Saw this on ebay... thought someone might find this interesting. I guess they only made 200 of these.....
https://m.ebay.com/itm/1953-Ford-F-1...49&_mwBanner=1

 

I'm thinking that would be rare for a half ton M-H.

 

It's very similar to the one I had. Mine was a f100 as well

 

Here’s some of the pictures.

 

I would clean the grease around the area and really inspect where the tubes go into differential housing. Maybe the truss was proactive, or reactive after some abuse caused the left and right tubes to be no longer on the same plane.

 

"1953" has a 1955 grille.

 

I agree that the truss rod is there for a reason. I believe Chuck has written that they were attached to a weak axle. Hope he stops by to comment. The other thing I’d be concerned about is no pics of the transfer case. Go find one of them! In the description the seller calls it a Ranger but it’s not. Stu

 

Looks like a NP-200 transfer case to me.
This is a Ranger T-case:

 

Marmon-Herrington converted F1 panel trucks to 4WD, installed side windows and called them Rangers.

This was the first time a Ford vehicle was called a Ranger (though not by FoMoCo).

The first usage of the Ranger name by FoMoCo: 1958/60 'price leader' Edsel.

1958 Edsel: Ranger, Pacer, Corsair & Citation. 1959 Edsel: Ranger & Corsair. 1960 Edsel: Ranger & Villager (station wagon).

 

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Hmmm. No pics of transfer case...by choice or accident. Cant even see if a front driveshaft is there. Funny, everyone who sells a M-H knows it is rare, but some dont seem to know to include pictures of the entire undercarriage.


A word to the wise...like anything else, buying one of these is getting a pig in a poke, even if you see it in person and everything appears intact. I would insist on pictures of the entire undercarriage if i was in the market for it. A missing or disconnected front driveshaft may spell trouble.

 

Is that picture in the Photobucket file seller mentioned? I couldn’t get the file to open. Or is that just a picture you have saved? Edit - Oh, you mean it’s a late model Ranger pickup transfer case. Stu

 

Yeah, it's just a pic off the web of a Ranger PU transfer case. Not sure of the year, maybe late '80's on. Just shows that the two output shafts are almost on the same plane, and that the front one goes over the x-member.

 

Maybe he just added it, but there is a pic of the TC:

 

Okay, that looks familiar. Thanks Ross. Stu

 

That's pretty neat, What type of heater is that?