So I finally managed the two day journey to get my '56 F-600, and I have returned!... without the truck. Truck was 1" too wide to fit on the trailer. Also a lot of mountains around here, I was not going to drive it 400 miles on very weathered tires.

The same tires that happen to be the same size as the ones on a Semi.

Ok, they don't look that big in a photo, they just don't. I took these photos it looks small in them, in person... this is a semi truck, you have to see it in person to really get how big it is. The flat bed came up to my chest and I'm 6'.

The problem is I am also moving this summer, and before seeing the truck I had decided had someone offered to buy the truck for what it was worth, or close to, I would sell it and buy a '56 on the other side. This is a lot to move.

I live in a small town, it's not like I see vintage F-600s every day, I looked at the measurements, looked at the photos, it seemed to be the size of a 90's F-350 or something... this, this is just too big for me I'm afraid. So I'm going to sell it to someone who doesn't need to immediately do a chassis swap to be able to drive it. This isn't really an add, I wanted to show pictures of how great the truck is, I took these this morning, then drove back empty handed.

There is NO rust on this truck. It has 61k miles on it and had been garaged for 50 years! I mean NO rust other than like typical spot rust that a brush takes off. Has dents, but dents are easy to fix. Fired up so quick it scared me. Even the interior looks in great condition considering. The lights in the panel where so vibrant it was odd, I was expecting them to be worn out and dull, I guess they wouldn't have drove it much at night when it was used for a mining truck for 50 years.

Again this isn't an ad, its going on craigslist tonight, but hey if you're interested, PM me.

Anyways, pictures:
Just drove up to see it, was about 11PM last night, it just kept getting bigger the closer we got


What I could have sworn was a 55 gallon barrel turned out to be a 3/8" steel cylinder





Looks a lot bigger in the light.




Some jerk stole my air filter, as well as the button for the rear end...



But look at this chrome!








And the dip rails!







Interior:





nice floors






Dents, but not rust!




When I say large tires, thats a full grown man's hand... lol






And here is how I very sadly had to leave it behind this morning. What a waste of a trip... stupid 1"... nothing to be done about it, no way around it (trust me I tried!). I took some of the compressor off, we where going to have to leave it because of it's weight, about all that is gone is the outside pretty part and the fuel tank for it. I took several hundred photos of everything, I figure if I didn't someone who certainly want to know something I couldn't remember.


Sucks.



But hey, I'm still happy about it, just have to find a new owner for it... starting with the first day I owned it

Not live and learn, dream and continue.

 

Sorry to hear of the wasted trip, but it was smart to err on the side of caution. Hopefully someone will have a good use for a truck in such good condition.

 

Bummer! It looks to have the longer wheelbase in these pics. That would add more weight, too. It's understandable that most trucks towed of this size are on semi-truck drop-deck trailers. What would it cost to have someone like that do the haul? perhaps a back-haul?

 

Yep :/

I was quoted $1000 to move it 400 miles. In hindsight I could have done so and sold the compressor and got most of that back, but unfortunately I didn't have the extra grand just to move it.



https://www.ford-trucks.com/classifi...?product=27607

 

Stephen..that 56 looks great. I thought I told you to remove the outer rear tire os it would be legal on the trailer?
I hauled a 56F600 with 172-175'' wheel base and a grain bed and it weighed 10,000 lbs.
Yours would weigh more with the compressor.
If you were on the other side of this big country....I would haul her home. BEEN THERE DONE THAT.....4 TIMES....LOL
Hope someone restores her to her former glory and doesn't cut it all up.
I used a 28' deck over on my 56F600....and I used a 18' car trailer for the 56F500 and just removed the outer duals to keep her legal. Lot's of p.b. blaster to get those wheels off.....LOL
Well...live and learn....man that is a pretty ole 56

 

Wheels are off

see in the last picture, they are resting on the bed. The PO took them off for me to help me out, then we discovered we couldn't get past the front bumper or Fenders or tires! Yeah I wasn't exactly thrilled


Yeah I sure do hope she finds a good home, after waiting 5 months to get her and then I can't get her back home! Then even if I did I would end up spending so much money to move it later this summer. Be easier to just wait till I was on the other side and find a truck.


And so I have to wait. Again. lol only been trying for 13 months to get a good '56! Then I do and I can't get her where I need it! lol...No tresures earned without the adventure.

 

Something I found interesting looking at the data plate, its 17,000#s GVW, not 22,000 for my truck.

(its also a 154" wheel base, though it seems longer than that to me, lol)

 

I had a 56f600 from the ''caterpillar'' company and it had 154'' wheelbase.
My truck now has 172-175'' wheelbase and is really long......I removed the box and replaced it with a vanbody box.....but now removed that for a repaint and is a 21,000 mile original Georgia farm truck......it is nice!!

 

Man, that sucks! I had a similar problem a few years ago when I bought a 52 F6 flatbed for $600. That things looked smaller in pictures. I drove 3 hours to get it. I arrived with my 18 foot, dropped axle 7500# trailer. Was able to winch it up on the trailer. Only got it down a few miles when I realized that I couldn't go all the way home as the trailer was swaying. This was on a Saturday. Luckily I was able to find a tow company to tow it home for me. Cost me an additional $600 to tow it about 200 miles.

Instead of keeping it, I ended up parting it as the sheet metal was pristine. Ended up keeping all of the deluxe option stuff. I made close to reimbursing myself for the truck and the tow.

Oh, well. Live and learn.

 

The link I have included below deals with how bigwin56 (Kevin) got his prize home. I am not advocating this, just another way to do the transportation.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/7...something.html

 

I'm with Walford... Did yoyu think about removing the outside duals??? You can move and drive it on the inside set. However, I'm thinking that compressor would have made it too heavy for your trailer. That thing well go way heavier than the estimates you have seen here. I know, I have been around them and used them.

Tough Break Man...

 

The duals where OFF :P

lol the fenders and front wheels couldn't clear buy a tiny amount.

Yeah I remember Kevin's truck, lol it was the first time I had seen such a huge truck. But to cut a rust free truck in half? I couldn't do it.

I'm still just hoping to sell it right now, having it hauled it about $1000 and not money I have at the moment. It's in such great shape but even if I got it back after seeing it I know its too large for me. Thankfully the guy I bought it from is ok with leaving it at his shop a little longer, real easy to work with... always a plus, ha.

 

Could you have winched it onto the trailer backwards? If the front wasn't fitting and the rear was that high... with the outside duals off it may have worked.

I have no idea of how the trailer is configured but am assuming the trucks fenders and such wouldn't clear the trailers fenders. Am I right or were there side rails to consider?

 

If the front wouldn't clear it wouldn't matter. If we managed to get it on backwards it would still have to clear, otherwise it would be hanging off the back. Plus to be honest given all the mountains around here that it would have been too much for his trailer. He said it could do it, I personally think it would have been too much.

Thats ok. Something will work out. I think it would be better to get a F100 or 250 or such and turn that in to a 4x4 rather than try to dumb this monster down.