I think I might have mixed up two of my measurements (inside diameter and overall width) I had scribbled when I was looking at my adapter. Stu's measurements are definitely the most accurate. I need to double check mine and I might pull the other wheel to see if the inside bolts are 3/4" on the passengers side adapter too. My fingers were too big to get in far enough to feel the bolts.

I would think that starting with the right size and thickness tube to fit over the axle would be first. Just looking at mine, they are really heavy built. Once you got the inside plate drilled with the pattern to fit for the inside bolts, you could always add gusset in between the inside bolts with the 1/2" material. Whole adapter really looks like two different size plates with a thick tube sandwiched between them and gussets in between the bolts.

My truck has the later rectangular badges vs. the oval ones. I think sometime around 1953 was when they changed. I bought a set from Terry Gunter, he had some reproduced and was selling a few extras on E-bay.

Stu: If you think that M-H manual copy would help with my 1953, I sure would like to buy a copy from you too. I'm assuming it would since my '53 shares a lot with the '52 models. I will send private e-mail to discuss it with you.

Thanks!

Dave
1953 F-250 Marmon-Herrington 4x4

"Plan for the worst, expect the best, accept what comes"

 

Dave - I emailed you about the book. Glad to make an extra. Something I didn't mention in the email that will be different your model to ours, besides the rear axle, is the transfer case linkage. On ours one of the levers comes up right between the drivers legs which makes it a bit of a pain getting in and out of the truck. On yours both levers should be offset toward the middle on the passenger side. On the '53 I parted out there was an additional linkage that relocated the left side lever to the right side.

You're right about the structure of the adapter, and the weight. After media blasting mine I can see in the casting the weld line where the front and back plates were attached to the core. There are casting marks on the plates so I'm sure the weld was done on the model used to make the casting, not on the finished adapter. You can also tell that the front and back faces were then surfaced. Stu

 

Are any of you bidding on this '48? Stu

Ford : F-350: eBay Motors (item 250639403092 end time Jun-01-10 21:16:15 PDT)

 

I wish I could.

 

that 48 is pretty tight! lots of potential there. cough it up, stu, you know you want it!!

 

I think I need to stay on focus directing my effort on the "potential" sitting out in my shop. Looks like there are several others bidding to own this one. Stu

 

Seller of F3 4WD sez "very little rust." I wonder what the heck he means by that statement?

This truck is sooo faded and has sooo much surface rust...it's impossible to tell what color it was originally!

 

The firewall looks red, but the header panel and other interior pictures look grey on my screen. If it had started life grey, then resprayed red maybe for fire service, I doubt they'd have done the firewall. Hard telling. Stu

 

Would one of you guys be the winning bidder of the Colorado '48 F-3 MH? If so, welcome to the family.

Now tonight there's a second '48 that has been listed on ebay (for parts) after the sale of the Colorado truck (coincidence?). It's in Montana and is listed by Montana Classic Cars for $1500 BIN. But it is also listed for sale on the Desert Classics web site for $2500. I've contacted the Desert Classics owner twice to see if I could get identifying info from this '48 and another '51 for Mark Mossell's MH Registry. The Desert Classics fellow says he's the owner of both trucks (does no consignments, unless he's FOS), and this morning in so many words he told me to just go away. Do any of you Montana guys know what the story is on these two old truck sales companies? Are they the same company, with a few different names, or what? Here's the web ads for the two at Desert Classics, and the ebay listing. Stu

1948 Ford F-3 One Ton Marmon-Herrington 4X4 Wrecker Tow Truck For Sale
1951 Ford F-3 Marmon-Herrington 4X4 Flatbed Truck For Sale
1948-1950 ford marmon harington 4x4: eBay Motors (item 250643434182 end time Jul-01-10 18:57:12 PDT)

 

i talked my wife and the bank into skipping a car payment so i could buy a flathead years ago, maybe i could do it again with the house payment to buy another m-h. i doubt it, come to think of it, i better not say anything or she is gonna want me to post my stuff for sale. ha. Stu, did you give those # to the guy putting the registry together? i havent heard from him.

 

Mark checks in here so I'm confident he's seen your posting, but will email him to be sure. Stu

 

Hey, Old Thread but current topic. Stu could you measure how long the 3/4" studs are on your adapters when you get a chance, also the measurement or how thick that area of build up is on the backside of those lugs? I would appreciate it.

had a few minutes and was playing around with some sketches and
want to check on those studs. see if I can find someone who might carry that stud in the correct length and possibly a threaded end to thread into an adapter? if adapters were to be made like your originals I would think drilling and tapping that stud in there would be the way to go. although it appears yours might just slide in the hole and are welded on from the back side from the edge of the shoulder on the bolt ???

Another thought with these adapters would be to make both side right hand thread instead of spending extra money to do one right and one left. I can't imagine with them torqued to 500+ ft pounds that a wheel would ever come loose? do they still make big trucks with left hand threads?


Thanks

 

Josh - the studs are 2 7/16" long. The area around the lug holes where they welded the studs' heads is about 3/16" - 1/4" thicker than the outer plate. Not sure why you'd think you'd be spending more on left hand threaded studs and nuts. Should be similar to right hand thread. I think it'd goof up the next guy trying to pull wheels having mixed threads on the left side of the truck.

In re-reading Dave's measurements I'm intrigued by the differences between his and mine. Especially his mention that his inner studs are the same size as outer studs. Dave hasn't dropped by recently, but it makes me wonder how many inner studs are on his truck. One explanation could be that M-H was still using up <47 one ton rear axles into the start of the '53 model run. My 1950 F-3 has one of these axles which has five inner studs spaced on a 6 7/8" bolt circle. M-H used the below pictured 4" wide adapters to match the rear bolt pattern to the front's 5 x 8" circle. Stu

 

Thanks Stu,
How much thread is protruding from the face of the mounting surface on your adapter? (-1/2" plate from adapter minus the 3/16 to 1/4" for the raised section behind the plate tells me you would have approx 1&5/8" + of thread protruding??

Only reason I said the left threads might be more is I was just repeating what a machinest had mentioned about getting those in a left hand thread, or drilling and tapping the adapter??

Anyway. I grabbed a stock lug stud from one of my trucks and it is shorter than the stud in your adapter, I was thinking maybe that this one could work but I think I need the shoulder (shank) length to be slightly shorter and the threaded portion to be threaded maybe 1 &1/4" give or take? or more like 1&5/8" to 1&3/4"? if that's how long the ones are in the adapter?

here is a picture of the stock truck stud (from an F-4 through F6 )
shank or shoulder = 1" then it tapers to the threads = 1/4" then 1" of threads. Total of 2&1/4"

I think the 1" of shank and 1/4" taper put that too far past the mounting face of the adapter to use it. so I would need a shank or shoulder that is closer to 3/4" ?

the other option would maybe be to get a stud kind of like in the picture that is course threaded on one end and drill and tap it into the adapter plate.


anyone see any inconsistencies with my thinking here?

 

Josh, i already have my studs bought but for the life of me cant find them now. I went off the assumption that mine will be pressed into a half inch plate and wont have the raised area behind the plate like the originals. I have both left and right hand thread studs. Very easy to find at a big truck shop. They have the ribs on the side of them to hold them once pressed in and mine will be tac welded also. I think what your after is how much stud is extending past the face of the adapter, then add 1/2 inch for the plate, and thats how long the stud needs to be. Clear as mud right?