Just for fun I picked up whats left of a "52 Ford F2 from a salvage yard. It was headed for the crusher and the cab is really not salvageable. ie, missing doors and rotted out. though covered with moss and lichens the frame and drivetrain is pretty complete. My questions are: Is the OHV six cylinder the original engine? I thought they were all flatheads thru "53. The trans may be a 4 speed though its stuck in neutral. The rearend is odd as its two bells bolted together. Was it a heavyduty unit in its day? The 16 inch wheels have 8 studs. I got it to fire today but not run yet. 6 volt positive ground, correct? My intentions are to get it running enough to use on the property to get my firewood out. And because the smell of old oil brings back alot of memories from the old '50 F1 we used on the farm. Thanks in advance.
...yup, 52's came with a six,and years before that,...those rearends are used by guys to make a quickchange rear; I think they use only one half and find another like it for the other side, bolting the qiuckchange unit in between. I just sold 2 of those rears to a guy doing just that. yup, 6 volt positive ground, and F2's all had 8 lug rims. ...good luck with it.
Starting in '52 Ford had an OHV six, but kept the flat eight until '53. The F-2 was rated at 3/4 ton and was a pretty heavy pickup, the F-3 was a little heavier duty but basically the same truck, just with bigger wheels, 17", and rear shocks came as an option.
The F2 and larger models also have different front fenders - the openings are larger to get the bigger wheels under. Hoof on here channelled his 6 inches and used F2 front fenders to get clearance. There is a pretty good F2 with a flat six in it not far from me, sitting in the yard of a converted industrial space here in Atlanta. They won't sell it because it's 'art'. Wankers.