'd suggest getting rid of them in favor of others that used either Goodyear or Firestone "lock ring" designs. I'd suggest doing a forum search on "multi-part rims", "Budd rims", and "Firestone RH-5°". I'd also suggest a Google search on the "Firestone RH-5°" if you find that you have them.

[Person25]

thanks for all the info guys. in response...ya i guess it would be whats called a 1.5 ton, because i know i have 20 inch rims. My father and brother have multiple trucks layin around the yard. from a 45 (rare because of the half plastic covered steering wheel to conserve for the war), my father 46 1.5 state, my 47' stake, brothers 48' Marmon, a few 49's f1-f6, one of which is a fire truck, brothers f-4 50', fathers 51-53 f1's. Not to mention the multitude of 44-53' trucks that have come through the yard in to bad of repair that have just been parted out. Theres a jungle of this era truck in the yard. mostly good stuff, all rolling or powered by their flatheads. Needless to say theres alot of flatheads and parts that are in the barns here, as well as cabs and doors and other truck parts. My father knows alot of stuff about these trucks, but he likes to work a little more slow and methotical than i like to, thats why i came here, to maybe gain some knowlege on my own so i dont have to wait around for him to help me on everything. And ya i know all about those suicide rims and how they can kill people, i know i dont have them, i thank you for the thought and concern.

[mtflat]

Originally Posted by Person25

........there are a few important things i need to address before registration.
Things I need information on replacements/finding parts etc.

1. King Pins
2. Wheel Seals/Brake rebuild kits/shoes
3. Tires....i have a great set of budd rims, just need 8.25-20 rubber
4. Wiring Harness Information so i can rewire all lights etc.
Other more cosmetic things i can do after registration but still need to find information about.
5. Passenger side door glass and metal frame
6. Sheetmetal toeboard and center floor board
7. Glove box and Interior kits
8. Mirrors and Original lights

1/2. I've been surprised to find that NAPA is a great source of parts for these older trucks (47s aren't much different than the 48s that I have - but you probably know that) Also any big truck shop should be able to resource what you need. I recently picked up a reamer for my 2 ton on ebay. A shop manual will be a great investment.

3. Local tire shops that service trucks should have 8.25x20 on hand. It's still a very common size here in Montana.

4. Check with Mac's Antique Auto Parts, NY or Sacramento Vintage Ford, CA and most others that sell for half-ton trucks - cabs are the same so the wiring harness will be the same - except for the runs to the rear of the chassis and that's usually separate from the dash/engine wiring harness.

5. Door glass is just flat safety-sheet glass. Any local automotive glass shop should have it on hand. The metal frame you'll have to resource from parts truck???

6/7/8. Same sources as for wiring........

Sounds like you can help alot of the guys here with 59AB flathead questions. You've actually got one running I just got my first one and I plan to tear into it this summer - all my other flatheads are 8BA's except for the '36LB and a couple of '37 blocks. Welcome to FTE!

[Person25]

thank you very much. and yes, my father is a great resource for flathead questions, and parts......if you ever need something, or find someone who needs something, even jsut information, id be glad to help out. Like i said, ill tap my father for info, hes got alot of mechanical experience, and many flatheads have begun to run again after his touch...haha. thanks for all the info.

jeremey