Spoke today with the fellow I bought my '51 F1 from and it was not good news. He purchased the truck 5 years ago and he has never driven it under its own power. They push / pulled it from Zionsville, IN to North Salem, IN where it has been garaged in a pole buidding for the time he has owned it. He has run the engine and regularly oils the cylinders and turns it over by hand, then runs it by putting gas directly through the carb. Does this every couple months or so. -- I'll bet the gas tank and the fuel lines are packed solid with varnish. I have been watching the tips provided on resolving issues of plugged, gummed fuel systems. Dry wall screws and paint thinner sloshed around in the tank?? Replace the lines and the fuel pump??

On the basis of a longer phone conversation we had today, the fellow seems to be a very nice man. I thought he might have been a younger man, but he is about six years my elder at 64. He has done many, many quality Mustang restorations and seems to know his stuff. He is giving me a complete set of manuals (ones supplied to Ford garages) for the truck. He bought the old pickup about five or six years ago from a widow who had it in a garage for many years, so who knows how long since the old truck actually has run under its own power. I'll be getting a title from the lady who owned the truck back then. I just hope that I won't turn out to be one of many who buys something and then feels overwhelmed by the myriad of problems that old antiques often present and gives up. Perhaps it will work out, I do like adventures!

I think I'll make plans to visit the Pacific Northwest over spring break (March 22 - 26) and I will bring my retirement project home on Good Friday, April 2nd. That's while the wife is visiting the daughter in Washington State on her spring break. (Different schools = different spring break schedules.)

 

Putting anything like screws, nuts, etc in the tank isn't a huge benefit IMO, and they are hard to get out because of the baffles and such. If you suspect it's really bad, take it to a radiator shop and have them acid clean and flush, then buy a Eastwood kit for coating the insides. I would plan on outright replacing the fuel lines, and all rubber hose, plus the fuel pump.

 

I like something heavier than drywall screws for cleaning out gas tanks, a meter of tow chain, a handful of larger 12mm+ nuts, etc. Drain tank and remove from vehicle, remove fuel level sender and fuel pickup. Hang tank with a rope cradle from a tree limb or beam. plug holes and put in ~ 4 liters of hot water and a handful of strong laundry detergent plus the hardware. Swing around from the cradle (good task for the younger family members or neighborhood children) vigorously for 10-15 min. Flip over and repeat. Drain the water and repeat with fresh hot water and detergent until drained water comes out clean. Rinse once more with clear hot water. Finally rinse with about 4 liters of denatured ethanol or methanol (absorbs water) and drain completely. Set out in sun to dry. As soon as possible seal the tank inside with "gas tank slushing compound" a sealant (same as what Eastwood sells) available at private airplane repair/maintainance centers (check your phone directory or go to the private plane hangers at your local airport and inquire of anyone working on a plane). You pour the compound into the tank and slush around until all surfaces are coated then pour out excess. Once dry, the coating is fuel proof, rust proof, and will seal any/all small holes. Be sure to insert a snug fitting soft plastic hose into the tank outlet fitting so it extends into tank before adding sealer, then remove before sealer cures or it will plug the outlet permanently. Fuel line is not worth cleaning, simply replace with new. Many times the engine will not draw fuel from the tank because the fuel pump valves are frozen and/or the diaphram is dried out and ruptured. The carburator may also have dried out and has shrunken gaskets, a stuck inlet float needle, and/or accellerator pump diaphram. The fact the engine runs at all is a good sign.

 

Hummmmmmm, ……….let me play devils advocate for a moment (actually that is my full time job, but whatever).

There is nothing wrong with anticipating set backs and frustration, because in reality that is what is going to happen anyway, it is all in how you handle it I guess, but if you are starting to second guess yourself and question the project difficulty as much as I (we) would like to see you get the truck (it sounds like a good one) maybe you should do a little soul searching because it is not going to be all easy, sometimes you are lucky and all goes right and sometimes not.

 

Maybe he's still awaiting the title? I've known a lot of people to be reluctant to put a lot of time and effort into a project when they have no title. That whole fear of getting it done and having the title holder pop up and take it...

 

I wouldn't be discouraged at all. We hear about hese things here every day. And actually, the process for getting the thing started and running seems to be something that can be done in a weekend.

The old engines are pretty bullet proof and this place is loaded with stories about engines that havent been run for years and years and with a little cleaning out - fluids changes, plugs points, etc, plus a fuel system cleaning, the things start right up.

I'd venture to say you will probably spend more time on your brakes than you will your motor.

 

Full steam ahead!!!! nothing a cooler full of frosty beverages and some online support can't take care of.

Sounds like a great project. You can bet your boots the brake system will be completely empty. You might get lucky and be able to fill the mastercylinder with juice and slowly start working the pedal and get it operational again. Worst case scenario...replace the master cylinder and wheel cylinders...no biggie. The fuel system is as you imagined, again....no biggie.

Keep in mind that its an old truck and its going to break. Its been sitting for alot of years and has gotten used to it, so it will fight you every chance it gets. Just when you think you got the upper hand and start to relax a bit, she'll turn on you and bite you a good one (anyone remember the horse called "The Hellbitch" for the book "Loneseome Dove"????)

Also keep in mind that owning and working on an old Ford is like stepping on your own *****

Enjoy the ride
Bobby

 

There are a few things better than working on a fearsome old road dog. Hopefully you will get your truck as it will make you proud. Many of the members here can agree that presenting a completed project or even a small part of the overall project is joyful.

 

No big deal on the tank. check out my thread;

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/899562-the-tank.html

I used a kit from KBS and was easy to use. The comment from Ross about nuts and stuff to break up corrosion in the tank, I used ball bearings and in the kit from KBS there is a rust converter.

 

Thanks again to everyone for the advice and the encouragement. Your notes on the brakes being a problem are interesting. I already know the brakes are out on the truck. That was part of the disclosure by the seller. He is including in the sale a new master cylinder, but my guess would be that the lines are rusted out and even if they are not, the first time a new master cylinder purts pressure on old, dried out and rusted wheel cylinders they will burst and leak like crazy.

It is always a thrill to get an old beast running and rolling under its own power, but I don't sant the thrill of not being able to get it stopped once it does get underway.

I do like the ideas from AX and Ross on cleaning the tank. There are lots of "old iron guys" in a local cruisers club who hang out at a local radiator shop. It is a place where lots of custom work is done. I'll ask if the shop has any experience in doing the acid flush cleaning of fuel tanks. The crew there has been welcoming enough when I have stopped by for service, help, or advice on my brit car matters, but they will be much more appreciative of an effort to rescue an all-American pickup that's nearly 60 years old. - Rensselaer, IN is small and rural. To get to a town of size (Lafayette or Merrillville) it is a forty mile trip one way. We have to be locally resourceful.

 

Interesting thread. I checked it out. Now I am wondering what sort of 'treasures' I might find when I pull the tank from my pickup. I think I agree with another responder that the 'key' you found in the tank might have been a sardine (sp?) can opener. Probably from someone's lunch at the factory. That may have been an OEM part!

 

I misunderstood where you are located, thought you were "over the pond" hence the metric measurements. I've never looked in one, but I suspect there ain't many baffles in an F1 gas tank. Boiling it out is a good way to go, but unless you have a friend in the business much more expensive than some Tide, water, and a couple hours (especially if you can sit back in a chair with a cold one and watch the neighborhood kiddies provide the labor). Lacking a tree, beam or swing set to hang it from, a slightly more labor intensive method of agitation is to strap the tank into a wheelbarrow and take it for a ride around the yard (or actually stand in one place and wiggle it vigorously, the wheelbarrow that is... )