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Being a relative new member to this group I'm not sure how to do the right thing here. I have a 54/55 F100 that I am doing a frame off rebuild to make a driving and usable farm truck with a little more zip than original. I'm confused with the albums vs build threads and wonder if I should even bother will a build thread as there is some talent on the forum that far exceeds anything I can do. I do weld a bit and have built and rebuilt a number of hot rods and old cars in my life. This time I plan to do the whole dang thing in house, literally. I never done body work, nor have I painted anything past primer and never have done upholstery and this will be the first time for everything. I have done considerable wrenching and mechanical work but I have always left the paint and upholstery to the professionals.
The only reason I consider moving ahead is that my pictures and solutions may help others in the future as others have helped me throughout my life. Here are the only two pictures I have of when I brought the truck home in the fall of 2020. By spring Covid broke out and we decided to move to Colorado so everything F100 wise was put on hold. The post Christmas snow a couple of weeks ago brought me back into the warm shop and work commenced on the F100. I will make some posts as I move ahead with pictures as I go. If I'm doing something wrong I assume the moderators will set me straight. Here we go. Front view September 2020 Rear view with all the parts September 2020
It looks like you have a nice project.
I am in a similar situation as you are. I have done welding and fabrication but not a lot of bodywork.
What are your plans with your truck?
Do you have a title with it?
There really is no right or wrong answer regarding what kind of build you want to do. Some like original trucks, others like radical restomods. Some like concourse show trucks and others like drivers.
A farm truck really doesn’t tell someone if you are also going to drive it on the highway. I am getting the idea since you want more power, and that there will be some road use.
As you know, the biggest weakness on these trucks drivability is the front end.
I remember when these trucks were new and I was driving them in the late fifties. I have never thought there was a problem with driving them. Ford was still using a straight axle on 3/4 ton trucks and bigger into this century and as far as I know they still are. All the ubiquitous 4x4s are straight axles. I have been well over 100 mph with stock suspensions and I'm still alive. I have a Model A with an original 33 front end and and that car has cruised at highways speeds and above for thousands of miles. So, I'm of the dwindling minority who likes these trucks as they were.
The plans for the truck is to use it around the farm and drive the hell out of it. I actually started this project thinking I would build a substitute for a late model F150 to save my diesel Fords. I couldnt wait and went ahead and sprung for an 18 F150 that I love. When I get this done the amount of driving will depend somewhat on the mileage. I live 12 miles from the nearest town and with the price of gas thats a factor. My 40 Tudor with almost 500 HP gets over 21 on the highway and I have managed above 15 in my previous mid fifty trucks. The bottom line is that I will drive it as much as I can afford to. I do intend to use it more than the 40 or the model A.
My MO is usually been to build it as nice as I can and then drive it. I have been to a couple of small shows, mainly to just support the locals. I have no interest in a show car. I have raced motorcycle and cars in the past and a long term goal, which I will probably never reach is to tow the Model A roadster to Bonneville with the F100. I haven't been back to the salt since 88 so its time to go again.
The truck will be built with that trip being a realistic possibility. There is a fall meet without the high tech stuff that almost any car can run up to 130mph and anything over a 100 will satisfy my needs for a 4 banger roadster. I have built a 351 Cleveland and am within an hour of wrapping that up. I have the T5 and the 9" with 3.50 gears rebuilt. The frame is cleaned and painted and if it keeps snowing I'll keep plugging away. I'm too old to be doing this and it takes me a day to get a few hours work in but I keep slugging away. I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow.
The 54/55 title is because that's a bit up in the air. I'm probably not too smart in going public on the matter and my cars and coffee brothers think I'm nuts but I dont want to lose the truck down the line because a vin problem. That plus the fact I'm old and not going to stay above ground forever. That means my wife will be getting rid of some of my hobby cars so she can keep eating. Thats the real world. So, for the story. I got this truck from a nice lady who was the trustee for the estate. She really didnt know anything about it. When I went to get it she told me it was a 54. There was a 54 grille and I took her word for it. It was blowing and cold as Wyoming is prone to do so after a quick look over of the truck we went inside to make the deal. She told me right away that she couldn't find the title but I trusted her. She said she would file for a replacement title and send it to me. She wrote out a bill of sale and since it was cold and blowing I said I would go get the vin number. The front clip was off the truck and it was easy to see the vin. I came back in the house and wrote the vin down. I loaded the truck, thinking it was a 54 that I would turn into a 55 and all was good. Now two years later I have pulled the cab and box and cleaned the frame and the vin is now really plain. Out of curiosity I decided to see what the color was and where it was built so I went to the internet and looked up the vin. I had run into a problem with my rear Posie springs being too long. I found I could move the rear spring hangers back and the 55 springs would fit. the holes were already in the frame. Wow, this must be a late 54 and they were using the new frame. Then when I checked the vin a couple of days later I find its a 55 frame. Now I go through the papers in the glove box and the insurance and registration from the PO say its a 54. I did have the title and probably still do but we still have lots of stuff in boxes from the move. So, what I have is a 54 body sitting on a 55 frame. I have absolutely no idea how or why this happened. I have reached out to the family and I could only find a brother in law. Apparently everyone has now died. The Brother in Law remembers the truck, he even drove it when it was stock. The PO owned it for many years and was a mechanic at a dealership. That's the whole story at present. I would prefer to register it as a 55 and have a vin tag showing the color I decide upon and the 3.50 rear end, but whatever I do it will be legal. The problem with legality is it all depends upon what state your are in. Since I live in two different states I do have a choice. As Paul Harvey said, that's "the rest of the story"
There is nothing wrong with keeping the straight axle. As you said, they still use them on 4x4s. The reason people change them is because of drivability. For some folks just rebuilding the straight axle is the best option . For others, they just convert the brakes to discs. It all depends on what you are going to do with it. As a farm truck, I would keep the factory axle, and just rebuild it. Depending on how much street driving would determine if I wanted to do the disc conversion. It certainly is not necessary for farm use.
As far as a title goes, you do not have an option as to what year it is. The frame is the truck. If it is a 1955 frame, then it is a 1955 truck.
I would get the title issue straightened out before I put a lot of time into it. In my state the DMV can do abandoned titles and bonded titles, as I recall. As long as you have the bill of sale that matches the frame, you should not have an issue. The DMV is usually looking for stolen vehicles. People lose titles on a regular basis. I would hate to see you spend a lot of effort and then find out there is a problem.
Good luck with your build. It looks like a fun project.
You got that right about the HAMB. There are some people on there who can get under your skin. I haven't done much of anything just yet but I found an article online from Hagerty https://www.hagerty.com/media/archiv...is-your-state/ that lists the classic friendly states in order. Colorado is near the top, as is Utah and Alaska. Utah doesnt even require a title on classics if you have a bill of sale. I did find out both vins are clear. Colorado may not do the vin inspection without the body back on it but thats not a problem. There are all kinds of shenanigans that people do and they usually work, especially if the vehicle never leaves the state. The problem comes when you move or sell it to someone who takes it out of state. Whatever the worse case scenario is it will be less painful when the its done before the real money gets dropped into it.
Here are some updates and pictures. Forgive me if I repeat myself in this thread. I'm past 80 and should be watching daytime TV instead of building another truck but it keeps me doing something constructive. I lose track of whats here and whats on the HAMB. I have decided to just finish up the build thread here as there are some things that are not HAMB friendly and I'm kind of tired of hearing about it.
Last fall I pulled the truck into the basement/shop. When the cold weather and wind started just before Christmas I finally started back to work on the project. I bought the truck in the fall of 2020 and was rebuilding a 9" rear end, a T5 trans and going through the Cleveland engine in the spring of 2021. I pulled the engine down, platigauged the rods and mains and pulled the heads. This engine was barely broke in and it all looked good. Pistons were .030 over and the hone marks were still in the bores and there was zero carbon build up. I sent the heads of for new valve springs and a 3 seat valve job. The machine shop said the heads were perfect and it was probably a waste of money to touch them up but we did it anyway. I bought a hydraulic flat tappet street cam from Comp, which is the only thing I have reservations about with all the talk of cams going bad. I almost decided to pull it back out and go with a roller but money is tight so I'm going to run it till it proves to be bad. I had the engine almost back together and was in the process of degreeing the cam when we packed everything up and moved to Colorado. Its hard to remember where everything went but I have finished it all up and its waiting for a couple of bolts and an alternator and its ready to go in the frame for a test fit. I originally wanted a Y block but the Cleveland came up first.
I think T Bird valve covers are the best ever so I got a pair of plain Ansen v covers and put a pair of TBird trim pieces on them. I painted the block with Eastwood Buick red engine paint. I used Eastwood aluminum over the aluminum Performer manifold. A polished intake isn't an off the shelf item so this looks ok and will be easier to keep clean than the bare aluminum. The pan had seen better days so I put a Mildon pan on it and it looked nice enough that I just put a clear coat on it and left the yellow zinc showing. When I get all the correct bolts in the front of the engine I will pain all the yellow grade 8 red as it looks a little to gaudy for my taste as it sits.
The engine has been sitting on an engine stand for two years so its good to have it down where I can get the clutch/bellhousing on it. Finally some progress
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