Hey everyone, I been reading here for awhile and lately been kicking around the idea of getting a F4 to clean up for a retro work truck (with a newer engine of course). I'm guessing the normal load I will be carrying will be 4,000-5,000 lbs.

Is the F4 suitable for this or do I need to look for a F5 or F6 ?

Thanks so much. Look forward to spending more time on this forum

 

The F4 has a gvwr of 10,000 and the truck weighs about 4000 varying on whether it has a steel or wood bed, single or dual rear wheels. So your total weight is in the ballpark but getting close to max. The 17" widow maker wheels will need to be replaced unless you get real lucky and find one with Budd wheels.

F5 or F6 go upwards to about 16,000. They have the same issue with wheels, but there are more choices to replace the originals.

 

I'm definitely going to do a steel bed and the dual wheels. I will calculate my load better and see If I can keep it under 10,000 total.

I found the gross website specs but never could find the truck empty weight that your giving me.

Thanks for the help

 

To be honest I'm guessing on the weight, but the pickups are 3160 curb weight. The F6's with a 12' bed and hoist run in the neighborhood of 6500.

I have an F4 and a couple of F6's. The F4 can be boosted a bit by going with 8.25x20 wheels/tires. That's what I've been working on. The same wheels from the F5/6 fit the lugs of the F4 so it gives us another option.

 

Are there any aftermarket wheel options? or are the factory setup the only option?

 

This is an F6 (thanks, Stu) that can be estimated for weight. This truck has a double layer frame where the F4 does not. So the F4 won't weigh as much, but won't hold the same payload neither. This drawing does not include the steel flatbed.

 

Do the F4 and F5 trucks have the same wheel base options ? I have piles of questions! Hope I don't drive yall crazy

 

I think the F4 through F6 share the same wheelbase options, except maybe the 176" WB for the F6 (think school bus?). Also I think they share the same spring lengths, except the F6 has more leaves and/or overloads. Wheels may be the same, or optioned to different sizes, but share the same bolt pattern. I believe the F6 has a heavier duty rear axle, too. Everything up front is the same F4, 5, 6.

EDIT: I remember now, as Stu said it, the F4 was only 134" WB.

 

Below is the diagram of the F-4, but for some dumb reason I didn't scan the weight portion of the page. So, to the question of curb weight of an F-4, the missing data says it is slightly less than 4000 lbs for the cab/chassis model. The above stake bed option adds 1000 lbs to that total while a flat bed would add 700 lbs. The GVWR of an F-4 with dual rear 18" wheels (17s were on F-3s) was 10,000 lbs, but with the single 20" wheel option the GVWR was only 7,500 lbs. Many F-4s will have been set up with dual 20s rather than the single 20s, so that would increase the capacity to approach that of the F-5.

Either size wheel would have most likely have been the widowmaker type Firestone split rims. Lock ring 20s are still out there and would be a good option. Tubeless 19.5s or 22.5s would be the other options. If you want more detail on the wheels we can go into that later.

One other aspect of this is rear axle ratio. The F-4 options were a 5.14/1 or 5.83/1, single speed only. The F-5 added a 6.67 option as well as two speed options of 5.83/8.11 and 6.33/8.81. The F-6 had options of 6.20/1, 6.80/1, and 7.20/1 as well as the above two speed options. Today these ratios will make you a "rolling road block" in traffic. Adding a modern engine will get you to top speed faster, nothing more. The 5.14/1 of an F-4 or F-5 would be tolerable probably when fitted with 20s or 22.5s. Somebody here will have a road speed chart they can link to give you an idea of what you'd be dealing with.

Edit - the F-4 had a 134" wheel base. The F-5 and F-6 had 134", 158", and 176" Stu

 

Stu said it, and I'll second it: The gear ratio and wheels will be a bigger stumbling block than the engine will ever be.

Stu, if ya have any chance of scanning that F4 picture, or if I can find it somewhere myself, I'd be grateful. The F4 is one model size I don't have much info for.

 

F-4 through F-6 use the 20" wheels. F-4s had 20" if single rear wheels or 18" if dual rear wheels. Ford tried to limit overloading the F-4s with the either single wheels or smaller dual wheels. I have a set of 19.5" tubeless wheels from a Dodge RV on my F-4. When I bought it it had 22.5" tubeless wheels, an option for the F-5 and F-6. I didn't like the look, I thought they made the truck look like a circus wagon.

One thing to consider when looking at a F-5 or F-6 is the frame. These trucks have a double walled frame that tends to rust between the layers. The rust pushes the layers apart. Just take a good look at the inside of the frame when looking at one of these trucks.

 

I have an F-5. It weighs 4950 lbs empty at the grain elevator. It has a wooden box with hoist. It is pictured in my avatar. It hauls 150 bushels of wheat ok, which is 9000 lbs. It still is powered by a flathead.

 

Havi - I'll scan it in the morning and post it.

Bob - the 22.5s were first intro'd in 1956, so they had to have been added to your truck. They could not have been an option back then. A 22.5 is really no taller a tire than a 20". Both a 9 x 22.5" and 8.25 x 20" are about 38" outside diameter. The difference in wheel sizing is due to the drop center of the tubeless design. Below is the diagram that shows the comparison. Stu

 

No need to go out of your way, Stu.

 

One other reason I sold the 22.5"s was because the front wheels came real close to rubbing the front fenders. I think the fronts were 7s and the backs 9s, I don't remember exactly, it's been some time since I had them. I do remember it was hard finding replacement tires.