I have been trying to find out if this truck come with a 4 speed on the floor. This truck looks all original, no rust anwhere, floor boards around the shifter looks uncut. Person I am buying it from says it is original, but I have never heard of this.

 

Look on the VIN plate in the bottom RH corner under "Transmission", it should have either, "4" for 4-speed Spur, or "4SYN" for 4-speed synchronized. I think the plate is attahed to the inside of the glove compartment door.

 

I believe the "4SYN" was only available in F4 and larger trucks, as my '52 F4 has.

Fran

 

Is that an F-1? I have a flathead V-8 with a synchro 4 speed out of a '53 F100. I also once owned a '50 F-1 with a factory 4-speed non-synchro tranny. I had made some serious progress in placing an F-2 4-speed in my F-1 when I ran across a guy who was junking an F-1 with the factory 4-speed. Up to that point I had not known the 4-speed was a factory option.

 

Thanks for the info, it is an orginal 4 speed truck. This is my first one and it is great! This board also looks great, I think I have found a new internet home. I had a lot of fun driving around this weekend. How rare is the v8 flat head with a 4 on the floor?

Bryan

 

 

I think they're quite rare in the 48-52 F1s; a little less rare in the '53 and up F100s as they began using the more user friendly synchonized 4 speed. The 4 speed is quite common in the F2s.

 

I have a 51 F-3 with the flathead V-8 and it came with a 4 speed non syncro. For reverse there is a thumb tab that the operator depresses, and yanks the shifter all the way over to the right and back. This bypasses the fourth gear and sinks the transmission into a smooth reverse. The first gear is a basic "granny gear" for which you can use to crawl along without your foot on the accelerator, or the operator can pull heavy loads by beginning in 1st. Otherwise, second gear will do just fine to begin motion in a non working situation. Remember to double clutch with this type of transmission. I think there is no better set up than a four speed in a pickup, which is further improved with the syncromesh. Have fun and good luck. F-3 Brien