Ok guys. I'm one of you now. I've recently purchased two trucks (photos in gallery). One is an F2 in Oregon that I need to figure out how to get it here but I do have the title. No engine but great body - one ding in the grill and the only rust is around the rear view mirror (window seal leak I figure). It's so straight and rust free I can't see modifying it. I would like to put a flathead 8 back in there which brings me to the second truck

Second truck is an F1 that I pulled out of some woods in Milano, TX last week. No title. Apparently it's been there since 1969. It's real rough but it's complete. Too much rust for a back to original restoration but might be a good hot rod candidate if there is engough there to save. At the very least it will be a good parts truck.

The F1 did not come with a title but I think I can get one. The guy I bought it from ran a body shop in this little town. Owner dropped it off to have some work done in 1969. (Guy that sold it to me thought it was in 1979 until I showed him the license plate on it that said 1969. He remembered that it was the owner's daily driver so he said he must have been off by ten years - go figure.) Anyhow, the owner died shortly after he dropped off the truck and nobody ever came by to claim the truck. I suspect it wasn't worth much even then. The fellow that sold it to me is wiling to go through the motions of helping me get title through a mechanics/storage lien. I figure the title alone would almost be worth the $175.00 I paid for it. I'm hoping that the Flathead 8 is still salvagable but that is probably hoping for too much. Amazingly, I found the keys to it laying in a pile of leaves and scale on the only piece of the floorboard that hadn't rotted away and they still trun the ignition switch. And after sitting in one place for 36 years, it still rolled.

One other item - the F1 has an original Ford Spotlight but a portion of the handle is missing inside the cab. It still opertes well mechanically and it's not rusted at all on the outside of the truck. It has some pitting on the portioin of it that is inside the truck. Definitely salvagable.
Enough story telling - time for my questions:

Is this spot light in the F1 desirable/worth anything?

The title for the F2 in Oregon says it is a 49. The Vin # is 98RD268181. Does the sequence # jive with this being a 49?

The Vin # on the F1 Vin Plates is 98RC386852. Is this a 49 or a 50? The bed has the raised panels so I know that if it's a 1950, it is not a late one.

I know the 49's and 50's used a 9 as the first digit and the last six numbers are a sequence number. My question. Did they use a different sequence for each series (F1, F2, F3, etc.)?

Does anybody know what the cut off was for the sequence number on the 49's and what number did the 1950 models start at?

Any advice on where I could find this information?

Thanks for all of the help.

 

Congrats on the new toys! I can't help you in the least, but someone ought to be along shortly - too much activity here for it to be stagnant for long. Good luck with the new project(s)!

 

That F-2 is in great shape! I'm curious what the two holes in the passenger-side running board are for?? They are on the vertical piece that comes to the underside of the bed. Did this have a PTO or something?

 

Here's my take on it - FWIW If you've been reading these forums, didn't you learn anything? Run man, run for your life! The truck will take over.

The spotlight is desirable if you want one or two. I put one on my 48 that came with it. Totally owner taste. Unity still makes them and you can probably get a replacement handle for it. Check ebay for used prices.

VIN info. The F2 seems to be a '49and the F1 would likely be a '50. As far as I know Ford used the same sequence numbers for all trucks concurrent. I know they made 139,262 in 1948. From what I've seen they picked up the sequence there (at least I've never seen a 49 under 139,262) even tho the vin prefix changed.

I read someplace that they produced somewhere around 150,000 in '49 and a similar number in '50, making the cutoff somewhere around 290-300,000. The models barely changed tho, so Ford wasn't too particular about distinguishing the model year. Apparently the vin ran over into '51 (Sept 15.)

I have not been able to document most of this info - the web sources that I took it from 5 years ago are no longer available. You might do a google search for the Old Ford Truck Club, or oldtrucks.com
Hope this helps or makes you more curious.

 

Go to www.bossap,com they will have the info you need.

 

Welcome to the brotherhood of rusty trucks. Here's your sign. [But honey, it followed me home. Can I keep it? Please?]

 

LMAOROTF I would so say that LOL.. And my Wife agrees also LOL

 

The truck (49 F2) was apparently owned by an oil company for a number of years. I was told that it carried some sort of a tank in the bed and I imagine that the holes in then running board have soemthing to do with whatever service it was in. Maybe for hoses form a PTO drive pump?? At some point, I hoipe to follow up with the folks that sold it to the guy I bought it from and see if they know anything. I haven't seen it in person yet but I suspect it has/had a PTO. I think that is what the second floor shifter is. My favorite hole in the truck however, is the apparent bullet hole next to the pasenger side headlight.

Thanks for the information on the F1 serial # and spotlight. As for the spotlight, since it's there, I will likely keep it ther and try to get it working. As for the serial #, I suppose that if I check enough serial #'s on known years, I will eventually figure out with 100% certainty if it is a 49 or a 50. For now, I think I will call it a 50. As a service to the rest of you, I will try to keep track the highest #'d 49 and lowest #'d 50 in hopes of at least narrowing down the cut off point/number.

BTW, I sold my wife on the 49 F2 in Oregon by selling the roadtrip invovled with retrieving it. She's always wanted to do a Napa Valley tour and I told her that it wouldn't be too far out of the way.

Thank you for all of the help and all of the encouragement. I'm certain that I will be troubling you folks for help and information for the next few months (errrr- years). I'm looking forward to tearing into both of them.

 

I've been reading this forum for a few months now and all of you failed at scaring me out of taking the plunge. That said I realize that buying not one but two of these trucks demonstrates both my idiocy and my salsemanship skills (getting Mrs. Texan2004 to buy in to the program).

If it turns out to be even half the fun I hope it will be, I won't be disappoiinted. I can't wait to get started on the F1 in the next wek or two.

 

We gotta develop some new tactics to save more poor souls from the dreaded "it followed me home" syndrome.

 

Earl, I'm guessing then that we must sacrifice ourselves and take the trucks to our own homes to help the poor uninitiated from geting swallowed up by one of these old beauties.

......honest honey, it was wandering around on the interstate, looking lost, it could have been run down by a semi or something. Look at the poor thing, scared to death, obviously mistreated, no tags or anything, all it needs is a good home....heck, I bet its even house broken. We'll give it a good scrubbing and post signs around the neighborhood, maybe someone will claim it. The poor lost thing we can't just leave it out in the cold like that......look at that grill........aw, look honey......I think it likes you.........

 

The F1 has been sitting at my brothers house since I bought it. It will need to come here in a week or two to start the tear down. Thanks for the above lines. They will definitely be used once she sees it in the garage. I've got to bug bomb it first. All those years in the woods turned it into a Palmetto bug paradise.