This is Joe:

I sought after Joe for eighteen years, before the owner/friend relented. Actually, 'Joe' gave me first shot when he decided to give it up back in April of this year. He came with a lot of parts. Most of which I have not picked up yet. He was a former Navy truck. It still has the flag holders on the grill guard. The placard is on the driver door. I put a little MMO on top of the pistons, installed new plugs and a battery and cranked it up. You can start it standing on the ground. It just purrs. It is so smooth. It powers by a '51 flathead six and 3-speed HD trans. It was repainted by the PO, but isn't the greatest.

 

Welcome, very cool truck with a neat history. So with a '51 engine and a '52 hood, which year is it?

 

Nice looking truck! It has all the signs of being a 1952 (hood and moldings; and the FORD letters below the hood). Was the engine ever replaced? In 1952 Ford came out with a brand new engine. It was an overhead valve 6 cylinder. The only flathead engine that remained was the V8. 1951 was the last year for the flathead 6 cyl.

What's your VIN? It'll help in determining the year and engine.

 

I wonder if because it was ordered under a Navy Production Code, the Navy insisted on their 52s getting flatheads (held over from the first years of a mulit year contract maybe) instead of the newer engine for Maintenance Standardization!

 

I don't know which engine was original. The PO bought it with a 302. He was through working on it when I met him eighteen years ago, so he had already replaced that with the flathead. He had a '51 at a younger age, but it was wrecked. He wanted to build it like the previous one. It is a '52.

 

Navy Joe is a truck? I thought the subject was about coffee.

When Josephus Daniels was appointed Sec'y of the Navy by President Woodrow Wilson, he outlawed the use of alcohol aboard ship. The strongest drink allowed was coffee.

Now y'all know where the terms "joe" or "cup of Joe" inre to coffee comes from.
The 254 L-Head (flathead) 6 was available 1950/53, VIN engine code M

 

A couple of more pics:


Thanks for the interest.

 

Oh well then if you know the engine's been swapped out a couple times, that explains it!

I believe both Bill and Ilya are correct when it came to the 254 IL6. However, the F-Series light duty trucks would not have had it, as the 254 L-head was only available on the F6 in 51 and 52. 1951 was the last year for [226] Flathead 6s in the F-Series "Light duty" trucks.

Odd back bumper, but a nice looking truck!

 

According to the page you uploaded Julie, the motor would have been the 215. Thanks.

 

Anyone have any pics of a correct rear bumper, other than dealer added?

 

I just looked it up. I hadn't realized until today that 48-56 rear bumpers are the same.

 

48-56 bumpers, whether front or rear, are not the same!

48-50 and 53-56 are similar, while 51-52 are completely different.

The front bumper on your truck is correct for 51/52. Note how it has the two ribs (top and bottom). 48-50 and 53-56 are smooth. Same goes for the rear bumpers. Your current rear bumper looks to be from a Chevy truck.

This is what a correct rear bumper for a 51/52 looks like.



Correct 51/52 rear bumpers are hard to come by. If you're looking to add one to your truck, I have one to sell. You can email me at modelking2000@hotmail.com.

It's the one on the left (the tow ball contraption bracket has been removed). Sorry about the very large picture.




Also, this is what a stock 215 6 cyl engine looks like. This one appears to have a later valve cover.





This is the correct valve cover.



1952 and 1953 215 engines are essentially the same, except for a few differences. In 1952, the motor mounts are cast into the timing chain cover, while in 1953, there's a separate motor mount bracket that attaches to the timing chain cover. Also, in 1952, the exhaust manifold points straight down into the exhaust pipe, like pictured above, while in 1953 it's angled to the right (towards the cab).

The 215s engines are also hard to come by because there weren't as many trucks made in 1952 as in previous years, and most that have the 215 pull them out and scrap them. However, just like the V8s, 1952 and 1953 cars had the same engine. Over the last several years, I've been on a search to find a suitable 215 engine to put back into my 52 Panel (after the previous owner put a 239 flathead V8). I bought any 215 engines (from 52 and 53) in various condition that I could get my hands on in California. I have four of them, with one finally installed in the truck. Two are from a 52 truck and the other two are from a 53 car.

Good luck in your search for a 215 if you ever decide to switch back to stock. Post lots of wanted ads on different websites, like Ford Barn and The H.A.M.B. Something is bound to come up.

 

You're right! So let me pull all the statements together to try and clarify the picture.

This is a 1952 truck. It has a Ford Flathead 6 (according to the OP) in it that would be a 226 (or possibly a 254-but I doubt it). So there was either an engine change or the Navy ordered all it's trucks on that contract to have 226s even though the 52s changed to 215s.

Ilya said that it shouldn't originally be a flathead 6 because 51 was the last year Ford used flathead 6s [he should have expanded to close the door on semantical debate and said "in 'Light Duty' trucks such as this one" - but didn't - it was understood].

While not relevant to this truck, Bill added a general note in order to teach us all something new, that Ford did use flathead IL6s in it's trucks until 1953 - the 254. But he also did not expand enough and say that that was only in "Heavy Duty" Trucks and it did not apply to the "Light Duty" Truck being discussed.

So I clarified their statements by saying that in 1952 - the year this truck was produced, the 254 flathead engine was only used in the F6 and the last year the 226 flathead was used in Light Duty Trucks (F1-F4) was 1951.

I guess I need to take the discussion one step farther to draw the picture for you, and continue to say that in this 1952 Ford Light Duty Truck if it was originally issued with a 6 cylinder engine, it would have been a 215 Overhead Valve Inline 6 cylinder, not the 226 Flathead 6 cylinder the OP says is in it now - which is not standard application engine for this truck (which is why we are having the engine discussion in the first place).

If it was issued with an 8 cylinder engine it would have been the 239 Flathead V8!

Since it has neither, the initial assumption that it has been re-engined is correct and was confirmed by the OP stating the truck had been re-engined at least TWICE once with a 302 and now with the 226 Flathead from a 51 (according to the Previous Owner)

Claro, Si?

 

Rear bumpers were an extra cost option thru at least 1979. The one you find "odd" appears to be what Ford used on 1942/47 Commercials (painted w/three bumper bolts, no bumper guards).

What I find odd is...you didn't know that.

This bumper looks similar to the bumpers used on passenger cars in the late 1930's early 1940's (chrome w/four bumper bolts w/guards).

Since rear bumpers were an option, dealers would stick any 'ol bumper on they had in stock...whether correct or not. Rear bumpers were also available from myriad aftermarket bumper manufacturers.

I didn't elaborate on the 254 I-6 because the parts catalog doesn't say what trucks used it, it just says "1950/53."

The US Gov't has specifics when they order vehicles...on the newer stuff, (1961 and later) these vehicles are assigned a Domestic Special Order number, because some parts may not be listed in parts catalogs for these specific vehicles.

Domestic Special Order number: The dealer contacts FoMoCo, passes along the DSO number. FoMoCo looks up the number, tells the dealer what parts are specific and if not genuine Ford, tells the dealer where the parts are to be found.

This same system is in use today, and it also applies to special colors. If there is no color code stamped on the plate, the dealer contacts FoMoCo who passes along the paint formula.

Since this truck was ordered by the USN, the Rating Plate is prolly stamped SS for special color, which prolly was Sea Grey. Whiz on down to San Diego, you will see USN cars/trucks painted this same color today.

 

I knew that about you and the 254, but just wanted to pull it all together for the newer folks and for future reference.

Alot of these cool posts I try to do that so we can refer to them later!