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Hi everyone, I imported a 1952 panel truck into the UK from NC a little while ago. It had a Crown Vic motor and front suspension put into it but that had to go as it had not been engineered to my liking so in went a Jag front with a Landrover TD5 motor. I’m now sorting out the bodywork and have a few questions. Are the front fenders different between the pickup and panel trucks? Are the side steps for the panel vans different from model years? They look correct but seem a little bit long so the front fenders don’t fit too well. The truck came as an unfinished project with some parts loose in the back so I am unsure if the parts are correct.
Thanks in advance Tony
Like you, I have a 1952 panel truck. There are LOTS of pictures of my truck that can be accessed through my personal profile page. Just click on my name at the top left corner of this post, and you will find my picture files.
To answer your questions, panel truck fenders are the same as PU fenders. Running boards for 51-52 panels are slightly different from the boards on 48-50 models.
You have come to the right place for help and support for your Ford truck project. There are lots of friendly folks here willing and able to help in any way they can. Enjoy the ride.
Hi Jim, thank you for the reply. I will try and load some pictures of my Panel so you can have a chuckle! ��
I will check out your pics and hope to get to the bottom of why I can’t line the running boards up. Cheers Tony
Scott is right about running boards from big trucks working on panel trucks. I bought boards from an F6 dump truck for my panel. Bob Jones (bobj49f2), a well known FTE member, wrote a little article a few years back on cutting the notch. You can find Bob's article by doing an internet search for "Fat fender fords". Once you find Bob's web page, click on his tech link, and his article will come up.
I had a hard time getting my fenders and running boards to fit. I started a thread asking for help and Bob Jones and many others were able to guide me through my difficulties. Post some pictures--ask some questions--and you'll get plenty of advice.
Sometime in the mid 1950 model year Ford seemed to have some design changes one being running boards. The earlier boards had a flange that went under the truck cab. The newer boards only had a small lip. This seemed true for both the pickup boards and the panel and cab only boards. Also the step surface on the shorty boards is wider that the step area of the pickup boards. The short running board brackets are longer than the pickup boards and the trucks with short boards only have two brackets while the pickups had three.
Thanks for the welcome to the site and for the responses. Here are some pictures of the truck. I will update my details soon and put up all of my photos.
Cheers Tony
Tony, it looks like you have the short boards from an F5-F6 truck without the notch. Bob posted a link to his article. Check it out. I think you'll be fine. There is a rubber piece that partially fills the gaps where the back of the board meets the body of the truck. There is also a cloth type of material that goes in the seam between the fender and the front of the board. Both of these "fillers" are available. I got mine from Classic Haulers--now Mid-Fifties.
Your truck looks pretty solid--not a lot of rot and rust through like my truck. Keep the pictures and questions coming.
Hi again, I just noticed that your front fender is not mounted correctly. It needs to be moved back some to address that gap in the fender to cowl fit. It is probably mounted incorrectly because the boards are not in the right place due to the missing "notch". As mentioned before, I had quite a time getting these same parts to fit together properly on my truck. I discovered that assembling things in the right sequence is key.
The space between the back of the running board and the body is the worst body fitment from the factory I’ve ever seen. It looks like they had the entire truck designed and then someone noticed no one designed a running board so since it was Friday night they’d just throw a shorty board under it, goop a glob of rubber to cover the gab and call it a night.
Thanks for the help and advise. Yes I think it’s pretty solid. A little bit of corrosion on the front bottom edge of the doors, a little bit on the left a post, a bit around the rear door hinge rivets and a little bit on the right hand rear wheel arch.
Everything lines up ok all except the running boards they need to go back I’d say 50mm or 2” �� they are pushing the front fenders away from where they look like they should be. Just wanted to check before I slice lumps off, replacements are thin on the ground round here.
Ha ha Bob, certainly sounds like a probable scenario, that or the design team took a long lunch down the frog n wicket pub and got a little giddy on the ale just at the point where the running board design needed doing! I’ve always loved these panel trucks but agree the running board rear edge lets the look down a bit. I’m in two mind either to just run with it as it was built, or to modify it / make a new pair?
It looks like you have an old style board like what was used 1948-50. Bob would be familiar with what you have. Installation may be a little more involved. I believe he had to separate his body from the frame. I didn't have to.
Here's a picture of how the "factory" fit looks like between the running board and the body:
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