Hello,
I have been reading many posts in here getting some great info. I just brought my grandpa's old truck home to bring back to life. I was originally going to get it running and drive it for a bit, however I found the engine to be seized with coolant in the oil.
I'm trying to decide whether to restore as stock or modified with upgraded powertrain and front end.
The big question is I can't remember how it drives as stock.
Any ideas or input would be much appreciated!!
I have attached a couple pictures as well.

 

 

 

My 1949 f-4 with all the charm I just described..

 

I agree with Jafo56. An old stock truck is going to drive like an old truck. Seventy years have gone by since your truck was in a dealer's showroom and advertised as the latest and greatest. Competition and free markets have forced Ford to spent billions on improvements. As a result, new Fords do not look or drive anything like old Fords. Getting your truck to drive like a new truck is bound to be expensive.

You probably have a comfortable modern vehicle for fast dependable transportation. I think most people have old trucks for other reasons. Why did you buy your old truck? If you need fast dependable transportation and you want to to be comfortable all the while you are driving, maybe your Grandfather's old truck is the wrong vehicle.

My old truck rides pretty rough, rattles on every bump, and needs to be double clutched. It doesn't have wipers, turn signals, floor mats, rubber seals in the doors, or a heater--But I always enjoy driving it!

Good luck to you and welcome to FTE. The people here will be supportive of you no matter what direction you take with your truck. Thanks for sharing your pictures with us.

Jim

P.S. My truck has a 3.92 axle ratio and cruises pretty easily at 60 mph. The steering and brakes are adequate for that speed. I have driven my truck about 6000 miles and visited five different states with it since getting it back on the road in 2014.

 

I enjoy driving my old truck to many different places, it is always a conversation starter. People always ask 'how come only one windshield wiper? How come only one sun visor? Do you know you only have one tail light? One person told me my battery was hooked up backwards, positive ground? Mine is original and that is the way I want it.
Just saying that an old truck is an old truck and drives like an old truck it has advantages, do yours the way you want to.
Ed
near Philadelphia

 

Welcome to FTE! That is a great looking truck you have there! It looks like Grandpa took pretty good care of it.
Mark

 

Welcome to FTE. That truck looks like it has potential. Since you asked and since it was your Grandfather's truck I would suggest that you do whatever is necessary to get it running down the road safely and reliably. Drive it a while in a variety of conditions and then decide if you want to make any changes or restore it to showroom condition. If you want to make changes you will find a wealth of information and ideas here by using the forum search tool under UserCP link in the upper left corner.

 

Hey Ranger,
You've got a nice comfortable truck there towing your grandpa's truck. You don't truly need (2) modern trucks.
That said - we have a 1950 F1 & we made a few modifications to make it safer for modern driving...
o (3) Point Seat Belts
o Beefed up seat anchors under the cab.
o (2) wipers (Electric not running off of vacuum).
o A dual Chamber Master Cylinder - Stock is a single chamber - if you get a leak you lose all your brakes at once.
o A modern rear view mirror you can actually see out of...
o Added door locks on both doors.
o Added turn signals & brighter rear brake lights.
o My son is also driving the truck so I converted to 4 wheel disc brakes - we need to stop quickly in our large city.
I'd try to keep the outside looking nice & original & add the safety & drivability features you need.

Have fun over there... looks like a fun winter project!

Ben in Austin
1950 F1

 

Good idea, I always liked the 300 six... One of the best engines out there.

 

Ben,
I like your thinking, I am hoping my daughters will drive it one day so the safety additions you did are a great idea.
Did you convert the original axles to disc brakes or replace the axles? Original engine and trans?
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Nice looking truck!!

 

Hey Ranger,
We replaced the rear axle with a Ford Explorer 8.8 from a salvage yard. I believe we paid $225 for the axle.
There are specific years you are looking for to get the axle you want. We chose a 2001 Explorer 8.8 that came with
3.73 gearing, disc brakes, & a limited slip Diff. This is a nice upgrade for the truck & is pretty straight forward (1) to (2)
weekend job. We also picked up the Emergency brake set up off the same Explorer - another nice easy upgrade.

To get front Disc Brakes you'll have to do a kit or change out your front suspension (a big project). A lot of guys have gone with Jaguar
front ends (only specific years) … as they fit our width perfectly. We went with a No Limit Engineering Wide Ride Mustang II style front suspension which came with
disc brakes. The kit alone was $2500 & you need some real welding skills.

Our truck came as a 70's hotrod set up with a very tired Mustang 289 & a 3 speed - so we could do what we wanted with drive train.
We chose not to rebuild the 289 but stay in the same family of Windsor engines. We went with a 351W & AOD 4 speed transmission
for comfortable cruising. A lot of work but it's a very nice set up & we have 30K miles on it at this point - very happy. If I had it to do over I'd stay
closer to a stock 351W & not add the extra horsepower. It's an old truck - good for cruising - you don't need 400HP for that.

Good luck up there - Nice truck.

Ben in Austin
1950 F1