Piling parts in the grand prix and placing engines in the trunk gets old after awhile. Brousing the local CL ads I ran across this 1956 F250. struck a deal and brought the ol' fella home. Off the road since 1984, some fresh fuel and some electrons resulted in instant combustion. literally with the initial twist of the key. Rebuilt the master cylinder and redid the rear brake lines, wheel cylinders and all hoses, and added some new shoes. everything works so far. little by little I'll replace some of the metal and cut new wood for the bed floor. The is rust on this fella, but not as bad as the picture make it look. lost of it is surface which I will sand down, neutralize, prime and paint. I'll probably paint it a deep satin blue(similar to original color) and most like keep w/in the traditional/ rat rod (not garbage rod) theme will probably install a V8 at some point backed by 5spd or used the stock 3 speed w/ a Hone O Drive if I can find one cheap. I will of course add shop info to the door. some specs 232 mileage maker I6 7800 capacity 4.88 gears (not exactly highway friendly) dana 60 rear w/ floating axles Original color is nocturne blue ( still present on inside of cab) I always liked the second generation F-series. This thing is just plain cool. There's something about driving 3 on the tree. plus now I can pick up large items w/o hassle. Woot!!! ;D
Thats a nice truck indeed, The blue should be nice. all blue or tu tone with black fenders? As far as the V-8 goes,may I ask Why????Are you just to used to those trans am 455's? I'm just saying that your truck was born with the six and has survived 50+ years with the six, and i'd imagine it gets you where you need to go with the six, But then again I'm partial to I-6's. I think I now have 3 of em, 5 if you count the ones not in cars, and I wouldnt mind more. I just bought a 2.5 ton Gmc with a six and I like it fine, but then again I don't plan to race it either. I guess mabey I kindof think of these motors as a vehicles heart and soul. Check into speed equiptment if you want to hop it up or dress it up. I guarentee you'll get 10 times the attention with a six under the hood. (and an excuse in court). When I see a v-8, unless it's something very special I tend to pass it by. Of course i'm assuming your ford would of used a y-block or a smallblock and not a flatty. You could check out "diamond 49" 's ford pickup for a nice "Y with a tri". I think we can agree how nice the three on the tree is, but it won't last too long with a few more ponies. Well, I guess that was my $22.02... Nice truck!!! great find!!! Enjoy........
The simple fact that thing isn't held together by oxidation is what we call in the televangelist biz, a MUHR-UH-CULL! Bravo! Excellent find!
that thing is way cool!! I think I would just go through the whole thing and make it mechanicaly sound. and leave the body as you found it. but thats me??
this will be fun and unique ride. It rocks.I took it to the local tire shop and it made people happy. nice to see people appreciate vintage iron that doesn't die. Besides, even though new vehicles have advanced in design over the years, many have lost style. that's one thing I love about vintage vehicles is their style and looks. alfredfromchicago - I do build & fix many 2nd gen birds. But that is not the reason/ idea of swapping a V8. Eventually, I would like to get a car trailer and would need a nice torquey engine. not the I6's don't produce torque, just feel an 8 would be more up to the task. I also have a 312 and a tri power setup for a SBF that are collecting dust. Nothing is in stone at the moment, just brainstorming. I throught about desiel engine is floating around, but I would probably need to reinforce the frame a good bit. Again, just playing with ideas. I do agree that I6's are stout engines. (ford, chevy, mopar leaning tower of power, even newer ones from BMW, toyota and jeeps). most are pretty tough to kill. I will look into modifying the stock engine also. poboyross - agreed , oxidation do not have good structural properties. I have looked at few older trucks even some in Alabama when I was there for a few years and they even had quite a bit of rust. left coast rod & custom - I'm better at the mechanical aspects then the body. I always make sure the vehicle is sound mechanically before moving forward. Some areas do need to be adressed, but the body will stay mostly the way it is. Fix the broken and address deteriorating areas mainly for preservation.
Cool, The best part besides it being on e cool old truck is that you can find just about any piece for it that you may want pretty easy. For parts runs around town that six would probably be dead nuts reliable for years to come with normal maintenance but I can see where you would want more power if you decided to pull a car trailer out on the road with it. I like the idea of putting back close to the stock blue and just doing a bit of a resto mod on it.
I dig it...when I saw f250 I figured I would take a look out of curiousity but I think it's actually pretty cool...nice find
You will learn that this truck is geared for heavy loads, which means the gas mileage makes it unsuitable for frequent use (unless you really do haul heavy loads)
a thought but.. to the gas milage statement. I kinda figured that would occur, however being accustomed to BB mopars and 400/455 ponchos, 10-12MPG is the norm. the barn find/ found in afield thread got me thinking. I know there is a farm my me that has a few 29-31 model A's. maybe if I pull up in the truck, the owner would be more willing to let one go. just a thought.
Cool truck! If you need info on it, check out ford-trucks.com. Alot of nice, helpful people over there.
I beleive I am on over there. same S/N. seems there is a lot of info on F100's but little on F250's. I believe they are similar sans bed and suspension. correct me if I am mistaken. I would like to know what body items interchnage. I am told the fenders will interchange but the wheel well openings are different.
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