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Hi guys,
Am going to look and hopefully buy a 47’ 1 ton tomorrow. I am curious what axles I can swap under this thing for gearing purposes. I have a 50’ F3 and I know I can put a 67-72 Ford dana 60 underneath, is this true with these older ones? Also are the spindles the same as F3s? I’d like to convert the truck to 8 lug if possible to do 16” rims. Let me know your thoughts…
I’ve studied the rear of my 47 and compared it to my 52. The rear frames look to me to be identical. My M-H front axles are different than 2wds so can’t say for sure whether your hubs are the same and will interchange between the eras. Hope one of the others knows your answer. Stu
hi nice truck ! not sure you got the right rear fenders .
I thought so too, according to owner it’s all original. Came from factory with a 48’ express box. Anyone know if this happened at the end of 47’ ? If that’s the case I think it’s pretty cool…
Yeah, that’s another clue. The Express bed 42-47 is the same as 48-52, except for the fenders and mounting locations. I’ve never heard it claimed that the later design was factory fitted to the early trucks during the changeover. Might be a possibility.
Another reason I know the rear axle mounts the same is the M-H practice of using up old <47 parts supplies on 48-52 truck conversions. I’ve had two 1950 donor M-H F-3 trucks that were both fitted with the earlier Tonner axles having the 5 x 6 7/8” bolt pattern. M-H fitted adapters to match them up to their front axle 5 x 8” bolt pattern.
Now to the front axle. We know that on 48-52s the front axles and spindles of the F-1, F-2, and F-3 are the same parts. The 42-47s have cross over steering so logically the spindles would not be the same as on the later trucks. But I wondered if the hubs of the 42-47 half ton might have the same parts numbers as the 48-52 half ton since they shared the 5 x 5 1/2” pattern. They do not. The 42-47 hubs are 51 1105-A while the 48-52s are 8C 1102-A. I also checked my OSI catalogs and don’t find the earlier number cross referenced to the later number. So it appears there were differences. Stu
Well regardless of the fenders I brought the truck home last night. This truck is the cleanest truck I’ve ever seen in Iowa. Only rust is on the rear of the rear fenders looks where they meet the bed. The engine is stuck but it’s soaking… I may have paid a little more than I should but I couldn’t pass this old gal up.
That's a nice tonner! I wish I had answers to your axle questions. Over the years I have done a lot of axle work on these old gals, just never tried swapping hubs. Wouldn't surprise me at all if the fronts would swap with F3 front drums. The rear should be fairly straight forward. Just measure spring pad centers etc. I put a sterling 10 1/4" from a '92 F350 under my 59 F350 and it was mostly cutting off the spring pads and moving them on the axle. They make 'combination' U-joints where it has 2 diferent sizes on the cross so you can keep your drive shaft and bolt it up to a diferent size yoke on the rear axle. I also like your tow rig. We don't see too many single cabs out here on the left coast Congrats on your find.
That's a nice tonner! I wish I had answers to your axle questions. Over the years I have done a lot of axle work on these old gals, just never tried swapping hubs. Wouldn't surprise me at all if the fronts would swap with F3 front drums. The rear should be fairly straight forward. Just measure spring pad centers etc. I put a sterling 10 1/4" from a '92 F350 under my 59 F350 and it was mostly cutting off the spring pads and moving them on the axle. They make 'combination' U-joints where it has 2 diferent sizes on the cross so you can keep your drive shaft and bolt it up to a diferent size yoke on the rear axle. I also like your tow rig. We don't see too many single cabs out here on the left coast Congrats on your find.
thanks, I scored some hubs from a F3 this weekend so going to try to fit those on. Gotta see if that old flatty can spin first…
yup I’ve only ever owned regular cabs, they are honest to god trucks. Nothing against crew cab trucks, I just like the old formula…regular cab 8’ box hence why I chase the old tonners
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nice pickup too !!!
