It's been raining hard here for several hours and my project is outside at least until Fall.I could use some help to figure out the proper direction to take,any help appreciated.

I've ordered a catalog from Mid - 50,who else carries parts for these gems?

Is the body bolted to the frame or welded?

Are the cab floor,front fenders and hood the same as the pick-up of the same year?

More to come I'm sure.

-Shawn

 

I believe it's 8 bolts which hold the body on the frame. Yes about the parts being the same a pickups. Think of the panel as a pickup with a built in camper shell, kind of. This would mean that all the forward parts are the same...doors, windshield, fenders, etc.

Two differences are the running boards and the rear bumper. I actually put a pickup truck rear bumper on my panel; it bolts right on. I brought it a little closer to the body also, by shortening the mounts.

Why do this? Because the panel's rear bumper wraps around the sides, whereas the pickup is a straight flat deal, and is not as cumbersome, which makes the panel look less overweight. Maybe not for everyone, but to me anything which makes the panel look less clumsy is an improvement. Makes more difference than you would think.

Also, look in the vendor section of this site. One named Dennis Carpenter makes a ton of stock parts. There is Sacramento Vintage Ford, which has a great catalogue.
Mid 50s is as good as you will need for all around parts; they also add comments here and there, which makes it like someone is explaining to you what the part is for, etc.

Paul

 

Hi Shawn, the body is bolted to the frame and everything from the rear side door post is the same as the pickups, from there back you are pretty much on your own because no one makes patch panels for the rear half of a panel. The only parts that you will find in any of the vendors are parts for the rear doors such as window rubber moldings, latches etc. I faced the same problem as everyone that owns one of these gems.

John

 

So I am correct in thinking that I can unbolt the body from the frame,carefully jack it up a bit,buy a new floor for the cab (assuming that someone sells them) and have someone come over and weld it in for me? I would rather go that route than drop my truck off at someone's shop for who knows how long.I know a number of welders and have a welding machine (stick) but I think the sheet metal is too thin for what I have.(220v Craftsman) I assume it would have to be TIG or MIG welded.

 

The first thing you should do before unbolting and raising the body off of the frame is brace the cab. If you don't do this and your floor is soft it's going to buckle. Also, if you start welding on it while it's suspended you're probably going to warp the heck out of it and it won't fit right and the doors aren't going to close properly. I would suggest running a sturdy brace, like a piece of 1 1/2" square tubing, from the door rears of the door frames. Then one from the fronts of the doors frames, under the dash. Then run criss-cross bracing connecting the two front door frames. I would suggest using a MIG welder, the stick welder, unless you're really good with it, is to big:



As for raising the body off of the chassis, here is what I did this last fall with my '48:



Good luck

 

Thanks bobj49f2,the slide show is worth many thousands of words.I am thinking I will tackle this when the weather breaks and I am trying to get the order of things straight in my head.I have a few more questions,any help appreciated.

I have some 4" angle left over from a job,will this be sufficient for the bracing?

How should the bracing be attached to the door posts?

Do the aftermarket floor pans go all the way up to the firewall? (they don't look like they do in the pictures) If not,what is the sheet metal part around the dimmer switch,gas pedal,steering wheel post (shaft? Not sure of the proper term where the steering goes through the floor) etc. called? Is it available,or is it usually fabricated by the person restoring?

I figure most people who do this use jacks to lift the body,do you just find some solid metal at four points around the body,maybe put a 2x6 board there and slowly jack it up?

Trying to plan this out so there are a minimum of surprises,thanks for all the help.

-Shawn

 

The 4" angle, I feel, might be overkill but if it's what you have use it. To attach the braces to the posts you will need to weld them in. Use a couple of small stitch welds, something that is strong enough to hold them but small enough so you can grind them off when you need to remove the braces.

The after market floor pans I have found for the '48-52 trucks do not completely replace the entire floor. They go up to the panel called the "toe board", the angled piece that goes up to the firewall. I haven't seen anyone reproduce these so if yours is bad, and they usually are, you will have to fab something up.

As you can see in my picture, I used doubled up 2X4s and 2X6s to built the two braces for the back of the panel. I used a floor jack to raise the back of the panel with wood blocks enough to slide in a 4X6 under the body and above the rear wheels. I am lucky enough to have a forklift to raise the front but you could also raise the front of the cab the same way I raised the rear. These truck bodies are pretty strong but I would raise it by the points it's attached to the frame, if possible.

The big concideration is safety, if it doesn't feel right find another way to lift it. This is how I judge all the work I do. If it doesn't feel right don't do it.

It also helps to have a few buddies around to help but save the brews until after the job is done.

 

I Just Took The Body Off My 55 Panel And Removed All The Doors And Ran Braces Between The Door Jams, I Also Ran A Brace Above The Rear Wheel Tubs And Also Ran A Diagonal Brace In That Area. I Ran A Brace Under The Dash Board Area And Welded That To The Kick Panel Area. I Lifted The Body With The Help Of My Lift Which Made It Fairly Easy For My Wife And Myself. A Mig Welder Is The Best Way To Go When Welding Any Patch Panel In.
Good Luck With Your Project

 

Thanks for the replies,bob you posted earlier that if I weld the floors in while it's suspended it would probably warp,do I need to set the body down then,and weld the pans in? Or were you saying that it would warp if suspended and not braced? If set down then I assume all the floor pan welding can be done from above?

Thanks for the words of encouragement smike,I saw another user that had additional bracing in the back of their panel.I will probably do some too,it surely can't hurt.

-Shawn

 

The load deck floor in a panel is wood. Plywood in the panel's case, so don't set it on fire welding in bracing. You could avoid a lot of extra work and get a better job IMO if you replaced the floor while the body is still on the chassis. If the floor is badly deteriorated, put the frame on stands and shim until level side to side in the front and back. Block the body until the doors fit properly and the body is level across the flat seam near the top of the firewall and across the lower rear door sill. Now tack a brace across the bottom of the door opening. I'd suggest 1" square steel tubing with 1/8" wall for bracing. It's inexpensive and the thinner wall allows you to get penetration on the tubing without blowing holes in the door frame. Now you can remove the doors cut out the rot in the floor and replace it. If the floor is relatively sound in door sill and body mount areas, then I'd block up the body, and replace 1/2 the floor at a time leaving a 1" strip along the sides across the door opening and the other 1/2 the floor to keep everything aligned. Now with the new floor to keep everything aligned you can safely remove the body from the frame if desired without needing bracing or concerns that it will twist out of shape.