That is a great find. I have been towing and building wreckers for 33 years. my first wrecker that I owned was a 400. I know a far bit about them, I don't know much about old Ford trucks but when I seen this one https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...tow-truck.html I bought it over ebay with out looking at it. it is a 400 also. you are right the 2 cables (but they are only 1 cable with 2 hooks) raise and lower the book. back in the old days 400 came with boxes, but with the price of shipping a lot of people just bought the boom and slide it into a pickup or had a box made locally. I am not sure about your trany with the 4 wheel drive, but there could be a spot to put a PTO. I have a spare from a 1953 4 speed. if I can be any help just let me know.
kevin

 

sorry I didn't see your second question
2 answers
1. you put a chain from there back to your bed so when you have your boom high, because you need the height to do the job you are doing, the winch will not pull you boom higher and bend it .
2. to put your hook into when you need to use a ****** block to reduce your line load
kevin

 

looking at you pictures again I can see where the operator did not chain the boom down and bent the angle iron on the boom... easy fix...mine is the same

 

My truck has a pto that drives the 19,000 lbs winch on the front. I think it might have an output for a second pto as well.

 

ok there a 2 kinds
1. you control the direction of the winch from inside the truck
2 you engage the pto...the out put shaft goes to a gear box. the chain from the box goes up to the winch and the level at the back goes to a rod which goes to the box and changes the direction of the winch
kevin
where is bearspaw ? I am from Burlington Ontario
did you see we have the same boom

 

That's a great find and a good buddy. That unit is in great shape. If you don't have an open PTO slot you could use an engine mounted pump. They show up on Craigslist. Looking forward to seeing it come together.

 

Bearspaw is just outside of Calgary.

Thanks for the replies!