Hi Guys, I been told by a few old guys.. That Ford did make both long and short box 1948 F1 trucks... But if there is such a thing how would I go about making sure I get the rite box for my frame ?...
wanted to ask to make sure this was true......
Cody

 

No long box F1's - the F2 and F3 filled that slot with the 8' box.

You'll only find 6.5' boxes on half ton trucks.

It's pretty easy to sort out. The F1's have a 114" wb, F2/3 use a 122" wb.

The extra 8" is added to the front of the box with the remaining 10" out the back.

No 8' box will fit on your frame as is without moving the cab forward 8" - which would be a total waste of energy.

 

Thanks for the help my friend......

Cody

 

I edited that post Cody to expand the explanation.

 

I'll concur that all the above matches my research - and in the stakebed (flatbed) version they too were 6 1/2', though the F2 got a 7 1/2' and you can put a 7 1/2' on a F1 with only like 6" overhang (which is exactly what mine is courtesy of my PO).

Mine supposedly was a 6 1/2' flatbed from the factory, bed was wrecked, a 7 1/2' Ford (with the script rear member) put on, bed wrecked again and only the rear member was replaced (with a non script aftermarket). PO gave me a manged piece of metal with a Ford script in it so I have no argue against this story... I had to lengthen the frame by 5" so the bumper would get bumped first instead of the bed.

 

Hi Cody,
I'm not sure where you are at with this but I have an F2 on which a one of the POs installed a short box on an already shortened frame. The box is in pretty good condition with a some work truck-type dents but solid. The tailgate needs a bit more work but given what I have seen some of the guys do on this forum I think that it is restorable. As you can see from the first picture the frame was shortened to 112" which makes the rear wheels sit too far forward. I was already planning to lengthen the frame 2" so that the wheels fit better but if the condition and price was right on the normal F2 long box I could be convinced to make a swap. If you are interested let me know.

It looks like you live in Lansing which is only about 45 min away from Northville.

This way we would both get the right length box. My truck is a 1950 but I have no idea where one of the POs got this box.

 

Box is a late 50-52. You also have F1 front fenders on your truck.

 

Thanks 51PanelMan . . . I missed the front fenders. I had to look up the difference. Someday when I pull the body off the frame I guess I will have to find the correct ones.

Thanks again for the education. I need all that I can get.

 

51panelman, Help me out on Petes truck. The cab according to his gallery has a 50 dash and he has a late 1950-52 bed. The lug nuts/axles are from a bigger truck. The front fenders are F-1, but from a 1951-52. Hood is not a 1950. I am no expert just looking at what I see. Running boards are from a bigger truck. Pete, you may want to inventory to see what you have, what is easy to find or replace, to end up with what you want. It could be as simple as moving the rear fenders to center on the wheels Find a set of F-3 running boards and cut to fit and leave it as is. Looks to be in good condition. chuck

 

Here's my guess on pete's truck: somebody had an 52 F2 flatbed or cab/chassis, then they shortened the frame to 112" and added a 52 F1 box and front end.

They also welded a 48-50 instrument cluster into the 52 dash (the ash tray still has the 52 trim attached and note the primer on the left half of the dash).

The serial number on the frame x-member near the water pump will tell you what it was originally. I'm betting on 52 F1.

 

OK Here is what I know:

• Cab and frame, engine, transmission and rear axle are from a 1950 (see small rear window) and it had an express box on it (see running boards below).
• Front fenders and hood are new 1951-52 F1
• Pickup box is 1950-51 F1
• The dash looks original along with some of the wiring. mtflat sorry for the poor picture but the truck was originally seamist(?) green and it just looks like primer. Body seams are factory.
• The running boards are to a cab/chassis probably done when the frame was shortened as they just hacked off the rear running board support flush with the rear box.

mtflat is right - someone shortened the frame to 112" I suspect to add a utility box of some sort as the vestiges are still left welded to the frame. I'm not sure if the hood and fenders are 1951 or 52 but I don't think that there is any difference particularly since the look like new replacement parts.

I looked for the serial number on top of the frame near the left water pump. I had that pump off to overhaul it. I couldn't see any serial number or grind marks. I think that there are more hidden serial numbers under the cab but that will have to wait.

The '52 ashtray trim is a new one on me.

My original intention was to just leave things as they are but the rear axle position looks weird. Chuck, I thought about moving the fenders and a local spring shop suggested just moving the axle to the rear by 2" and re-drilling the locating pin holes on the springs. He says that he does it all the time but I'm concerned about creating more handling problems that way. I still think that the right way is to lengthen the frame. The only question is whether to make it 114" or 122". It all depends upon the availability of a long box.

If anyone has any other observations I would like to hear them. I keep learning little things. The pictures are on my gallery.

 

Hi .
I'm surprised that they didn't use the longer boxes on the F-1's in 48. What year did they start using long boxes on the F-1 and F-100's?
I had [have] a 56 F-100 with a long box so I know they used them in 56.

 

In all my years I've never heard of anyone redrilling the center hole in the spring leaves to move the locating pin. Not saying it wouldn't work, but I wouldn't do it on my own rig. That doesn't sound right at all, to me.

And I don't know if I'd try to lengthen an already shortened frame. There are so many of these old F2's and F3's that are practically given away do to their lack of popularity compared with the F1, finding a replacement frame would be way easier than modifying a modified frame.

It looked to me as the box was still sitting back too far, and could be moved forward a smidge. Combine that with moving the fender forward an inch or so and you'll have everything looking pretty close to normal. It all depends on what you're looking for in the end. If you really want a long bed truck, I think you'd be time and money ahead with starting with a different unit.

You also said your front end has 'new replacement parts'. Are they steel or fiberglass. There is no new steel front end sheetmetal available for these trucks. But new fiberglass replica parts can be purchased.

 

Hey Pete,
I thought it might be helpful for you to look at another 1950 F1 - see our's below.

o The bed looks pretty close but the bed panels look a bit different inside - mine have half circles your's show the bolts.

o I think my bed & rear wheel placement looks about the same as your's - I don't see any appreciable difference.

Personally I'd just get some replacement running boards mounted in there & just move to the next rock - Your truck looks just fine as it is.

Ben in Austin

 

Here's the breakdown:

-Front is from a 52 F1. In 1952, FORD letters were added to the hood latch panel (similar to the 48-50 model years), while it was absent in 1951. Hood is from a 1952 Deluxe trim truck. I can see the extra mounting holes above and below the air vents on the sides. 1951 hood had three "nostrils" openings in the front, including in the center, while 1952 only had two. The V8 or 6 cylinder emblems would be affixed to the front hood trim on a 52. In 1951, the V8 emblem was attached to the hood latch panel where the FORD letters are on the 52 model. If the 51 was a 6 cylinder, the hood latch panel would not have anything attached. Everything else on the front clip, grille, lower valance, fenders (upper and lowers) are same as on a 51. One more thing to note is the difference in the inner fenders between 1951 and 1952 model years. In 1951, the inner fenders attached to the frame at the bottom towards the cab (same as in 1948-50 model years). In 1952, the design was slightly changed and the bottom of the inner fenders now attached to the cab, which provided better "floatation" of the cab and eliminated the cracks to the lower mounting points on the inner fenders.

The cab is from a 48-50 truck, but the ashtray is from a 51-52. It's the same size as a 48-50. However, 51-52 has a dash trim affixed to the very top as in your case, while 48-50 ashtray doesn't have this trim and has a pull **** instead.

As for the bed, it's a late 50-52 F1 bed. The design was changed from raised bedsides and rounded stake pockets in 48-50 to flat bedsides and square stake pockets in late 50-52. The tailgate design was also changed slightly. The chain loop brackets were inside the top rail on 48-50 F1 tailgates and moved to below the top rail in late 50-52. Additionally, the bed floors were all wood with skid strips starting in late 50-52, and metal floor over wood in 48-50. The front bed panel was also different from 48-50 and 51-52.

The running boards are stock (and not cut down) 48-52 F4-F6 from trucks that were equipped with cab only or flatbed and similar trucks. Similar running boards were on Panel trucks, but the upper rear corners were notched to fit around a body mount.

The front bumper is smooth (48-50), while 51-52 bumpers were ribbed.

The front engine mounts are also different between 48-51 and 52 trucks. In 52, Ford introduced a new 215 OHV 6 cyl engine that required different mount brackets.

The only way to truly find out how much of stretch your frame will need, is to buy a set of either F1 running boards (if you want to keep it F1), or F2-F3 running boards, and mount them on your truck. No one reproduces F2-F3 running boards, but I have a decent and solid pair available.

Your truck has been definitely pieced and shortened by the PO.