49 Ford F2 Pickup

[PDublyu]

New guy here...attaching a photo of my recently acquired 49 F2 rat. As you can see, it has already had some substantial modifications by the previous owner(s), some better done than others. 350/TH350, 4" chop, fender & grill mods, box, etc. I'm new to all of this, but after reading a lot of posts here, I'm feeling more confident about handling much of the work I'd like to do. First up is installing the 9" Ford rear end I bought so I can go faster than 50mph without screaming along. Next is front disc brakes. I'm planning to use the F1 5 lug kit to match the rear axle. The truck has all-terrain tires on late-model 16" alloy wheels now. I'd like to go back to something more period rod...looking for suggestions on diameter and widths? I understand I need at least 15" wheels to clear the front rotors. Was thinking 16s in an artillery or smoothie wheel and whitewalls, but unsure of correct rim and tire widths for this look. I should mention I also plan to install Posies springs front and rear for a 3" drop, and am still debating any further lowering and/or channel, or moving the axle forward.

I realize I have a lot of "rebuilding" of former work to do, and plan to work on cleaning up the body mods once I've got a decent driver. Planning to keep the unique front grill/side cowling sheetmetal, but maybe lose the fenders.

Maybe some of you guys with F1, 2, 3's etc can post a photo with wheel & tire specs to give me some guidance?

All comments and suggestions greatly appreciated. And thanks for putting up with the newbie questions.

 

[Torchie]

Welcome aboard.
Interesting truck. Chop looks decent from the pic.Has that early power wagon vibe to it.
You are on the right track. Get the mechanicals the way you want them and then do the body mods. Most disc brake kits don't work with 14" rims and beside that small of a rim doesn't look right on this era vehicle.JMHO.
I have seen original F's with 16 or 15 inch rims. The rim size won't really matter as much as the tire size. You can get a 28 inch tire height(just for example) in 15 or 16 inch rims. I am going to a 15 inch wheel on mine due to the wheel covers that I want to run. Original width on these rims were around five to five and a half inch's wide I believe.
Surf the internet for some stock F series spec's as there is a lot of info out there.
Have fun and hope this helped.
Torchie.

 

[earthman]

Unique truck. I'll vote for losing the fenders. Hard to say what wheels would look best on it other than big. Thanks for posting and welcome to the board.

 

[PDublyu]

Thanks Torchie. I'm trying to stay around 28 to 29" diameter for gearing. Would like to go even taller, but my gearing is going to limit that. Looks like 15" wheels and rubber are a lot more plentiful than 16", at least in the widths and styles I'm looking at. Since I don't have any fenders to deal with, any suggestions on backspacing?

Earthman: I'm with ya on the fenders...while they definitely have a certain look to them, I'm not sure it's the look I want.

 

[Torchie]

Thanks Torchie. I'm trying to stay around 28 to 29" diameter for gearing. Would like to go even taller, but my gearing is going to limit that. Looks like 15" wheels and rubber are a lot more plentiful than 16", at least in the widths and styles I'm looking at. Since I don't have any fenders to deal with, any suggestions on backspacing?

Vintage 16" wheels with the 5 on 5-1/2 have gotten fairly pricey and as you say the tire choices are limited. My 16" wheels are vintage 1941 and are about four inches wide I think. Makes for a very narrow tire but to my eye that whats looks right on that era vehicle. Ford came out with a 15" 5 on 5-1/2 as an option after the war and continued to use them up thru the 60's or later so there are lots around.
No suggestions on the back spacing. You will have to figure out what you are going for looks wise and take it from there. My personal taste is to get the tire as close to the body/box as possible. I have seen some really nice fender less rides that look extremely goofy from the rear because of too much space between the tires and the sheet metal. That's part of the reson that certain Ford banjo rear ends get used vs others. The width. I am going to use a later(47-48) rear on mine that is one inch wider from center to end than the 41 rear. But in my case that will actualy work out better with the F series rear fenders.
Torchie.

 

[PDublyu]

Torchie: I agree. Definitely want to keep the rear wheels close to the bed, and I also agree with the narrow tire look. That's what I'm going for. As far as backspacing, I guess I'll wait til I get the 9" installed and measure from there.
Thanks again for the feedback.

 

[PDublyu]

Rear axle

Ok, so I got my 1972 F100 9" rear axle yesterday, and started checking it out...
First, the fill plug is all torn up. Looks like someone tried to use a chisel already to loosen it. Not much left of it. Will have to find another way to get it out. I read a thread where a guy was filling the 3/8" square hole with JB weld and pressing a ratchet sprayed with cooking spray into it to make a new head. Not sure there's enough left of mine to do that.

Second, pulled the drums off and one wheel seal was leaking enough to coat the entire brakes. Pulled the axle out and the bearing is trashed (see photo). I was able to press the bearing retainer off the axle (see 2nd photo). Many posts talk about having to cut or chisel the retainer off. I used a bearing puller and pressed it off.

Where do you buy new retainers? Or do you need to? I noticed everybody cuts them off, but I don't see them for sale anywhere...at least not that look like mine. Do they come with the bearing?

Need to open up the diff and see how "good" (bad?) the gear set is. This is my first time with this (not the first time shimming gears or dealing with gears, just the first time disassembling a 9" rear diff)...do I need to pull the pinion yoke off first, or can I pull the whole thing out by removing the 10 bolts?
Starting to think I might need to start over on the rear end...

Thanks again for all the help to the poor uninitiated (me -- quickly becoming slightly initiated).
PW

 

[JBailey]

If you already have the axles out all you have to do is take the 10 nuts off and pull the center section out as one unit. You have a very interesting looking project, I look forward to following along.