Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums - My new-to-me '58 F100 LWB

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My new-to-me '58 F100 LWB

Howdy,

Just joined your forum and thought I would introduce myself and my truck. I had been looking for a decent unmolested '57-'60 F100 for a while and found this one about 200 miles away. It's got the V8, 4 speed and long bed. I sort of wanted a short bed, but since I actually use it as a truck, the extra few feet is nice. Floor pans need some help, but the rest of the truck is pretty rust-free. PO adjusted the valves, set the timing, rebuilt the carb, did a tune up, new U-joints, and a few other smaller items so it actually runs pretty nice. It made the 200 mile highway drive home pretty good at 60mph with light snow the whole way.

My plans are pretty much just to clean it up and drive it. Might lower it a tad, put on some original style steel wheels (PO included some period hub caps), recover the seat, line the bed, add additional tie downs and maybe a throatier exhaust. Other than that it should just be little odds and ends.

Issues? Ran much better than expected the whole way home. After getting it home I changed the oil and checked plugs, etc. and all looked good. It's got a small gas leak coming from the hose under the cab that loops back up and puffs a little bit of white smoke at start up and hard acceleration. Also I have no parking brake, which is pain. Everything is there under the bed, but just half a handle in the cab. Biggest issue at the moment is when I went to drive it to work this morning the battery was dead. It's cold and had been sitting so I jumped it and it fired up. But I noticed that none of the electrical stuff worked (radio, lights, heater were all dead). It stalled about halfway in and there was nothing from the key, so I bump started it and went the rest of the way to work. Guessing just a bad ground somewhere, but now I have to find it. Possible that I screwed something up jump starting it? I'll look at it again later today.

I'll add some pictures in a few.

Looking forward to seeing the photos. Congratulations on the new truck and welcome to FTE.

If yours is like my 59, there are two glass fuses on the back of the headlight switch, check those. Thefirst tool you should buy is the factory shop manual,available from eBay, or most vendors. It would also be a good idea to buy a wiring diagram, as the ones in the manual are not real comprehensive.Those also can be found on the bay, or check out the Essential Suppliers thread on the top of the list. The vendor who sells on eBay has them laminated in plastic, ad they are color coded and oversized.Good luck.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ibuzzard (Post 12667115)

Thanks for the info! Would those fuses control the starter too? Because I don't get any power to the starter.

Nice truck. The fuses won't cause a problem to the starter. Go back to the main source, clean the Batter cables and Bat posts, check the cables for signs of corrosion, tighten them down good. Then check and clean the connections at the solenoid. The main power for the truck comes from a wire on the solenoid on the same post that the +Bat cable it attached to. The cable from the other side of the solenoid goes to the starter, check/clean/tighten that one on the starter post.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hiball3985 (Post 12667472)

That's where I first looked too, but as you can (sort of) see in the photos, the battery and cables are new and the wires to the solenoid are clean.

I did notice a loose cable in the connector at the alternator (it's approx 12ga) as well as a pigtail connector that didn't go to anything right there too. But I doubt those would be effecting anything since they're little guys.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nick5446 (Post 12667487)

Any bad connection coming from the Alternator could be keeping your battery from charging and it is just running down.. That type battery cable you have aren't the best.

Nice looking truck. Looks like someone has put a bunch of work into it already. That floor problem can be patched without too much trouble.

Quote:

Originally Posted by spurredon (Post 12667779)

Nice looking truck. Looks like someone has put a bunch of work into it already. That floor problem can be patched without too much trouble.

That's how I was looking at it. Price was right for what seems like a solid truck. Haven't checked compression yet, but it *seems* like it may be a bit weak. While I wait for my manual in the mail, any idea what compression should be, since I'll probably check it tonight? It's a 272ci and not the 292, right?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ibuzzard (Post 12667115)

Also, regarding the wiring diagram on eBay, I found the guy you're talking about, but I noticed it doesn't seem to require any engine, trans or other specific info; is the diagram pretty generic? I'm about to pull the trigger on this one but it seemed odd that the specifics of my truck didn't matter. 1958 58 1959 59 1960 60 Ford Truck 11x17 Laminated Color Wiring Diagram | eBay

That one should work, the wiring in all of them were the same, just the location of somethings like the generator being on the other side for a six cylinder but the wiring is the same, just longer.

Have you tried putting a good charge on the battery first to see what happens?

Gotcha...awesome, thanks!

Anybody know who makes a cab/windshield visor for these trucks?

Welcome to FTE. Nice ruck.

Welcome to the forum Nick!
Looks like a strong start, for your new project, keep us posted on your progress.
No ideas on the visor, I know some of the earlier trucks run them.