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My name is Craig, I was pretty excited to find this forum as I have recently brought home a 1941 3/4 ton truck. Only to learn that info on these trucks are hard to find along with parts.
my current plan for this truck is to build an 8ba engine coupled to an AOD, upgrade suspension (so the truck is fun to drive and I don’t have to stop to pee every ten minutes) other than that restore it to her formal glory.
Welcome to FTE! Nice truck to start with and thanks for posting pictures.
Some unsolicited thoughts (feel free to ignore these):
I like 8BAs, they are the best Ford flathead V8s.
I recommend doing a lot of measuring before going AOD, they are a lot bigger than the stock transmission. In addition to the frame mods, it also takes up floor space, which isn't plentiful to begin with.
The suspension can be a lot smoother than stock simply by cleaning up the springs and removing a lot of the leaves. Not having to reengineer the suspension is a huge time and money save. This also preserves the factory steering which is actually pretty good.
One thing you didn't mention is the rear axle ratio. The axle is a good strong unit, but is almost guaranteed to be geared like a tractor (4.88 ratio). I personally really like the wide five wheels and 3/4 ton hubcaps. I can think of two possibilities in order to retain those and get a higher speed rear axle. You can re-gear the stock axle to 4.11 with an available kit from Chuck's Trucks, or with a bit more work you could swap in a 42-47 half ton pickup axle and install 37-39 Ford rear drums.
Welcome. Lots of 3/4 and one tonner guys here. I understand your suspension thoughts having had several 1 1/2 ton trucks. They don't ride very well especially empty. I think you should reworking your existing suspension as suggested. IMO DON'T go the Mustang II front suspension route. I have an 8ba in my '39 p/u and agree that's the way to go. Consider a Chevy distributor conversion by CharlieNY over on the Ford Barn. As far as a trans goes maybe a 4 speed trans with syncro's from a later truck or even a T5 for the overdrive. But these are just my thoughts, Feel free to ignore them. Again, welcome. One last thing, I'm a 12 volt conversion guy but there are many others who feel a well maintained of 6 volt system works just fine.
Thank you for the ideas. The AOD is more so my wife can drive it. I will have to look to see what it will take to install it. As for gears, I was waiting to see what tires and rims I decide on. Was talking about lowering the whole truck 2” or 4” but not totally sold on the idea. What is wrong with the mustang II suspension? Was looking into that option. The truck will be converted to 12V since it has to be completely rewired.
As for the 8BA, an upgraded dizzy is already in the plan. The engine came with EAB heads. The block is being bored to .030 over. Have a Max1 cam. Keeping the ford crank because I don’t know if the pistons that I purchased will allow it. The pistons have a compression height of 1.763”, I believe factory for pistons have a compression height of 1.519”. Then again I my be reading into it to much.
If you have a Ford 3 3/4 crank and already have the pistons for it you can't use them with a 4" Merc crank. Pistons are different. EAB heads are a good choice, IMO. That's what I have on my 8ba. Runs strong for a single carb stocker. As far as a Mustang II front end it just doesn't look right in a large truck like yours but again that's me. If you do go that route it means the wide fives won't work without a lot of issues. As far as the AOD goes I've heard of them behind a flathead but I've also heard they take HP. Might not be an issue for what you have planned for your flathead. However the AOD TV cable might.
That's a great looking truck! Looks like you are already diving into into it. I rarely see a 3/4 ton, the one tonner is much more common. These trucks actually steer quite well. I started with a 1 1/2 ton AA and later a '38 one ton pickup. I now own a handful of '46 and '47 ford trucks. To me the best thing you can do for ride and handling is radial tires. The mustang 2 IFS is made for lightweight cars and will have a small bolt circle. These bigger trucks have a larger wheel opening in the front fenders and when you put little car wheels in there it just looks wrong. As the others said, these are only my opinion. Only my tonner panel truck is stock, my tonner PU now has a cummins 6at and GM 4 speed, and my half ton I converted to a woodie wagon with all stock drivetrain, And I am currently building a '47 tonner front clip and cowl on top of a stock '79 toyota landcruiser 4x4 4 door wagon chassis. Has disc brakes ,PS, inline six etc......So far be it for me to tell someone else how to build a truck. Just enjoy the build while keeping it 'trucklike'. You may need to haul some heavy $#!+ on that nice flatbed!
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