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1949 F2 Build - Ternus
Starting a new thread to get all my build stuff in one spot, and show that I'm actually making progress. Newbie here, and been following this forum for a long time, but just signed up last fall. A little rehash of my/the trucks story that i threw out to the group when I first joined in October.
Very long story shortened, but I bought my 1949 F2 from my grandfather in 1992 at the ripe old age of 14. It had a v8 with a cracked block at the time, so I've actually never driven it, and have known it needed a motor. Of my choosing..... It was always barn kept, and he had a daily driver, so the 49'er was very seldom driven since the 70's. It was last plated in 1992. I'm an engineer by day, and was on the road for work all over the country from the time I got out of college, and finally changed positions in the company about 5 years ago to get situated in one spot until I don't have to go to work anymore. Drug the truck out of storage late last summer into my fathers shop at the time, and he's a semi retired mechanic who got bored, and pulled the front end off along with motor and tranny to make it easier to move to my shop. He's owned his own mechanic shop forever, so I had helped down there since I could push a broom. Mainly farm equipment, irrigation motors, muscle cars, anything that doesn't have major computer/electrical equipment. I turned wrenches with him until I left, and worked at an industrial engine shop to pay the bills in college. This is familiar territory, but about a 20 year gap since I've last done something this major. I've had this truck a long time, so have had plenty of time to think of the every restoration scenario, and decided as cool as grandpas truck would be original, I want to drive it. It will look original, but when you turn the key, you'll know otherwise. I have a 429 SCJ in the shop already that's been overhauled top to bottom, that actually came out of my fathers old truck, fuel injected carb setup, and am going MII IFS. Haven't decided on transmission/rear end combo yet, but probably going C6 and 9" Ford of some sort and leaning towards a 4 link. Pretty sure its going back to black, and will be lowered a little, but not changing the stance drastically. Known problems/issues - Grandpa ruined the tailgate 50 years ago, so he made one out of angle/expanded metal. Have a dented one I put on the front of my bar that will probably have to get stolen to put on the truck now that I know I can't find a reproduction tailgate for an F2 It has a bench seat out of a Nova that my dad put in for him about 50 years ago. Original paint was black, and dad painted it about 50 years ago. I didn't know that until I deciphered the firewall code, and told dad. He pretty much said: Duh, I painted it for him. I had always known it as a blue truck. As for what I've done to it since I've had it - Its down to the bare frame now. Pics have descriptions on them. And I'm tired of drilling out rivets. Next - Start welding up un-necessary holes in the frame, and get it off to the sandblaster. Got a new welder, but haven't done any type of production/pretty welding in a long time, so I'll have to dust off the cobwebs and see if I remember how to do this. Frame is as good a place to start as any, as noone will see it. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...b21d26b896.jpg 49 F2 fresh out of storage. For being a 70+ year old truck, its in amazing condition. Helps to have gotten new paint 50 years ago, and been indoor stored for the last 30 years. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...3595e3e9a9.jpg Front sheet metal off at my fathers shop. Passenger fender was smashed long ago, but I have another pair of uppers and lowers that are perfect and ready for paint. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...184d657d4f.jpg Side shot without sheet metal https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...1e4068fc6.jpeg Passenger Loaded up and ready to come to my shop. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...49d517448.jpeg Drivers side https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...7b1457f001.jpg Dad and my daughter helping unload it. Made a quick towbar that bolted over the bumper and hooked to 2" ball on UTV to drag it to my shop. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...35dcb5820f.jpg First pic in my shop https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...4ea7f74e50.jpg Firewall data plate. 98R D 213033, and frame matches. 49, V8, F2, serial and KC. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...0e90547fee.jpg Firewall Stamp: 3 KC 2G 162 Originally Black, built in KC on July 2, 1949. Not sure of the 162. Dad painted it Blue for his Father in law while my folks were dating. I only ever knew it as blue, so the black was a shock. I've been known to drive a black truck or two. My first vehicle was black, and my last 4 ford trucks - daily drivers have been black.... https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...4286e3ddce.jpg Tailgate smashed about 50 years ago, and replaced with angle/expanded metal. Original wood has been covered in plywood as long as i can remember. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...6be1310881.jpg Fingers were crossed when I was pulling off the plywood, hoping the original wood was perfect. Not so. And the front of the bed is rusted through. Surprised, but not surprised. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...af128855e7.jpg Interior coming out. Dad replaced the seat for Grandpa about 40 years ago, probably when doing paint. Allegedly came out of a Nova. It's gone. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...0b1bd0a607.jpg Empty Cab https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...cb4d24cd6e.jpg Wiring and brake lines gone, and doors off. Know everyone is shocked, but the hinge pins are stuck hard. Will have to wrestle those in the vise some other time. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...6b2e935988.jpg Running boards and rear quarters off. First running board bolt came right off, no issues, and got optimistic. Had to cut every single one off after that. Minor rust damage behind the rear quarters, but not bad overall. Running boards are solid, with some repairs in the past I'll have to clean up. Driver front cab corner may need a small patch on the firewall side. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...55e15136d9.jpg Driver front of bed rust https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...e17a1519f1.jpg Driver bed rusted through over rear wheel. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...da9f6c3397.jpg Driver rear bed. Passenger side looks about the same, minus the hole above the wheel. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...0021c98a74.jpg Not really truck related, but gantry and other toys finally came in, and needed a hand standing it up after I got it put together. Elevator to the rescue. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...dbd76b0e54.jpg And the cab came off. Grandpa had a thin sheet of plywood between the cab and bed. Imagine the rusted out front of the bed rattled against the cab.... either the plywood, or bed rubbed a couple minor holes through the back of the cab I'll have to patch. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...af3c90dddc.jpg Cab off, and can see the rust on the front of the bed. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...5540100905.jpg And the bed came off. Made a rolling cart for the cab, and a stand with skids for the bed. Will probably tarp the bed, and drag it outside for the winter if it gets in the way. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...baaec77e5d.jpg Engine brackets and front axle gone. As directed by dads body guy who's currently working on a 49 F1, he welded the front cross member in prior to pulling the engine. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...fe35cae419.jpg Rear axle out. Can't wait to get the wifes plants out of the shop come spring.... https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...f80971918b.jpg Axles off, prior to pulling off rear shock supports, spare tire mounts, etc.. And moved the cab and some stuff to the old side of the shop to get it out of the way. Some idiot built the cab dolly about 4 inches too tall, and it wouldn't fit through the rollup door, so he had to shorten it. He was reprimanded and wasn't allowed access to the shop fridge that night. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...cdd732c7e3.jpg Rivet carnage. Tired of drilling out rivets..... Just drilled the first couple. Ground heads off so I didn't have to drill as much for a few, but found it was faster to use a cut off wheel to mow the rivet heads off prior to drilling, and did that for the majority. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...32adebd47e.jpg As it currently sits, as of last night. Spring hangers, shock perches, spare tire brackets gone. Used a hand torch to heat up the pitman arm for removal, but the hot wrench didn't touch a thing during disassembly. Needless to say, I have a pile of great condition, original suspension/steering/axle parts if anyone is looking. Still have engine/transmission as well. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...20f1f6ea05.jpg 429 SCJ. Flat head replacement. Hopefully this has enough to push this old 3/4 ton around... From scouring this site, I've gotten many good ideas from the folks that have shown what they've done to theirs, and how they did it. Very grateful for that, and am open to any tips and suggestions from everyone on here. Once this is up, I'll get it added to my signature, and up on the member build thread as well. Thanks, Ternus |
Very nice build thread. Keep up the good work. Dave
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Andy, you have one of the most solid F-2's I've seen in a long time. Everything is fixable. I do see the holes at the bottom of the stake pockets. Another member here used some cleverly cut out sectional pieces of regular muffler pipe elbows to weld in and reproduce his pockets. If you have spare time do a search here for stake pockets and you should find the thread.
And oh yeah....that 429 should push a F2 just fine. My stock 95HP motor in my F3 gets it down the road OK, having 200+ more cubic inches ought to make a difference. :D Thanks for the story and all the photos. Will enjoy seeing this one come back together. Tom |
That frame is pretty. A little sand blast and paint after your MII install and motor mount fabrication and you'll be good to go!
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Looking good. keep up the good work.
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Welcome aboard Andy! I assume winter has now reached Nebraska.
Your pics look so green. A member on here called Reamer makes cab corners & patch panels for the '48 - '52 cabs. They fit much better than the ones you get from the online suppliers - He get's the curves right. You may want to check with him about replacement cab corners etc for your F2. Good luck over there. Ben in Austin 1950 F1 |
Originally Posted by ben73058
(Post 20239316)
Welcome aboard Andy! I assume winter has now reached Nebraska.
Your pics look so green. A member on here called Reamer makes cab corners & patch panels for the '48 - '52 cabs. They fit much better than the ones you get from the online suppliers - He get's the curves right. You may want to check with him about replacement cab corners etc for your F2. Good luck over there. Ben in Austin 1950 F1 |
Hi Abe,
I used Reamer a few years back & specifically his Cab corners were really a life saver for us. He also made some Door sill pieces for me that were rotted out. I didn't use him for fender pieces - I cheated and just replaced them with fiberglass. Mine had pounds of bondo in them. The question is does he do F2 patches? I seem to recall that our F1 cabs are the same but I'm not 100%. Stay warm over there! Ben in Austin 1950 F1 |
Great thread. I’ll be following.
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Nice work, im jealous of your garage area too haha nice setup there as well.
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Been out tinkering on the frame almost every evening, but don't seem to have a lot of progress to show for it. Welding and grinding. Took a bit to get the new welder setup to my liking, and then the whole not having done any welding in 20 years.... Not gonna lie, but the first couple holes I welded up were ugly. Knowing this would happen, the grinder cleaned them up nicely. Welded up all the rivet holes from the engine mounts, removed suspension, park brake linkage, and steering. Need to do some grinding on the inside of the frame to clean those up, and then should be close to taking it to get blasted. Beyond body attachments, running board bolt holes, are there any other holes a person should/shouldn't weld up in your opinion?
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...35be90f2c2.jpg |
Originally Posted by ben73058
(Post 20239316)
Welcome aboard Andy! I assume winter has now reached Nebraska.
Your pics look so green. A member on here called Reamer makes cab corners & patch panels for the '48 - '52 cabs. They fit much better than the ones you get from the online suppliers - He get's the curves right. You may want to check with him about replacement cab corners etc for your F2. Good luck over there. Ben in Austin 1950 F1 |
Originally Posted by pineconeford
(Post 20239089)
Andy, you have one of the most solid F-2's I've seen in a long time. Everything is fixable. I do see the holes at the bottom of the stake pockets. Another member here used some cleverly cut out sectional pieces of regular muffler pipe elbows to weld in and reproduce his pockets. If you have spare time do a search here for stake pockets and you should find the thread.
And oh yeah....that 429 should push a F2 just fine. My stock 95HP motor in my F3 gets it down the road OK, having 200+ more cubic inches ought to make a difference. :D Thanks for the story and all the photos. Will enjoy seeing this one come back together. Tom |
Hi Andy,
No one reproduces any of the bed pieces for the F-2/3. Everything is repairable though. I made all my own patches and they turned out fine. I did the exhaust tube method for the stake pockets as well. If you are interested I detailed the bed rebuild in my restoration thread, it's linked in the bottom of my signature. What are you going to do with the original components that you are replacing? I am in KS and would possibly be interested in getting some of them to keep as spares, as my F-2 is completely stock. |
Myers,
First off, I've read through your entire build thread top to bottom. Multiple times. Beautiful work. If mine turns out as good as yours, I'll be ecstatic. As for old parts... I'm fairly certain I traded my steering box/column and front axle and components to an old friend for a tailgate he has. Just have to make a 12 hr round trip drive west for the trade. Had someone else on here reach out and asked about the rear lower shock mounts. Everything else is labeled, bagged and boxed or piled up in the shop, with exception of engine/transmission which is sitting in my fathers shop still. This stuff is in as good of shape as anything a person could find out there, so it would be a shame to not see it be used to get another one up and running someday. Not tossing anything. except the old wiring. And all those &*%^ing rivets I drilled out. And that stupid Nova seat. |
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