Corsair's '50 Ford half

[Corsair]

Here are some new pics of the '50 half - this has been my main project since 2001. I drove it to work today, pretty exciting.. lots of thumbs up from all kinds of folks (kids, grown ups, and even some relatively ancient kids).

Paint: This little truck is fairly stock looking, nothing too radical, and my goal was to achieve elements of a classical hot rod look. The paint is all me, and it shows...ahem. Let's call it a work in progress, and I'm working toward all flat black. I am interested in getting feedback about the direction with this... shoot me a response if you have something in mind... go to all flat black? Sand down the clear on the blue to give it a satin look? Fire away, I want to hear about it.

Parts in the build: Some things are not so obvious eg, I replaced the '50 dash with that from my '51 parts truck, a bit more fancy and nowhere near as beaten up. She has a collection of Olds parts with the engine (E-head '70 455), trans (th400) and rear diff all from my 1970 Delta 88. I put seat belts in her, as my kids are often in the truck with me. The ride is fair for a slammed straight axle front end and the bumper now sits 9" off the pavement, just about right ... the BBO is heavy and pushes her into the weeds. The rear suspension was replaced with a kit from Chassis Engineering. Simple, relative cheap and effective, good ride, and dropped 3" from stock height (spring under the axle).

Engine, etc: The carb is off an Olds big car (1970), and I rebuilt it. My sixth Q-jet rebuild, so I am starting to get them down pat. Cooling is OK with a seven bladed fan, 4 row traditional brass radiator and regular mix antifreeze. On the highway she'll run at 160 * F, and will creep to 190* in heavy traffic on a hot day - I will need a shroud for traffic IMHO. The intake is an Edelbrock performer. It has a new Lokar shifter and gas pedal. The pedal will get the flat black paint treatment.

More engine details: The engine is essentially stock.. I changed the timing chain and put in all steel gears, new water pump. I had a stuck lifter during the first firing last winter, but after 50 miles and a can of Seafoam, she actually loosened up and runs quiet, all the lifters rotate nicely. I had a 82 Olds Toronado with a 403 and the sounds definitely remind me of my old Toro!! The main thing is the nutso torque, she has absolute gobs of torque off the line. Roasting the tires ridiculously easy, and I would love to figure out how I might be able to get her to hook up. Future plans for the engine include a still mild but rumpier cam (Thumper by Comp is something that might work, new lifters, and roller rockers).

Small details: The tach is an old VDO, now in a bucket on the dash.

I found a decent tailgate for her. People either love or hate the contrasting JD green.

At 70 mph, she turns just a shade over 1900 rpm with those long-legged (2.56) Olds gears and the big diameter rear tires.

Enjoy the pics - I included some of the build and my '51 parts truck. That one came free from a buddy in Saskatchewan (it was a gravel pit service vehicle).

Quite a journey, but now it’s a driver. Its not done yet, but are they ever?

http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/IonDrive/?action=view&current=IMG_1440-1.jpg

http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/IonDrive/?action=view&current=IMG_1451.jpg

http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/IonDrive/?action=view&current=IMG_1449.jpg

http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/IonDrive/?action=view&current=IMG_1448.jpg

http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/IonDrive/?action=view&current=IMG_1445.jpg

http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/IonDrive/?action=view&current=IMG_1441.jpg

http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/IonDrive/?action=view&current=IMG_0673.jpg

http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/IonDrive/?action=view&current=IMG_0674.jpg

http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y228/IonDrive/?action=view&current=51and50-1.jpg

Ian

 

[Gastrick]

Corsair, that's a really nice looking truck and a good write-up too. Good job.

 

[Corsair]

Thanks Gastrick,

I will search around for the pics that I have at the start of the project... try to fill in a few of the gaps (more like a yawning abyss) in her build history.

This was a project that was slow...dead slow... as I was busy raising a couple of kids from the outset.

She should be named "Never give up" or somesuch. Lots of chances to give up were there, believe me.

 

[Gregster]

I think I like this shot the best , If I were to change the color I would go with the hotrod flats colore they are not totally flat they have a 30% sheen . I think the truck would look cool with the denim blue or oxblood red in the 30% shine

if you copy and paste the img code from photo bucket it will bring the pictures over full size

 

[Rat Rod Studios]

That's a great looking ride ......I'm kind of digging the two tone. But, I think I would like the blue a little flatter. All black would look super as well. Congrats on the ride to work......

 

[41Panel]

Sweet ride.

 

[Corsair]

Thanks for the kind comments and thoughtful ideas. I think the suggestion to "flatten" the blue is cool, and keep the two-tone look.

This would be quite doable, as I still have a pint or two of the base coat (60's cadillac blue) and lots of sand paper. I wonder how the blue base would stand up just sprayed with a real light coat over the existing clear (prep-sanded first)? Maybe its easier and better to just sand down the clear with 600/1200 and call it a day, or clear it again with a low sheen clear?

Anyway, here's an example of how this project evolved.

Turns in direction were my weakness with this, my first project. Ideas for suspension, paint, etc were bounced around, and my truck was a rolling lab for my ideas, good and bad. Check out this pic - parts truck is on the left.
They say you can't fake 40 years of patina. [dr But you can try, eh.

There's a story behind this (Gregster thanks for the pic post tip):

The '51 on the left is a gravel truck and a Canadian F68 model (American F3 equivalent?) with a bigger box and payload cap vs. mine. The '51 came from a hamlet called Doremey, Saskatchewan and somehow found its way to Manitoba. My truck is a smaller F47 (think F1) and I think "F47" refers to the max gross vehicle weight in lbs. eg, F47 = 4700 lbs gross weight fully loaded.

Anyway, the '51 sat unmolested in the bush for 30 years. My buddy (Grant S.) is also my next door neighbour, spotted it while on a job somewhere east of Winnipeg. He knew what I was up to and talked to the owner. The owner said if he could move it, it was free!! My buddy called a big flatbed, and with the owners' big front end loader (the kind used to move those 1500 lb bales of alfalfa), picked it up and dumped it onto a flatbed. Then he had it delivered and deposited on my driveway, with a note that I owed him $50 for the tow. [cl

Fast forward 3 months, and I had much of the '51 stripped. FUN! I enjoyed that. Actually that truck was in nice shape, better than the original project. After grabbing all I needed, I sold the rolling frame for a couple of hundred bucks. Shame to do that, but my garage was literally stuffed with old trucks. I did keep the cab.

 

[Corsair]

Pinstriping!

A contact of mine here in Winnipeg agreed to come over and put some striping on the old girl.

Its been a zillion years since I updated this page, so you will note a switch to forest green over the caddy blue that was originally on the truck.

Cab dressing:



Part of the work on the tailgate:







Eyebrows...



and the obligatory shnozz dressing:



And just for laughs, a pic of some of our kids tubing behind our boat out on Lake Winnipeg.
For those who have never seen the lake, we are looking south over the south basin... it runs north to south for about 200 km.
The north basin is gigantic, about 700 km top to bottom. Lots of water. We keep the boat in top service, not many folks on the lake up where we are.

 

[earthman]

Great to see an update from so far back. That is the prettiest Ford script i ever saw.

 

[Corsair]

Thanks Earthman. The guy that does this work is very young (~30 yrs) and IMHO has gobs of talent. I made him a cup of coffee and watched him do this. All the while that he's painting, he's chatting my ears off. Low key. Has a cool homemade paintbox/seat full of his stuff.

Done in about an hour.

 

[Bamamav]

Good looking truck corsair![cl Just noticed you posting, you must have went quiet about the time I joined up. Welcome back!

 

[Corsair]

Thanks. Glad to be back. Great board. My kids are now grown and both studying and working in different parts of the country, so things have slowed a bit. Work is still super busy!

 

[Corsair]

Last year I repainted the hood, doors and tail gait. I lost the Caddy blue and went with a forest green - which is actually close to the original colour.

Some of these pics are prior to the pin striping...













The engine pic is blurry - my old iPhone 5 is starting to show its age. I've got some decent M/T valve covers for it that I'm itching to put on.

 

[akatao]

like it

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

Welcome new... old... guy. [S

Truck looks good. I like the 455 and your 442 as well!

That Bomber plate has to go. (No offense, just have to keep the rivalry alive. )

.

 

[IronRat]

Nice truck

I think the Forrest green & black really work well on your truck.
[cl

 

[Corsair]

Welcome new... old... guy. [S
Truck looks good. I like the 455 and your 442 as well!
That Bomber plate has to go. (No offense, just have to keep the rivalry alive. )
.

Dr. C - Thank you!

Its true, some of my best friends are SSK rough rider fans! I worked with a guy from Saskatoon 27 years ago, rabid ridermaniac, haven't seen him since, but he still calls me to razz me about the Big Blue.

 

[Corsair]

Nice truck
I think the Forrest green & black really work well on your truck.
[cl

Thanks! I'm trying to find the courage to chop it... a la dmw56 from this board (build section).

"It was very intimidating at first but after I got started it was all that difficult. So if any of you have reservations about doing a chop I'd encourage you to just go for it. Just make sure you do your planning, get Tex Smith's book on "How to Chop a Top", it's invaulable, measure 3 times then measure again before you make any cuts. It wasn't that hard. Not that I'm ready for that Mercury yet! But if you have basic metal working skills its doable!"

Makes me want to dive right in.

 

[Corsair]

like it

Thanks!

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

Dr. C - Thank you!

Its true, some of my best friends are SSK rough rider fans! I worked with a guy from Saskatoon 27 years ago, rabid ridermaniac, haven't seen him since, but he still calls me to razz me about the Big Blue.

Yeah, a little razzing, but all in good fun. (Glad you have a sense of humour on the subject!)

Why chop your truck? Unless you plan to bag it and drop it "on the floor", I think it'll look out of proportion... and how about headroom? My best friend has a '51 (uncut) and we're both over 6' tall... as it is, the two of us in that skinny cab looks and feels like we're on a date.

.