I would like to take a moment and introduce myself and my truck. I am from southwest Nebraska and work for a local coop. My truck is a 1950 F5 with 44,000 miles. My brother and I purchased this about two weeks ago from a gentleman in northwest KS. It was originally used on his fathers farm and they kept it around to haul fire wood and stuff to the dump. My brother and I will use it for the same purposes. We wont be doing a full restoration as of yet but we will be sprucing it up a bit and making it a reliable work truck. As of yesterday I have got all but the bed lights working including turn signals. But the next project is the tires and wheels. I don't have to explain the hardships of that to you guys, but wish us luck please. There is a shortage of Dodge Class A's in Nebraska. As for the condition of the truck it is in good shape. It runs and drives and even stops. I can only use these things when I can get it to start though. I need to spend some time and set the timing and adjust the carb. It almost acts like it floods before it has had a chance to fire. I'm not sold on the 6 volts either but it may grow on me if I can get this thing to start easier. I know that everyone likes pics so here you go.

 

Welcome, it sure is in good shape. Sorting out reliability issues should come quickly with the help you'll find here. It also is clear you've come to grips with your wheels. Let us know if we can help there too. Stu

 

Wow, that old truck is in really nice shape! Welcome to FTE.

 

Thanks guys, I have been lurking around here since I got the truck and became a member last night. I have spent some time looking for places to source parts and the only radiator I can find is from LMC. Do you know of any other places to get one?

 

Welcome! You have a sturdy beast there. As you were tending to your electrical tasks, I trust you shined up the grounds and starter/battery connections. We know that the 6Vs want the clean ends.

 

Luckily I didn't have to. The battery is fairly new and the posts are clean. I didn't dive into the pos ground yet but I will as soon as it worms up. the starter solenoid looks newer and has clean connections.

 

Welcome to the board. Nice truck and thanks for the pictures. I really like this shot of the truck:

 

That one is also my favorite. I'm sure there will be more in the future.

 

Clint, welcome to FTE, nice to see another F-5 being saved and kept running.

 

Welcome to the forum. That is a very nice looking F5.
Always nice to see another larger truck being saved and used as a truck. Although 12V has advantages, these old trucks do just fine with 6V. But, they must be right. Right means good compression, good electrical connections, a good strong charging system to include battery, and a good clean fuel delivery system. BTW, that battery cable to the start relay appears to be undersize for 6V use. That could very well contribute to your starting problems. And you do know these trucks were positive ground.
That truck appears nice enough that it does not need a restoration, probably just an over all fine tuning of many systems.
Stick around and enjoy the madness.

 

Thanks for the info Ray, I never even thought about the cable size. Ill look into it.

 

Add to the Old Timey Feel of things.

 

New radiators are quite expensive, and if you read some of the threads here about the aluminum radiators you will learn that the cheap ones are just that 'cheap'. Depending on the actual condition of the existing radiator, you may be better off pulling that one and taking it to a reputable rad shop for repair. There is nothing more true than 'they don't build them like they used to' when it comes to these.

 

Welcome from Maine.

I also like that first picture of the truck by the red barn.

I saved the image and turned it black & white. Now it looks like it could have been taken 60 years ago as there were no modern items in view.

Keeping it six volts has it's pros and cons. Yesterday I started up my 6-volt truck just to keep the fuel fresh in the carb and to charge the battery. It was only 18 degrees out. I need to use a portable 12-volt booster pack to give the battery a little help to start. No troubles in the warmer weather. But I have all new wiring and ground straps. If I ever had to use the truck more often in the cold weather I would switch to 12, and as a bonus I'd be able to have trailer lights too.

Anyway, you have a nice truck there and thanks for joining and putting pictures up!

Tom



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Hey Clint you beat me to it while I was typing!

Guess we saw things the same way.

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