yikes! had a similar experience with a 56' had a glovebox full of baby rattle snakes/another nest in the bed and mom and pop lived in the seat. the old farmer knew how to get rid of them :lots of nasty smoke from burning diesel soaked hay! that will make a cool hauler.

 

Lots of good ideas, guys - thanks. I'm learning - what makes it a deluxe cab, for instance?

wmjoe, I'd actually be very interested in trading if it were for me - I love the 48-49s - but I'd need a 53-56, as all dad's from when he first started racing were those years.

I dunno, guys - now I feel guilty about wanting to shorten it - but I gotta admit, it really doesn't work for what I want to do left as a big truck. Dad wouldn't tow anything bigger than a 12-14' open trailer with it, and none of his 53-56 trucks were bigger than an F100. I guess maybe I'd be better off trading or selling it. I haven't had much luck finding a smaller one, and I figured this one was far enough gone that it'd be okay. I dunno.

Okay, I also gotta admit I really don't know much about snakes (good thing I was poking them with a stick . . .ha!), and the guy I was with said it was a bullsnake - I have no clue, to be honest. Here's a better picture of the shorter one's head:


As far as the wheels go - I'll look closer tomorrow, if I get a chance. I'd be surprised if they weren't snap rings or lock rings of some sort, as I didn't think anything else existed. There's a lot of peeling paint on them - who knows?



Thanks again, everyone.

 

I agree that the truck is in dire disrepair. If you choose to convert it, pull the cab ad the nose. Don't scrap that box, or the frame. You don't want to shorten the frame on that beast, or the box. You can get a later model half ton (early to mid 70's would work) to transfer the body to. The deluxe cab adornment is the stainless drip rail, and the teeth in the grille. The truck would of had a 239 flathead V-8 and a 4 speed manual trans originally. The split housing timken rear end probably has 5.14:1 gears in it. The GVW is going to be in the 8500 range. The wheels are the same as dually wheels. There should be a hub extension on the rear drums that can be removed and the rear end would be the same as the dually. The truck bed should be approx. 9' 4" long and 4' something wide. The box is the hardest part to find since the cab is the same from F-100 through F-800 trucks. Since the front fenders are in poor shape, you may be better off to convert it, since F-100 fenders are available in the after market world. Actually, everything you would need to completely redo that truck from one end to the other in a F-100 version is available, including aftermarket frames that are ready to go. Do some more research, look at some pictures, and get your self and idea. Just make sure that you find a way to hang on to that box, since it is not replacable. As for the snakes, grab em up, and take em to the nearest forest area.

 

I`m converting my 53 M350 to a M100 by using my spare M100 frame and changing the front fenders.
I`ve also got a nice stock 56 F350 dually.
Rather than selling it do it up your way but do save the original box, frame and other usable and rare F350 parts, someone is bound to be looking for them.

 

wmjoe - you're right on pretty much everything - I just looked up the VIN tag info, and I think the only thing you missed on was the GVW - but not by much (9500). Lots of sage advice - thanks! And I wondered why the wheels were out a bit from the rear brake drums - so it must be the spacers you talked about. And thanks, Fomoko1, too.

I'll keep reading and such, and I won't mess with anything on the truck for a bit. I won't have a bunch of time before I have to make some big decisions, but it's not going to happen this week. I think at this point it will probably be A) selling the whole truck outright and starting over, or B) pulling the cab and doghouse, and selling anything (frame, box, fenders) that's F350 specific to somebody who would use it as such - and then looking for a new/different frame. The project doesn't have an end date, but my time with the trailer and that particular storage does, so that would be the motivating factor at this point.

I told my wife about the snakes last night - let's just say I'm really glad I didn't bring it directly to the house and unload it into my garage . . .