Hello all, I am just a beginner in all this forum thing so hope i am doing this right...

I recently purchased a 1946 ford pickup... since i planed to modify it i did the best i could with the budget i had. Honestly i believe i did preety darn good...

I found a 1946 with a 1964 small block in it, seller had told me it was a 302 but after some research i have discovered i have either a 260 or 289 (5 bolt bell housing pattern) Will only know for sure after i pull it out.
Stock 3 gear transmission with stock rear axle.

I will be doing a Complete overhaul. 351C already have the long block, T5 world class with s10 tail, and will be doing mustang 2 front with power steering and coil overs.

Now the question and or problem comes in here.... rear end. I had planned a 4 link with coil
over but i am afraid the stock diff wont hold the 351C and T5. What would you guys recommend? I do however want to keep the 5 in 5.5 bolt pattern. And obviously keep expenses down as much as possible.

I will add some pictures of the car and and will be updating everything as i start getting things done

oh and by the way... everything that comes out of the truck will be available if anyone is interested also just let me know.

351C long block

Truck as it sits right now

T5 with S10 tail end

 

Welcome to the 1947 and Older Ford Trucks Forum. It sounds like you are on track to having a nice pickup that can be driven for fun! I think that you should check with the people on the '48 - '56 forum next door for more information on your build, since there are many people working on your type of upgrades there. The '48 - '52 Ford pickups have a nearly identical frame as your truck. Keep us informed on your progress.

 

Thank you for the advice, will be posting the text on the 48-56 forum...

 

Nice looking start. If you want to keep the 5 on 5.5 bolt pattern, look for a 9" from a F100 from '57 to '72. They are a direct bolt in, plus they retain the 5 on 5.5. I used one from a '58 F100 on my '46.

 

thank you for the advice, i’ll look into it...

 

Up to 83 the F100 used a 9" with the 5 x 5.5 but you have to check as some also came with the 5 x 4.5 pattern so I found out the hard way from my 81 F100 parts truck.

What hop up parts were added to the WC T5 with S10 tail?
I ask because I would think that would be the weak link with the 351. If just cruzing then you be ok but if you start getting on it could lead to issues.
If you have not gotten a shifter get a positive stop one. When you start rowing the gears the forks bend from the shifter going to far and the gears do not mesh all the way and then the gear blows apart.
I have a WC T5 behind a 360 AMC motor in another project, not on the road yet, and did hop ups to make it last a little longer as I will be getting on it

Sound like a cool project
Dave ----

 

Looks good!! Good luck. Will be following along.

 

sorry about the long time to asnwer.....

Thanks for the advice on the 9". I am probably going to end up ging with a speedway ford 9" with speedway gear posi third member and Currie axles, rather than finding an used rear end and rebuilding. they have a great deal on them and the fact that its new and modern it will probably hold up more if i decide to put more power down in the future. the only problem i am having is that my current rear end measures 62 from wheel mount to wheel mount and speedway biggest size is a 60" so i might have to use spacers.... gear ratio.... am thinking 325:1 would match good with the mustang T5.

as far as parts used on the WC T5 with S10 tail, after a bunch of research i found a guy out of pompano who has been building cars all his life.... he told me it was something he does regularly due to the shifter location on some of his builds..... during my research i found a video on YouTube by speedway which was pretty str8 forward, below is the link


hope it helps.

 

You could also get some rear wheels with a more negative offset to set the wheels out more. Good video and information on the T5.

 

Already guys.... finally my truck is in the shop.

so in the long 5 months of waiting a lot has happened... still going with mustang 2 front power steering and coil overs, 351C stock 2v heads, Weiand X-celeraror manifold, CVF Racing full serpentine kit, and nice 351 Cleveland valve cover.... got a Dakota digital dash to go with all that.

Rear end, will be doing a 4 link with coil, notch to frame and might end up lifting the truck bed or not, depending on how low it sits... ended up getting a custom 9 inch from Currie enterprise, added some disk brakes to that and kept everything at 5x5.5 bold pattern. The third member i went with a speedway motor posi traction with a 3.25 ratio.

i am still going with the T5 transmission.

As far as brakes go, disk on all 4 with a power brake conversion and dual 7 inch booster with adjustable proportioning valve.

will probably end up getting Detroit Steel wheels 18x8 front and 18x9 rear with some low profile Diamond Back white wall tires.

contemplating about the fuel tank under the seat. Not sure if i want to remove it and install a new one under the bed or keep the one under the seat.

While doing the engine swap will shave firewall and do a complete rewire of the whole car...

Will probably keep original steering column and steering wheel and might add some 12v wipers to the car in case it rains... that vacuum operated driver wiper does no good lol.

I believe that is all for now... but as you all know... more things will probably happen.

I will try to add some pictures as we go along with the build and keep you guys posted. Let me know what you guys think.

 

Original rear end and rear suspension out

Measuring and cleaning

New stance

Still need to make a “C” notch and get it a bit lower. Raise the bed floor about 3 inches to clear new currie 9” differential.

 

 

Nice work! It looks like the pickup bed floor will be at stock height, about 17 inches, but I am wondering about the acorn nuts on the bed sides.

 

Thanks!! Bed floor is going to end up a bit higher +/- 2 inches, we will probably have to make a new frame around the bed to lay wood. At that point we will know if the nuts will interfere. We are playing by ear at this point... i am sure a lot of things will change.

i’ll keep posting updates.

 

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