1952 F1: Flames to Fantastical!
 

Greetings Folks!

1952: The Corvette prototype was presented by Harley Earl in December of that year with it being unveiled to the public the following year. The Mau Mau Rebellion was going strong in Kenya. And Mr. Potato Head hit stores nationwide! :biggthumpup: Yes, it was a wonderful year to be alive! Ford continued its redesigned F1 for another year before changing the design yet again in 1953. What you see here is how one of those 1952 F1s holds up in a 1000 degree fire:ooo:

My buddy Rick was very unfortunate to have lost several cars and lots of priceless family heirlooms in a fire that devastated his shops. This 1952 F1 was Rick's father's truck and it means a lot to him. Rick's the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off of his back. And you'd want it since he wears some pretty nice shirts! :cool2: Some of the Ohio clan met him at MCACN a few years ago when he was up there. He's a great guy and this is just a tragic thing. So how's one help? Simple! After seeing this truck, I volunteered to take it on for him. What did I get myself into? :hmmm: Am in even capable of handling this type of restoration? I think we all know the answer to that question: Maybe:eek2::D

I'm postponing my other projects to get this truck back on the road. Here's some pics the day it happened. I'll be posting up more as I get into the build. Stay tuned for more updates and hopefully you'll follow along!

Cheers:beers:
Dave

Dave,

You’re a great friend and human being to offer this....this will be Huge Karma for you!

I am 1000% prescribed:)

Dan

Very nice gesture Dave and a very honorable thing to offer. Good luck with it and may your friendship grow. We sincerely hope all works out for you, Rick and his family and the truck.

Great gesture Dave! Sorry for your friend's losses, but hopefully your revitalization of his truck will put some salve on his wounds.

Those things had some pretty thick metal on them back in that day. Hope it all goes well!!

Kudos to you Dave for undertaking this project.:beers:

X2!!

Thanks, Guys!:worship: I’m excited to get started in between building stone columns for the driveway, all the landscaping that needs to be done around here, and of course, finishing up Shop #1 so I have a nice clean place to reassemble it!!:3gears:

I figured with my other 49 truck build, the 57 T-Boid redo, and barn build among other things, you’s guys would enjoy following along! There’s bound to be such memorable moments as Tetanus Shot Part Deux, and Stiches: Not just for pillows.:grin:

Cheers:beers:

Dave

It is amazing what the intense heat of a fire can do. Things were burnt that just made you scratch your head. Potmetal turned to molten slag or just disappeared entirely. The leaf springs reversed eyed more than any drop spring I've ever seen!! The battery was a shell with the lead cores just neatly stacked, yet fused at the bottom from where they had melted. The spare tire is gone, but the steel cords in the tire remain! Welp... Time to get dirty.....

Cheers
Dave

That will buff right out :)

Dan

That spring is wild. Good for you taking on this project

----I saw many of the things you have pictured in my 2011 shop fire. Fire marshall stated that the temperature would have been around 1600 degrees to have that much damage. Really hoping your metal isn't brittle...…Bill S

I am hooked already!!

I am a big fan of the amazing support people share in this hobby!!

This is way over the top!!

Ryan W31

Wow!! Man Dave, that's a big undertaking! As Steve said "Kudos to you Dave for undertaking this project. :beers:"!! I've always heard that there can be paint issues with metal that's been in a fire. Is it a matter of proper metal prepping, how hot the fire was or a combination of those that determines how paint holds? I'm not a body man and can't say I've ever knowingly seen a burnt vehicle before and after. I've always wondered how true the statement is. I'll be watching you on this one.

Thanks guys! :laugh: So with fresh concrete needing some dirt, I started digging in on the truck. Luckily, no rusted bolts! See? Everything has a positive side. :scholar: To answer your questions, Mark, I'm not sure. I'll have to research that myself!

I'm still in shock on a few things the fire did. The start solenoid melted and fell apart yet the coil remained inside. The power brake booster came apart as one piece leaving the pushrod connected to the pedal. :eek2:

So step one was to pull the engine....

Cheers:beers:
Dave

Moving forward, with the engine out I wanted to tear it down to the long block to see what the heat might have done. Any ideas on if the head gaskets would need to be replaced? :dunno:

I'm no expert, but that rotor looks like it's needing replacement! :laugh: The interior shot is what's left of the A/C evaporator. Those reverse arc of the springs put so much pressure in those pins I needed to chop the spring before I could get the sledge out and pound the pins out. Of course, with every hammer of the sledge, dust and debris went flying everywhere with somehow it all ending up on me! But no matter..... we're almost roundin' the way from Truck Corner to Frame City!:burnout:

Cheers
Dave

So, after hurricane Dave moved through, I'm down to the frame! And my once clean and new shop has gone the way of the DoDo bird:frown:. But that's ok! That's the sign of progress and once I get everything sitcheated here, I'll powerwash the shop and get it all cleaned up. I mean, it's not like I'll have another hunk of a truck in here that could be any worse than this one... right? RIGHT??:confused2:

Cheers:beers:

Dave

Wrong!!:naughty: Why do I get myself into these predicaments? Why can't I ever have nice cars? Why do I crave creating crap into crystal?? :eek2:

After looking over the truck cab, the fire did such a number on it that a donor cab was needed. So where's one to find a 1952 F1 cab laying around? Welp, glad you asked! I live in nowhereville now, and as such, these trucks are pretty plentiful around here. So, like I do eeeeevvvryyyy morning: (ssssiiippp)ahhhhh.... man that's good coffee. Alrighty, let's see...craigslist....Dallas....(tippity-type)....1952.........(enter)....hmmmm......"1952 Ford F1 flathead solid" [snort]ppllffllppp....cough....(coffee through the nose) Holy Crap! That's it!!

And two days later, it's in the shop! 100% complete 1952 F1 with an 8BA flatty and 4 gear on the floor! More to come.....:burnout:

Cheers
Dave

Super Man Dave is back in Metropolis, Texas :)

Well done!

Dan

That is amazing craigslist had what you wanted! Looks like a pretty solid truck

----Was afraid of that, Dave, but as usual you handled it in a strait forward way and now you are on the right track. Keep up the good work!......Bill S

Excellent thread!

Thanks guys, and yes Bill S, that fire did a number on the cab. Just way too much warpage. Surprisingly, the fenders are usable along with some front sheet metal. Hood is wavier than the North Atlantic, but the donor truck has a nice one. I'll start tearing into that over the next few days. I'm doing a sit and wait thing with it: let the truck sit and wait for all the nasty spiders to build their webs so I can smush 'em!:eek2:

And we're exploring going the flathead route too! Always wanted to build one and from my understanding, this is the version to do! :scholar:

Cheers:beers:
Dave

Well done Dave. Thanks for sharing. What. The SBF does not look bad in the valley pan. Think its a survivor?

Jason

Yes, keep the Flattie!!

Yep, the 289 survived on the long block, but the externals reverted to a more molten state. Which really made removal of all the parts pretty easy! :smile: But we're probably going the flathead route! :laugh::biggthumpup:

Old frame painted, and the best part about that? I'll need to repaint when I grind off the 289 mounts and install the flattie mounts. I prefer to rework things a few times before getting it right. Anyone can do things once! :scholar: Guys like Mikey and such. Man, they do this hobby no justice!!:rolleyes2:

So now with the shop covered in soot, what better icing on top than to add some rat droppings, mud, sticks, broken glass, beer bottles, and a whole lot of assorted whatnot! Most of these bolts came out as easily as the other truck, with one exception: they all snapped. But, that's OK. The doors, cab corners/ rockers/jambs are all mint! Floor? Mmmmm.. not so much. But that's an easy fix. I'll have this down to the frame next week.

Kroil in the cylinders and the motor turned over by hand. Time to yank this bad boy out! More to come.....

Cheers :beers:
Dave

Almost done now.

Reveal next week?

Ryan W31

I would guess he's installing glass right now!

I need to drink more coffee......

Red Bull

:Charley: Hahaha! I’m not sure It’ll be reveal-ready by next week. Mmmm...maybe July!:biggthumpup::laugh:

Going to give a few shops a call next week to get flathead chit-chat going!:cool2:

Cheers:beers:
Dave

Moving forward, I'm just about ready for cab extrapolating procedures to commence on Old Blue. I found the VIN on the frame and it's a truck originally delivered to Dallas. Which makes sense since, well, I'm close to Dallas and there's a gun rack in the back window! :tongue: After some research, apparently options were regional based. The ones delivered to Philly had a cheesesteak holder in the glovebox. San Fran trucks has daisy vase on the dash:rolleyes2:

The flathead, while cool, will not be going into the newly restored Bowen Ranch truck. After deliberations, extensive meetings and several conference calls, we're sticking with the 289. However, the flatty will be used! After whoever buys it off craigslist rebuilds it, that is. It actually in pretty good shape. I added oil to the cylinders and lifter valley and it does turn by hand. I snapped a stud off, but luckily it snapped with enough of a nub that I welded a nut on and was able to get the stud out. That Jalopbox of a transmission..... that's another story. :no:

More to come next week!:biggthumpup:

Cheers:beers:
Dave

Nice farmers tan :)

Dan

The flat head would have been really cool. I always wanted to build one and just leave it on a stand and run it. Too bad I don't have enough room for that.
Looks like a Dana 44 under there.

I’m just trying to make sure I fit the part of Ranch hand perfectly, Danno!:cool2: After all, this is a former Ranch truck!

Yeah, the flathead would have been cool, but flatheads aren’t the cheapest to build and the 289 is a fresh motor on the inside. With everything else that needs to be rebuilt, that’s just one less thing to worry about.

Cab removal happens this week then onto the metal work!:headbang:

Cheers:beers:

Dave

Following along so that I can feel better about what I get pulled into with my friends.

That shop ceiling is beaUtiful!

K

Flat heads kick ass... my dad builds them and sends them all over the US.
Here is the preshipment video of a 59 AB which we sent down to Charleston SC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KPfPC6ZKsk

Well that’s just great. Now I want to build the flathead for myself and put it in something!!!:drool::eek2: Very smoooooth running flatty!:smile:

Thanks for the shop ceiling compliment! It’s still a work in progress but I’m knee, well actually, elbow deep in F1s right now to do anything else. But this week the cab will be off the donor truck and I’ll be sending everything unusable to the scrapper.

More to come this week!

Cheers:beers:
Dave

....aaaaand it's this week! :tongue: I spent this morning finishing up some stone columns on my driveway entrance, then jumped into Flathead Extraphead:hmmm:. Just a few bolts removed and this upside down motor was yoinked out of its cradle. Anyone have a set of Ardun Heads they want to sell? :smile::eek2: One will notice the motor minus the bell housing photo and what is on the ground behind it. Usually something like that mess appears in the toilet after having one of those Yokohama Beef Bowls, but this is infact, what was inside the bellhousing after I removed it: dirt, those dirt bees nest thingies, a couple snake skins, a bottle cap, and plenty of leaves/ sticks/ stones. Matter of fact, that usually IS what's leftover after one of those Beef Bowls!:(:eek:

Up next will be Cabitation Extrapulation! :tongue:

Cheers
Dave

Hopefully it won't be "premature exptrapulation" -

K