Hey guys I have a 51 f1 and have a question for ya.... If you knew that you were going to have to buy new front fenders, lower valance, bug deflectors(panels right behind the head lights), and have to have body work done on the hood... would you seriously think about a tilt front end from a place such as classicautoparts.com or any other who sells them? The reson I am asking is that I will have to do what I said before about replacing all of that stuff....wont the flip front end be easier to fit and align than all the other peices individually? (the upper fenders, hood, lower fenders, lwr valance, bug deflecters and so on)

 

I have a friend doing a flip front end on his 48 panel. He is doing the one piece flip for all of the same reasons that you mentioned.

 

yeah I figure since there would be fitment issues with all new fiberglass parts indvidually why not nock alot of them out and get a flip kit

 

I HAVE a flip front end and it's NICE. But, it's all metal - bolted together. If I had to do it all over again I wouldn't go any other way. There is another threat active about actuators and I have a gallery on my tilt front.

 

actuators? what is that? sorry I don't know much about the flip stuff

 

Without question. If I could go back, that is what I would do absolutely. I have a small fortune invested in parts and the body work and it just ain't worth it.
Jon

 

I like'm in general and especially when things are badly damaged and missing etc. I do my own body and paint as best possible and my experience has been that most old trucks in general don't have the greatest fit and finish. That wasn't a priority. I do have a couple trucks and only one with the tilt front end and you can see some photos of the tilt 58F100 on my gallery if you wish. I guess I don't like to make a one piece front end if I can avoid it. I'm a hot rodder at heart and I'm willing to "cut and pace" these things as needed, but I prefer to keep the sheet metal more stock if possible. I just kinda like lifting the hoods and having the fenders remain just that--fenders. But that's just a "chocolate and vanilla" thing. Each to his own. I've got 2 F1's that I've just barely started working on, and I hope to keep them both with only the hood lifting, but if the going gets too tough-I'll weld it all together. I've done it before. It's not my first choice, but I can go there.
Good luck Tom

 

ACTUATOR.....

Originally on my tilt front, you had to grab it by the fender well and reef it up into position. Being metal, and not intended to be a one piece, it probably wasn't as balanced weight wise and the dedicated kits.

I found that this yanking up on one side tended to fatigue the joints really badly and stressed the whole thing in general.

What I did was install an electric actuator that extends and contracts to push up and pull back on the bracket (the strength point) carrying the front tilt. That way, it got pushed up evenly from the center. And my 52 year old back got a vacation.

The actuator is controlled by a triple position (on/off/on) toggle switch to reverse polarity to the actuator (for up and down). Works great. Take a look at my gallery on the tilt front. Here is a pic of the actuator:



Not only that, but when you sit in the gas station or go to a show and the hood raises up into position, it is as cool as can be!

 

Thanks thats pretty darn cool!!

 

I flipped the front of my 56 in 1976 using the lift from a 69 Mecury Couger. Just this past weekend I changed out with a lift from a 92 Mustang. Hard to believe but all the brackets wiring etc. was a direct copy so it was a unbolt and bolt up change. I think that 32 years of constant lifting a solid iron front end the system has lasted well.

 

Hey guys DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY PICS OF A 51-52 FIBERGLASS TILT FRONT END INSTALLED cause I remember seeing a pic one time of a 51 on ebay with a fiberglass tilt front end and it did not look quite right, it just seemed off like the mold was set to high or something. Maybe the person just installed it wrong I dont know but thats why I'm asking if anyone has some pics.