Hey all,
I am new to this forum and have a question. I have the opportunity to grab a 1948 F-3 that is in beautiful shape. My question is: Would the MII conversion be sturdy enough for this truck? Also, since it is an F-3 is the long bed the only option or did they come with short beds too? I am guessing not since it is a heavy duty truck and was engineered to carry more stuff.

 

Welcome to FTE! Sure the MII would work fine on the F-3. The problem is the bolt pattern. You will have 8 lugs in the rear and 5 (5x4.5 or 5x4.75) in front depending upon which rotors you use. That could be remedied by replacing the F-3 rear end an Explorer 8.8 rear (5x4.5) or a Chevy 10 bolt (5x4.75) which would give you the same pattern all around. F-3s did not come with short beds. If you want a short bed you would have to shorten the frame...

 

Thanks so much. I forgot about mentioning that I would change out the rear end as well for better drivability.

Another question I have is, how popular are the F-3 trucks as far as customizing? Are the F-1s the way to go for most folks?

 

IMHO, the F-2 and F-3 trucks are NOT great rod material. They are too big and cumbersome and the proportions are all wrong for a rod type truck. If you want an old truck to do some heavy hauling around a farm then they are fine but if you want to go cruising at highway speeds they are not. You can convert the F-3 to an F-1. I did that to my F-3. I won't go into it now unless you are interested in doing that but if you are let me know and I'll give you the details...

 

Find an F1.

 

If you don't mind the long bed, then I say go for it. Make it a long bed hot rod. People do it with the slab-side 57 and newer trucks all the time and no one complains. We're starting to run out of F-1's, and there's still plenty of F-2's and 3's. No sense letting them go to waste. Taking away the axles and suspension, the only real difference is the wheel openings and the longer bed. Aside from that, pretty much everything else is interchangable, from a modified-type truck standpoint.

 

I vote for you to find a F-1 and leave the F-3 to some one who would appreciate the larger truck. If this truck is in beautiful condition I would hate to see it chopped to make it into some thing that could be accomplished easier by starting with a F-1. If it's good deal buy and flip it to get the funds to find the right truck.

Just my 2¢

 

I agree, find an F-1

 

Buy this truck to restore AND get an F1 to customize!

F1 parts are much easier to find (except front fenders).

 

I saw pair of F1 fenders for sale on ebay. Matching drivers and passenger sides. Just surface rust and some rot in the usual places. Look under parts and acc.

 

If a person is going to do this much modifying he could go with fiberglass fenders which are easy to find. I can't see why someone who is going to modify so far from original would need original parts.

 

That's very true.

I guess it's a matter of personal preference - most folks seem to like to weld and grind on metal.