Hi All,

I just found this sweet site and I'm hoping you could help me out. I'm going to look at a '51 F1 this Sunday for my dad, a lifelong Ford truck fan and owner. He turns 60 this year and Mom and I would like to surprise him with a truck he always wanted (besides a Raptor).

The owner (not original) is an older gentleman. He said it runs and looks good (pictures match what he says). It has a 302 in it. He's asking $6500 for it (daily runner type) Other than that, that's all I know.

I would really appreciate any feedback on what to look for, etc. from you all. I know how to buy cars/trucks made in my 31 year lifespan, but nothing older.

Thank you!

 

Welcome! I looked at your profile and see that you live in PA. Could you post a link to that truck so we can see it? I'm thinking another guy posted about that truck a few days ago. IF IF IF we are talking about the same vehicle, he said it had some body issues. It was yellow. Its good that you're buying it for your dad. Go up to the top of the page there and open up the "read first" sticky. If I recall, there is a thread with lots of useful info to consider when looking at one of these trucks. Post pics of whatever you're looking at. It will help us help you.

 

Thanks! Below is a link to the listing. It's not the yellow one, so no worries.

http://erie.craigslist.org/cto/23290...iAXKp3SELrJw==

I'll definitely go to the Read First sticky. I didn't see it at first since the page didn't load correctly.

Thanks Mountaindoc!

 

That link doesn't work. And I was wrong, the truck I was thinking about is a light green in color.

EDIT: I THINK I found the one you're looking at. Different truck. Looks good based on those four pictures. And, the others may disagree, but that's not TOO bad of a price for this side of the Mississippi. BUT, you need to go look at the body very closely. Based on those pics, I can see that the front fender seam is filled up. Usually means there's a lot of hidden body work.

 

Heres a working link.
1951 Ford F-1 P/U

Im jealous, it looks awesome in the pics!

 

I'll second Mountaindoc's comment on the fender lines. The factory fenders were two pieces (upper and lower). You can sort of see the horizontal line in this pic:



Try to figure out why the mating line is not there. Maybe he replaced the fenders somewhere along the line with aftermarket fenders that were one piece (I've only seen these in the fiberglass parts).

Also look around these places for rust:
1. on the front and back fenders where the running boards attach....almost all of the trucks have some rust here (the body moves around but the running boards are solidly attached to the frame).
2. look at the cab corners....behind the drivers seat there are "pockets" where dirt and water collect. Unfortunately, if the owner let this go, the is the area where the cab attaches to the frame, so it is a structural area. Look with a flashlight from inside and crawl under the truck and look for rust holes where the cab attaches to the frame. The attachments here are short arms that go from the frame to the cab.
3. Check the floor of the cab, especially where the transmission cover bolts to the cab floor, and where your feet go when you're driving. Superficial rust is normal, but cancerous rust-through is a pain to fix
4. Look at the windshield frame of the cab. Sometimes leaky windshield gaskets let water collect at the lower corners of the windshield frame. Again...check for cancer holes...these are a pain to fix.
5. Look at he bed...see if if feels solid...check the tailgate....open it and see if the bed sides are weak.
6. Check the hood for rusted holes in the sides near where the hinges attach.

Others can chime in with more advice. The pics look pretty good. What a great surprise this will be for your dad!!!

 

Hey thanks guys! Sorry about the crappy link, but you found the right one!

I can see what you mean about the fender line. If this is indeed filled in, would you consider this an issue? Also, what are those white marks on the inside of the bed? They almost look like huge spot welds to my untrained eye.

If we end up getting this truck for Dad, I'm sure he'd do some work on it anyway. He's a lifelong welder and old-school farm mechanic.

Thanks for pointing out the fenders Mountaindoc, and I appreciate your list old_dan!

 

It appears there's been some custom bodywork done on all of the fenders. It looks like someone has added flares to the wheel openings, in addition to filling the seams. You might want to take a close look at how that was done. It could be some creative bondo sculpting, which wouldn't be desirable. And if your Dad won't like the custom mods done, it'll mean redoing the body and repainting the truck. There's an expense that needs to be considered into the purchase price.

Inside the bed, it's hard to tell from that small pic, but it could just be the fender bolts with large washers behind. Those would be non-stock, too.

 

I kind of like the mods done to the fenders. It even has the stock rear bumper!

 

Hi TJ,
I've attached 2 pics of my 1950 when I first purchased it to give you
some idea as a comparison to the truck you are looking at - I paid $6,000.
Please pull up the carpet in the truck & look at the floor under the rug - Also like Mountaindoc said - get down under the truck & look up at the cab in the far back cab corners. Those are two areas that commonly rust & are difficult but not impossible to repair. If the fenders have been bondo-ed beyond belief you can pick up fiberglass ones for reasonable cost so not too huge. (I had to put 4 new fenders on the black truck $1200 - I had to repair the cab corners & replace the entire floor $5000). I think your potential truck looks very nice - Your dad will like it.

Ben in Austin

 

Hey thanks Ben! That's a good truck to compare the '51 with. Thanks for your keen eye too Merc.

I took down all of your advice and printed it to take with me today. I'll let you guys know what the outcome is. Man I hope it's a good specimen.

Again, thanks for all your continued help!

 

Hi guys,

Well, I went to look at the truck on Sunday and I was not impressed. There were many issues that I'll list below.

1) Front end from a 94 F250.
2) Rear end from a 78 Dodge 1/2 ton.
3) Bottom of engine was soaked in anti-freeze and who know what else.
4) Fiberglass fenders and body filler was cracking and peeling.
5) Had one wiper that looked like it came off a Tonka truck.
6) Paint was shot.
7) Hole in floor under driver.
8) Missing pedal.

I'll stop there. So the search goes on! I want to thank everyone again for their help! We'll see what else is out there.

 

Yikes! Keep looking. That is amazing. That truck looks pretty clean in those four pics. He'll be lucky to sell it at all. When you say a front end from a 94 F250, what exactly are you tallking about? Did they clip it somehow, or are you talking about the leafsprings, axles, etc.?

 

Yikes indeed. Yes, the springs and axle are from the F250. The ownere bought it at auction and took it to a guy to get tuned up. That's when he found out that it was a Frankentruck. Thank God he showed me the papers that listed the parts, but then again, I wouldn't have bought it anyway.

 

By the way, a small round hole is supposed to be in the drivers floorboard for the original master cylinder. But I'm guessing you mean it had a big rust hole? Was the missing pedal the clutch (automatic tranny swap)? The more I think about it, somebody will buy that truck. The owner needs to find somebody who can type and put all of those mods in the description. Otherwise, he's being very deceptive by just saying it's got a 302 and runs good. Keep in mind that very few original trucks are still out there.