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1948 Ford F4 build thread

Discussion in 'The Antiquated' started by Hivolt5.0, Nov 8, 2011.

  1. Just ordered some new rear brake linings for the shoes from Joblot Automotive. If you've never dealt with them I highly recommend them. Very helpful and curtious. Anyway, I'll report back to see if the new linings will solve the problem.
     
  2. OahuEli
    Joined: Dec 27, 2008
    Posts: 5,243

    OahuEli
    Member
    from Hawaii

    I was curious about the inside diameters because my thought was that one might have been turned more than the other in past years to correct wear issues. If one got turned too far perhaps the adjusters can't compensate for the difference.
     
  3. BrerHair
    Joined: Jan 30, 2007
    Posts: 5,005

    BrerHair
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Redneck Engineering 101. Nice work.

    Hope you don't need new drums.
     
  4. I suppose anything is possible with these old drums. When I first took them off they had some grooves in them, not huge, but grooves nontheless. I took them to shop and had them turned again to smooth them out. If you look really close at the following pictures, the "lip" around the drum has a slight bevel on the edge leading to the braking surface. After being turned that bevel is no longer there. Perhaps that can provide an indication of how much was turned off. The shoes still had some lining left so I was hopeful that i wouldn't need to reline them but even they had some groove wear. hopefully the new brake linings will be thick enough to allow the shoe to adjust properly.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  5. Me too. Not even sure where I'd find some and even then I may face a similar situation with needing to turn them and hoping there's enough left.
     
  6. The new brake linings came in the other day and they are definitely a bit thicker than the linings on the shoes now. I hope to start relining the shoes this weekend. Guess I should have just ordered new linings from the get go, oh well.

    On a different note, I spent the past few days cleaning up the lug nuts. They were very rusty so I let them soak in some rust remover so that I could see the true state of the nuts. The verdict wasn't what I had hopped for. The rear outer nuts were the worst of the bunch by far. In talking with Joblot Automotive, they have new lug nuts for these 1 ton trucks so I think I'm just going to order a complete set. I know the truck isn't going to be used daily, but the threads on some of those nuts are in bad shape and I would hate for one to fail. Similar to replacing the original widow maker rims for the newer one piece rims, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
     
  7. Well, it's been awhile since my last post. I wasn't able to do much during December due to travel and the general hecticness of holidays, but it sure was a great Christmas with my family. I hope you all had a blessed Christmas too!

    So, as I mentioned in my previous post, the new rear brake linings came in and I was able to get them riveted to the shoes with no problems. Once relined I reinstalled the brake hardware and Praise the Lord it all worked! I was able to get all of the brakes adjusted up so that they rub against the drum and there's plenty of adjustment to spare. i'm so glad that worked out well. Also, it was pretty cool installing "Ford" stamped brake linings to the shoes. The old linings were Wagner brand.

    My other accomplishment over the past couple of days was to install the wheels so that I have a rolling chassis now! I didn't put the dual wheels on the back yet mainly because they take up width (room) in my garage that I just don't have much of. I can't tell you how nervous I was installing those freaking heavy wheels and trying not to scratch the nicely painted drums but it all went fine. So what do you think?

    [​IMG]

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    brEad likes this.
  8. geoking
    Joined: Nov 12, 2008
    Posts: 717

    geoking
    Member

    David,
    Now that she's a roller...you should post a picture of your happy face.
    Very Nice Work Sir... smile
    Best regards,
    George


     
  9. Once I get the engine/tranny installed I'll definitely be posting the happy face picture. :D
     
  10. OahuEli
    Joined: Dec 27, 2008
    Posts: 5,243

    OahuEli
    Member
    from Hawaii

  11. I like that red for the drums. Really sets off the black. Are you using the single-chamber master cylinder? That's what I've got right now, but having second thoughts safety-wise. If you do go dual master, share with us your choice. I'll be shopping around for a dual master cylinder, and am thinking of adding a power boost. These are pretty heavy trucks, after all.

    Also, I love these Ford truck steering arms that start from the bottom of the spindle and connect to the drag link above the kingpin, but because I've converted to a Pete and Jakes four-bar and mustang box, the arm is about four inches too low now. If I had a three-inch axle drop and flipped the eyes on the front spring, I could get back that four inches and make the drag link parallel with the four bars, but I'd rather not drop the front that much. I want it to look as close to stock as possible, so I'm considering heating the steering arm and lifting it three inches, with the flipped spring eyes to get me that last inch. My friend, Joe, however, doesn't think that's a good idea because heating and bending it would weaken the steering arm.

    Thoughts?
     
  12. HOTFR8
    Joined: Nov 30, 2010
    Posts: 2,075

    HOTFR8
    Member

    Looking good. What are the wheels from ?
     
  13. Thank you Eli!

    Thanks HOTFR8! The rims are from on old RV. Please see the link below for more info:
    http://www.fatfenderedtrucks.com/widowmaker.html

    I think you mentioned to me the dangers of the original two piece rims and I did a lot of research on them as well. The more I thought about those two piece rims the more nervous I got. Having worked on snap ring type rims when I was younger, I know the dangers of them. I found the one piece rims (actually someone else sent me a link for them) up in Iowa and bought them. The shipping cost as much as the rims did but I feel much better knowing these one piece rims are so much safer.
     
  14. Osage, Please see my previous post below on the Master Cylinder. Like you, I wasn't very excited about the single MC but wasn't sure what to use. A member of the Ford Barn told me about this MC, it has a 1 1/4 bore like the original MC does.


    "David,
    Napa changed the numbers of the master cylinders M2194 is new and P2194 is rebuilt.
    The link will show a picture of the M/C http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Ca...194_0358749905

    Bob"

    And here's a link to the entire thread. Lots of good information that should help you out.

    http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=80487
    <!-- / message -->

     
  15. OahuEli
    Joined: Dec 27, 2008
    Posts: 5,243

    OahuEli
    Member
    from Hawaii

    Oh man, I forgot about the two piece rims! What a pain in the ass busting those down! Glad you got some better wheels and the detail looks great too.
     
  16. Thanks Eli. yeah, I'm glad to have the better wheels too. I know the odds of those split rims blowing apart is low, but with my kids being near the truck I just didn't want to gamble with those odds. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
     
  17. HOTFR8
    Joined: Nov 30, 2010
    Posts: 2,075

    HOTFR8
    Member

    I am sure I did mention that at some point some time back. What you have now look good and you can be happier knowing that they are safe as well.

    You still did not answer what they came off ? What type of RV ?
     
  18. volvobrynk
    Joined: Jan 30, 2011
    Posts: 3,587

    volvobrynk
    Member
    from Denmark

    I really dig your build! I like those short stobby trucks, they look so tuff and cute at the same time.

    I love that you kept it as a truck and did'nt convert it in to a small F1. Sorry to the guys who did, but I love them as trucks.

    Is it correct that the Pick Up F1 came with a bench seat and the bigger F4/F5 came with two individual seats? Like a proper truck should.

    I really like the look of that shifter! I also looks like a true truck piece, and it's only when you look at the pedals you notice it's set up so a man with one leg can drive it. I'm not a big fan of aut. in a truck like this, but when you got it with that motor it's a different matter!

    You done a great job, and not a thing i would change, except for the name on pink slip ;-).
    Defenetly Subscribed.
     
  19. Sorry, if you look at the web link it mentions the RV chassis the rims come from. I was fortunate that another board member sent me a Craig's list link for the rims I ended up getting so I'm not sure what type of RV those particular rims came from.


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  20. Thanks Volvo! To answer your question on the seat, the F4 has a bench seat as well. The only difference, cab wise, between the F1 and F4 is the front fenders. The bigger trucks have larger wheel openings.

    As for the shifter, I'm glad you like it. My goal for this truck was to have it look some what stock but with a few tasteful upgrades. I was glad when Lokar came out with their midnight series because it allows the items to blend in more instead of saying "look at me I'm an aftermarket piece!"


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  21. HOTFR8
    Joined: Nov 30, 2010
    Posts: 2,075

    HOTFR8
    Member

    Sorry the link does not say what the wheels are from. Can you post the link again please.
    The link I am looking at just shows and mentions the widow maker rims.
     
  22. No problem HOTFR8. Here is the link and a snipet from it.

    http://www.fatfenderedtrucks.com/widowmaker.html

    "During our research of these rims we have found substitutions that will work on these old Fords. All of the substitutions rims are somewhat hard to find but they are out there. Some Dodge, International Truck and Studebaker trucks of the same vintage have factory rims with the snap ring design that will work. Ford also made one piece 22 1/2" tubeless rims during this same time and were an option used mostly on school buses. Also, one piece tubeless 19 1/2" rims from RVs with M400 or M500 Dodge chassis have the same bolt pattern and will fit over the big brake drums of the old Fords."

    After a few Google searches it appears the Dodge M400 and M500 chassised RVs were from the late '70s.
     
  23. HOTFR8
    Joined: Nov 30, 2010
    Posts: 2,075

    HOTFR8
    Member

    OK, thanks. I see how I missed it now. None of those vehicles would have been sold here so we Aussies had to find alternatives.
     
  24. BrerHair
    Joined: Jan 30, 2007
    Posts: 5,005

    BrerHair
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Looking good David. Had split rims on a 1969 Chevy C20, left them to the professionals. Burned that poor truck up from both ends, worked the crap out of it for several years, never had an issue with the rims.
     
  25. From what I can gather, the issue with these particular Ford split rims is that they split in the dropped center portion of the rim. Once the tire is on there is no way to determine if the rim snapped together correctly. On most split rims I've dealt with, they had a snap ring on the lip so that it was "easier" to tell if the snap ring seated correctly. However, I'm just glad to have some one piece rims. They're just safer.


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  26. Oh, I see what you mean, and it'd probably cost a fortune to ship some rims there.

    From an overall usability standpoint I think the best way to go is what you did by putting the cab on a different frame. You get the modern drivetrain and suspension with classic good looks.


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  27. HOTFR8
    Joined: Nov 30, 2010
    Posts: 2,075

    HOTFR8
    Member

    I still had to go to a later rim. ALCOA's and then three solid steel wheels (Inner duals and spare) are imported by a firm here in Australia from Canada.

    Prior to that my chassis used these wheels similar to the widow makers with a removal outer split rim section.
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jan 3, 2014
  28. So I have a few questions for you guys:

    1. What weight gear oil should I use in the rear end?
    2. For the vent windows, what parts are supposed to be chromed? Is it just the channel that the glass slides in to?
    3. Do any of you have any "F-4" emblems you'd like to sell? Somewhere along the way the ones for the truck have been lost.
     
  29. HOTFR8
    Joined: Nov 30, 2010
    Posts: 2,075

    HOTFR8
    Member

    1. Use a standard gear diff oil.
    2, You have 1/4 vent windows good to use ! I had to make new ones from scratch and paint them. They should be chrome, that is what the glass slides into and the handle to open them.
    3, Fill the holes and leave them off. I have seen stick on copies and some originals but only in the US. They did not get the emblems the same way in Australia.
     

  30. Thanks HOTFR8!

    1. Now that the chassis is on wheels I've rolled it in and out of my garage a couple of times and I was thinking I should probably go ahead and put oil gear oil the rear end. I also need to go ahead and grease all of the suspension pins and steering tie rods.

    2. Yep, I was finally able to locate some vent windows for the truck. I'm not sure what happened to the originals but they obviously got lost by some of the previous guys who worked on the truck before I did. Regardless, I bought them from a guy who was on the HAMB or FordBarn, I can't remember now. They're in pretty good shape, definitely usable.

    3. I've thought about filling the holes, at least for now, but I'd kind of like to have some of the emblems.
     

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