Ideas

Ok, again, I know my wife is pretty much the only person that is going to read this, but hey at least this way maybe I can get these thoughts out of my head. I have been banging my head against the wall trying to finish this project at work then coming home and thinking about future truck modifications, and its making my head hurt.

Ok, anyway, to get on with it.

I have been thinking what I could do to the truck, and of course the first thing is it needs new wheels since the ones that are on there are the split rim everyone calls "widow makers."

Now I have to decide if I am just going to swap wheels, which are almost impossible to find since no one makes a replacement. So I either have to find a set of 6 used which everyone I have spoken to says is a very difficult task, or cough up the $300 per wheel for brand new custom made wheels. Then the issue is still that I would have to stick with the same monster size wheels. Right now they are 20" wheels, and I have to have a minimum of 19.5".

What I am thinking, first off is that I don't like the two speed rear axle that is currently in the truck, at least not for what I want the truck for. It will not be hauling 16K pounds of grain anymore. I think swapping in a newer, i.e maybe 70s or 80s Dana70 out of a 1 ton truck would be a great choice, they are dirt cheep and parts are easy to come by, but that will limit the truck to about 3K pounds over the rear axle. If however I were to get a larger axle like a Rockwell 2.5 ton, parts are still pretty easy to come by, but they are almost indestructible.

The next issue is the front. Right now there is no good way to upgrade it, as I can not find any spindles that will swap in place of the originals. The next problem, is that this is a two wheel drive truck, and I have seen many many times two wheel drive trucks with dual rear wheels getting stuck in wet grass, I would like to change it over to a 4 wheel drive. I know that this would actually be pretty easy because of all the room under it. On top of that it already has leaf springs holding up the front suspension. I think I could basically weld new spring perches onto whatever axle I put under the front and bolt it on. Then if I went with a divorced transfer case, like a Ford NP205 found in 70s and 80s 1 ton trucks, all I would have to do is fabricate a custom cross member for the transfer case and then have 3 drive shafts made. Going this route would cost a little more money, because I would have to not only buy the wheels and tires, but I would be buying the axles, and the drive shafts. This however is the way I really want to go.

I would much rather use the Rockwell 2.5 ton axles, but they are very big, very heavy, and I don't think there is much of a gear choice for them, so top speed would be very very limited. But really, in a very big old truck who wants to go fast?

I want to keep the stock engine for as long as I can, I love the sound of the flat head V8, but I really need to find some speed parts for it. I know there were loads of hot rods running this flat head v8 so the parts are out there, its just a mater of getting them. I did see on Horse Power TV recently they built their "Rat Rod" with a super charged flat head 6. I tried to contact them for more information but so far nothing.

Ok, well for now I think that's it, feels good to get that all out of my head.

Ok anyone with any ideas please let me hear them!

Time? Money?

Ok, I am not sure which reason really is keeping us from making much progress on this truck, but it isn't stopping the ideas and planning. The first issue is that we moved 3 months after buying the truck, and have no where to put it, so it has had to stay at my in-laws. So since the truck is four hours away I can't really go work on it when I get off of work.

What I have done so far is getting the clutch unstuck, gas tank cleaned and reinstalled, inside cleaned very well.

What I have not done that I need is replace the "Widow Maker" split rim wheels that are on it. Also need to check the brakes. It will probably be best to go ahead and replace the wheel cylinders, as well as all of the steel brake lines. Then I need to find seats. I am not a fan of bench seats, so I am kind of half way looking for a set of cloth bucket seats to install. Then I need to get a new title issued so I can license it. Then slap a bed of some sort, maybe wood for now, and take it in parades.


I am sure I have missed something, and I have a lot more ideas/plans so I will try to post more of them soon!

Gravel Bed

Here's a pic of the finished product, I'll leave it up to Matthew to tell the story, hint hint!

Gravel pad

Next weekend, we're going to spread out a pad of gravel for the F6 to sit on. We still need to buy a tarp for it. We'll try and get some pictures on here.

till the next time we meet

Ok, I know no one reads this, but just in case, I will mention that my wife and I are moving! The bad news... our truck will probably not be able to go with us just yet. If we find a place that allows it, maybe, just maybe, we will be able to continue working on it. Anyway, it may be a while, so until the next time, thanks for reading, and talk to you later!

Yet more of nothing accomplished!

Ok, so it't been a while, and nothing has been done. This is partly because the truck is an hour drive away, partly because today is the start of finals week, and partly because I am out of money to spend on the truck. Ok, so it's mainly because of a lack of money, but hey I am in college and only work part time. Hopefully soon something will happen and either I will have more time, more money, or maybe even both, so that I can get the beast on the road again.

The Nitty Gritty

I guess what I have learned this weekend is to stay out of his way while he's working on something that heavy and complicated. Also I hate big black fuzzy spiders, so don't ask me to hold the clutch pedal up when there's one dangling menacingly over my head. I did do some polishing and helped wash the truck with cold soapy water. brrr. At least the raccoon footprints are gone from the windshield now :-) I also helped scrape off a lot of built up dirt, grease, etc. and helped take out the cardboard headliner. I also learned that my instincts are pretty good. Small chewed-looking hole and bulging headliner probably means mouse nest inside. Indeed. It burned pretty good once we added some straw to it. Smelled awful though! The mouse smell now seems to be gone, it just smells like old dirty greasy truck now. I think we just need to take everything apart and put it back together again and it will work. Case in point: engine, clutch. I hope I'm providing enough moral support. I may suck at anything other than using a screwdriver, but I have damn good ideas....

Another weekend down, but it drives!

Well this weekends progress turned out to be pretty decent. My wife and I started off by trying to polish the old faded paint. After we got it, are you ready for this, we decided to wash it... hmm think we should have done that first? Well its ours and our choice so too bad ;-) Anyway, yeah we decided to wash it inside and out, and ya know it looks great now. So after it dried out I pulled it into the garage once again. This time I planned on pulling the transmission to measure for a new clutch. Well, first thing I found out, the emergency brake which resides on the back of the transmission needs to be removed before you do this so it doesn't hit the floor of the cab, and second, I was an idiot to do this on my own. Anyway, I did get the transmission pulled about 6 or seven inches back, but I ended up running out of time and patients so I never got the clutch removed, I just put everything back together. So after many hours tearing it all apart, then maybe half as many putting it all back together........ I get it, start it, step on the clutch just for grins and what do ya know, it slides right in gear. I ease out on the clutch and she starts to roll back. I decide hmm if the clutch works I might take it for a drive, so I again step on the clutch, put it in first and take off down the drive. I get to where it sounds like time to shift, push in the clutch and slide it into second, then the same for third, and once again for fourth. I get as far as the edge of the pasture and decide to downshift and turn around. I push in the clutch, pull it out of gear, then have to let go and push the clutch again to shift to the next lower gear. I get back to the house and again, just because I can, I stop, use the clutch to shift to reverse, and back into its parking spot. I am absolutely amazed that the clutch now works so I pull forward and back a few times. Anyway, I also think we have decided to go with a flatbed, but keep the dump gear there to make it a dump. Here is a picture of a bed we like.



We shall see what happens, but I think for now our progress may be a bit stalled.

What's in a name?

Obviously, the truck was an old farm truck, probably used for grain. It still has the "old farmer" name on the side, to correspond with the 60,000 original miles it was used to transport the gold of the Midwest from field to usable product. We will be the second owners.

So, what should we call it? Give it the name of our upcoming land purchase (many moons from now), just give it a first name and not paint on the side for now?

Share your thoughts...

Yes, Virginia, there is an F6 that runs and drives...

This is the Mrs. signing on for an update. I believe the truck was bought on March 31, at auction for less now than I would consider paying for it, considering it now runs! My main duties are to provide feedback for the Mr while he ponders, to allocate money in the budget, to encourage him to work on it, provide him with much Tylenol and oh yeah, and polish the heck out of it.

My knowledge of engines could fill.. oh a thimble maybe. But I saw the gleam in his eye and decided to let him try and bid on the thing. What a surprise, we won! I was not there to witness the blessed event and was heartily surprised to see the thing being dragged back to my parents' house (that's where the garage is) on the back of a wrecker. I am a good sport though, and did not complain that all of my tax return, and some additional budget have been eaten up by this thing. It sure is cute, so why bother!

I think I am getting polisher's arm from rubbing wax into the oxidized paint covered body, but it sure is a nice color of red that's starting to poke through. He forgot to mention that not only have I been doing that, but also standing outside with him in the 40 degree weather until 10 pm to polish and scrape away old oil and gunk from the whatchamacallit for the dump bed that used to be on there. I also helped him take the mouse-eaten seat out and dispose of it in the University dumpster, as well as providing assistance with the shop vac in ridding it of that fresh-mouse smell. It almost smells like dirty truck again!

Everyone seems to be pretty interested in what we're up to. Basically I help out the parents with stuff while he works on the engine during the day and then I help him polish and troubleshoot, scrape, etc at night. I'm good at holding the LED light and running the mp3 player as well.

Its Alive!

Ok, so a few weeks ago, right around April 1st, 2007, I purchased a 1952 Ford F6. It was in pretty good shape from the looks of it, but there was no battery and I had no idea what to really expect.

I did some looking, as well as asking of some older family and friends, and found out the truck would have been a 6Volt truck unless converted, and since I found the 6volt regulator on the firewall I decided to find a battery to see what we had. I found a battery at a local farm supply store, installed it, and found that all the lights worked. I could turn the motor by hand so I knew the engine was not locked up, so it would have to wait till next weekend but I would try to get it to run.

The following weekend I used the tractor to move the truck to the garage, and started to work. I first found out that I had no spark at all. I then found that I had no signal coming from the distributor telling the ignition coil to fire anyway! I decided to replace the points, condenser, distributor cap, and rotor. Upon completion I had spark! I then needed fuel to get the concoction known as fire. I removed the fuel tank, found it contained very very old gasoline and a fair amount of sludge. I used the air compressor to check the fuel line, hmm blocked. I turned up the pressure and at least got a little air through. I decided to fill the line with carb cleaner, then hit it with the air hose. I did that probably four times and finally the line was clean. I decided to take the carburetor off and clean it, and gave it a quick rebuild. I then cranked the engine over a little and what do you know, the fuel pump worked and the carburetor was working like it should. The following day I needed to move the truck back out of the garage and my brother-in-law wanted to see if we could push start the truck, so of course we tried..... And failed.

That brings us to this past weekend. I pushed the truck into the garage Saturday and proceeded to replace the spark plugs, new custom plug wires, and my brother-in-law changed the oil. I then had him turn the key on, and hit the starter button, and what would you know, it started right up. We then decided to see if it could move under its own power. Hmm no clutch. Well lets jam it into gear, and it backed right up. Then I jam it right into first and drive down the driveway. The next problem I have is no gear other than first seams to work, oh and no brakes. My wife and I decide to work on the truck a little that night and she is directing me while I drive it into the garage. Can you see the problem here yet!?! I stop and she says pull up a little farther. I pop it into first, pull up a little and try to pull it out of gear real quick, and what do you know, I find second and run into the riding lawn mower, as she just kind of steps out of the way like she expected that. So we proceed to work on cleaning more, and trying to polish it up a bit. The following day I work a little on trying to figure out the issue with the clutch. I don't get very far due to family needing assistance with various things. Then its time to head back home, so I back it back out of the garage, and decide to run down the driveway again, ahh, but this time I manage to grab second, and even third, haha still no clutch, and still no brakes. I go ahead and park it and we head home. I have since gotten some additional information about the clutch and I will work on it come next weekend. More updates to follow!