farrellvdr - That is awesome you have the same truck. That is the first '53 F250 we've heard about other than ours. The emergency brake is disconnected for the time being, and we have not done anything to the rear brakes. Sorry!

 

What engine does your truck have? Mine has the 215 ci I6 which I just recently got running. I am thinking of finding a more modern rear axle so that I can upgrade the rear drum brakes as well as get the rear drum operated emergency brake system. I will post some pictures of the truck this weekend as I have started re-assembling the front end.

 

We actually replaced the original engine with a 302 V8 from a '79 Ford truck along with the transmission. I'm not exactly sure what the original engine was but the 215 sounds familiar. I'll check on it - we still have the engine and the transmission. We had it bored and replaced the piston heads before giving up and replacing it.

 

Here's a couple temporary fixes you might consider:
1. Silver leaf the current emblems. Silver leaf is similar to gold leaf (both are usually done with inexpensive artificial silver or gold leaf rather than actual precious metal), it's actually not difficult to DIY. You can get the supplies, instructions at a good crafts or art supply store, or a sign supply online.
2. cover with chrome finish vinyl from a sign shop. They have wrapped entire vehicles with it. It stretches and conforms quite a lot with the careful use of a heat gun while applying light tension, is inexpensive, and stands up to weather for a year or more. The F250 would be best done by sticking a sheet to the face of the letters, and trimmed around the edges with a sharp hobby knife or scalpel, and then burnishing down the cut edges with an "orange stick" (if you don't know what this is ask any woman who manicures her nails). Give the boomerangs a sanding with a green nylon scrubbing pad from the grocery store to smooth it off so the pimples don't transfer thru as bad. To smooth it completely, fill the pits with a very thin coat of body putty, sanding off all on the surface before wrapping.Y ou can also get the vinyl in 6x24" strips at a hobby shop that caters to radio control airplane enthusiasts, where the peel and stick material is sold as "Monocoat" trim sheets. (you don't want the wider Monocoat covering film with the heat activated adhesive that comes on a roll.)

 

Pm me or email me at svassh@msn.com I have a pretty nice pair of boomerangs I will sell you if interested. Send me your email address and I will send photos.

I decided to go sans hood emblems except for the front on my 53 so these are just hanging in the garage. Would rather see them on somebody's truck than garage art.

Scott

 

farrellvdr have you looked at the earl's world thread? He has details on how you can do the parking brake linings yourself.

http://earl.clubfte.com/

 

Thanks for showing me this link Rocketman55- it is fantastic information! I will give it a try and re-line the emergency brake drum. Very impressive work and documentation.

 

To add onto AX's post, look into using Bare Metal Foil to cover the boomerangs until you find a better set. BMF is used in model car applications to simulate chrome and is a very good and almost realistic product. You can find it in any well stocked hobby store. It's very thin and pliable. Use a q-tip to rub out any edges or folds.

Bare-Metal® is Used for Detailing Model Cars, and Aircraft - Bare-Metal Foil Co.

 

These are great suggestions on the boomerangs..I am following up on a lead, but definitely feel like we can make some of these ideas work. Thanks everybody.

Update: We are finishing up the bed design. We have decided to go with white oak and I had a question for the wood runners that will sit on the frame: Does there need to be anything between the two?? Some kind of gasket material? Silicone?

Thanks!

 

Do realize that oak will turn black from exposure to UV (sunlight) in a short time. No surface film finish: urethane, shellac, lacquer will last very long due to moisture penetrating the open grain and lifting the film along with expansion and contraction of the wood will craze (crack) the film. Once that starts happening the wood will look terrible, and the only solution is to remove the film by tedious sanding or scraping and starting over. Also oak contains a large quantity of tannin an organic acid that when combined with moisture will be corrosive to steel (oak bark "tea" was used for centuries to tan leather). If you are planning to leave the truck parked outside, I would suggest using a close grained wood such as clear heart pine, maple, or best choice, clear fir and leave it finish free. It will weather to an attractive light silver grey that will be much in character with the age of the truck. There are some high priced exotics like ipe and resin impregnated wood sold for high end deck building along with synthetic (plastic resin) decking materials available that weather better.

 

These are interesting points. We wanted to use a domestic wood to keep it "American", and we wanted to use a wood that holds up in the weather. I didn't know oak would corrode steel - definitely don't want that. We have some beautiful vertical grain fir left over from a job that would work if there is enough. And not finishing it would save hours of labor. Thanks for the help!

 

vertical grain fir was commonly used for bed floors and factory floors. Wore well and is stable.

 

There is a quite simple brake fix for this conversion where you no longer have the driveline brake. If interested, I can put up pictures of my conversion where I went to an auto transmission, lost the driveline brake and utilized the rear drum parking, emergency brakes.

 

Yes, please post!

 

HTH. If, by chance you have the dash mounted E brake handle, something similar could easily be rigged using a cable. If you want to go with the vertical mount handle, someone on here will be able to accommodate you. Just ask. This is a 1949 F4 but there are enough similarities, the idea can be incorporated.