finally starting to put parts together so maybe i can drive it by spring. its a 49 f3. its getting a 302 with c4 want to get the motor and trans in for mock up. would it be easier to remove the hole front end or slid the motor/trans in. if i pull the front end id like to remove it as one piece minus the hood. wanting the location on the bolts that need to be removed.

 

It is easier to remove the front end as a unit. I am sure the more knowledgeble will chime in, but I believe you need to remove:

Bolts holding the front fender to the running boards
Inner fender bolts - one at the top at the firewall, and one on the frame near the firewall
Radiator support bolts to front crossmember

 

dmack nailed it. The front clips come off pretty easy. The hardest part is the wiring.
As he mentioned there are two main bolts directly under the radiator.
Running board to fender bolts (maybe 3 per side?)
The inner fender bolts to the frame (if they havent already been torn loose)
Inner fender to cab.
Radiator hoses.

Bobby

 

Take the radiator out first, that lightens it considerably and it's more balanced. The radiator saddle is also a good place to hook a hoist (on the sides, not the cross-brace).

 

Yes, you guys are right. Everything comes off easy . . . . . except the hinge pins and the the spring shackle pivots. I keep listening to you guys and this is all I have left -

I really need a bigger garage.

 

lovin' the Christmas lights.

 

Ross did you find out about the cross brace the hard way ?

 

Hey Pete,

someone blew your doors off! I finally got around to replacing my hinge pins. I've been putting it off because I had read a lot on hear about how much of a pain it was. It turned out to be fairly easy. I drilled down through the top of the pins (the knurled section) slowly going larger until I could until I was close to the right diameter, then a couple small taps and the pins fell right out. I had both done within a half hour. Since I had planned all afternoon to mess with them that left me tons of time to sit in garage having a frosty beverage and "planning" what to do next....lol

Bobby

 

Yeah, I should have put zippers on the doors. After I got 'em off once I found it a lot of fun taking them off and putting them back on. This time it was to install new lower cowl panels. I discovered more rust than I thought when I removed the fenders after "somebody" on here said how easy they were to remove. That has been the story with this truck all along, it is what you find AFTER you "easily" remove something. It has been most educational.

That sounds like a great solution to the hinge pins. Did you have a drill with a smaller chuck for the lowers?

 

LOL.....everytime I start to do something I see tons of other things that need to be done "while I'm in there".....

I think I used my old Dewalt cordless. I do remember that on one of them I didn't get my initial hole directly in the center of the pin. On that one I just drilled a large as I could without drilling into the hinge itself. Then I used a chisel and punch to fold the edges inward and was able to get it out without too many hassles

Bobby

 

Well I got the heads of the pins off but the shafts would not drive out either way and my drill chuck was too large to allow a straight shot down through the hinges without damaging them. Even after I got them off it took lots of "snake oil" and a BFH to get them out while braced on my anvil.

Actually I'm glad that I took the hinges off because things were pretty rusty behind them. When I got the cowl panels cut out it was a lot easier to clean up, reinforce, re-weld and paint. The right side was particularly bad. I didn't quite get finished before winter seriously set in as you can see. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1213548-removing-front-end.html#post12685651

 

Wow, thats a lot of work

You're doing great work, keep at it

 

Did you take pictures of your front end disassembly process? My F2 truck was missing the radiator support and I would like to have a record of how it was connected to the engine walls, etc

 

If you look at the crossmember below the radiator, you'll see two sets of mounting holes for the bolts on the bottom of the radiator support that go through those springs. The trucks with the flathead 8's used the holes closer to the engine. The trucks with the flathead 6's used the holes closer to the front bumper. As I recall, there are three long bolts that hold the inner fender to the radiator support on each side. You'll see two different sets of bolt holes in the inner fenders as well for attachment to the radiator support (again, the rear ones are for the flathead 8, the forward ones are for the flat 6 configuration).

 

I didn't take any pictures of that as things are pretty well laid out in the attached diagram. I still have the fenders off so I can take some more pictures if you need them. Just let me know.