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46 ford p/u model # ( WRONG ) ?

12K views 19 replies 9 participants last post by  mercury man 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi all,
I've bought this 46 ford p/u as a 46 ford truck.
BUT, looked at the model # and it shows 59C. By my findings on the internet at : www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/flathead_model_ID_1945trucks.htm , I found that this is a 45 ford p/u.
Was this truck made in the later part of the 1945 and they considered it a 46 ?? What is your thoughts on this one ?

Also, the serial # of the truck, the first three #s are 99C-.
Looking at this at the same site that I used for the model #, I find that there is no 99C- #s . Only 99A- #s for 1946 ford p/u. It doesnt show any serial #s for 1945! What is your thoughts on this one too?

PS. Hey Joe,
Possibly thinkin on going with the ford ranger p/u frame now. Mite be a good deal . Same wheel base as the Ranger regular cab with 7 foot bed. (114 inch.) wheel base.
Another problem I have is I bought the truck with no title. Where can i get a title for a 1946 ford p/u?
Thanks,Lee
 
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#3 ·
I'm buildig a 47 Ford Truck for my brother. So far I've grafted on a Camaro subframe, installed a Chevelle rearend and coverted it over to disc brakes, built him a 350 engine and then dropped the engine and 700r4 tranny in the frame.

We welded up all the holes in the firewall......boy were their a lot of stock holes! I also chopped the top but didn't cut through the back window "cut around the window". I've also started installing the suicide door kit. We didn't like the stock dash so we bent one up and welded that in.

Right now I'm working on the front sheet metal. I didn't like the seam of the center grille to fenders on top so I welded that all into one piece.

It's a fun project but my welder is sure getting a work out!!!
 
#6 ·
Hey Chevy1,
Looking forward to the pictures. Hopefully I'll pickup on something I havn't covered yet. What year was the camaro stub that you used ? I still havn't started on my 46 ford p/u yet, but want to cover all possible ways to do this project first.
Thanks, Lee
 
#7 ·
Hi -

I just got back from apply a double coat of Dp90 to the front fenders and grille opening. My brother took some pictures of the front so I'll see if he can email them to me or I'll take my own thursday.

The Camaro subframe we installed was either a 78 or 79. The truck is still in the buiding stage but that's my fault. I will put more time into it and hope to have him on the road in a year.

Joe
 
#8 ·
wish I had my 47 ford P/U back. best damn truck I ever built for under $1000.oo.

as the story goes, bought a 47 ford 3ton grain truck for $250. Sold the tires & rearend to a guy for $200. Traded the 3ton spindles to a guy for a pair of car spindles, they will fit. The cars & trucks up to a 3 ton use the same king pins. Gave the frozen flathead V8 to a rodder friend who now uses it as a coffee table. Dumped the flat bed & the 2- 1foot high stack of rear springs at the junkyard. Them damn spring had about 12 springs in each one, HEAVYYYYYYYY.
Then I was able to buy a 1970 fairlane w/30,000 mile on it that had been rolled 5x end over end for only $75.00. I took everything & I mean EVERYTHING out of that car. I used the radiator, all the stock hoses, 250-six cylinder w/auto trans, driveshaft (uncut), rearend, gas tank, wiring harness & most of the gauges, what I didnt use I sold. I bought & shortened a late 80's model ford van tilt steering column w/column shifter & the speedometer, $30 for the pair. Used the ford p/s pump on a GM p/s box that was bolted to an adaptor (swap meet $25) & the pitmann arm had the same pitch on it as the stock one, so I was able to use the stock str8 axle. Rear spring were 90 dodge van 1ton springs w/one spring removed I got for $25 & built a 9ft flatbed for it for w/a wooden floor for about $100, got the metal for it for FREE.
I paid $100 for the disc brake kit, but was able to find a wrecked car at the bone yard w/brand new calipors, rotors & brakes for $100. I had to make my own adaptor for the master cylinder, because no one made them for the BIGG trucks & use a 67 mustang m/c, that was you dont have to use a proportioning value because its made in it.
Bought some 8 & 10 inch rims for it & ran 245/70/15 on the front & 265/75/15 on the rear. Like I said best damn truck I've ever built on TRUELY a budget & the reason we got rid of it was.............. man it was TIGHT w/just the wife & me in it but when ya throw the 15yr old son in it, well you get the picture. OOOOOOOOOOOO well cant dwell on it now, but I sure wish I could get our 48 chevy 1 ton burb done.

I have rambled enuff for now..........joe
 
#9 ·
Hey Chevy1, Joe,
When you welded the front stub on , where did you get the imformation on where to cut the stub at on the 47 frame? The dimensions on where to cut the old frame so the motor would be the right distance from the fire wall. And ,when squaring up the stub b4 you welded it permanetly to the old frame.Did you have a book to show you all of this or are you just that good at it, you didn't need help on this. This is my first resoration, so i'm exploring all possible ways to do it so I don't have to redo it. Used to be a certified welder and pretty well know how to square things up ,but taking in more input so i do it right.
PS. Want to thank you and Joe for all the input so far. Very helpful so far for my project.
Joe, i'm hoping to keep my cost down to. Been doing a lot of bone yard hunting on front stubs, and found one for $ 125. Thought that wasnt to bad.
Thanks, Lee
 
#10 ·
Hi Lee -

I've been tinkering with old cars for a long time now and so most of the stuff I know just comes from years of tinkering. What we did to install the subframe was first to weld some square tubing across the frame just in front of the firewall to keep the frame in the same location so when the frame was cut off nothing changed. We took a bunch of measurement from the brace we weld to the axle centerline, end of the frame etc., We even made a jig up that would locate the exact location of the radiator support and the end of the frame so when we welded the ends of the stock frame back to the subframe, the bumper brackets would line up. My brother later decided he liked the look without a front bumper so that saved me some welding. What I did was take the subframe and remove the coil spring and substituted an all thread rod and adjusted the lower control arm so it was parallel to the ground "simulated ride height". I cut the old frame off and slid the subframe under the truck and once the centerline of the subframe was at the centerline measurement I had taken from the original axle, I located the point were the subframe would be cut to mate with the truck frame. My brother didn't want the "in the weeds stance" so I welded the subframe almost even with the top of the truck frame to keep the truck close to stock height......maybe a tad lower. I will admit that we got luck with the V8 engine bolting down on the stock mount location on the subframe. I was planning to make my own brackets to place the motor exactly were I wanted but that wasn't necessary. The 700R4 even cleared the floor and I was even able to take the 79 Camaro tranmission mount and reverse it to make it work.

I wrote a little bit on the subframe swap on my website http://50chevy.freeservers.com/

I am still planning to have those pictures for you on Thursday.

Joe
 
#12 ·
Hey chevy1,
A+ site you have. I'm hoping to do similar the same thing in the near future for beginners like me.One of the things I will point out to all is to do ALL the homework and foot work B4 a project is started. So many ways to go with front stubs,to cut or not to cut a frame, axles, motors,etc. One thing I will say is if this truck of mine is a 45 ford p/u (59C ), I'm going to have to start from scratch again. Don't want to cut up a rare truck. Was told most of the 45's went to the military that year.So that tells me this could be a very rare truck.I'll keep ya posted on what I find. Going to e-mail FORD COMPANY and hopfully they can tell me what year it is.
Thanks, Lee
 
#13 ·
They are rare and they aren't? Ford was the first to start up post-war production and the first buyers were the farmers, but money was short so a lot of them were not sold until '46. Back then the vehicle was titled in the year sold and registered, so January 46 purchase was a 46 even if it was built in 45. The '45 I have by way of the serial #'s on the frame shows it was built in '42 but the title says 45, which also makes me think they used stockpiled parts to build them post-war or it could have sat at the dealer for 3 years. Now for the front suspension, take a look at the MII units before you cut the frame off and sub frame, and it is less work than a ranger frame swap. I have seen a few ranger frame swaps and they work well and give a nice ride.:pimp:
 
#14 ·
re the 45 ford pickup

i have a 1947 1/2 ton, also a list of serial no. acording to my list no 1/2tons made until 47 the nos then wer200cab and chasy
201panel
202 pickup cab and box 1946 2 ton240134 in 250 158 in260 3ton 134in the factory price on the47 pickup was1111 dllars
my 47 has the orignl styl flathead warmed a bit 12volt elct, 56 rear end which bolts right in 12 in wheels and rabial tires works great, abit low geared tho. hope this info helps. piskups and panel all114 wheel base
 
#17 ·
old wayne said:
Hello, I am restoring a 1946 ford truck and need the front. mine is in rough shape . Do you know anyone that could have this part.
I see in Bob Drake's winter 2007 catalog that he is making the grill bar set.
I found it on his website also,
http://store.bobdrake.com/19picgrilbar.html

Hope this helps,
Mikey
 
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