out of the box question. I am not looking at a truck at the moment, but is it possible that you have the left running board on the right and vice versa? that would put the curve for front fender on the opposite rear fender? Not sure if the mounting bolt holes allow swapping like that, but just a thought.

 

The RB won't go under the cab wrong

 

he fender welting in your picture looks more like silicone. The welting I have looks more like gasket material. Where did you get yours? Thanks
I got that welting from Classic Haulers now mid fifty I don't think I would paint it
I used a vinyl type from D.C. On another project and painted that used a

 

No, there is no evidence of a patch at all. Underside of fenders are clean with no cut, welds or grinding evidence. they are definitely pulled back more than yours though. Very strange. I wonder if someone changed the fenders many years ago before I bought it. Are the 51-52 fenders different from the 48-50's?

 

Yes they didn't have a raise side panel bed
Look at post 15 Ross has flat side bed

 

Hey Fiftford,
Let me start by saying I love your truck. It looks great... You've done a really nice job restoring it.
If that gap is the worst issue you have... you are doing fine.

I'm headed up to Waco tomorrow. My son has our '50 F1 up there for the moment...I'll take a look
at the gaps we've got. I can say for sure we are using a broader more puffy looking welting than Schoo
shows in his pictures. This covers up any number of gap issues that you may have.

We sourced our '50 F1 metal running boards from Midwest Early Ford.
Do you recall who your supplier was? Maybe if you measure the length of your's ..
let's see if it matches up with what we have.

Ben in Austin
1950 F1 (351W/AOD)

 

Thanks Shoo.

 

Hey Ben, the new running boards came from Sacramento Vintage Ford. The measurements are exact to what is on the truck in the pics: 61.5" on the inside by cab/bed and 70" on the outside.

 

Your running board measurements are consistent with what mine are on my '50 F1 so that part seems right. Yours must be an early '50 as your truck box has the raised bedsides and fenders must have the intended cutout on top to match the box. The box to cab spacing seems tighter than mine so that doesn't seem to be the cause of misalignment.




I built my own box so placement of the rear fenders was done with front fenders in place, running boards mounted and rear fenders fitted before I drilled the holes for mounting. I made my own fender to runningboard softner out of 1/8" rubber.





There is also some flex in the bottom rear fenders before the braces are attached. Do you have the rear braces in place and how do the fenders fit without the brace connected ? Maybe they are torqued slightly ?

 

Hmmm... my truck doesn't have braces attached for the rear fenders. It hasn't since I bought it many years ago. It has them for front but not rear.
Where do they install?

 

Ross doesn't have the brace that I can see, the hole to the rear of the tire it takes a carriage bolt


Jag fuel cap

 

I used 3/4" S/S tubing instead of the stock fender brace.



You may want to look at installing the brace as it will prevent sag and vibration wear on the fender. It may true up the front of the rear fender as well.

 

OP's fenders don't have a hole so I'd assume they were filled or patched, as it is a common rust spot. I don't see it fixing the problem at the front, tho. I don't have braces on mine, they are 'glass fenders and are actually a lot stiffer than the stockers. Been meaning to add them anyway, but hate to drill... Tip, are your fenders 'glass?

 

Ross, my fenders are steel original when I purchased the truck. I had to repair the ususal rust on the fenders where they bolted to the running boards. Other than that they were pretty good shape. I ran FG lower fronts for a couple years until I could repair and paint the front lowers. They are all steel , front and back now.

 

Just checked on mine. The hole for the rear braces are visible on the inside of the fender but covered on the outside. Looks like someone along the line removed the braces and slapped some bondo over the hole. I could drill that out easy enough.

Original fenders are otherwise all steel though. The truck spent it's first 42 years in Tucson so very little issues with rust.