Four? You sent me back to the archive. It's three. Rod, D. J., and you. Stu

Chuck might want to comment, but my guess is that Timken did it all on the M-H front axles. Much easier to build them to spec rather than modify them once built. Same with Napco and Dana/Spicer I'd think. Stu

HarleyGyrene, as others have said, Welcome to FTE. This is the site you need. We are friendly. We are or try to be funny. We don't blast guys. We don't have flaming threads. Even Darksiders get along with stockers and newbies are treated with respect not downtrodden and made fun of. This is a great place to learn.

And my guess is that after you're here a while, you might end up keeping the Napco '56!

BTW, in Vintage truck a year or so ago, there was an article about NAPCO and how it started. I think it stands for National Auto Parts Company. And then they expanded into 4 wheel drive conversions and then did it exclusively.

The Napco Ford featured in this thread appears to have a Dana, probably 44. I believe Studebakers got a Dana as well. For Chevy/GMC, I believe a corporate rearend was used, much like Marmon Herrington did with the F2s and up.

I know, or did know of a 48, at least that's what I was told, M-H in western SD. Many years ago the owner wanted a gold mine for it. It was original and running, though.

You two need to compare notes. Might be the same truck.

Owen - have you had a chance to run down the third F-3 M-H that you've mentioned that's up around Williston? IIRC you said it's the one with a fx'd front axle, but even so it'd be a great donor. Stu

NAPCO actually has an interesting history, and was apparently very profitable until the motor companies started doing factory 4x4's ('59 or '60 ?). At some point Dana bought out what was left of the company.

Here's a link to some history for those interested.....

The Napco Owners Group

Question.. isn't that a F250 bed? But the emblems say it's F100 (if original emblems)

Are those F250 fenders up front?

Or is this one of those special order longbed F100s?...

interesting napco reading. thanks for the link. why dont the MH guys have an owners group? maybe we kinda do right here on FTE. reading that napco history has brought up some more questions for me. if i read correctly the gmc/chevy got the model 23 pass. side front drive t-case, and the ford got the model 24 left side front drive t-case. harleyg, your t-case appears to be the model 23 right side front drive? if i recall you posted what that case was but it has since been deleted. are there any badges on the dash that say Napco or power-pak? not trying to po po anything, but what if someone took a power-pak out of a gmc and installed it on your ford. the link said it only took 3 hours and 4 new holes. just curios.

It's always fun to learn about a new truck or conversion. Thanks for making me aware of it. Welcome to the playground!

Personally I have a chronic beef with IB's stupid forum rules, but that's just me. The classifieds and search on this forum have become so antiquated and difficult to use that I never go there.

If anybody wants to respond to an offer of some part of truck available, PM's keep it private. Just my $.02
Tim

The first year for the long bed F-100 was '56. In his book, Ford Trucks Since 1905, James K. Wagner says "Desiring to rush its 8 foot Express/Pickup quickly to market, Ford did not pause to develop an extended F-100 frame but utilized instead the F-250's". Stu

Yep. Badges on the hood and on the dash. And you are correct: it is a Model 23. I also wondered about the 23 but found (somewhere ?) a statement that "NAPCO primarily, but not exclusively, used the Model 24 on the Fords". Hmmm...

EDIT: As far as the owners group, NAPCO is a cool site (one of the first I joined), but primarily Chevy/GM. Not many interested in the Ford stuff there

interesting about the model 23. glad to know napco's are head scratchers like the Marmons are. i also thought napco went back before 54 or 56, or whatever that history said. with them being cheaper and dealer installed, and easier to install, seems to me there would be more of them than the MH brand. not the napco fords, but napco in general. the guy i bought my F2 MH from had a 3/4 ton GMC napco sitting there with no motor. maybe a 59 apache or some such thing. no engine but a cool looking truck non the less. i was already in the shiv house with the MH so i didnt ask to much about it. anyway, welcome to FTE and good luck with the truck

My understanding is that they started earlier also: seems like I read that as soon as the open drive shafts started appearing: '49 or '50 comes to mind ? Not sure though.... I'm still doing some research, especially on the front axle. Have read that it should have NAPCO stamped on it, but it doesn't that I can find. Keeps me busy reading anyway !!

I thought I would answer a couple questions at once.
M-H always did their own steering ends in house. They bought pumpkins without tubes from Spicer, and installed their own, with their own ends.
NAPCO first offered kits for Fords in 1956. The earliest ones used a Chevrolet front axle, with 6 lug wheels. And no, they didn't bother with any kind of adapter to change the pattern for the rear. Some time in 1956 they switched to the Spicer 44. I'm sure these were completely built by Spicer. And they all used the model 23 transfer case.
Chuck

thanks for clearing up the MH front axle question Chuck. So harleyg, do you have six lug on the front and five lug on the back? Chuck, gonna send you a pm.