I'm doing a 49 f-4 now....great to see another one getting saved

 

Beautiful! Gives me some idea of what goes where, thanks for the pic.

 

Nice truck! I also have a 50 F4 and serial number is 97HTL 283746

1. Your differential looks like an F4. F5/6 were usually 2 spd rears.

2. What size tires/wheels do you have? F4 came with 17"s and F5/6 ran 20"s but all used the 5 on 8" bolt pattern.

3. What is the serial number on the tag on the firewall? Is it the same as your frame stamping? It's possible a factory screwup stamped for a V8 and the truck got a 6 cyl setup.

4. Last thing, do you have any stampings on the firewall or cowl area that gives the build code?

 

Ya I think the consensus is that it's a stretched F4. Pretty sure these are 20"s...since I stacked them next to my replacement 19.5"s and they were taller.


Firewall tag says same number as frame stamping.


I'm sure I do, but I do have that number off the top of my head. Forgot to grab a picture of it.

 

I'm building my F4 as a plow truck and put 20's on it when I got rid of the widow-maker 17's it came with. Doing that because the 134" wb will be easier to turn around than the 158" wb of my F6. It is a 6 cyl btw as the serial # indicates. I posted that so you know the L should be there.

 

Tim, It is my understanding that the F4s came with 18" wheels if they were sold as a dual rear wheel truck and 20" if they were sold with single rear wheels. My F4 had 20" DRW on it when I bought it. It came that way from the original owners family. I don't know if 20" were available as an option or if he changed them later. Oddly enough my serial number doesn't have the "L" in it, so I guess by the serial number it would technically be an F5. But, it is titled as a 10,000 gvw F4 and the F4 emblems are original to the truck.
Mark

 

Need a V8? I have 1951 F6 that will be serving as yard art/latte deck and the engine may rather be in a truck than a hotrod... I am up in Santa Rosa.

 

Thanks for the heads up Mark, my mistake! I took a look tonight and the old wheels were 7.00-18's. The shop manual clearly lists both 18's and 20's for the F4

I wouldn't worry about the lack of an L in your serial #. Ford assembly plants had more than a few blunders when it came to stamping serial numbers.

 

Had the head hot tanked, surfaced, and painted. Off topic but also bought this '43 G8T with flathead 8 for $400.

 

Updates!

Drove up to Boise this weekend and dragged my F4 out of storage. 17 hours up, 1 hour to load, 17 hours back. Luckily my girlfriend came along or I would've died! Now the F4 is all safe and sound in my garage, from Boise to Belmont Shore.

 

Great roadside picture.

Looks like you'll have a couple of items on the 'to do' list. Enjoy the journey.

 

Slowly tearing the body off. Fenders and liners off now, just working on the front grill.

 

Alex, The body looks pretty straight, does it have much rust? Are you going to shorten it back to 134" wheel base? Bet you are glad to have it home where you can work on it!
Mark

 

Very little rust, maybe 2 small patches <4 in^2.

I chopped off the last 10" of frame because it looked like someone had been practicing welding and plasma cutting on it, plus I needed to lose that 10" to fit it in the garage. So now it's a 9' bed. I'm going to finish it off first and then decide if I want to shorten the wheelbase. I'm worried it'll look goofy with a 9' bed but a 158" wheelbase.

Very very happy to not have to drive 1900 miles to work on it..15' to the garage is way better.

Alex

 

This is my 9' bed on my F4. The 158" WB would put the wheels pretty far back under the bed. A 158" WB would need a 12' bed to look right. The 134" WB also makes for a lot handier truck. My frame was bobbed at the back for the hoist.
Mark