we built a 50 merc truck for a customer, and used 600 up front and 750 out back. it had a dropped stock axle up front, and we raised the rear spring mounts on the frame to drop the back. the truck sat real nice, but not too low. -danny
if you have a spare, you don't need to find one on the road. it is when you don't have one that you will have a flat. -danny
I have been researching the hell out of this topic for my own needs...as I have lowered my mostly stock 51 F-1, and am struggling with the same questions. I have a 3 ring binder full of pics and print outs, all with tire sizes...I will post some of those...that I have found in my research...dont rule out a 15 inch rim..there are some nice looking combos there....it also depends on how low he plans to go....rake...etc.... First off...Chris's old 46 (not an f1, but looks perfect) He thinks it had 7.50x16 and 6.50x16
Here is another found on HAMB, rolling on Stock 6.50-16's at all four corners...with 4 leafs removed from each spring pack.
LOWFOMOCO from HAMB has "195/60's on a 6 inch rim and 255/70's on an 8 inch rim. I wanted a taller tire in the front but ran into rubbing issues. I drive this truck a lot and this combo has worked good so far" From this post http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=378544&highlight=51+ford+f1 Heres his truck.
Here is another Hamb link.... http://jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=259231&highlight=ford+f1+wheel+tire
...here's one I had a few yrs ago, 205 75-15's frt, 6 inch rim, 235 75-15's rear, 8 inch rim. Has anyone seen this truck lately?...it went up around the Detroit area.
Heres mine. AR TTD's all around, sevens in front, eight and a halfs in back. 225/60-15 and 235/60-15 No air bags, thats ride height, of course it has only moved 1.5 miles so far.
go with 16's new or used cuz any used 15's are gettin to be very hard to find i just took 2 weeks visiting 7 junk yards and 5 used tire "stores" and 3 major swap meets to locate pairs of usable 15's larger size 15's was the hardest to locate...225 235 245 255 writing down sizes of singles and comparing height and width tires as i went so any combination from any source could be put together.. the 15 inch tire is now rare (tireshop owners laughed out loud?) and looking for specific sizes /widths .... well ..............ferget it most places do not have a computerized inventory .."track the old tires?" haha i finnally found 2- 255 60 15 goodrich radial t/as and 2 225 70 15 firestones to get same hight tires for my 60 chev shortbox p/u be carefull of too wide on the narrow rim and the old radial on old rims mystery???? good luck
I don't have the tire sizes handy, but this is my F-1 on 15-inch rims. If I had to do it again, I'd gone one size bigger on the front, but I'll wait until I wear these out. Otherwise I like the ride height for a driver and the amount of rake.
I like the truck too but i think the white should be equally hidden or showing im thinking 600's front and 7 00 or 7 50's in the rear
here a truck i started to build then stopped, the rear was l78 15 and from were 14's but i cant remember the size, the motor was out so the front was as low as it was supose to be thats why the truck looks like shit in the pic, the front had another 3-4" to go down with the motor and final suspension adjustment. JEFF
Nice looking truck for sure. I know where an F-5 (I think it's a 5) dump truck is. Flathead 8, 2 speed rear, runs and drives for only 2,500 bucks. It has some wear and tear of course but seems cheap to me. I'd buy it but can't think of a single thing I could use it for
In 1962, I was 13 YO . I had my dad take MY paper route and mowing money to a farm sale and try to get the `49 Ford F1.. He did...It cost 112.00..The front tires were bald and the truck had a really bad 'DEATH WOBBLE"..I had to park it till I could buy new tires, and get the king pins replaced... The new 6.00X16 Goodyears cost about 19.00 ea. The wobble went away after I replaced the tires..drove it hard for 2 years... never did replace the king pins.. Tom T
I really like those trucks! I have been really close to havin 2 of them. One I DID own for a little while, but I was too buisy attempting to get my coupe on the road to spend any time on it, I sold it. Another one I almost bought for a couple of years, then turned a pal onto it and he bought it and sold it for a little cash. Acouple of days ago I saw good looking F-1 involved in a 4 car pileup. What a shame..
Keven Vaughn's flat green F-1 is sort of the real life version of the tire/wheel combo in the "Swap King " piece.
It's a shame You have such a problem finding tires. Go to a tire store and you can get any size of 15" radial or non-radial you want. They are NOT hard to find new or used Ford didn't have alot of cars with 15" rims, that's why thet are hard to find (some old guy told me that @ the All ford swap meet)
Seeing as you guys are obviously into your old Ford trucks i have a couple of questions i'd like to ask, my friend has just bought a 49 F3 and is importing it to England. we want to lower it by 5" or so... how different is the running gear/suspension on an an F1/F3 and will any of these parts fit? http://droppedaxles.com/FORD_AXLES.html http://www.performanceonline.com/store/customer/product.php?productid=19059&cat=405&page=1 Also he needs a tailgate, i have found one but not sure if it's the right one, it measures 21" by 55", can anyone tell me if that's the correct one for a F3 as i know they are bigger than the F1's... And one last question(for now) the sellers say it has 17" wheels on it, is it possible to get 15" wheels in 8 lug stud patern? Thank you in advance! Tim.
Old thread resurrection...I am getting ready to buy tires for my 50 F1 and researching the topic...anymore pics from anybody would be welcome.
I know this truck is newer, but I'm pretty happy with L78x15 rear and G78x15 front from Coker. Really fills out the wheel well. Works best with a set of 15 x 5-1/2" wide wheels, which are getting harder to find.
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