Hi all!
I have caught the old truck fever and the only cure I know is to get one.
In my search for relief, I have come across a 1951 f3 that is in really great condition and I am considering buying it. The problem I seem to have run into is that obtaining parts for it may be a problem, especially brakes (would have to be relined) and Brake drums. Also will have to check but it appeared to have original rims which would have to go immediately. Oh , I did not note tire size, any help there.
Does any one know about these problem on the breaks?
I am going to set here in Alabama, stare out at 6 " of snow and wish it was spring so I could be out in my drive way working on my CJ2.

 

Welcome to FTE, Bill! Parts are a little stiffer to come by for an F-3 than an F-1 or even an F-2, but they're not impossible to get. There are some things to watch out for and some changes you can make to make things easier on yourself. Brake parts can be bought through joblot and others if they're needed. The first thing that you'll want to check out is the size of the front brakes. The brakes on the F-2 and F-3 trucks were redesigned in mid 1951. You'll need to measure them to find out whether yours are the earlier or later brakes to get the right parts. The stock wheels should have been 17" two-piece wheels that are affectionately referred to as "widowmakers". They are a bit dangerous and it's almost impossible to find anyone who will do tire work on them. The easiest solution is to swap to later model 16" Ford F-250 wheels or early F-2/F-250 wheels if you want to run the stock hubcaps. They all ran the same 8-lug bolt pattern all the way up until 1998, so wheels aren't that hard to find. The problem you'll have is finding some that will clear the large 14" brakes in the rear. Some will fit and some won't. An easy solution to that problem is to swap the entire rear axle out with a Dana 60 out of a '67-'72 F-250. The axles in those trucks are basically a bolt-in swap into the older trucks and will give you much better brake and axle parts availability, no problems finding wheels to fit over the brakes, and a better gear ratio too. The stock Timken axle under the early trucks normally has 4.88:1 gears in it. Great for pulling down a house, but not much good for much else. It will limit your top speed to 45-50 MPH. The '67-'72 F-250's had a more comfortable 3.73:1 or 4.10:1 gear that will at least least let you keep up with traffic.

 

Blue...
Thanks for the info. Do you know if there are any Disc brake conversion kits that will work the f3?
Thanks !

 

The disc brake conversions for F1 will work on your front axle. F1-F3 shared the same suspension up front. For the rear, you'd need to find yourself a new rear end, preferably with the disc brakes already set up.

 

51 PanelMan
Thanks for the info. BlueOvalRage sugested a rear end from f250 67-72. Know of any others that will fit?
Thanks

 

BOR is correct if you are keeping the stock suspension up front. However, with a disk brake conversion in the front, you'll have a 5x5.5 bolt pattern, which is stock for F1. If you put in a rear end from an F250, you'll have an 8 lug wheel bolt pattern in the rear and 5 at the front. I don't think that you'd want to carry two different spares.

If you're changing out to disk brakes up front, then get a 9" rear end from a 57-72 F100. They'll have the same bolt pattern as up front and a better gear ratio. A 9" rearend from a 57-67 should be a direct bolt in, while the 68-72 willneed to have the spring perches modified. Since you're starting out with an F3, don't trhow away the rear shock mounts as you'll need them to mount the shocks on the 9" rear end.

 

Can you give me a guess as to price range of the rear end?

 

for the diff just find you if you want to go 5 lug , a 67-72 ford 1/2 ton . the 9 incher in it is a direct bolt in . if you wanna stay with the 8 lug use the same years of ford trucks but a 3/4 ton . they'll most likely have dana 60's like the one i gave grover for his 55 and again are a direct boltin . also look up a member on here called oily owl as he did a disc swap on his 3/4 ton using everything of of a 70's era truck right onto his bonus built with some minor welding and drilling . welcome to the sanitarium ........................

 

I bought mine a few years ago from a guy on Craigslist for $150. It was out of a 57 F100. However, prices for 9" rear ends have gone up. If you can get one below $250 now, you'd be doing good. Scour the local junk yards and keep an eye out for one on Craigslist. Be prepared to drive a few hours if the price is good.

I'd also recommend rebuilding the rear end or at least looking inside for the condition and replace what's necessary. That cost will depend on the parts needed, labor involved and who's doing the labor.

 

What has been posted will work. I would suggest, my personal opinion, to keep the F-3 an F-3. I like the larger trucks and in this year range they're still relatively small compared to a modern truck.

Oily Owl is no longer a member of the board and I think he purged all his photos. I contacted him a while back and got permission to post his modifications on my web site along with the pictures he posted:

F-2/F-3 Front Disc Brake Conversion

Welcome to the board, and yes, the only cure for old truck fever is to get one, then you'll wonder why. It's a sickness, see my signature.

 

Welcome to the board!!

I see you already got tons of good info

enjoy the ride
Bobby

 

Thanks everyone. I was thinking about backing off the f3 but I see that making it a drivable truck is doable. I do love the trunk and will be asking more questions. Thanks all for some great info and helping me make up my mind.