Ladies and gentlemen......this is my ride. What to do with it. I am new here. Anybody got some ideas? Seriously has a stance issue. It has been sitting for awhile. (money issues) 351 Windsor, C4 trans, 9 inch differential posi, 3:55 gears, power windows, power door locks, electric cooling fan. This truck was running perfectly before she was parked. My preference would be to do a aftermarket chassis, but, alas, I am not wealthy. Curious about flipping both front and rear axle, disc brakes on all four wheels, power rack and pinion on the straight axle. I need to replace fuel tank (old unspent gasoline) The steering box needs to be replaced or remanufactured and the ride is horrible. It is extremely cool to be here with so many knowledgeable mechanical types. Thanks for reading and any ideas.
On a budget you don't need 4 wheel disc brakes in one of these trucks. Fronts are fine, the rear end is light and the drums work perfectly fine. You do not want to put a Rack and Pinion (power or otherwise) in a straight axle truck - it causes more problems than it solves. there are plenty of power steering box conversions you can do if you need power. Flip the rear and get a drop axle for the front. You don't have enough room to flip the front axle with that Windsor in there and still have decent suspension travel.
Jeff my friend, I would like to inform you that you have a 1951 or 1952 ONLY rear bumper. Those gentlemen that have a F-1 in that year range will pay a pretty penny for that bumper. If I didn't spend 8 months looking for one, and about $600 before rechroming. I'd be trying to low ball you out of that bumper.....Just a heads up.
Nice truck.... The above advice is excellent, looks like what this needs more than anything is just a thorough refurbishing of what's there. Get it running, find out what works and what doesn't and go from there. I will say I think those forward opening hood conversions are dumb, but that's me...
the very first thing I would do with that truck when it arrived at my house would be to remove those mirrors.
Thanks so much for the info. I am glad that there are good people here making sure that I don't make any expensive mistakes.
If you find me the proper replacement bumper that is in the same shape, I would trade you. Although, I am in California.
I promise......when I am ready to fill in the holes where those mirrors are, I will junk the mirrors and replace them.
If you like a "Custom" look, you can find a 58/58 Ford truck grille, take like 14" out of the center, turn it upside down, instant old school quad headlight custom grille..
Jeff, looks like a truck needing a little TLC. You have a really good F-100 guy in your back yard. Get a hold of Mark at Eddie's Rod Shop. I don't remember his address but he is in the complex off of Lower Azusa where they used to build the floats for the Rose Parade. Tell him WEEDETR sent you.
hotroddon is right. I owned a '53 F-100 from '79-'92. It had a 327 Chevy and Turbo 400. The brakes, in good shape, stopped it just fine. Also when I installed new kingpins, I could steer it with one hand. It was amazing how much difference it made. I miss my truck. I sold it to a friend who still has it (and said if he ever wants to sell it, he will call me first) You will enjoy your truck, I guarantee it! It also looks like your later model mirrors are attached in the slot on leading edge of door where the factory mirrors were attached. Maybe a close up picture for us to determine that, so that you may just need to find some original style mirrors
Cool start. OK, nobody said it yet, clean the engine & interior-HA!. just paint the grille - keep it. keep us updated on progress.
Very nice truck. Love to see it after a bit of cleaning. Check out midfifty.com for power steering options. I used the toyota kit with an ididit column. Easy to install, and steers great. PM me if you'd like to see any pics, or details.
If you want to improve the ride quality, the first thing you need to do is replace all the bushings on the springs and shackels. While you have the springs out, clean and paint the springs. Find some nylon spring tape to put between the springs and you will have a smooth ride. I am curently working on my 4th '54 f-100 now, and that's the first place I always start. You can pm me if you have questions
Get it running and clean it up. I would change the tires and wheels. There are threads on here about refurbishing the paint, alot of that surface rust will come off and leave a decent patina. Drive it this summer and you will get a better idea what it needs most.
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