I decided to start a build thread because I really love this site and I'd like to contribute as best I can, even if it's just posting some pictures. My goal is to do a tutorial style write up on many of the projects (some of which are already complete thanks to some of you) and take lots of pictures. I'm calling this a (mini) thread because I'm not starting from scratch at this point, but there is plenty to do still so I feel there's enough material to keep you entertained for a while.

The Story:
I bought Old George from an elderly lady in Palmer Alaska this spring. He's a 49 F1 with original 226 and 4 speed, and was named by her (hence the male name, but it stuck). In the late 90s her husband was stricken with cancer and they had to go to New Mexico (I believe) for treatment. They had to spend over a year there and in the meantime she fell in love with this truck in Arizona. He of course bought her the truck, however he ended up passing away. She then towed it up to Palmer (with a tow bar mind you) to her homestead and it sat for about 15 years being started occasional until it finally would not start anymore. It was still 6v positive ground when I purchased it for a price that will remain secret since it was too much for a non running 49. She was raising funds to move to the lower 48 to be with family.

My Goals:
This is a father/sons project,and so I want a safe reliable driver with modifications that do not detract from the original design (much). My end state is what I picture as a farm truck that was passed onto the teenage boy in the 60s and it was turned into a 60s "hot" rod (NO Rat Rod here). This one was too original to chop up, and it would have been a crime to do so.

What has been done so far:
Cleaned/treated tank and replaced lines and fuel filter. Did all other necessary things to get a truck running after sitting so long.




Shorty after I converted to 12v neg ground with electronic ignition.




Next I wanted all the brake lines replaced and a proportioning valve along with more modern stopping power, so I went with a disc brake kit from CPP up front.




My dad was even there for that so it was a 3 generation project!


Did the king pins while we were in there as well. All the lines were replaced and it stops great!


My boy painted the wheels, so it went from this


To this


After I picked up some beauty rings


Gotta run and get some groceries, drop off/pick up kids, and cook super, but there's plenty more to the story, stay tuned.........

 

Glad to see you started a build thread!

 

Thanks for sharing. Looks like the truck had some mods to the radiator and thermostat housing as well from the pics. Hope you can get on the road in the Spring.

 

Thanks for taking the time to document your progress and do the write-ups. I know it can be time consuming, and its very easy to get caught up in the work at hand and forget to take pics along the way.
It will beneficial to lots of people.


Bobby

 

Thank you for starting a build thread. I always enjoy seeing what others are doing.

 

Thanks for sharing. Looks like you are making some good progress. I always learn something when watching what others are doing on their truck builds.
Mark

 

Thanks fellas! I've learned so much from this site,and I'm the kinda guy that can learn a ton from books; picture books! So I have plenty of them and will take plenty more. And yes, I do believe the radiator was replaced at some point,and I don't think the water pump is original. Now where was I?

So sometime along the way I picked up a nice F2 parts truck (well it was a nice truck, but I only needed some parts). I would have loved to keep it, but now's not the time.....














I swapped the doors and hood, and swiped the Flathead 8, 4 speed, freshly re-cored radiator, heater, freshly reupholstered seat, battery tray, linkage for the 8, hub caps, starter/gen (both work well), and who knows what else. All that and I only lost $50 after I sold it to a guy who wants to Rat Rod it and drop a 429 in it.

Time to eat. My amazing wife is out of town and I'm pulling double duty.....

 

The F2 we named "Big George" and even my wife said we should just keep both. They were both the same color green and had been sprayed with grey primer at some point in their lives.
So, work took me away and a little vacation time with the family and next thing you know it was Nov by the time I got back. I had been wondering what was under that grey primer because I could see lots of spots where it had worn off and the original paint, primer, and even a little patina was showing through. So I investigated:


I started checking various spots to see what was hiding












About 80 hours of hand wet sanding later,and he looked like this:








Metal body filler on the front (love it!)




The PO had rattle canned the inside.......
doors are off Big George






Well we loved the way it looked, but not with spots of primer showing, so I took it in and had a few small spots of rust fixed, primer sanded/painted POR 15 on the floor,and sealed it all in with a flat clearcoat.

I wanted to keep every inch of original paint/primer showing, so he had his work cut out for him blending what needed covered up. I love the way it turned out though.












Sanded off the rattle can and tried to make it match the rest of the truck. I'm not a huge fan of faux patina (nothing against them), but it's still 80-90% original, so I can't complain.




I wanted it to maintain an original look and didn't want it to look soaking wet and shiny, so he had to find the right clear and avoid the temptation to wet sand it..........


That's pretty much what he looks like right now. We've started putting things back together, and me and the youngest got the 12v wipers in last night and the cowl vent in the night before that (stay tuned for tutorials). Next up I'll post links to previous threads/tutorials of the projects we've completed so far.

 

Hey "Sere",
I love that look!!!! Wow - Nice job.
Is it back running again?


Ben in Austin
1950 F1

 

Are you going to use the V8? And are you sending
pic's and info to the Woman you got it from? Sounds
like she may be interested in what is happening with
Old George.

 

Thanks Ben! That means a lot coming from a guy with a truck as nice as yours.
Just got him back a couple days ago from the paint shop, so not running yet. It'll be a few weeks, but I'll keep you posted.

 

Arctic Y: Yeah I plan on using the v8, but it'll be a while until I can afford to build it. And I had planned onkeeping her up to date on progress. She wanted me to give her our email so she could contact us instead of the other way around I guess, but she never did. Now she's in the states.....

 

Like I said, we've done a bunch to OG already and have done up a few threads, so I thought I'd just post the links in case you want to get up to speed.

12v conversion with electronic ignition (226):
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...onversion.html

Electronic Ignition Install Info (226):
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...th-photos.html

CPP Front Disc Brake Conversion:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...need-help.html

This is all I have documented so far, but I plan on doing a few more write ups to get caught up to the present.
Enjoy!

 

Something I did a while back was install a Lokar rear cable kit to attach my 9" rear to my stock front. As was mentioned in the thread it turns out that the stock cables will fit the 9". Either way, if you are interested in my debauchery, here is the link and a few pictures.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-tutorial.html

 

Man, that is nice! I am trying to keep improvements on my truck directed mainly at mechanical stuff, but your approach to body work and paint just might change my direction. Awesome job.