Ooooh, it has the 226 inline six.
I like those engines.
If that has the three-speed floor shift you have a very nice rig indeed. The data plate on the glove box will ID which gears you have too.

Your running boards are in great shape.

When I drained the yellow stinky-skanky old fuel from my '51 I wondered what to do with it.
Took a chance and blended it with fresh gas and burned it all summer in my riding mower. The mower didn't idle very well but at full throttle it ran fine. Didn't have to deal with disposing of it. If your old gas is still liquid try that on some equipment that operates at high rpms. 20% mix old/new.

Tom

 

What should I look for on the plate?

 

Well, I just looked at the data plate for the '49 and it doesn't show the transmission or rear gear info. Sorry about that.

My '51 does, so maybe they got more detailed over time. Or maybe different assembly plants did different things.

Here's an example from a previous thread here of when an F2 data plate has the detailed info:

 

Your truck has the early style data plate that contains less info than the 51/52 plate pictured. As a practical matter you have one of two possible transmissions. Either the 3HD which is synchro on 2nd and 3rd, or more common the 4 spur gear that has no synchros. You might be able to row it through the gears to figure out which you have, but a sure way to know is to crawl under the truck with a flash light to see if there is a pto blanking plate on the right side. If yes, it's a 4 spur. If no, 3HD. Stu

 

That's great news on when it was parked it was running, possibly just the starter or something.

Great looking truck and I agree, I would have to keep the logo on the door as well. With the shape of the truck I would think keeping the patina and all would be great. Good luck and keep up the great work, loved the video loading it.

 

I'm normally not a fan of that look but in this case I think that it is most appropriate. The original paint looks to be Sea Island Green, same as my F2. You will need to protect it from deteriorating any further. I'm not an expert on that but I'm sure others on here are. I think the process involves adding clear coat. You will need to make sure that whatever you use it does not chemically degrade the great door logos.

I would make sure that you clean and re-coat the frame and underside of the cab also to stop further deterioration particularly around key areas like the cab mounts. Short term rattle can black 2X Rustoleum will work. Eastwood has some rust converters for heavily rusted but solid areas. It is nice because it is water cleanup.

It looks like you have a RR fender that you may (or may not) want to repair. And with all the lime stored in the bed I would not be surprised if you have to replace/repair a few bed parts like crossmembers.

 

Any suggestions on what to do about my gas tank?

 

Two choices. Flush and epoxy coat using one of the kits sold by Eastwoods and others, or replace with a new imported repop. There was a thread not long ago where a member bought one of the new repops and found it was already showing rust. Does your existing tank have rust holes? Stu

 

no holes, or rust on the outside.

 

Paul - I think Doug Diehl (Cougar54) has a spare one if that one looks to be too bad. Suggest you PM him if you need it.

 

Here's what I did to the tank for my 50 and the tank for my 52. I mounted the tank to my electric cement mixer and added a "small bucket" of sand stones that I got at lowes. Of course I removed the gauge/sender and fuel ****. I sealed up the holes with good ole duct tape and turned on the mixer. I let it go for 3 hours and then shook out the stones. Wow! I then used one of those kits from por-15 for gas tanks and it turned out great. I used the cement mixer for sloshing around the cleaner as well as the metal prep and final coating. It was a project but I think they are pretty darn nice inside.
I have a video of it somewhere, I was very loud!

 

I spoke to a radiator shop today that one of my best friends, aka the guy who helped me tow the truck, told me could help. They said that they would heat and chemically treat my tank. Don't know the price yet. I'm to drive it down and they will tell me how bad it is. I am going to check it out. Day 3 of power washing and vacuuming. More to go. That being said I have a red engine. It was black when I started. The down draft carb cleaned up good. At some point I think it will need to be rebuilt. I thin the radiator will come off next so I can get to the engine with a wrench. I will give the inside a bath next to see if I can get 66 years of funk and grime out. I'm taking pictures the entire way. Started to organize the photos by location. Engine, seat, gas tank, etc. Thank you to everyone for your advice. I need it.
Paul

 

On your gas tank - when fuel goes severely bad like it has in your case, it forms a varnish that looks very, very much like rust and is often mistaken for it. Pick up a gallon of lacquer thinner and swish it around in there with a handful of nuts/bolts for awhile. You may be surprised at how well it cleans up. I've had some come so clean that they looked new inside.

 

I'll give it a shot.

 

The radiator shop should be able to clean out... they will put it in their boil chemical tank overnight, back when I did it you wouldn't believe what we would clean out of tanks and radiators. We didn't seal up fuel tanks afterwards, we left that for the customer. Just cleaned the **** out... and made sure she didn't have any leaks... Radiators we would paint them black after we finished working on them.