Classic sections on make specific forums are usually pretty slow.

I'd join a forum that's exclusively classic vehicles, I can't think of many off the top of my head. I think that H.A.M.B. is a good one.

Options galore. Could leave patina and use old frame, add new IFS and 4 link in rear. Do a ls swap for engine.

Family connection to vehicle is special. Make it the kind of ride you will enjoy!

Any good starting place to look to start pricing IFS and 4 link rear? It's all a little overwhelming.

Also, I'm not against swapping In an Ls. But is there a ford engine that would be a good swap?

Transmission wise, will it be possible to go 3 on the tree or will I need to chamge it to a floor shift?

Those flatheads are really cool engines and sound great, I'd get it running and leave it in there. If it was me, I'd work on getting it running while keeping it original as possible, while looking for an original step side bed or maybe make a nice looking stake bed out of the one on it. That color probably isn't original, I'd try to find the original color and paint it once you've got the project far enough along you're committed to finishing it, or painting it a flat version of the original color would give it a nice nostalgic look.

My Dad learned to drive on a '47 Ford stake bed, we had starting pulling it apart to restore it about 15 years ago and my cousin sold it for scrap! We still haven't forgiven him, so I'm pretty jealous you've got a truck like this to restore. Have fun with it.

If I rebuild the flathead and the transmission, will it be possible to ad power steering?

What kind of power would I get out of a rebuilt flathead. I like the idea of keeping the original engine and it's not a deal breaker to have power steering but I'm hoping to build something that I can depend on and that my wife can drive with relative ease.

As far as the bed goes, I haven't decided what I like better. Like you said, that's way down the line. I might try to find a regular bed to put on it.

I'll say this about that bed. Whoever put it on there had some pride. the way they brought the running boards up to meet it and all - it looks nice on there.

I noticed that about the bed, not your typical work truck bed! I think the 239 makes around 100 hp, and there are companies that make performance parts for it. I wouldn't mess with power steering, that just adds more complexity to a relatively simple project. Manual steering is pretty comfortable once you get used to changing your driving style a little, you've gotta use your momentum to steer at slow speeds or in a parking lot. I prefer manual steering on most any vehicle made before the late 80's, PS from before then just plain sucks and doesn't give a good feel for the road.

My wife really wanted to learn to drive our 3 speed CJ5 when we got it, but quickly decided she preferred riding once trying to drive it a few times. It was just too much of a learning curve when compared to her modern truck. An old vehicle like that will never drive or ride like a new one, and most attempts at doing so just make it worse. I'm not saying that your wife will be the same way, just to think real hard before making big changes to an old vehicle that will be very hard to find replacement parts for if you change your mind on the direction.

I am in year 18 of my old-truck-hand-me-down family project, a '56 Chevy. No end in sight, still have never driven it, and wouldn't trade it for the world.

Yeah I am going to take my time and I know it'll cost a lot. I just finished my jeep and learned that lesson first hand.

That patina would look great with a clear coat on it and all the crome shined up. Always wanted an old truck like this. I am sure if you do an engine swap you could get some cash for the current engine if it runs. If I was you I would keep the patina but rebuild the truck so that's its comfortable to drive around town. More of a restomod.

[This message has been edited by AggieStout (edited 6/15/2014 11:55p).]

Best solution for you would be to sell the HEAP so you don't spend all that money and years of time.

.......I'll be a good Ag and take it off your hands for you.....


But really tho. that is not a bad starting place for a project. Take the advise given above about just getting it running and have fun with it!!!



P.S. - I'm currently rebuilding a 54 chevy truck from the ground up, if you decide to tackle this project I'd be glad to point you to parts and info sources.

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That patina would look great with a clear coat on it and all the crome shined up. Always wanted an old truck like this. I am sure if you do an engine swap you could get some cash for the current engine if it runs. If I was you I would keep the patina but rebuild the truck so that's its comfortable to drive around town. More of a restomod.

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Do NOT paint that awesome patine. New chrome, new glass, and rebuild that flathead. This is an awesome starting point.

The classic forums over at ford-trucks.com actually get a lot of traffic. I spent many a days over there researching when I thought I wanted to start a restoration.

There is also some decent info on the HAMB, but that's more of the skinny jean and black t-shirt crowd.

I've done some work on dad's '51 Chevy 5 window.

1) Leave the frame alone, as is. Just get the thing running like everyone said. Yes, the ride won't be like a 2014 F-150. No, you don't want it to be. It ruins the feel of driving this thing.

2) I'm not well versed on flatheads, but I'm not sure that's a Ford. Might be a Lincoln Y-block. Definitely need to do some research here. Will probably be the most challenging aspect.

3) Don't you dare mess with that patina...

Wow, both forums I've posted on have been big fans of the patina.

I was going to paint it, but now I'm not so sure.

As far as the suspension goes, I'll just have to look at it when I get it. If it's in good shape I may stick with the original.

I'm torn on the engine. Everything I'm finding is that swapping in a Chevy engine would be easier and much cheaper. And since the flathead in it isn't original or even ford, I'm kinda leaning that way. But part of me thinks the old flathead is cool. Decisions.

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I'm torn on the engine. Everything I'm finding is that swapping in a Chevy engine would be easier and much cheaper. And since the flathead in it isn't original or even ford, I'm kinda leaning that way. But part of me thinks the old flathead is cool. Decisions.

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That looks just like the 239 flathead V8 that came in my 47 Ford truck. It looks original to me, and, unless I'm mistaken, it's def a Ford. The Ford flathead V8 is in the top 5 engines of the 20th century iirc.

You've been talking about rebuilding the engine, replacing, etc. You need to assess what you actually have before you go chunking the engine. Try and get it running first, you never know how good or bad it is until you try it out.

Personally, I'd get it running, driving, and braking. Then you can update it 1 thing at a time and enjoy it in between. Where exactly you go with it is up to you and your preferences. I'm a keep it original kind of guy. I flipping love flatheads. Putting a chevy engine in a Ford is *******izing it IMO.

If you do try getting the flathead going, do not tighten the water pump belts much more than loose. I over-tightened mine without looking into how much to go and ruined both water pumps in 15 miles of driving.

I assumed it was the ford flathead too but both forums have told me it's the 337 Lincoln. The engine does say Lincoln on it.

Is there a manual I can go by to get torque specs, etc when working on the engine and suspension?

I'll try to get it running before I do anything. That would be the best scenario. Im just preparing for the worst since it hasn't run in nearly 40 yrs.

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Im just preparing for the worst since it hasn't run in nearly 40 yrs.

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You'd be surprised how many engines that are older than 20/30/40 years fire up after new batteries, new fuel, and new fluids.

Was the oil pump driven off the distributor like in later pushrod v8s? Maybe an old distributor could be used with a drill to prime the bearings.

I'm not sure. I know nothing about these old engines

I don't have much to add except to say I'm envious! Nice to have a family truck to play with, and I agree about just trying to get it running in it's current configuration and then figure out what you want to do. It might be easier than you think...and if you decide to do an engine swap down the road a running engine will be worth more anyway so you might as well fix it now.

I kinda like the flat bed too, and if you do a full restoration I would keep it, and maybe think of fun things you can do with/on/to the bed such as provisioning for tailgate accessories that could be quickly attached. How cool would it be to have a smoker, big cooler, and some chairs on that bed? Maybe a TV mount, stereo, etc. that you could install using the stake pockets and perhaps some hardpoints added to the bed.

The more I look at it and read about these trucks the more I like the bed. It seems to have been very well done and I think it looks cool. Plus it's welded to the frame so to take it off without ruining the bed could be a little dicey. Doable, but I think I'll keep it.

[This message has been edited by Gigemags05 (edited 6/16/2014 2:51p).]

Love flat head V8's.

I'm curious:

What are the strong points of the flat head? How are they performance wise? I don't need to go 0-60 in 6 seconds or haul a cattle trailer, but I'd like sufficient power and dependability.

Any pit falls of them?

Flathead have a great sound, they're traditional, unique, and in the case of that truck… it's at home.

As far as downside- you'll see a lot of them with welded heads because they are prone to overheating and cracking. The flathead has two small water pumps and I have an old timer friend who loves to say 'If you're standing by the engine watching it and a water pump goes out… the head will crack before you can turn off the key'. Obviously that's an exaggeration but it is worth mentioning. Here's a good article on keeping a flathead cool. http://www.streetrodderweb.com/tech/1006sr_cooling_the_flathead/?__federated=1

I think it would be awesome to run the flathead. You can stack Stromberg 97s on there until you get tired of buying gas!

For the bed you could look at doing something similar to this but dont take it as high as this.

That would be pretty sweet.

Get the Lincoln engine running, leave the paint alone and get it on the road.

Yes I'll do something similar, maybe half that height.

I'm now leaning towards fixing/rebuilding the flathead and suspension. That way I can keep it close to original. Still not sure about painting vs patina but that'll come way down the line.

There is no greater sound than hearing an old engine fire up after being out of service for a couple of decades (or more).

Good looking truck. My uncle has a 1946 Ford 1/2 ton. My dad & I helped him restore it. He went wanted to restore it as a hot rod. We used a modern Ranger frame and the mounts were closest to fitting.You can actually use the stock front Ranger mounts with the front 46 cab mounts if you make a little adapter (they are about three inches too low). The rear mounts can be made to fit with the addition of hollow rectangular stock that fits into the 46 cab rails. We added a Ford 9" rearend. The inner fenders were a pain to fit over the new ranger frame but it work out great with some effort. A mustang II frame is another good choice if you dont want to use a Ranger frame. The original frame was roached out on my uncles truck. We put in a Z363 motor from Ford Racing. The 363 makes 500 HP & 450 lb-ft torque. The Z363 is 302 based stroker with Mahle pistons, Z304D aluminum heads, SCAT forged steel crankshaft, a Crane hydraulic roller Camshaft lift (in): .580"/.602", Camshaft duration (@.050 in): 232°/240°, Cylinder Heads Ford Racing Aluminum "Z" Cylinder Heads M-6049-Z304DA (ex. port raised .625"), Compression ratio: 10.1:1, Rocker arms: Roller Rockers ratio 1.65:1, Hedman longtube street headers, Edelbrock intake manifold #2928 Super Victor w/ 750 Holley carb double pumper and 1" carb spacer.

I've been trying to get my '47 restored as well. Unfortunately the small restoration shop I took it to apparently doesn't have the time/manpower to do finish it. Now I've moved from NE of Dallas to W of Fort Worth, so I have to try to find a new shop.

[This message has been edited by Txlawdawg (edited 6/17/2014 8:10a).]