need advice..54 ford 4X4
 

I have just found a 54 ford pickup one ton ,same owner last 50 years ,it's ..UM ..rough but it's all there still has the holman moody (?)sticker saying it is a conversion to all wheel drive ,the motor was running till last year.flathead V-8.needs work on the front end ,, king pins or something..had to walk away before falling for the need for one more ford...should I ?..for 1500 I think it is worth it..it's gonna need all 4 fenders and running boards...and the radio is missing..but it is 12 volt.

As cool as it would be to have a Holman Moody edition effie, they're a little more well-known for high performance vehicles, not 4x4's. lol. I'm sure what you're looking at is a Marmon-Herrington conversion. They were the all-wheel drive folks. ;-) Being a 54 with a flathead, that's Canada-only so it's going to be a pretty rare bird with the M-H conversion. It would be a neat project and a very special rig when done. Definitely worth saving. Whether or not you should buy it depends on how bad you want it. :) The price seems reasonable enough.

I have to agree with 52 Merc...:-wink

just a few words of advice ....... BUY IT BEFORE SOMEONE ELSE DOES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:-X22

LMAO......

guy's your supposed to help me not add one more !!I shudda known better..well if I get my brother to move his suzukie's outa the barn and my kid to work on the 55 ford meteor. I might have the room to get it under cover...this thing has 17 inch 6 bolt wheels..how hard are they to replace?..and how hard is it to find parts for the front end..and yes it is M-H my dislexiyah kicking in..I still have to finnish the65 T-bird ,the 68'Ranchero ..change motors in the 87 F350...and mow the damm lawn again!!

For 1500 bucks, its worth it even if it sits out for a year or so. Ya might even be able to resell it for a profit, who knows....

don't mow the lawn yet !!!!!!!!!!! I'VE DONE THIS ...... go get the 55 park it in the tall stuff and then mow and call the other half out and say ... GEE HONEY LOOK WHAT I FOUND WHEN I MOWED .......................................:-X10

That is a very cool sounding truck alright. A flathead 4x4! I probably couldn't resist it.

Goodluck

but I wanted a kenworth..it's a 68 with....no no back to the 54'

being a flattie 4x4 fan, you peaked my interest. got any pics? sounds like there is potential here.

Yeah I'm curious on pictures too, haven't seen a one ton 4x4 before, sounds very slick.

Basically any time anyone mentions anything with M-H it gets the same response of buying it ASAP.

If I remember right radios where just an option, not standard. Being 12v is a nice plus.


Personally I don't see any way you can go wrong. Even if you find you don't have the space for it or desire to build it, I can't imagine not getting your money back on ebay or something when it's rare like it is.

you'll have to wait till a big a-- snowfall for the kenworth as i don't think your wife or neighbors are gonna let the grass get that tall before they start on ya ....... and yeah put some pics of the 4x4 up if you can ..... i do know of a late 50's autocar , and a 62 b model mack myself just can't bring myself to part with the cash they want right now .....................:-wink:-dancing1

A Canadian Marmon-Herrington! That's the first I've heard of. And also the first of the Mid-Year variety that is an F-350. I've heard of, and know that several of our members have, F-250 M-Hs. I also know of a couple of F-350 Fabco 4x4s, but this is the first M-H. Do the badges say where the M-H conversion was done? As explained to me by Chuck Mantiglia, M-H's Canadian associated company (IIRC) was called Canadian Traction Limited. Do the badges show that name, or the standard M-H reference to its Indianapolis home office?

Now, to your specific questions. The rarity of the truck makes it worth having, and at that price it's a "no brainer" to my value system. M-H specific parts availabilty will be an issue, though. The Mid-Year 53-56s, as you've said, used the 6 lug x 7.25" bolt circle Budd style wheels. If your wheels are the widowmaker style, they should be replaced. If they are the locking ring style, they can still be serviced if not badly rusted/damaged. If you have to find replacements, they can be found but you'll be looking at IHCs, Dodges, or Studebakers as well as Fords as donors.

I'll assume that unique to an F-350 M-H would be a Timken B-150 front axle to match its similar back axle. I don't know whether the front drums on that are unique to it, as they are on my trucks, but you might check with Chuck to see whether they are. The other thing you'll want to do is closely inspect the truck to see if any of the M-H pieces are missing or badly damaged. Transfer case linkage will be hard to find. Also, at least on my era trucks, fractured front axles and frames are commonly found.

All that said, it's worth having. Even if you have to resell it if you can't justify the investment. Stu

damm ..now you have me trying to figger out money...well..I can give up coffee for a while ..the truck seems to be compleat just verry rough the owner says something in the front has gone all I can see missing is the front driveshaft,,all the linkage is there the frame looks good . I will go give him a down payment today ..an' try to show you later, thanks guy's ..