Does anyone know of a company that makes a floorboard and Firewall replacement that is complete? I have researched some companies like Dennis Carpenter and Sacramento Vintage Fords and I have found that they only have floorboards that replaces half the floor. I need to replace the hole floorboard because of rust. As for the firewall, I would like to clean it up and replacing it would be easier than patching it.
Any help would be appreciated.<o></o>
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Thanks.. Dan<o></o>

 

I just finished a restoration project on a 1953 Ford F100 Cab. The only place I saw patch panels for the F1 was at Mac's and Dennis Carpenter's. There are more sources for patch panels for F100 53-55 then for the F1, 48-52. I did not find any firewall patch panels for either sets of Cabs mentioned above, I suppose because most of the time only minor repairs are required to the firewalls. If you need something extensive, I could most likely fab something for you and ship it as I have a 49 F1 to use as a pattern (pictures of your needs required), but I go to Texas in the winter and will be leaving in three weeks. What is the timing for your project? I am located in Northern IL. (Rockford area). By the way, the floor patch panels cover the right and left sections of the floor ending near the seat, again this is the place where most of the rot is generally found.

Good Luck

Regards,
Jerry Johnson

 

the only thing i have found was seperate pieces...I know you can order the whole set of floor pans for the 53-56 but i dont know about the 52

 

I just got a floor pan for my 52 . I havent installed it yet but it is made by EMS.You can only get the front half. I havent seen any one making the rear half.As for your firewall I now this place sells a fiberglass cover for the firewall that will give it a smooth look. McMillan Cash & Carry I dont know where you live but he does ship everywhere.

 

If you need the rear 1/2 and it's as basic a shape as the 56, simply make a pattern out of thin posterboard and take it to a sheetmetal shop and have them bend you up a sheet of 18ga cold rolled steel. You could have them add a lip at the front to join the two.

 

As others have indicated the front half of the truck floor (horizontal part of the floor) including front cab supports are readily available as patch panels/pieces. If you are referring to the firewall (vertical) and the "toe board" area (at a 45 degree angle) those pieces are not available in repro. The choices if you need those pieces is to fabricate as AX has suggested or use same from a donor cab. What exact areas are you looking to replace? Note that replacing the firewall is not for the faint of heart.

 

just completed my floor c/w inner and outer cab corners and manufactured all the parts except the front outer cc and the main floor pan which i bought from george moir in stoney plain alberta all these parts are relativley easy to fabricate anything difficult i went to my hvac sheetmetal shop and they bent my sheetmetal cheap make templates and utilize as much of the factory stiffening ribs as possible what are you looking for concourse or a functional good repair this will determine our direction

 

Just found these guys. There web site shows a complete floor and firewall.dslogobg

 

Thanks for all the information!
My situation is that I purchased the truck 20 years ago and never made/had the time to restore it. My neighbor, who is a body person, has unfortunately lost his job and agreed to work on the old 52 for about $18 an hour in order to keep money flowing. After he removed all the panels and cab from the frame we could see what rust repair was needed. The cab was in the worst shape. For starters the firewall has a hole in it on the right side, which looks like someone tried to jam a header/air conditioner through it and failed. It also seems like they made a couple extra holes that don't look factory. The floor boards also have issues. The front boards, in the feet area are rusted through along with the trans cover. The rear boards under the gas tank are also gone. The issues with the cab are that the rear corners behind the gas tank are also shot from the tank leaking. The front cowl corners were cut off about 3 inches because of rust.
Now that I have someone to work on the body, I need to find the parts to keep him moving. As I and a couple of you mentioned, most places don’t sell an entire reproduction floor board, so I’m trying to see what the options are. I did find a company called Direct Sheet Metal that makes a firewall and floor board that clams it will fit the F1, but it looks like a one size fits all option and will need some trimming to fit. The cost is about $650 for the firewall and floor boards and my body person estimates about a week to do the work. So for $1800 the cab will have all new metal and be ready for paint.
Since I’m paying someone to do the work, which is very hard for me because I like to do my own work, I’m trying to understand what my options are. The full replacement option above seems like the best and most cost saving option to keep the project moving. I would have figured more companies would make full replacement panels like you can find for the F100, but this seem to be wrong.
Have any of you used Direct Sheet Metal?

 

Hi reg1952,
You posted a reply before I could comment. That's the site that I also found! It looks like it would work but as I mentioned, I don't realy know if that is a good price, because I have nothing to compair it to!

Dan

 

Sense you are in Arizona if I was in your shoes I would look for another cab. They seem to be popping up all he time. "JMO Though"

 

Yep you are correct! I origionaly was looking for a replacement cab, but everything I have seen was in about same shape, or needed the same amount of work. I'm still on the look out!

 

Absolutely keep on the lookout for a good cab. $1000 would be all the money for a mint (like former firetuck) cab. Have your bodyman work on other sheet metal first. Note that I passed on a mint cab (from a fire truck) for my 49 from Chucks Trucks at $1000 2 years ago when the economy was hot.

 

There is no good reason to do major rust repair to a cab when you live in the SW. Rust free examples should be easy to find nearby for a lot less than it will cost you for the body work. Let your neighbor take out the dings and get it straight for paint instead. No offense meant, but is this guy any good that he lost his job? Seems like body work should be in higher demand during a down economy, unless he worked for a new car dealer that closed up.

 

No offence taken. This guy had a stroke and the company let him go. Bad luck for a good guy.
As far as the project goes, I think you all are correct; I will table this project until I can find a clean cab. No sense wasting money just to push the project along, after all the truck waited 20 years, so another couple months won’t hurt!

I want to thank you all for the information; this site has the best user feed back than any other I have found.

Thanks again!

Dan