I am looking to purchase a vintage Ford truck; 1956 or older. I was hoping to get suggestions, advice, comments, and/or concerns from those that have experience with these older trucks.

I am a finish carpenter and remodeler and will be using the truck for work. I want a working truck; something I can use to actually haul projects and materials. I want to use it. I am not looking for a hot rod or a show car.

I really like the F1 style trucks but I would get more use out of an F4 or bigger with a flatbed or stake bed.

It seems that these F4 and bigger trucks are a little more rare and hard to find but are also not as valued as the F1 and can be picked up a little cheaper. That makes me think that there may be expensive issues with these types of older trucks that aren't as much of a concern with the 1/2 tons.

The vehicles I have seen are between $2,000 and $5,000 and in need of various amounts of body work, paint, mechanical maintenance/repair, and replacement parts.

I am not looking for an extensive project, but I do expect to have to source parts, do some fabrication, and restoration. I want to have this out of the shop within a couple months. I am not looking to put more than $6,000 - $8,000 into this up front. I am looking for something that looks halfway decent, runs good, and is ready for work.

I should mention that the labor costs for the paint, body work, and mechanics is not included in the pricing above. I am trading my carpentry/remodeling services with a good friend for his body work and mechanical services. So, basically, I am looking at the cost for the truck, motor repair/rebuild parts, replacement interior/body parts, sheet metal, paint, etc.

Am I on the right track? What will I be getting into with these old, F4 and bigger Ford trucks?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

The FIRST thing that you should be aware of on the larger trucks is the wheels. These trucks came with the Firestone RH5° wheels, better known as 'Widow makers'. These are the true widow makers and should not be confused with the lock ring 2 pcs wheels that some folks refer to as widow makers. If you search widow maker and Truckdog on this site, you will find several post about these wheels as well as recommendations on suitable replacement wheels.
The next thing to be aware of is the brakes, NOS or aftermarket brake drums and shoes are not available, and having the rear drums especially, turned has few vendors available. On the other hand, there are donor trucks out there, and shoes can be relined. All the other brake parts are available either through NAPA or specialty shops like Job-lot in NY.
As far as the engines, transmissions, body parts etc. they are mostly all the same as the smaller trucks. Also be advised that most of these trucks will have spur gear transmission (non synchronized) that require double clutching, and they are geared very low, giving them great pulling power, but not a lot of speed. In other words, you won't be scooting down the interstate with it, unless you change the running gear.
With those caveats out of the way, these are great old trucks that many of us love to drive.

 

Majeztic, see you are in Florida. Get ahold of Frank Cowan, a fte member and lives near Cocoa Beach,I think. He has alot of large trucks.
I have a 1956 F500 ,IF interested.

 

I definitely want the vehicle to be safe so I guess I can expect to spend about $3,000 in new wheels and tires.

Considering the issue with parts availability for the brake drums, shoes, and wheels, would it be possible to get a newer model vehicle to swap axles, brakes, hubs, and wheels?

Thanks for the info; it definitely gives me some things to think about.

 

Do you mean that he has a lot of large trucks for sale?

 

You are welcome, keep us posted.

 

Like Joe stated the wheels are the biggest problem. You can find donors for most of the parts but a good set of non-window maker wheels are fairly hard to find. You can use tubeless 19.5" RV wheels but they are not rated the same as truck wheels. Changing out the rear axle isn't too hard but most likely you'd have to go with a more modern axle with a different bolt pattern so you'd have to have two different spares.

The second most important thing to check on these old trucks is the frame. I would assume down in FLA you still have rust issues with the sea being so close. The F-4 has a single walled frame and is lighter weight. The F-5 & F-6 have a double wall frame and the trucks I've have had had rust issues with the frame. The two layer tend to separate from the rust. I've had some real rust issues with these trucks but I'm also up in the rust belt so maybe you'd be luckier down there.

The other consideration that plays an important part, and this might not matter to you, is space. The bigger trucks take up a lot more space than the pickups. Not only do they take up square footage but they are also taller so they won't fit in a lot of normal residential type garages. They also take more work to work on also because their main structural parts are just bigger than the smaller pickups.

 

You may be interested in an F-2 or F-3 flatbed.

An F-2 has no wheel issues, the F-3 has the widow makers. Both can have the rear axle switched out or a ring and pinion swap for higher speed cruising.

If speed is a concern you may want to purchase a 1954 or later truck. The Y-block V8s make a lot more power than the flatheads. A stock 292 V8 in an F-250 with a 4.10 rear axle ratio would be a good combination.

 

Guess it all matters how much weight you intend to haul. An F-3 has a pretty hefty GVW. Don't recall exact numbers. Front wheels can be changed over to a standard 8 bolt on 6 1/2 bolt pattern wheel with no mods. Rear axle is fairly simple to change to a Dana 60 or like I did to a later model Sterling axle with dual wheels. Makes wheels a whole lot easier to find than for the larger trucks. Front Disc brake conversions are available for the F-2/F-3 models if you wish to go that route. As always it comes down to what you expect the truck to do and your own personal preferences.

Almost forgot Welcome to FTE

 

Guys, I must disagree. I think wheels are anymore one of the more manageable challenges of having a big truck. We've documented that the Budd #89340s, 19.5" x 6" tubeless, are a good solution and not horrible to find. They each have a weight rating of 2,500 lbs yielding total capacity of 15,000 lbs. Agreedly this is less than the 3,000 to 3,500 lb rating of the original widow makers, but certainly enough to handle a commercially relevant load. Without explosions. The 8R19.5" tires are very available and, if you get lucky, the tires on the donor motor home will be in good enough shape to use. The draw back to them is shorter outside diameter, 33.5" vs 36" to 38" when compared to 7.50" or 8.25" x 20s. But they compare in a near perfect way to the 7.00 x 18" tires supplied on F-4s. And if the 19.5s are not the desired solution there are 22.5s also listed in the classifieds.

To my view the bigger issue is brake drums. These are not available NOS so must be found in good used condition. I've, however, been told that drums can be sleeved to bring them back to factory spec but have never seriously looked into it.

Swapping rear axles to get a better gear ratio isn't a big problem either. The donor motor home will probably have a Dana 70 with the same 5 x 8" bolt pattern. With a 4.56/1 ratio.

The complication on the front axle is steering comparability. Most modern axles have a forward and internally mounted steering arm position while our old trucks have an outside the frame rail from the rear mounting. Stu

 

Just to inform you, the 53-56 trucks have more modern transmissions and do not need double clutching. If you get an F600 (or an F6 for 48-52) they will have a 2 speed axle which will increase your pulling power and your highway speed, also, depending if you are in hi or low range.

The 53-56 cabs are bigger and hold 3 average sized men. In the 50's our population was not as large as working men are today...

You may want to look for a flatbed dump to better serve you, also. The hoist beds come in handy...

Welcome to FTE. You came to the right place to learn about and/or buy a 48-56 truck.

 

Welcome to the forum. I have a rebuilt '56 F350 with stake bed and dump that I use. I am currently rebuilding a '49 F4. that I also plan to use a bit.
I am modding the F4 to include a Dana 70 rear end (If I had it to do again, I would have gone with a sterling). The F4 will have the original front end, brakes, steering, all of which have been rebuilt. Front wheels are the Firestone 19.5s and the DRWs will be tall 16". Power comes from a SOB engine with overdrive transmission which will give it a good road speed. Yeah, there is a magnetism to the larger trucks.
I

 

Well, that gives me a lot to consider. Thank you for all the replies and information.

 

Ray - please explain your reasoning, and any issues encountered that make the D70 not your preferred solution. Stu

 

Abe, I have to disagree about the F6- F600, the two speed rear does not add a higher gearing, it adds a lower than granny gear. The F-5 came with either a 5.83 or a 5.14 (which is what I have) The F6 2 speeds were 5.83/8.11 or 6.33/8.81. So the F6 will give you more low end pulling power, but the same, and in most cases lower highway speeds.