New project

[Mike Cullen]

This may be sort of a category violation, but V8 Flatties are so similar, and truck and car applications are also comparable, here goes:

I've been watching for a 38 or 39 Ford pickup or sedan delivery. I ran across a 39 cab and frame with all running gear intact. The guy who owns it says it's a 3-ton chassis. It has dual wheels, closed driveline, single speed rear axle, 85HP flattie. It appears to be 90% complete, is not rusted out, and the engine is not set-up. It would likely be a 1-2 year restoration for me, doing most of the work myself. (not going for a #1, a high #3 would likely be the result.)

My idea is to take care of the chassis and cab, then find a 50s or 60s travel trailer and mount it onto the truck. Sort of a 50s version of a class C motor home. Make the necessary modifications so that it looks like it came on the truck, and set it up for weekend camping trips, within 2-300 miles, maybe to drag a bike along, or whatever. Gentle trips at 45-50 MPH should be within the limitations of this old iron. Are medium trucks of this vintage tough enough to haul maybe 3000 lb around regularly? I wouldn't think that a 14-16' trailer would be heavier than that. I don't hesitate to drive my Zephyr HV-12 anywhere and they were supposedly more tempermental than the 8 cylinder version used by Fords of the same era.

opinions?

[Aanderson44]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">This may be sort of a category violation, but V8 Flatties are so similar, and truck and car applications are also comparable, here goes:

I've been watching for a 38 or 39 Ford pickup or sedan delivery. I ran across a 39 cab and frame with all running gear intact. The guy who owns it says it's a 3-ton chassis. It has dual wheels, closed driveline, single speed rear axle, 85HP flattie. It appears to be 90% complete, is not rusted out, and the engine is not set-up. It would likely be a 1-2 year restoration for me, doing most of the work myself. (not going for a #1, a high #3 would likely be the result.)

My idea is to take care of the chassis and cab, then find a 50s or 60s travel trailer and mount it onto the truck. Sort of a 50s version of a class C motor home. Make the necessary modifications so that it looks like it came on the truck, and set it up for weekend camping trips, within 2-300 miles, maybe to drag a bike along, or whatever. Gentle trips at 45-50 MPH should be within the limitations of this old iron. Are medium trucks of this vintage tough enough to haul maybe 3000 lb around regularly? I wouldn't think that a 14-16' trailer would be heavier than that. I don't hesitate to drive my Zephyr HV-12 anywhere and they were supposedly more tempermental than the 8 cylinder version used by Fords of the same era.

opinions? </div></div>

Well, for starters, the heaviest load rating from the factory back then was 1.5 tons, which would have been a single axle truck. There is no reason why a well built V8-85 wouldn't pull that amount of weight, but I wouldn't expect it to keep up with modern traffic, certainly not at super-slab speeds. But it could be cool, nonetheless!

What might be more interesting, and more in keeping with the era of that truck would be to search out vintage motorhome pics from that era! While I don't have any references, probably none were factory-built, there certainly were some very intriguing home-built rigs, that not only looked good, but had all the amenities of home!

Art Anderson

[Mike Cullen]

The 3 Ton rating sounded fishy to me too. When I spotted it, and stopped to check it out, I asked the guy "it's a 1 1/2 Ton right?" he said nope it's a 3 Ton. I didn't argue or question him about it. It seemed to me to be comparable to today's 350 series, spring wise and has the heavy reverse rims, single axle with duals. I'm still researching the camper/motorhome angle. By what I've found the truck will be the easy part.