Considering a new challenge
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From: San Antonio, TX
Considering a new challenge
All right guys, ya'll are in the know down here. It's time for a new project. I was at a swap meet this weekend and saw a couple of 46 1/2 tons. I've always liked the 42-47s and my wife, having seen one now, likes them too. One wasn't for sale and the other had a Chevy motor and he wanted $7500. It still needed lots of work, anyway, I passed. How big a challenge is it to find all the little parts like the grill bars and such. I want to do a rest-rod kind of build but I like all the door handles, original chrome, mirrors and such. Thanks for any input ya'll may have. Joe
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From: Orange County, CA
Joe, it's very easy to find the parts for these trucks. They are the odd ball of the Ford truck family, often overlooked, but parts are just about as easy as any other pre '48 Ford to find. I have owned 5 of these trucks (three 1/2 tons and two 1 tons), and never had much trouble finding parts. There are some resources online dealing with the 42-47 Ford trucks, do a search, you should find some stuff.
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From: San Antonio, TX
Thanks for the response. I guess I'll start part searching to get an idea. My neighbor has a 40 2dr sedan, he's a good source of knowledge but he's a car guy. I'm thinking stock body, dropped front axle w/single leaf springs, later flathead, later tranny w/overdrive, 9" rear, steel wheels hubcaps and rings. I might consider a 302 with a heidts front suspension, we'll see what kind of truck I find. Just want to keep it simple. I'd be happy to find a non-running original truck with just a body and frame. The older the paint the better. I like to see how they were used. I'm not planning on A/C or any power equipment.
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From: Orange County, CA
The way you describe it with the flathead and all is pretty much how 1 of my '46's is going together, except i will prob be using an 8" rear (the flatty doesn't really need a 9" rear). Good luck in your search.
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From: Southern Oregon
JK, your ideas for a 46 are pretty much like mine also. I tried to keep everything as simple as possible, with single leaf springs front and rear. Tranny is 3 speed manual, rear end is 8 inch. No power, radio or heater.
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Joined: May 2005
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From: San Antonio, TX
I wouldn't mind keeping an AM radio so I can still listen to the classic country and rock stations. There's a guy in San Antonio that will rebuid an old AM with new components inside so it'll work and sound good. I would also like an original guage cluster rebuilt to function. I saw an ad for those in Rod and Custom. I want to keep things like the door hinges exposed (I like the hinge mount mirrors), tail gate chains, stock tail lights (Maybe blue dots), rubber floor. Lots of guys chop, fill, smooth, french etc. Those are some cool trucks too. I just like them simple though. I'm thinking meadow green but my wife saw an old chevy that had medium gray fenders and a light gray body. She liked that color combo. I'll stick with non metallic acrylic enamal with no clear coat.
