I just bought a 47 Ford pickup. I am going to try and rebuild it. However, this will be my first attempt at a project like this. Does anybody have any ideas on reading material to buy? I have already ordered both 1942-1948 Ford Shop Manual from Gregs Automotive. I have seen on the web a book 'How to Restore Your Ford Pickup' by Tom Brownell but it was expensive. Also, there was 'Ford Pickups 1932-1948' by Mack Hils. Any suggestions?

 

Reddog7, welcome to FTE, quite a few owners of '42-'47 pickups here, so you will have plenty of help here. I have all the reading material you mention in your post, so I will offer my opinion. The shop manual is an invaluable tool to have if the truck is going to be mostly stock, or if major components (ie drivetrain, brakes, etc) are going to be left stock or close to it. The Tom Brownell book is a good book, however, it is more of a general how-to resto book. He shows you steps he took on restoring a truck, like rust removal, disassembly, painting, upholstery, etc. It's a good book, but honestly, a lot of that info can be found in various places online. But for somebody new to the resto field, it's a good read, and will offer some helpful bits. The Mack Hils book is a great book showing plenty of factory photos, but offers no technical help, other than what you can see from the factory pictures. But as a book to spend some time with looking at photos of our trucks new, it's a good one. The best one if you want to see these trucks as they were originally used is Ford Trucks Since 1905 by James K Wagner. It's not exactly the easiest to find, and sometimes the cost of it can be a bit high, but it's an amazing collection of photos.
Good luck with your truck, stop by often, ask questions, you'll get lots of help here.

 

Thanks, I will look try and find the book online. Thanks. I have already been browsing through some of the post and find them helpful already.

 

Welcome to FTE and good luck with your truck!

 

Yeah ! Welcome. We all try to help each other here! And we love pictures!!! Good luck with your truck!

 

Welcome Reddog. I'm like you in that I like reference material I can lay my hands on and thumb thru. Seems to be a great way to learn and increase your knowledge base. But I am amazed at what I can learn by reading thru the old posts on FTE. It's been said that there is nothing new under the sun. I think that applies to this site because these guys have seen and done it all. The expertise is here and sometimes you don't even need to ask but can find an old thread that has the info you need. I encourage you to scroll thru those old posts as well as checking out the reference books. One of the great things about the info in the posts is that it is free for the taking. Good luck with your build.

 

Thanks for the information guys. I ordered a couple of reference materials to help me get started. I have already browsed through the forum a couple of times now and got a lot of really good ideas. I am really looking forward to getting this project started and sharing it with my kids.