Aww that sucked. Long story short. I'm in the Army. Good to be here. I don't know anything about Fords. I always been a bowtie man. However could someone take a look at my truck and tell me . I believe it is a 48.


http://www.msnusers.com/JoshsToys

Sorry I suck at pics. Hi anyway I'll ask questions as I think of them.

 

Thats a nice looking truck! Hows the drive train? The year, I could only guess, but someone will be along is a while and pin point the year. Welcome to FTE!

 

It's belongs to the '48-'50 years trucks, as even the Experts have troubles telling them apart.

 

Welcome to FTE! This is THE place to get answers to your questions.

 

Welcome. It is a 48-50 and a good chance that it is a 48 from what I can see. To be sure, you can check the VIN. It will either be located on the passenger side frame rail by the front shock mount and radiator support or on the drivers side frame rail by the steering box. If the first number is a "8" it is a 48 and if it's a "9" it will either be a 49 or 50 (I'm not sure on how to tell the difference between a 49 and 50 through the VIN). Good luck with it.

hotrod48

 

Sorry guys, it was a little late when I was trying to type and BAM my whole post disappeared. I'll post more this weekend probably. I'm on my way right now to a field excersise till Friday. I'm currently at Bragg (NC) and moving next month to Colorado Springs. I will be redoing the truck then with the help of my 8 year old son in between deployments. As I said my passion is for Chevy's and if everyone here is half as nice and helpful as the site where I go for my Chevy info, I'll truly have the best of both worlds. Truth be known, I love Fatfenders Ford or CHevy.

I stole this truck from a VERY close friend of the family. An extra uncle you could say. He was getting divorced and wanted it gone so he traded me even for a complet but disassembled 73 Ironhead Sportster.As for the drivetrain, it has a GM Goodwrench 350 with what I believe to be the original 4 speed that came in it and a 9 inch rear end. Soon I hope to get the 350 out and put it in my 85 Silverado (has a 305 now) to not only make it lighter for the trip to CO but to also make my truck better equipped to pull it out there. Suspension is stock, brakes are stock.Some idiot put in a sunroof. Haven't decided if I'm going to try to go original or custom. I got rust in the back of the cab (usual?). I'll post more when I can. Thanks guys!

 

Welcome, thanks for serving!

This is a great group of guys and gals - I'm sure you'll find it enjoyable and entertaining. As you progress thru your project, I'd be interested to hear comparisons between the fatfendered Fords and Chevys as to drive train/chassis/body structure, etc. I learned to drive in a 56 GMC back on the farm - ran into the tractor once.... almost 40 years ago. That truck was like a tank in my childhood memories.

Regarding your project - it's a very good one. The p.o. has already gone so far down the custom road that you'll have a bit of work to bring it back to original condition - not impossible tho. For instance, the front bumper is 51/52, they didn't have a rear bumper, your gauges are un-identified something, gas pedal is ?, etc. A 9" is a good upgrade, the tranny is non-synchro'd spur gears? That's surprising with all the other mods that have been done.

Only the vin will tell you what you have. It's located on the firewall passenger side, glovebox door and frame rail. Since your wing window dividers are black it's probably 49-50 - but they can be changed so without the vin it's a 48-50.

Great father/son projects - even if they keep losing your tools, enjoy the time you spend together!
Tim

ps, its ok to have an off-brand powerplant, we just can't discuss tech questions about it.

 

Yah welcome as well. We are a bunch off nice guys around here. Brand loyal that we are. If you need any help let us know. Lots off good ideas an tips.

 

Welcome to the board!! I agree, its a 48 to early 50. On your way to Colorado Springs if you pass through Albuquerque, NM and feel like losing your bed you can drop it at my house.

Good luck with the truck! Its alot of fun when the kids start helping you out. They are constantly in the way and dropping every little thing but its all good and fun.

Enjoy the project. We are glad to have you
Bobby

 

Armydude,

There is a thread at the very top of the forum regarding the 49/50 VIN #'s and firewall stampings. We are getting a decent idea where the cutoff is on the VIN #'s but more #'s are always helpful. Aside from the VIN #, there may be a set of #'s stenciled or more likely stamped into the firewall inside the engine compartment. These are not the numbers stamped onto a tag that should be riveted to the firewall but a separate set of #'s that are actually stamped directly into the firewall. With these #'s, we may be able to tell you where the truck was built, what day it was built and perhaps the original color of the truck. It would also be helpful to us as we attempt to identify the actual VIN # cutoff for the 49/50 F1's.

Welcome aboard and be grateful. Your truck at least has an engien in it. I have four of these things and not a one with an engine installed yet. Maybe I need to spend less time worrying about VIN #'s and more time worrying about that frame work I need to get started on.

Anyhow, good luck with the move.

 

Ok , I got to come out of the field for a couple of hours. I go back at around 9 EST so I will go out and look at what #'s I can find. I'll post them from the tag riveted to the firewall (I've seen that) and see if I can find any others.

BTW, Thanks for the warm welcome.

 

Allright #'s on the tag are 97HC*200931* ATL

#'s on the firewall are 721D3143 NOTE: the D actually looks like a backwards C so I'm guessing here. It could be a 0. Not sure. OR, the 1 I got in front of the D could be the other line making it a D. Make sense? It seems a little far away to be that but I really don't know.

 

WOW!!! I just glanced over the thread at the top of the page. AWESOME. I also wanted to add a little more info that I do know.

1. It's a floor shift
2. It has one Driver side visor
3. It has one windshield wiper
4 It's what I consider a "small" window

Hope this helps in narrowing it down. I am guessing that it was built in Atlanta since it has the ATL. Thats cool, I'm originally from Atlanta.

BTW, I had my wife take my original gas tank to a local radiator shop to get it cleaned(it is BAD!!!!) and they can't do anything with it. Any suggestions????

 

There's a good aftermarket for all of these older trucks. There are sponsors on this site that would probably have what you are looking for and a bunch of others if you do a Google search.

http://blueovaltruckparts.com/catalog/

 

Hey Armydude, welcome to the board, and welcome to Colorado Springs. Fort Carson's just south of town. There's a few of us in the area. Let us know when you arrive. I've got a 48 f-1, we'll get together and swap stories. -Rusty