Assuming no cracks that require pinning, I think you could rebuild it under $4k. I think my cleaning and machine work was about $2200. Give yourself 1500-1700 for bearings, pistons, rings, gasket set, carb kit, and water pump rebuild. You would have to do the rebuild yourself but we can help you with that.

JB

 

Again thank you to the FTE community. I am amazed by the thoughtfulness and breadth of the answers.

So, after reading all your comments and some thinking about what I value more, utility or charm, I came out on the side of utility, namely putting in the SBF.

In order to have a more daily driver type vehicle, I was already installing a more modern driveline, brakes, fuel system and electrical anyway; also I am changing the bench seat to something more comfortable and secure (still a bench, though), so the interior will look different (I am planning on keeping the interior and exterior changes to a minimum, though; so it will still be a "work" truck).

Also, I tore into the 302 a bit more today, and it is super clean inside - one of the benefits of EFI. Other than dressing it properly for the space inside the F-3, it will need little effort to get rolling.
Financially, it will likely be significantly cheaper than rebuilding the flathead, essentially losing all the machine shop costs. Plus, it will be done sooner.

Therefore, in the end, having the flathead power the truck will not do much to retain "authenticity", other than my own sense of sentimentality, the sweet sound and a point of interest for those who know/care about such things.

That said, I will keep the flathead, tear it down and see what it really needs and get another machine shop here to give me some more concrete estimates.
I'll try to document that journey, might be useful for others.
And... there is a 48-52 F Series truck sitting in a field (just saw it on our last trip and didn't get to check it out further) by our vacation cottage in update New York; it may need an engine, after all...
That way my wife can yell at me about something while we are on vacation other than the wooden sailboats (plural!) I am restoring

Cheers,
Dre

 

Hey Dre,
We went the SBF route... you will be happy with that route.
A good cruising engine. I would fight the urge to really go for horsepower as we
put 400HP Edelbrock top end kit in our's. Overkill - made it more of a hotrod than we had intended..
I'd stick with stock - plenty of HP for a nice truck.

Are you going EFI? We opted for an Edelbrock carb set up just to get done sooner.
I thought I'd regret that one & put in EFI later but we've been pleased with the carb set up & have 30K miles
on it with no issues.

Manual vs Automatic Transmission.... Manual kills any chance you'd use that middle seat
area for a third person on the bench. We went with an AOD & have been happy with that choice as
our grand daughter rides along with us frequently.

We like wooden boat pictures....

Ben in Austin
1950 F1

 

Ben:

Good to hear.
I was going to go EFI (Edelbrock ProFlo 4) simply for the ease of setup. A carb setup is still an option and probably cheaper, too.
Overall, horsepower is not an issue for me, other than being able to add at some point accessories like AC and PS.
I agree that the 220-250 or so stock HP will be fine. I am not thinking of changing heads or cams or any of that. I'll leave that up to my son when he is a bit older.

The bench seat is mostly for looks and to accommodate "stuff" (tend to accumulate that when I use a car).
It is a rear seat from an SUV, with 60-40 split, individual seat sliding rails and individual seat back tilt. Quite nice, but not how Henry Ford built them...
So for now I am going manual, I have all the parts. Might be future update, though.

Wooden boats. Ask and you shall receive


Maroa (aka "Sugar") is a 30ft sloop-rigged wooden hull, launched in 1964. $1200 on Craigslist two sets of sails, one brand new. Has a practically new 100-hr 15 HP Westerbeke Diesel. Someone offered my 8K for the boat, but he would've cut the boat apart just for the engine. I just couldn't do it.

The photo is from 2-years ago. Since then, we rebuilt the delaminated mast and will finish the hull this year. Then comes all the topside work to make her pretty.


This is the manufacturer plate for Maroa and interesting as Wirth Munroe is the son of Ralph Munroe, who pioneered South Florida and sailing culture there as we know it today. So some history and connection to where we live.


I got this one for $150 with trailer. It's a 12 ft gaff-rigged Beetle Cat-type. This one is a much quicker restore, not just for size, but in much less need of hull work. The deck is in dire need of repair.

 

Wooden boats, never have more than 1! I just sold my wooden boat that I restored. I am a sailor and did not use the wooden powerboat enough. Power was a 318 Chrysler.

 

Beautiful boat, Bill. I hope my deck and brightwork comes out as clean.

Boats (wooden or not) are a sickness, too. Here is the entire fleet (less the 30ft), already winterized, but the only family photo I have.

We get a lot of visitors at the lake, so this is stuff I picked up over the years for little to no money to have activities for people (and me!)

In the garage:
- 1956 Aluminum Feathercraft; inherited from a friend, slow and a bit of a rough ride, but cannot part with it yet. Too pretty.
- Beetle Cat. WIP

Outside:
-18 ft. Bayliner US 18 (Buccaneer-type boat) This is the most used boat; easy to launch and handle, and one can sit inside the boat instead of on the boat like on a Sunfish
-12 ft sit-on Kayak
-1990 or so FourWinns Freedom 170 (for water-skiing and to have something so non-sailor visitors don't get bored)
- honorable mention: Carry-all trailer

Wife has made it abundantly clear that there will no new towable toys. Leaves a lot of leeway for another truck project

 

You have the disease. The rest of my fleet is a 34' Tartan, a Herreshoff Bullseye and a 19' Seaway center console. Down to 2 sail and 1 power.
I did a complete new deck on Maybelle including new bright finished covering boards and kingplanks. Lots of varnish to keep on Maybelle, now the new owners job. I did it for 19 years.
Beetle Cats are popular in New England. I have a friend with one. I have been to the "factory".

 

I guess that as usual it all depends upon what you want to do with your truck. I agree with Hulleywood that it is hard to beat the sound of a well tuned "flattie". It isn't hard to get another 100 hp out of them with just bolt on parts. With the proper overdrive transmission (manual or auto) and a taller rear axle it is a pretty nice cruiser. That is the route that I went.