I have had my eye out for a decent 52 Ford to restore. I ran across a 1952 that was purchased in Nebraska 10 yrs ago and driven home to Florida. The body looks good, nice sparkly blue paint job, new running boards , new bed, new gas tank. Original motor and transmission. Interior seat has been recovered , but the rest of the interior remains original meadow green. I'm not sure if the electrical system has been modified to a 12 volt or not. The owner has "thought about selling it", says he probably paid too much when he bought it for $10K. I would like to make him an offer, but I don't want to insult him, I want it to be a fair and reasonable offer. Any suggestions? My husband has the mechanical ability, I have the dream and my husband's blessings. My Dad had a 1952 truck as a daily driver until 1986 and sold it and 6 more he was using to restore one from frame up. I've searched for my Dads old truck without success for the past year and have come to terms with buying one and restring it. I've got one pic, but I don't know how to upload it.

 

52, welcome to the forum! You found the right place. I'm sure some of the guys that drive the same dinosaurs you're looking to buy will be along soon.
Sounds like a nice truck already!
Rule #1 when buying one of these trucks: Buy the best/most complete truck you can afford. It WILL save you money in the long run.

Have you asked the owner what kind of $$ he wants for it? Is he being difficult about giving you a buy price?

In the meantime, here's the basic "How to" thread, with alot of good info. There's instructions on how to post pictures.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...s-how-tos.html

 

Daddy's girl, I have to agree that the '52 is the best year of Ford trucks! Good luck with it, and Bozworth has given you excellent advice - find one with the most work already done that you can afford because it will save you money in the long run. Unless you just love doing the work yourselves. I have enjoyed doing the work on mine, but it has been fairly expensive and I still have a ways to go. And your question is what is a reasonable offer - I would say to offer what you wish to spend remembering that everything that has already been done (assuming it has been done correctly) will be something that you won't have to spend money on. There are not really any set prices on these trucks, just whatever the market will bear. Watch ebay and see what similar trucks are actually going for, if you can find one similar. There are usually several F1's on ebay, with a wide range of upgrades or restorations already done.

 

Could we see some pictures? Here is how.

Quote:
Originally Posted by 76f350spercamprspeal

Welcome to FTE, Best Damn Forum EVER!
------------------------
Here's How to Post Pictures:
1. Login to FTE.
2.Click User CP (In the Top Left Hand Corner)
3.(On the Left, There will be a list, The 5th Option Down, will say "Pictures & Albums) Click That.
4.Then, Click Add Album, Enter a title, and description, if ya want to.
5. Click Upload Pictures, Then click Browse, Locate the Files of your truck. (You can add 3 files at a time)
5. Click Upload.
6. Add a description to the individual pictures, then click save.
7. Add more files if ya want.
8. Click The Picture you want to post, it will give you two codes at the bottom, Right Click The Second one (It say's BB Code, Then Say's [IMG]http:blahblahblah...[/IMG])
Then, Once that is highlighted, Right Click, Then Copy, Then Paste it into your post.
You can add up to 30 Images in one FTE Post.
If, Ya need any help, Don't hesitate to ask.


Quote:
Originally Posted by old_dan

You can also go to the "Garage" tab and start an album right here on FTE. After you post pictures to an album, we can look in your album, but you'll also be able to "insert a picture" by pasting in a link to the picture in your album.

It seems awkward, but whenever you "insert a picture" to one of these threads, the forum is looking for the picture somewhere on the web (which is always available) rather than from somewhere on your hard drive (which isn't always available).

Quote:
Originally Posted By Jolly Roger Joe

Welcome to FTE!

Go to Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket and sign up for a free account. Then create an album for your truck. Upload any pics you want to post on FTE to that album. Have this album open on your computer when you want to post pics on FTE.

While you're making a post on FTE, select the pic you want to post from your Photobucket album. When the large version of the pic is open, right mouse click on it and select "View Image Info". The image info will be highlighted and will look something like this:
The best photos and videos | Photobucket

Copy that highlighted info (right click / copy).

When you have the spot in your post where you want the pic to be placed, select the "Insert Image" icon at the top of the post (looks like a mountain) and paste (right click / paste) the image info you copied in the highlighted box (just shows "http://" when it opens).

Your pic will be placed in the post.

Hope that helps.

Here's a tutorial Bob put together: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/67...-pictures.html

 

Hello, and welcome to the forum!

I can attest to the fact that it is easy to pour $10k into a really rough truck, and that wouldn't include anything for labor. You should take a hard look for rust in the cab before you come up with an offer.

Look hard at the cab corners (front and back). Behind the seat next to the gas tank there are deep pockets that have drain holes, but they get plugged up with dirt....poke around there as rust in this area isn't easy to fix. Also look at the deep pockets in the front corners....this is behind the kick panels, so usually not as packed with dirt and grime. The floor boards are another rust prone area.

If all is well in these areas, find out about the engine/trans and electrical system.

Depending on where you are in Florida, you should send try to get in touch with a user on this forum...Arrowheadfred (aka Dale). He lives in the panhandle and probably knows where most of the 52's in Florida are & what they're worth.

Just reading back on the thread, you never mentioned what model 52 this is (I'm guessing it's an F1, but it could also be an F2 or F3).

Dan

 

Welcome to the forum. Good advice you've received. Buy the best you can afford. If by chance that truck is for sale, investigate it. Strange how sometimes someone gets an idea they may want to sell something and suddenly it is gone. Take lots of pictures, post them here or better yet, ask a local knowledgeable member to evaluate it. I recently bought a truck unseen by me, relying on the eyes of a trusted forum member.
JMHO, $10K ten years ago was a lot of money for a '52.

 

Hey guys! Thanks for the replies. I apologize for not responding sooner. I had problems resetting my password and getting back in, then I got sidetracked. I did find one. It was a different one than I originally posted about. But all of your suggestions helped and I appreciate it. The most important thing to me was finding something with a descent body. My husband or I neither one, have auto body experience.

I found a 1952 F-1 215 ci OHV 6 cylinder all original. It had a body only restoration done in 1987 and has been well kept since then. However, it was in severe need of a mechanical restoration though.

I have redone the whole brake system, fuel system, and a few repairs/replacements on motor components(rebuilt carb, new fuel pump, cleaned and pressure tested the radiator, rebuilt water pump, etc. etc.). I am waiting for a radiator fan (i couldn't find an original- so I ordered an electric) and the water pump to come back and then I can get the motor running. The motor did run before I took those components off - but I had to feed gas thru the carb because the fuel system was corroded.

Anyway, my next big thing is electrical. This system looks like a nightmare. It appears someone already tried to covert from 6v to 12v, but it doesn't work. There is a 12v GM generator, but the original 7 volt regulator is still wired up??. There is a reducer in place before the coil. None of the lights or gauges work. I'm going to review this forum's threads on conversions to learn a little more, but if any of you have any suggestions, I'll gladly listen.

So far I've done most of the work. My husband has pointed me in the right direction, but he has been out of town working a lot and I am inpatient. I was very intimidated at first ( and still am at times ), but it is good therapy to "tinker" and I appreciate the sense of self accomplishment too. I am scared to death to tackle this electrical issue, but I'm gonna do it. Im determined.

Thanks guys for all the suggestions...I'm sure I'll have many more questions in the future. I'll try to post a pic. Im very proud of it. Long centimental story behind my love for the 52....I'll save it for another time. All I can say is that I'm very thankful to have a husband that supported me in my dream of having one, and very thankful my 82 yr old Dad is still around to enjoy it with me.

 

Thanks artic y block for the steps to post a pic!

Here it is!!

 

looks like a very solid truck!

 

Yes nice looking Rig. Don't let the electrical intimidate ya hun. it is very simple on these old trucks. Keep that in mind and don't over complicate it and you will be fine. Lots of us here to help all we can.

 

Good looking truck! Best advice I can give you on the electrical is to rip it all out and start over if it's messed up. It can be a nightmare to to try to trace down what has/hasn't been done and what was screwed up in the past 60 years. Worse than trying to untangle a bowl of spaghetti! Get a modern universal wiring harness and fuse block like is made by a good company like EZwiring, Its a Snap, or Speedway Motors, avoid the couple real big name companies that think they make their wire out of gold rather than copper. Don't be intimidated it's not really that difficult to do. Ford didn't use fuse panels back then, all the electrical was run thru 2 or 3 breakers. There is no good place to wire in any modern accessories you might like to add. If you plan on staying strictly stock, you can get stock exact replacement harnesses from places like Classic Haulers Classic Haulers F-1 Parts - Home but be forewarned they are expensive (the harnesses, not CH!) since there is a much more limited market for exact replacement than universals and then after wiring it all back to 6V positive ground you may still want/need to convert it to 12V negative ground.

 

Hello....glad you're back. That looks like a very nice truck to start with.

I have seen some hack jobs done on 12 volt conversions where they used that original voltage regulator as a connection point....it's not regulating any more, but it is a place to tie in the charging line. I guess it's OK if you know about it, but to everybody else it is a mess.

Speedway Motors sells a book on 12 volt conversions that probably will answer most of your questions. You need to address how far you want to take it. I did what Ax recommends...a new harness, and 12 volt gauges, lights, and accessories. Another way is to set up a 12 volt charging system, and use voltage reducers for your stock gauges. 12 volts would be used for starting and for lights. It's not as clean, but it can work.

One big plus to a fresh 12 volt conversion is that you'll have better lighting and turn signals. The brake lights will be more visible and overall, I think it is safer to drive.

Any of the original wiring is old cloth covered rubber jacketed wire....the insulation is just about non-existent, so give that some thought when you formulate a plan!

Keep us posted on your progress!

Dan

 

Thanks guys!

AX and Old Dan, thanks for the 12 volt advice. I think that's what I'm going to do. Take it all out and start with all new. Being a true rookie I don't know what parts need to be replaced to work on a straight 12 volt system..do ya'll have a good reference for that? Does the Speedway book cover all that?

 

Also, someone recommended Painless wiring harnesses. They were described to me as "wiring harnesses for Dummies". LOL... any reports? good , bad, indifferent?

 

Your smile says it all! Congrats and good luck!