I know the common rust spots on my F1 but want to see if there are special areas on a panel. I have found a 48-50 panel that looks amazingly straight and plan on taking a close look at it shortly. It's currently in red primer and will require a thorough going over.

Have magnet, will travel!

 

Did someone call my name???

Here's what you should check/look for:

1. Rear wheel wells right above the tire
2. Roof drip groove that's towards the crest of the roof on both sides
3. Look for external stress cracks in the sheemetal in the upper corners of all door jamb areas.
4. Rear valance panel, below the rear doors.
5. Entire rear door jamb area (top, bottom and both sides).
6. Rear doors, especially all hinges attached to the doors.
7. Inner wheel wells.

That's where I found the problems spots in almost every Panel that I've looked at or bought.

Also, if I were you, make sure the rear doors are decent or fixable. Good rear door are almost hard to find. I had to buy a whole Panel just to replace one rear door in my '51.

Good luck and post pictures. I'm always interested in seeing more Panel trucks.

Ilya

 

Perfect! Great info and just what I was looking for!

By wheel wells, I assume we are talking about the rear tubs on the inside.

Stress cracks huh. Hopefully these should be hard to cover up with bondo. Should be reoccuring until fixed correctly.

Rear doors--cancer at the bottom?

I take it these things have a "rareity factor" applied to them.

What is the most difficult "panel only" parts to find?

Tim

 

the area between the running board and the rear wheel, running boards where the brace is , front fenders where the running board meets it, and under the head lites, all the doors on the lower inside edges, and ditto on the rear doors being hard to find. the front door jambs below the lower hinge... lets see where else did i have to replace the sheet metal

 

Is the frame, drivetrain, and suspension basically F1? I'm interested in interchange.

 

Yes. If they have rusted through, it'll be hard to fix/patch them because there are no replacements available. You'll either have to hand form the patch panels or find a donor section from a good Panel and section it in.

I've seen them covered up with bondo, but the cracks will return almost immediately. They'd have to be welded and then filled. Still a chance for them to return due to the body stress/shift.

Yes. I've seen cancer at the bottom edge of the door shell. I've also seen the door skin separate from the door sheel at the bottom and sides. Check for rusted hinges on both doors. My '51, as well as a few others that I've seen, had the right rear door bottom hinge rusted out on the inside. However, I have a spare set of rear doors that have all for hinges rusted through at different stages, and can see the poor/makeshift repairs done to each hinge.

Yes. Panel trucks are a bit more rare than regular pick ups. The production number dwindled started in '51. Just as an FYI, there were about 6,000 standard cab Panel trucks and only about 1,500 Deluxe cab Panels made in '52. Also, check for the options in your Panel as it could be a Deluxe version (just like regular pick ups). Any year Deluxe cab Panel could be considered rare.

Some time ago, Bob (bobj49f2) and I discussed this matter. The top three parts that I think are the hardest to locate are:

1. Original bucket seats (driver and passenger) - passenger seat was an option. (If the Panel has these, or you find them, then you're sitting on a gold mine.)
2. Good set of rear doors (same gold mine here.)
3. Good set of running boards (not an equivalent to a gold mine, but close.. you can interchange short running boards from any F2 and up truck that came without a regular pick up bed, i.e. stake bed, dump bed, etc... just as long as they are the short style.)

Other parts, in no particular order... interior wood shelving, rear valance panel and other parts that aren't reproduced. However, these parts are easier to find at swap meets and/or eBay.

Hope this helps. If you have any other questions now or later, I'm all ears.

Ilya

 

Yes. The wheelbase and frame length is the same as an F1. Not sure about the mid/rear body mounts. However, I'm sure that for production simplicity/effectiveness, Ford kept the frame, including all body mounts the same for an F1 pick up and the Panel.

So, a frame from a regular pick up should be a direct swap for the Panel.

Ilya

 

Another area to look at is arounf the outsie of the rear wheel wells. There is a seam inside the body (between the outer skin and the floor joint) that can rust out.
Inside the cab on the front floor at the seam where the floor kicks up to the firewall.
Also check the main body seams for the roof to side/back panels, these were soldered and can "Crack", ie need resoldered.

 

That's what I was talking about in my original response. Should have explained it your way.

Ilya

 

Needless to say, I guess if it needs a gas tank I would be in big trouble?

 

Yes! Let me add that to the list of difficult "panel only" parts to find.

However, you have a few options. First option, you can get a custom fuel tank made. Second option, you can place a fuel tank in the rear mounted to the frame. As you probably already know, the fuel tank in the Panels are mounted on the inside of the left frame rail. Third option, a fuel tank in a Ford Explorer is very similar in size (dimensions and gallons) to the Panels. It's also mounted in the same area. You can modify the tank to fit.

My father-in-law had a '94 Explorer. I compared both together and the Explorer was almost a perfect match.

Ilya

You

 

Good info on the gas tank.

I'm getting stoked! I need to go see it and look at it closely. My wife would KILL me if I bought it though.

It was sitting behind an 8ft chain link fence so I couldn't get a real close look. However,

Suspension is stock--the thing sits really TALL! Tons of fun sanding. Would have to use scaffolding.

Lines looked pretty clean. Looked to have a thin coat of red oxide primer. Course no telling what's underneath. I did not see any major areas needing work or sloppy body work.

Stock steering wheel. Would recognize that big sucker anywhere!

No nose stainless but that could be found easily. Was there a small "F1" on the sides in front of the door?

 

Note to self--make sure it will fit in the garage!

Anyone got the length, width and heigth of these things? Link?

 

Yes. Everything forward from the weld seam above the windshield to the rear of the front floor is the same as in the pickup.

BTW, what's the asking price if you don't mind sharing?

If your deal falls through I have a '49 that I'm selling in good condition, but you're on the east coast.



I'm getting the dimensions for you now.

Ilya

 

I, too, might have the same dilemma as you. I just moved and the garage door in the new residence is pretty low. Might need to let some air out of all tires to get it in. I also have wheel dollies, like the GoJacks, so I could remove the wheels if needed and roll it in on the brake drums sitting on top fo the GoJacks.

Here are the approximate measurements that I got from my Panel. Note that they are plus or minus a few inches:

Length = 17 ft.
Height = 7 ft. (taken at the highest point in the roof, with 15 inch wheels and tires full of air)
Width = 6.5 ft (taken at the widest point in the body)
Wheelbase is approx 9.5 ft.

For exact measurements, I would have to look in one of the manuals.

I have an 18 foot extra-wide trailer and the Panel takes up all of it.



Hope this helps.

Ilya