Projects Winter project- half ass 1956 F100

I’ll be watching as well. Love the truck...

 

I picked my upholstery up yesterday, and although it’s not ready to go in yet I couldn’t resist seeing what it looks like. I had the upholsterer use 3” foam instead of 5” which it had, so my big ugly ass can sit comfortabley in it.

 

You always do 'em up right Chris. Sub'd

Sent from my SM-G960W using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

A couple days ago I cleaned and buffed the early F-100 9” housing and painted it in my poor man paint booth



And today I was home with a sick kiddo. After lunch she took a nap so I snuck out in the garage and put the puzzle together. I had a really nice 3.89 third member I cleaned, looks brand new inside. Axle bearings also felt good, so it got new seals gaskets and brakes. Still waiting on the lower mounting plates from the sandblaster as the 56 ones are for the smaller diameter Dana 44 axle tubes. after I get those installed it will be pretty much completed and I can move to the front




And a question, the driveshaft from the Dana appears to be about an inch and a half shorter using the 9”...I think it will be ok as half of it or more is still in the tail shaft housing. Anyone have any expert advise on this? @Pist-n-Broke I know you mentioned doing a lot of 9” swaps into these trucks, did you ever deal with the driveshafts?

 

I would guess youre probably going to want to stick some disc brakes on that right?? which would mean you have those icky old drums left over probably in the scrap pile....id take em off your hands if you want...my 47 would love em!

 

I think you’re on the wrong forum bud

 

i was just teasin, cool truck! .....unless you want to sell em to me......SELL THEM TO ME

 

Hay Chris; What I can say from hands on about the drive shaft. Ford has several different Yokes for the 9" Diff. It's possible that alone could be where your issue is or could be cured. I have done this change several times. When getting a complete 57-62 unit and not changing the Diff the driveshaft fit back where it belonged using the 53-56 shaft. I used to be able to resight what did and didn't fit between 53-55 and the 56 Chassis. There are some changes in Chassis parts. I believe the springs are different for the 56 and can change the early wheel base and vice versa. Not remembering exactly I would say just make sure your Axle housing is centered under the bump stop bolt hole in the frame. That will tell you your housing is correct with the Springs you now have. You could also check the new springs center bolt location to the ones you removed. Yes, when all things are right you should Not need to do anything to the driveshaft and it would go back where it was. In fact when lowering the rear axle the shaft should go in just a bit further.
The Wizzard

 

I just did a quick Google search and the actual springs are grouped together 53-56 so you should be good but in the back of my mind there seems to be something to look out for. This getting Old sucks!
The Wizzard

 

Yes, the frames are the same as near as I know, and 55-56 rear springs are longer than 53-54. My rear end is centered under the bump stop holes. I did some research, and 9” yokes are 4” and 5” tall. I measured mine and it’s the 4”...so I guess if I get the 5” it should take care of everything.

 

Sounds like you have it handled. Glad I could shed some light for ya.
The Wizzard

 

my new favorite thread.

Haven't had a F100 since 1980 or so but reading your updates this morning took me back to when I got my first 56 BBW, 1972 and I was 16. I can still remember what a seemingly monumental effort it was to put in the dropped axle but the results were bitchen. Never dropped the rear the right way, just removed a few leafs and the truck always had that ass up rake. Only one guy in the club, they were all dads age except me, flipped his rear end at that time and he was the baddest guy in town. Green '54 with chromed grill, running boards and caddy wires. It was low even by todays standards except for someone running bags. Still my favorite truck from that era.

Always enjoy your work Chris.

 

The yoke should be pushed in all the way into the transmission and then pulled out 3/4" to 1" with all 4 wheels on the ground. That is where it should be when the driveshaft is the correct length.

 

Rich, That was the best ride in the High School parking lot. I didn't get my '55 F100 going until after I graduated. I'm looking for another '56 to buy....

 

Thanks Mike!
I'd like to get a slant cab and whatever year it is I wanna run a '54 grill and wires.
Dad had a slant he picked up back in the day, it was super straight and course rust free. They weren't that old then. I robbed the front fenders off it for my '56 and dad kept the 392 hemi. I think the rest of it was picked apart by the club members.

Bad ass engine, dual quads, vertex mag, headers and I can't remember what else, who cares...it was a hemi. Reath did all the machine work for dad and he also had the mag gone through. I can still remember him telling me to hold on the post on the mag body and he spun that bastard over, zapped the shit outta me. That was my first exposure to a mag and I had one on the 394 Olds I put in my '56 a little later.

Funny thing is I can't for the life of me remember what happened to that hemi.

 

Your Dad's Green '56 was nice....I remember seeing it at Cerritos College in the industrial arts area. It
had the catering chrome bed sides right?

 

Ya, SS on the bed sides and tailgate. I wasn't wild about it but dad loved it. Hey it was the 70s and guys were doing wood paneling, upholstery all kids of weird things on the bed sides. When he got into 4X4s I was able to get his old truck. It was unbelievably clean black on black, custom cab BBW he bought in '68 from the original owner. 6 with 3 on the tree and to me that was the best looking 56 grill too, no emblem. The only reason it got painted forest green was a lady tagged it in the passenger rear fender so then he filled some holes and changed colors. I wish he'd kept it black although I repainted it the same forest green after I got hit.

I remember the day he bought it.

 

Bingo. I had to grab a combination U joint but this puts the driveshaft yoke about where it was in the tailshaft. Old one is on the left

 

I'd have to say that's a home run.

 

I had the same problem on an OT Bronco 9" rear end and had to use one of those Hybrid U Joints on it to make everything work with a mid 70's F-250 two piece driveshaft just using the rear half. I think there is a Ford part number for that u joint as they used them from the factory. Then again I could be wrong.

 

Yes, this is a Precision part number 353, which is a combo between the two common Ford size U joints

 

Love the truck

 

Well the U joint was kind of a debacle. I got the combination U joint- 1310 on one side (small ford u joint) to 1330 on the other (ford large in joint). All with the same 1 1/16” bearing caps. Well...ford also made a 1330 with 1 1/8” caps. Naturally the new pinion yoke I got was for the larger style caps. So a little messing around at Napa, but finally found one.




After getting the rear buttoned up, I moved to the front. These trucks are a real pain to remove the front fender bolts when they are rusty. I popped the inspection covers off on the lower A pillars to heat the cage nut on the lower bolts...each side had several pounds of dirt packed in it. No wonder these things rot in this area.








Tomorrow I’ll blow the front end sheet metal apart. I’m pretty sure I’m going to end up repainting both front fenders and lower valance...as all have damage that needs repaired.

 

It was beautiful today. Mid 40’s and sunny. Working for a financial institution, I had the day off for Martin Luther King. First off, I blew the front end apart. The truck had a really mild hit low in the front drivers side fender. It screwed the fender up, bent the valance all up and rippled the panel that goes behind the headlight. I think ultimately, I am going to put two fenders and a valance on it, and try to match the paint. The original fenders and valance are pretty messed up over all. Time will tell.

I scraped all the grease and grime off the frame rails and drove it outside and buffed what I could on the rails with a wire wheel. Then used oven cleaner to clean the grease on the engine, firewall and frame. Worked really good except it killed the paint on parts of the engine. I think I can touch it up easily though, will look better then coated in oil. Next up is pulling the front end, cleaning and painting the frame, and getting the new front end under it

 

You work fast! Love the chrome running boards.

 

Suggestion.
Instead of buying the expensive bed wood kit.
Have some wood milled without the offset cut at the edges that drop the strips between them. Install cross braces to directly screw some stainless screws right through the wood and strips and into the braces. Much cheaper and easier to install. It also seals the edges from moisture.

 

I like Pete's idea. A big plus is the fact that you don't have crawl underneath to install it!

 

Don't make my new truck too fancy. I still want to use it to haul lumber now and then.

How long til I can come pick it up?

 

Thanks, I thought of that, so something along those lines. I did buy a wood kit however already. It wasn't as bad price wise as I thought it would be.

 

More chrome.....