ive got a 49 f4 and was wondering if the drive line was worth anything? its a flat 6 , i think 4 speed and duallie axle....this is all stuff that works, i drove the truck for a while but am tearing all this out...

 

Yes, it can be worth a bit, if the flathead is in good shape, good running, etc. There's a few people that like the bigger trucks, stock, and the duallie is especially nice. The 4 speed, not so much, but as a package, would be nice for someone. That being said, what's a "lot"? if you mean thousands, probably not. But, if in good shape, seems a grand to the right person might not be unreasonable. Some here may have different views, but the flat 6's are a bit hard to find in good shape.

Just my $.02 worth, I'm sure you'll get other opinions.

Nice to see an F4 being done! Not a lot of them out there.

EDIT: Does the F4 have "widow-maker" rims??

R

 

FWIW, and IIRC, those bigger flat 6's make some great Torque.

 

Exactly! Before I found my V8 flattie, I was looking at the 6's, too!

R

 

If you can find the person needing these parts it might be worth a few bucks, I don't think a grand though. Maybe a little more than scrap price. If the flat six runs good it might be worth a $100. I have gotten flat six engines for free because no one wanted them. The six has seemed to gain popularity in the last couple of years so their value might have gone up a bit. I have always thought they were good engines. I have one in my F-2 and it takes quite a beating and keeps on going.

I would assume it has Widow Maker rims, if so they are junk. I have found the only value for the Widow Makers is to use them to swap onto a truck I have gotten one piece replacement rims off so the guy could haul it to the junk yard. The tranny is the crash box non-synchro four speed, again if you can find the right person. I had also gotten them from people who didn't want them. The frame itself would be a good donor to a person who has a F-5 or F-6 with a rusted frame. The F-5 and F-6s are prone to frame rust out because they have double wall frames that trap dirt and moisture. The F-4s have a single wall frame that seems to last longer. Again, if you can find the right person who wants the chassis it might be worth a couple of hundred but otherwise scrap price.

I have been buying and scrapping these big trucks for over twenty years and this is the experience I have gotten over the years.

 

Bob, where were you when I was looking for the free-$100 flat 6? The nearest I could find was about $300. There aren't many around here, and those that are, are still in use by farmers. And it's worth $300 to them to keep them running, instead of buying a new(er) one, or rebuilding their 6, which is quite expensive. So here they've maintened a bit of value. And the JY's are void of them. Period. I did find two F4's, totally, and I mean totally picked over. Fortunately, I didn't have to look for a tranny, but I did see one for $25, and $100 in gas to go get it. Passed, of course.

You're right, a grand is more than I really meant to say, I guess. But I have seen a rolling frame, with motor, go for that around here (actually, $950). They had gotten the truck for the cab and box, because they were excellent, and so were the drivetrain and chassis. They took the cab and box off, and sold the rest. It's the little things that I find keep adding up on mine - it was relatively complete when I got it, but the little missing things are what's taking my time and money to find. Sometimes I think it would have been cheaper in the long run, to "darkside" it, I found numerous complete running donors for $200-400, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I'll have $1500 into the rebuilt engine and tranny, when I get the tranny done. And I haven't even looked at the rear end, yet.

I think it's all where you're at, and what people want. Plus, I think a lot of people are getting Barrett-Jacksonitus, and everything is going up...

Just my $.02 worth...

R

 

Roger,

As they say in the real estate business, it's location, location, location. Maybe in your area they're rare and expensive, they are getting rare here too but no one around here wants the sixes. I snap them up when I can but I still don't pay that much for them. I suppose if I was in need of one and had to look around I would pay $300+ for a good flat six. I just seem to find them around here. I happen to get one for free a few years back from a guy I met at a swap meet that was about 80 miles from my house. I had a sign asking for '48-50 truck parts, the guy came up to me and asked if I wanted a '8 or 49 six cylinder engine for free. I said sure, it turned out the guy lived about five miles from house. He had a truck he was rodding out with a SBC and didn't have a use for the engine and wanted out of his way.

Like I said, the value for the truck parts Going Slow has I got from my experience with this type of truck I have had. The situation could be a lot different in your area.

 

A lot of it might have been because I hadn't found FTE yet, so I was looking "blind". But, they just don't seem to pop up here very often, or if they do, it's the $10,000 hot rod. I did see one, an F3, flatbed, with the flattie for $1300. Didn't have the cash or time to look. That's before I bought my V8.

I recently drove 150 miles away, took somewhat backroads, different coming and going, and saw one '55 or '56 F5 or 6 farm truck, but that was it! And boy, was I looking!

anyway, stole this thread and didn't mean to...

R

 

haha not a prob. Rcav8or...thank you for the info, i did have a non running flat 6 in the dump box of the truck that was froze and gave that up for scrap along with the box... but just wasnt sure about the rest.