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Greetings, I have been part of the FTE site since February 2009. Before that I was part of the bonusbuilt.comthat Horrortaxi had. It closed down so I had to find my fix at another great site. I actually started my truck saga back in 1990 when I purchased a 1952 Ford F2 Pickup 8-Foot Express Bed, all original. It was painted red, probably with a paint brush. Engine 239 Flat Head, ran but need the brakes redone before it could be road ready. Here is her current stats.
1952 Ford F2 Pickup 8-Foot Express Bed
351 Ford Winsor Engine
4 Barrel Intake Holly Carburetor
FMX Transmission
1974 GMC 4X4 Fuel Tank “GMC passenger side”
1971 F250 DANA 60 3.73 ratio Heavy Duty 1971 DOTA-AK 603124-5 rear end
1990 Ford Ranger seats 60/40 split
Time Line She's been sitting since 2013
1990 Bought truck needed brakes rebuilt. Was going to keep her all original.
1991 Started tear down
1993 Started putting it back together after painting, drove it around to various car cruises.
1997 March 01 Took photos of truck going under, the Flood. Drained water from oil, Engine was totaled.
1998 Replaced 239 Flat Head 8 with 351 W and FMX transmission. Replaced fuel tank with 1974 GMC 4X4 Fuel Tank Replaced bench seat with 1990 Ford Ranger 60/40 split seats and seat belts.
1999 Started working on truck again.
2000 Blew head gasket and toasted the Torque Converter. Rebuilt 351W and FMX transmission.
2005 Replaced Original Rear with a 1971 Dana F250 Rear End. I wanted to go left but she said right.
2013 Fuel tank had Major leaks from Ethanol Fuel. Do Not Let A Tank Set With A Tank of Ethanol Fuel.
2019 Replaced Fuel tank with NEW JCW 1974 GMC 4X4 Fuel Tank.
2024 Rebuilt 351W Install four barrel intake and Holley Carburetor. Just fired her up second time. She smokes and smells like burning rubber. That's the exhaust gaskets that was suppose to be High Temp Gaskets.
2025 Changed exhaust system out and fired up 351W. First fire up blew oil out of the oil filter. Double gasket, cleaned up oil spill, replaced oil filter. Second fire up it smoke and smell like burning rubber. Exhaust flange gasket were supposed to be HIGH temperature types. They melted.
Also started on working on the Brake System. Bleeding brakes and installing an Emergency Foot Brake System. Never had one since 1997.
All parts came from 1971 F250 with the DANA 60 Rear End.
Until Next Time
Thanks for then great background history and current status. I like that you got some 3:73 gears for the Dana 60. How is the condition of the 8' express bed?
8" Express Bed has a few wrinkles and rusts out. All stake pockets will need to be replaced. Luckily I scored another 8' bed that I was able to get one good side, Head board, tail gate and the remaining stake pockets needed. One side was toast except for pockets. Will be welding rust out, pockets, and tail gate. I once came across a web site that had someone repairing a tailgate for an 8" Express Bed. The way he did he cut out the smaller tailgate from a 6' bed and extended to fit an 8' Express Bed. I downloaded the procedure. But can't find the site anymore though.
