My girlfriend just sold her 1963 plymouth valiant. Now she wants to put the money towards the 1953 Ford F100 in her yard. The truck has very little rust, has the flathead v8 (she has a dual carb setup in her basement). The bed is gone (wood floor), and it needs a lot of interior work. I was wondering where you guys think we should start? I was thinking just tearing it apart, and converting to a 12 volt system. She wants to drive the truck as much as possible, would it be better to keep the flathead, or go to a 302, or even a SBC (I would like to keep it ford, even though Im a Chevy guy). What are some good vendors? What size engine is in it, and if we did swap to a 302 what would have to be done? ( I know there is a crossmember you can buy with the newer motor mounts) Just general info would be appreciated, thanks!

 

>My girlfriend just sold her 1963 plymouth valiant.
>...
>Just general info would be appreciated, thanks!

Jeepers, when I was a bit younger my girlfriends new project was me (I needed a lot of work)! ;-)

First thing is to look in the glove box and post the VIN and any other data on the rating plate. Somebody on the board will decode it for you and tell you a bit about the original truck.

Next thing is to decide what you want the truck to be in the end. Best way to do that is to look at A LOT of the galleries here on FTE and see what other folks have done with their trucks. You can go do a total restoration to brand-new dead stock (my personal choice for my truck), a semi-restoration/rebuild to get it running and reliable, a totally tricked-out show truck, or anything in between. Many people make the BIG MISTAKE of not taking time to learn about the possibilities. The only way to do that is to invest some time and energy and DO THE RESEARCH. It ain't the most glamorous part of the job but you'll sure be glad you did it later on.

Third thing is to be realistic about your budget. If the truck engine runs OK and there isn't too much to be rebuilt in the running gear you might get it up and going safely for as little as $500. I suspect, however, that you'll find the steering, brakes, springs, and engine need to be carefully inspected and at least some rebuilding or replacement will be necessary. I'd plan on at least $2k to feel good about driving it regularly unless it was recently restored.

Fourth thing is to get a cheap digital camera and take about three times as many pictures as you think you need of whatever you're disassembling. Take 'em from all angles and get every detail. If you follow that advice, you'll have about half the pictures you'll need to actually reassemble the item correctly. Trust me.

WRT the bed, a chunk of plywood will get you a usable bed for the near term and there are quite a few posts in the archives about different types of wood, installation methods, and even some plans for bed floors to bring them back to original.

One thing I WOULD NOT DO is take everything apart until you've really thought about what you want the truck to be. There is a lot of work involved and it's very easy to get discouraged with parts lying all over the workshop. Besides, it sounds like you'd like to drive it while rebuilding/restoring. If you want to see what you're in for if you do a total restore take a look at my web page (http://www.clubfte.com/users/earl/index.html). I'm almost four years into the project and have about $4k invested in the truck purchase, supplies, and parts with about $2k in tools. I figure I'll be lucky to get done with $12k total investment. I certainly could have done the work faster but I have other committments - as we all do. Another BIG MISTAKE is to underestimate how long things take and how much they will cost. A good rule of thumb is to make your best estimate of the time required, multiply by three, and use the next larger unit. For example, if you think it will take a day to rebuild your steering linkage you multiply by three (3 days) and use the next unit (3 weeks). Usually works out pretty close.

Well, having given you all the warnings I can think of I'll finish by saying I've had the time of my life with my truck which my daughter named Earl. There really is something special about these old Ford trucks. Whatever you decide, take your time, do it right, and enjoy the ride!

George

 

I agree with George, don't expect to drive this truck in the next week of even the next month take your time and decide which motor, tranny or even rear end you would like to use there are many suppliers out there to choose from, just remember safty first Here are a couple of places you can contact to get a catalog from Mid Fifty 1-800-252-1956 or www.midfifty.com and Sacramento Vintage Ford 1-888=FORD-100 or www.vintage-ford.com, you wouldn't believe the things you can get for these old trucks these days and yes you can put any motor you prefer in it even a c****y, I'm sorry but that word just isn't spoken in here most of us can't bring ourselves to say it. Good luck on your project.

 

I'd urge you to just take apart only what you can currently work on. Disassembled vehicles take up LOTS of room (Don't ask me how I currently know!). If in fact the flathead is still good, they are a solid and simple motor and attract a bit of attention at events as they are getting rarer and rarer. The 6 volt can provide ample cranking power provided the wiring is solid. (Count the millions of them that were produced from 1932 to 1953!). Seats and other trim items are readily available as well as swaps for later model seats. Each of those items can be done one project at a time.

 

I would work on mechanical items first and restore in roughly this order.
1) Wiring and electrical (alternator or generator/ 12v or 6v)
2) Engine and tranny
3) Accessories (wipers, lights, etc)
4) Brakes and steering
5) Body work

 

Ok, if we would want to convert to 12v right away, whats the best way to do it? I was thinking a GM one wire alternator, and a painless wiring harness. Only two problems I can see is that; A. the harness says is uses a GM ignition and connections. B. We would need an alternator bracket for the flathead engine.

 

First of all these old trucks mainly use only 3 wires , 1 hot wire that's hot all the time, 1 ignition wire that powers the coil for it to run and 1 starter wire that goes to the push button on the left side of the dash. Sacramento vintage ford says (call us for custom alternator brackets) 1-888-FORD-100.

 

 

Ok I got the info off the glovebox;

S-number = F10R3C12650
GVW = 4800
wb = 110
AaRD = 3400
Net HP = 96
Production = 282
color = R15-D

BTW, its also one of the 50th aniversary trucks if that matters for anything, and she wants to get it done for next summer because it will be the 100th aniversary.

 

Using the automatic VIN decoder on www.oldtrucks.com yields:

Your truck is a 1953 F-100 ½ ton that origanilly came from the factory with the L-Head 8 cylinder 239ci engine. It was assembled at the Chester production plant and it's consecutive production number is 12650.

R is the paint code for Meadow Green. I know there is a site out there with prodcut code information but I can't remember where I saw it.

Kevin Kessler
1953 Ford F-100