Hello, Everyone,

This is my first post, but I have been lurking here for years and have learned a lot from everyone. My dad and I are resurrecting his 1956 f100 (VIN starts F10V6M). It is a Custom Cab with a 8-ft bed, 272 engine, and 3-speed on the column with overdrive that my grandfather bought new. The family used it regularly until the late eighties, but it has now been sitting for about 20 years. I have a handful of pictures posted in my galleries.

I am trying to figure out if a few details were options from the factory, or possibly the dealer, or if my grandfather made the changes himself. I have posted some pictures to help explain. Specifically:

1. The controls for the recirculating heater are in the dash, and they don't have bezels like the ones on the wiper, head light switch, etc. Has anyone seen this arrangement before?

2. Everything I have read indicates that 56 f100s had a single horn, but this truck has two that, to me, appear to be original (pictures in the gallery). Has anyone seen a 56 f100 that came from the dealer with two horns?

3. When we removed the wires for the headlight and parking light that run across behind the grill, we found four wires instead of three (pics in gallery), suggesting that the park lights were possibly wired as blinkers (neither my dad nor I can remember if they blinked when the truck ran). This contradicts what I have read and what I see in the circuit diagram in the shop manual - the stock front park lights were supposedly not blinkers. My grandfather could have added this, but the wires appear to be original, complete with the cloth wrapping. So, has anyone seen a stock 56 with front blinkers? Could it have been a dealer addition?

(Unfortunately this discovery came at the end of my recent visit to my parents and I didn't have a chance to trace the wires or remove the lights and see what where they led before returning home. I am now ~1200 miles away from the truck.)

Thanks in advance for any information - I appreciate it!

David

 

If you do not receive any other replies you might want to put the truck year in the post title. Some individuals scan posts for specific years. Another option is to search members for the year of your truck and send them a specific PM (private message). This is a very helpful site, but sometimes takes a few days for specific answers.

 

Thanks for the tips - I will see what I can learn this week-end.

David

 

David,
Welcome and I hope to be able to help with some questions.

First dual horns was a factory option. Yours are correct.

Second the turns signals were a factory installed option or a dealer installed option. Yours sounds like a factory installed using the parking lights. The dealer usually put another set of lights on the top of the fenders.

As for the heater controls they were mounted below the dash in their own bracket. They didnt use any bezels.

Three different heaters were used, a single control unit that was a dealer installed heater,

the second type is the recirculating heater and it has a blower and defrost control

And the last is the fresh air type that uses 4 controls

Also after looking at your pics, the grill guard and rear bumper were aftermarket units installed at the time of the truck being new. I believe the grill guard is from a company in WACO TX and is a very cool piece. The rear bumper though not factory correct is way cool and fits the truck nicely. These bumpers were actually better than the factory correct models.

I would guess that you GP had purchased the recirculating heater and installed it himself as he probably liked the idea of the controls in the dash better than under the dash.

 

Thanks for the greetings and the info. It is a recirculating heater, and my grandfather likely moved the controls from below the dash to their current locations in the dash and then removed the original bracket. The truck also has an indicator light in the dash that lights when the overdrive can be engaged, so perhaps my grandfather moved the heater controls when he added the light.

Thanks again for the info.
David

 

David, nice truck. I too have my grandfather's truck. Your rear bumper is dealer installed. I noticed it is also an advertisement. I think it says "Bryant Motors Mart TEX" Pretty cool!

Are you going to keep it stock?

 

Thanks, Abe, and after seeing your truck, that is nice of you to say. We will be keeping it stock. The advertisement on the rear bumper is actually the dealership - Bryant Motors, located (then) in Mart, Texas.

 

David...nice solid Texas 56....and a family heirloom.
I also have a 56 longbed,but a F250 with grille guard. Bill

 

Thanks, Bill. In case you are interested, I added a close-up picture of the top of the grill guard that shows it was made in Waco, Texas, by the Perry Company, which is still in business (according to their website) selling truck accessories and farm implements.
I love their name for the guard: "Smash Hit."
David

 

David,that guard is pretty rare. I also have a 56 f100 longbed with grillguard that is a piece of yard-art.....LOL.

 

Well, technically, this one has been yard art for the last 20 years, too. . .
I poked around in your pictures to see if I could spot the 56 longbed f250 you mentioned and its grill guard. I would love to see it (and the yard art, too.)

 

I have several trucks not in my gallery yet. Never learned to post pics. Just have to get some free time,and try again.