This is going to be a thread about the rebuild of my 1949 F-1 Pickup. Background: We bought this truck off EBay back in November of 2008. I had been looking for a F-1 with a 302 and AOD for some time, even had a broker looking for one, then one night this truck appeared on EBay with no reserve. I ended up being the high bidder, but the price was low enough that it was worth the risk of buying without really knowing much about the truck. The truck was in Texas, near Dallas. My better half flew to Dallas, took a cab to owner's house, paid the balance due with a cashier's check, and drove the truck away to a local hotel. I flew in the next night (work commitments) and by then she had bought a few parts and some safety gear. After a few minor fixes (radiator cap, power steering pump cap, lots of Rain-X on windshield, etc.) we drove off headed for a relative's house in Alabama. Once in Alabama we made a bunch more repairs/upgrades and then drove on to Florida where is stored the truck until Spring. Stopping here to load some "as purchased" pics.
OK, here are a few pics of truck in 2008. Engine appeared to be late model 5.0L converted back to a Carb induction with a HEI distributor. Yes, engine had an A/C compressor, but no other A/C parts existed. It ran and shifted, but it ran rich and the floor shifter was very hard to get into OD and there was a big hold in the floor around the shifter. When it started raining, windshield leaked, cowl vent leaked, doors leaked, we got a bath!
We rented a storage garage in Florida and left the truck for the Winter as we did not want to drive it back to PA in the winter.
In May of 2009 we returned to Florida to fetch our truck. We brought a cowl vent seal, new wipers, door weather seals windshield sealer and lots of electrical tape (did I mention that the under side of the dash was a snake pit of wires held together with twist nuts and tape that came off when wet?). We found that the cowl vent lip where the seal would sit, well, it was missing, rusted away long ago. Nice, and just a hint of what was to come. We closed the vent and poured RTV into the gap till it was flush with the cab cowl. (The cowl vent no longer leaked, but it was glued shut!) The door seals on the truck were the universal type and they were glued on with some kind of super glue, so we elected to leave then in-place and just added the lower door seal. We added sealer to windshield rubber. We installed a lot of shrink tube and electrical tape best we could, and then hit the highway heading North. We stopped at the F100 Nationals in Knoxville, TN where we saw some awesome F-1s and F100s. We also bought a door lock and key as we had no way to lock the truck before. Going North to the blue-ridge parkway. The truck ran great but the weather did not hold, started to rain and we again got soaked. In fact, it rained everyday till we arrived in NE PA. I made a lot of notes of the truck's short comings as we drove.
During the rest of 2009 and 2010 we made a lot of improvements to the truck. We installed an Ididit steering column which cable shifter for the AOD and patched that hole in the floor. We put in a Classic Auto Air A/C heater system (no heater before, no defroster either!). We re-wired everything under the dash and a lot under the hood. Fixed the hood latch (would not stay shut, safety latch saved us many times). New wiper motor and arms. Remove and remounted the seat (think it was from a Chevy S10 but it was mounted with WOOD! We made nice STEEL brackets. The truck always ran fine, but at some highway speeds it had a bad vibration. Turns out, the drive shaft was not balanced and it was too long, damaging the real seal on the trans. I had to drop the rear axle to get the driveshaft out! So, had a nice new driveshaft made. The truck has a GM IFS from a mid 80's Camaro or Chevelle. I replaced the power steering pump and hoses, and did the tie rod ends and a new drag link. I also replaced the steering shaft from the column to the steering box with a much better (safer) design. Soon we noticed the paint was coming off the top of the hood and one side of the bed, and bubbles appeared on the left front fender and hood. Turns out, incorrect primer was used. Paint got worse with time, started pealing off. The summer of 2010 we drove it to Detroit and did the Woodward Dream Cruise where the AC compressor failed on Saturday afternoon after cruising for 3 straight days. In 2011, we moved to Southern Nevada. We shipped 4 vehicles including the 49 F-1.
That's a good looking F-1. Looks a lot like a '51 I had years ago. It was the same color and had narrow whitewalls. Sounds like a real series of adventures.
Good looking yes, and it ran good, but the longer I own it, the more I found that initial looks can be deceiving. After moving to Nevada I made a list of what this truck needed to make it a reliable cruiser. 1. Front end too low (springs sagging and 2 twist-spacers already installed) 2. Still too much "play" in steering wheel 3. Hood latch still not right 4. Holes in firewall still leak water, doors still leak 5. In hot weather, hot restarts are terrible (carb or fuel pressure issues) 6. rear brakes need replacing 7. Side mirrors move too much & too small 8. rear window just too small to see cars in right rear blind spot 9. Seat sucks: position, comfort, adjustment stuck. 10. Side windows hard to roll up/down, vent windows flop when open 11. No sun visors 12. Oil pressure gauge stopped working, gas gauge does not read correctly below 1/2 13. Paint peeling on hood, bed side, L front fender 14. Battery under hood looks ugly there 15. Tires need replacing 16. Bed wood stained (as received) and does not fit well 17. No power plug in cab for cell phone etc. 18. No sound deadening in Cab 19. No audio system 20. No VIN on truck anywhere and Nevada requires a VIN check. ====> Time to take this truck apart and address all of the above!
Sounds like the typical truck that gets shipped to Aussie buyers site unseen......except it cost them $30k and UP! I bet you didn't pay anything like that up front!!!
Good looking truck !! I feel your pain!! Sometimes better get some good bones and Body.. Then Build it right. I have seen some real scary old trucks that people have built look good on the outside then Wow!! Good luck keep us posted will stay tuned..
We paid under $10K when we bought the truck on EBay, which, for a nice-looking good running truck with an AOD and 4-wheel disc brakes was a good value back in 2008. We have had some great adventures in this truck, but it is really time to update/repair/replace etc. many areas. The BIG trigger was the state of Nevada. Once I sold my home back East, I needed to transfer the truck to my Nevada address. Nevada requires a VIN check. A Nevada DMV inspector must locate the VIN on the chassis and compare that to the out-of-state title before you can start the process of getting a title and registration in Nevada. I could not locate the VIN (remember it has a Chevelle front clip) anywhere. No glove box plate, no tag on the firewall, no numbers on the front frame rails. I researched the VIN on my title, and found it was for a 1949 F-8! There was no-way I was going to get the truck registered in Nevada as a 1949 F-1.
Send me the numbers . I will punch a tag with correct numbers on it . You attach as you wish and done deal . My 48 never had any numbers other than a tag attached to the firewall and door jamb similar to a 55 -57 Chevrolet
typo41, Really, F-1s had the serial number stamped in more than one place? I have been told that it only exists on the passenger's side frame rail, top of rail, forward of cab mount. I have seen pics showing it right above the front axle, and also in front of the axle. I guess the location depended on what plant was doing it and which individual was doing the stamping.
Deathrowdave (interesting handle...), I might just take you up on stamping me a tag, but Nevada will not recognize it. The do not even look at the cab or body, they go by frame numbers only. They have a manufacture's ID book they use. In that book, for a 1949 Ford F-1, it clearly states that the numbers will be on the passenger's side frame rail, on top flange of rail, forward of the cab mount. I already know that the VIN on my title is not going to match any numbers found on my frame since the VIN on my title is for a 1949 F-8.
So I started taking the truck apart. Took off hood (found half the bolts were wrong), front bumper, etc., then unbolted the complete front clip and removed it. I did not disassemble the front clip as it was clear that the builder of this truck had not, old rusty fasteners still in-place and seams pretty rough on the inside. This is what I found after the front end was removed. Clear that the frame was cut and a GM clip welded on, then the front of the frame rails were welded to the GM clip. I think the brake master and booster are also from the same GM donor. GM proportioning valve too, and this truck has rear disc brakes so not likely getting correct pressure to rear wheels.
Walt460, a friend of mine is rebuilding a 49 F1 and he needs the front fenders, his are in bad shape. If you know of any would you please let me know. My e-mail address is uncledar@gmail.com. Thank you
Nice view of the custom brace for the booster, suspended proportioning valve, and adapted-from-donor brake lines. Oh, you should have seen the wiring to the headlights! original wires came from lights and were just twisted onto underground rated extension-cord wire which ran into cab. Yeah, the twists were wrapped in electrical tape (soder process unknow to the builder, under dash he used twist-nuts to splice wires.) Check the restrictive factory shorty headers, nice twist too, no mandrels used at that vendor. Thermactor pump was just pumping nothing to nowhere. Engine is 1993 T-Bird, AOD is too likely, fuel injection replaced with Edelbrock intake and carb.
if you have any such information you can sell it to hundreds (thousands???) of '48 - '50 Ford truck owners...
i have had several of these trucks and the vin on body belive it or not was mounted to inside of glove box door from factory.
I agree the factory did put vin plate on inside of glove box door. However, the state of Nevada only cares that the factory also put the VIN (serial number actually) on the frame. 4 screws and you can change the glove box door on a stolen truck, not so easy to swap frames, is what Nevada inspector told me. My truck has no plate on inside of glove box door, or on the firewall (there was a plate there, but it was blank).
Had a 52 F2 and the plate was on the glove box door with the correct title but Arizona won't accept that either. Had to get a bonded title.
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