Hey guys, well I just bought a 1946 Ford truck so I'll be posting in this forum a lot . Gave $1000 for it in a small town in eastern Colorado. 91,000 original miles, 2nd owner who owned it for 40 years(!) and only put 45,000 on it in that time. Flathead 6, came with original engine which is siezed, but another flathead in it's place which he said ran great in '78 when it was parked. It does turn over too

The truck has sat in the same spot since 1978 and it's going to be a project for me, no kiddin.

So far, I will need to get a 6v battery $40 and a lower radiator hose which I can't find at Checker or Autozone, maybe Napa has it in the morning, if not they suggested a flexable hose.

I can already tell this is going to be hard to find parts for!!

So far the list includes, 1 hood spring, all 4 fenders, and tailgate are the major ones I'm interested in so far. Anyway, I'm happy with this girl, I hope I can get her running soon. Here's a pic, whatya guys think?:

 

Welcome to the '47 & older club.

Very nice find.

 

Congratulations and welcome to the Jailbar club. 42-47 Ford trucks have been named Jailbar's by the chaps in New Zealand and Australia, and the tag has been picked up by some of us US owners. Down under they are a hotly sought after model for rodding.
I would like to see another picture of your truck, a little further away and different angle, to get a better look at that sun visor. I have not seen one before on a 46.
Mike

 

Hey 46yblock, the old timer said that the visor was on it when he got it in 1967. It's aluminum or stainless steel I haven't looked at it enough to see if it has a brand stamped on it.

Surely the side mirror that is on this truck is not original...? You guys know any good websites I can read up on, to find decifering info such as paint codes, options, what model truck I have, etc? I see that 42-47 is the same body style, correct?

Oh yeah, the leaf springs on this thing are amazing!!! They are like 10" stacks.



Thanks guys

 

Nice find and welcome to the '47 and older crew! Looks like a 3/4 -1 ton and in good shape too. Finding parts may be hard, but the challange can be fun.. giving those counter people headaches and such Anyways, good luck and hope to hear from you a bit on here.

Clayton

 

46fordtruck has provided this information over on the 42-47 MSN group. If the 46 originially came with a 6 cylinder, the VIN number will start with 1GC if a 1/2 ton, and 1GY if a one ton.
If the 46 originally came with an 8 cylinder, the VIN will start with 699C, and a 1 ton 699Y. Gary didnt make mention of numbers associated with 3/4 tons.
You are right, the springs can carry a load! They also can tend to make the rear end ridgid when not loaded, beating you to death. Most guys not working their 42-52 1/2 tons remove everyother spring down to a total of 5, and some at 4.

 

Yup, you got a 1 ton there, or as Ford called them, Tonners, or Tonner Express in the case of a pickup, such as yours. Like 46yblock said, those are the numbers I have collected over the years for determining the engine originally installed. Reason I never gave the 3/4 ton is because after the War they were discontinued, so only a 1/2 and 1 tons were available. As far as the paint goes, if it was green it is most likely Greenfield Green, a color also found on the '42 Mercury cars. Trim, such as grille bars, hood spears, and hood latch and related pot metal pieces would have been Tacoma Cream, and possibly the indentation running along side the doors. I have a '47 1 ton myself, original orange paint and cream trim as mentioned.
For front fenders, look for any thing from a 1 ton or larger truck, the 1/2 use a fender with a smaller wheel opening. As far as rear fenders go, those are 1 ton pickup specific, and they are somewhat hard to locate in decent shape. If you can, repair of the original might be better in the long run.
Options were few, sliding rear window (very rare), inside sun visors (rare), heater, dome light, column shift, thicker material for upholstery are pretty much the only options available.
Congrats on Annabelle, looks like it will be a fun project, post more photos, and keep us posted.

 

Hey guys thanks for the great info! Sure is a 1GY311227. The registration says weight being 3606, is that probably close?

1. I was thinking about taking out some of those leaf springs in the rear but didn't want it to drop the rear end, any idea?

2. My buddy has a '46 and I believe it to be a 1/2 ton now that it was mentioned. Thanks for the heads up about the fenders being different, I probably wouldn't have noticed until it was too late, lol.

3. We got it running today! I think the carb is gunked up because it won't rev out, but I'm going to take it apart for cleaning tomorrow. Either that or a stuck valve maybe? I put some Marvelous Mystery Oil in this puppy to get it all worked in.

3. Tomorrows parts include a radiator cap, upper rad hose, spark plugs, and possibly wires. I have the spark plugs soaking in WD40 right now, hope they don't break when taking 'em out.

4. The dizzy points were a little out of gap so I regapped and lightly sanded them today. The gas tank was NASTY!!! I flushed it out, and flushed out the fuel lines, and blew them out with compressed air for a long time before all the crud was out. Then disconnected the fuel line at the pump and cranked over the engine until clean gas was coming out.

5. Oh yeah.... my bed is a wood floor, still mostly in tact (surprisingly) but my neighors has a metal floor, but it's a look-a-like of the slats and such. What's the deal with that? Aftermarket? But it's all rusted out... eh

6. My truck has a driver side sun visor. No rear view mirror, is it just missing? Does have a heater, something Deluxe. All of my

7. I noticed that my neighbors has that grey pot metal handles while mine are chrome, what's the deal with that? And his rear fender doesn't have a indentation for the spare, while mine does, is that just because of how big my tires are?

8. This puppy has 17" wheels, how cool. What the 1/2 tons have -15"?

9. Oh, and what about the outside mirror?

10. What size engine is this flathead-6? I saw on Napas computer it being a 296ci?

11. Oh, did they have chrome trim on these things or were they all cream? I love the cream, and they're going to be cream when I get done.

12. What color blue is the engine supposed to be? What color blue are the hubcaps?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm still excited. Thanks all!

 

The 3606 weight is about right for a 1 ton pickup.
The bed floor was different from the 1/2 tons and 1 tons. For instance, my '46 1/2 ton still has it's original sheetmetal over oak bed, while my '47 1 ton pickup has the wooden boards with the strips between them.
The rear view mirror I have seen on some, and not on others. My 1/2 ton has a '38 mirror in it with the oval head, my '47 Tonner has no mirror. If you want to put the original mirror in (a good idea) use a mirror from a '38. You can get them in reproduction form.
The pot metal handles, you mean inside or out? Inside the '46 had chrome ones inside, however, some could have been painted, perhaps left over stock from the WWII military production. I have a '46 1/2 ton parts truck that has the little plates under the handles painted ones rather than the more common chrome ones. Could have just depended on what plant the truck was built at and if they had military surplus to get rid of.
The fender indention is because of the size of the tires. The 1 ton used a 17" split rim wheel, with a 5 on 6 1/2" bolt circle, while the 1/2 used a 16" wheel, with 5 on 5 1/2 bolt circle. 15" wheels on the trucks never came about until the early 50's. The split rim of the 1 ton could pose a bit of a problem in finding tires. You will be limited to original bias ply tires as these rims were never made to hold a radial tire. Plus some tire shops refuse to mount tires on split rims because they can be very dangerous if the lock rim is not installed properly.
I can't really see your outside mirror all that well, but if it's original it should have a round mirror head.
The flathead 6 cylinder displaced 226 C.I...how NAPA got 296 is beyond me, that was never found in a '46 Ford truck, no matter the ton rating.
The was no chrome on the outside of these trucks...some very early '42's are reported to have had chrome bars on the grille...but that's kind of a rumor, don't think any factory photos have surfaced to prove that.
Hope some of this info helps you with your new project, it's great to see another 42-47 being saved from rusting to death, especially a 1 ton.

 

Hey 46, thanks a lot, that clears a bunch up.

Next question, did these trucks have fan shrouds or is this one an ad-on? I was under the impression that my 1967 was the last year to not have fan shrouds and 1968 was the first to put the fiberglass ones on.


I can't find a radiator cap at Napa or Checker as its not listed. Do you or anyone know the part number for the proper cap?

Napa doesn't have a listing for spark plug wires, they said I'd need to make my own, is this true?

Wow, these rims are split rims huh, ouch. I heard that if you can find a shop to do them they are $40 just to mount each one... I'm thinking some nice fat white wall stock type tires, to finish her off in a year or two or so.

Do you or anyone have one spare hood spring for sale?

My floorboards are very thin and holey and will need to be replaced. Do you or anyone know where to find patches? I don't think Dennis Carpenter or L M C go back this far.

 

The 6 cylinder trucks did not have fan shroud, just the V8s.

For the cap and plug wires, check out places such as Mac's Antique Auto in NY, or CW Moss in southern California. Both those places will stock the parts you need. You could make the wires yourself, or buy them premade from one of the above vendors. You can also get the hood spring from them, they cost about $5. For the cost new ones are way better. These springs tend to eventually break after 60 years.

Try northernclassictrucks.com for the floor board repair kits.

 

Sweet, I checked out Northern, it shows the floor panels and trans pan at $75 each ... I wonder if I should just weld flat steel in there.... errrrr

Anyway, I took the carb apart cleaned it and it starts great and idles fine but it won't rev out, still. I wonder if the exhaust heat flapper is not letting it exhaust.... am I on the right track?

 

Heck of a nice truck. Looks to be in good shape.

That's what i'd like to find.
Congrats.

Exhaust might be plugged up, an animal might of made it home.

Sitting almost 30 years and in that good shape.

Woa

DT

 

Thanks DT 466, you really think it's in that good of shape?? I need ALL 4 fenders!! I guess it's a real good thing the cab, hood, and doors, and trim are in EXCELLENT shape. The passenger windshield, pass door, and driver door are cracked. But he gave me a good spare passenger glass, and the back glass and driver windshield is good too.

Well, I torched off the exhaust right before the muffler and sure enough that was it! The freakin thing was totally clogged with rust and what appeared to be dirt!

Wow, this thing runs excellent!! I still can't find a radiator cap anywhere so I wired some tin foil over the hole. I drove it around the neighborhood and it got too hot. My dad suggests I take out the thermostat (in case it's bad) when I reflush the system tomorrow. Does anyone know if parts stores stock a thermo or if that's a Macs deal as well?

I'm going to call some old timer radiator shops in town and see if they have a used cap, if not I'll have to get it out of Mac's as suggested earlier.

But I wanna drive this puppy some more! Driving with that visor is very private and awesome in the sun! I'm debating about leaving it on.....!

 

Mac's has the therm for it, I'm sure. The visors are neat, but know that if you want to sell it you can get soem decent money for them on eBay.