So the quick background - My father decided I needed a project. Enter the 51 F1 or "Deathmobile" as my kids have taken to calling it. He found it, bought it and gave it to me thinking it would be a fun project for me. Well.. ok. So, as many of you know, messing with one old truck tends to open the door to more. More came in the form of a 52 F4 that initially was going to be a parts donor.






So the F4 turns out to be in much better shape than the Deathmobile in a lot of ways. The F1 was worked on by a Discovery Channel wanna-be and it's a POS in a lot of ways with a 302/auto and a bad paint job. Goes fast straight ahead but don't even entertain stopping or turning. It's all there and it runs most of the time but it's just, well, crappy. The F4 turns out to be a damn solid truck. Running flathead V8, everything there and most everything works including the dump body. But, the wild card is the fact that there was a complete set of NEW steel fenders and running boards in the back. The wheels are the only missing piece in that I haven't found a set... or should I say an economically feasible set.





I just finished some other projects and now I'm ready to start working on something new. I was going to rebuild a Dodge 3500 Cummins but the cab is worse than I expected so my attention turned to the F4 as it is just taking up space in the shop. The wheel/brake situation has me at a standstill spinning my wheels trying to decide what to do. I started out thinking I would put the truck back together as close to original as possible since it is all there. But I still don't have a wheel solution. So my thinking evolved to replacing the axles. That got out of control and turned into considering a chassis swap. And then it turned into a diesel and well, yeah. I've the Dodge in the wings tagged as a chassis for the F4 project.



But, then I got back to thinking - dangerous as ever - that maybe I have something in that I have an original complete functional F4 with an excellent cab and all new steel for the front. I'm sure that mucking about with this truck and turning into a Frankenstein's monster will bring some to the verge of tears.

Part of me started considering that someone else might do a bang up job of putting this truck back together the way Ford intended it to be. But, (always one of those) the truck has a sentimental attachment. Getting the truck and bringing it home was the last "adventure" my father and I had before his dementia took hold. So even keeping it or getting rid of it isn't a simple decision.

I am at a complete standstill with the truck bogged down with indecision and getting all the same opinions from all the same people as what to do with the project. (no, I'm not merging the two cabs and making a crew cab diesel 52 Ford) I'm not a Ford guy and this is a project that unexpectedly fell into my lap.

That's where this post comes into the picture. If I am fortunate, someone will offer up something I haven't considered, clarification, insight, opinion or just call me an idiot and it will tip this project one way or the other. I'm not a Ford guy. I've been researching the F1/F4 quite a bit here and there are a lot of people here into these trucks and hopefully that translates into some useful suggestions and opinions. At this point, I'm ready to just shove the F4 into a corner or drive it out back and park it and make the simplest decision to make no decision and pass it on to my kids to decide when I'm gone.

Thanks in advance.

 

Welcome to FTE!

I see you are in New York. Looks like you have a large shop to work on and store vehicles.

I have a 51 F4, so my opinion is biased. I would hate to see one in such good condition converted to anything other than stock. You even have an amazingly good paint job and the door lettering is great! I'd love to see more pics of that truck. How is the interior? How many miles on it?

What do you want to use the truck for? If you don't plan to drive at highway speeds, a stock F4 is still a lot of fun to drive. Yes, you need to replace the widow makers, but there are solutions available that don't cost a fortune (and some that do).

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

Add my welcome. I too am a biased stocker, and am envious of the condition of your truck. Having myself bought NOS fenders and related pieces as you've pictured, and seeing how nice your originals look, the NOS bits will finance anything you need to do to the truck. And as Joe suggested, a set of 19.5" tubeless wheels with 8R19.5" tires will solve your widow maker issues. Stu

 

Welcome to the forum. As an F4 owner, I view these trucks two ways. You have a stock truck that will run all day long at 45-50 mph. The same truck can be modified to become a workable, driveable truck and still remain stock looking. Something you can safely drive wherever and enjoy.

 

FX, what a nice F4. Clean, pretty much rust free, sides boards, dump bed and cool vintage door art. Keep it as is. Get licensed and on the road and drive it before you make any rash decision.

I say keep it stock. By all means don't park it behind the shed in the new York weather! If you decide not to use it sell of to a guy that would not chop it up.

Is it running now? If I didn't already have a 1970 F350 flatbed dump that is something I would be interested in for my small lawn mowing business. Keep us posted and show us more pics.

 

It's been a while but I've got some things going with the F4, Finally.

Ended up buying another truck - 75 International Fire Pumper. I bought it for the wheels which were 20" 5x8" lock rings. Problem is that the International is in much better shape than I expected. So now, I've got a 3 way swap with the fire wheels going to the F4, stealing the axles from my 1 ton Dodge and turning that into a 4x4.





The F4 is now on the rack. It's getting all new wheel cylinders, new master cylinder and lines/hoses as needed. Got all the drums off and everything moving as it should.

Not a great picture, but you can see the 20" fill the front wheel well. There is enough clearance that nothing rubs.




Right now, the plan is to get the F4 on the road. Just needed tires and a master cylinder but I decided to go through the brakes since I suspect rust in the brake system from sitting empty.

Then I'll see if I can get what I need out of the truck as it is. It's all there and maybe someone wants to rework it putting their way. If it doesn't go, then I'll set it to the side until I get some other stuff out of the way around here.

 

As an f-4 owner, I would hate to see you butcher that original truck, they are fun to drive in stock form, that's the appeal of the old stuff

 

Thanks for the update. Those light green firetruck rims complement the darker green body.

Keep us posted with more pics.