One of the stories my dad used to tell was about the time my grandpa bought a brand new 1936 ford truck and had a gravel bed put on it. A family friend was tasked to drive it and it was used to help build the highway (152) from Union City to Mustang in Oklahoma. Well, that family friend was a drinker, and shortly thereafter wrecked the truck. I have pondered owning a similar truck since.

So, I came here to get advice from those who are smarter than me. I would guess that it would have been a 1 1/2 ton. Through online research, I have found very little information on ford trucks of that particular vintage. I have been able to determine that the 1935 and 1936s were very similar, with the differences being the radiator, the position of the badges on the sides of the hood, and the louvers. Also, it seems that all fords made around that time had serial numbers that didn’t distinguish which type of vehicle it was, they just used the next serial number in line.

So, my current plan is to find one in restorable condition, and find a more modern (90’s or 2000’s?j for axles (I want to make it 4wd as well). Was thinking about doing a cummins 4BT on an NV4500 manual transmission, a doubler, and 4wd transfer case to dually F350 axles…. but I am thinking I need to find F550 axles instead. I haven’t been able to find much in the way of dimensions, curb weight, load capacity​​, etc. on the 1936s. Also the question of, it seems like back then the ton and a half was the cargo capacity, and in later years the cargo capacity went up without changing the classification, but it seems like they would have hauled a lot more weight even back then to get the work done…. In my research, I seem to recall these trucks doing the same heavy lifting that our over the road semis do now (only with smaller trailers)

One last question for now…. are the cab parts interchangeable with the smaller trucks, like a half ton door fits on the ton and a half, or were they different?

Thanks for any advice!

 

Many if not all of your questions would be answered by reading a copy of James Wagner's excellent book called 'Ford Trucks since 1905'. I have worn out two copies in 50 years. But yes, the doors are the same. Only trucks then were 1/2 ton Pickups with 112" wb, referred to as 'commercials' and the 1 1/2 tons with a 131" wb or 157" wb, simply called 'trucks'. We often call them "big Trucks'. In 1938 a middle weight truck was introduced. This was a single rear wheel one ton truck with a 122" wb, and ford called it their 'Tonner'.. Most of them were sold as an 'Express', with an 8' pickup box, Or an 8' stakebed. There is a guy on Fordbarn Forum that just completed a very comprehensive book on the '35 and '36 Big trucks. I think you should buy both. I love spending other people's money .

 

Thanks for the info! Here is my recent acquisition…

 

Sweet. Here is the '36 1.5 Ton I acquired last Friday. We'll have to keep each other up to date as we progress. I'm looking for replacement wheels already. Proving a little difficult !

 

Nice! I am trying to decide if I want to try and keep the original wheels or do something else. This is going to be a long-term project, so I am not in a hurry. It was quite "fun" pulling mine home 3 hours on a 16' utility trailer (not car hauler) pulled by my 2006 Explorer V8.

 

mickman, do you have one of these? Just got mine today. https://www.macsautoparts.com/truck-...7-56585-1.html

 

Not yet Popcorn ! But I'm gonna get one now, tanks for the lead !

 

Got my copy, thanks for the lead !

 

Project is coming along. I towed this bad boy home, had to borrow a 20' trailer. Then managed to get 4 wheels off, taken to the tire buster, busted down, cleaned up with wire brush and grinder, primered, and new liners, tubes, and tires installed. On 4 so far, came out really nice, just today managed to get the last 2 wheels off, the inner rear duallys, was ridiculous trying to do it by hand, standing on 4' breaker bars, using a torch, etc etc. So I broke down and found a $650 one-inch air gun at Harbor Freight on sale for $165 and a 13/16" square impact and 1-1/2" lug nut impact at Napa and MAN, what a breeze ! So now I have 2 more tires to take to the co-op tire guys and will have all 6 installed before long, I knew this truck was a beast but man that back end and rear hubs are monsters. More to come hopefully before long . . .


Old frozen inner duallys

new rear tires mounted on refurbed rims

Jumbo rear hubs - spin easy ! Massive springs and helpers

That's one sweet rear end !

 

Popcorn, I would try to keep the original wheels. I am refurbishing mine and they are coming out nice. You could very likely do the same. And from what I've learned, you may have a difficult time finding replacement or alternate wheels that would work. But let us know how things progress. I know you said it's a long term project but please keep us informed ! Thx

 

It Must be a disease... Saturday I dragged number 2 home, Going to use it as a parts truck.

It is a 1935. I now have a driver side door!

 

Oh, it's a disease alright, and there's no cure. (Not that we want one, lol)

 

Any progress over the winter ? Your '35 looks like its got some good parts

 

Unfortunately no, too many other things going on… I was able to get the gauges out of both trucks (what was there) to be able to work on when it’s not nice outside, and also shuffled wheels around so that the 36 has tires that hold air to move it around, and bad tires off the other rims. Still need to free up the stuck hub on the 36. The 35 has quite a bit of cab rust, but it certainly has quite a few good parts that I needed.

 

I like those turn signals. You'll need to try to get those working.