1950 Ford F1 Pickup (flatbed) on 5.0L AWD 1998 Explorer Frame and Chasis

[MikeCol]

Hi everyone. I am new to the explorer forum and hope to add some insight to those who want to take the first generation F1's to a new level by upgrading them with a modern drive line and all that goes with that. I did a lot of research and used Buddy's 56explorer thread titled 56 F100 explorer chasis swap. He has done a great job installing a explorer frame and engine into a 56 Ford pickup. He did a great job and I highly suggest you read his post.

In Buddy's post, he shows how to disassemble the explorer and I am not going to go through that in detail. He has a lot of great discussion about what to choose, how to take an explorer all apart, and there is simply very little I can add to the discussion.

There is one big difference in a 56 vs a 48-52 and that is that the cab is much more narrow at the front than later years. In the 56 from Buddy's thread, he has room to use the dash from the explorer. In the 48-52, that is not the case. The dash is just too wide for the truck. You might be able to cut it up and fit it in there, but it will not fit without significant modifications. So, stop thinking about it and either know up front that you have to cut off about 8" total from the width of the dash. I am not going to do it. I am going to use the original dash.

One more thing, I used a 1998 explorer. That requires some special considerations because of the anti theft system that requires the ECM, key, and gauge cluster to all be used for the thing to run. It is what it is. Going with a 97 or earlier gets you around this. I am not sure how I will make this work, but I will figure something out going forward. Suggestions Welcomed!

As for using the Explorer, my choice was a 1998 Mercury Mountaineer, 5.0L V8, AWD, 4 wheel ABS, 4 Wheel disc brakes, and let me say I really like the tech. used in this truck. It has all the goodies I really want in my hot rod and am glad to make this choice.

Here are a few suggestions from my work doing the same job.

1. On page 3 of his thread, there is a picture and post about the huge plug that is located below the steering column, on the driver side of the dash, that connects the power distribution box to the interior of the vehicle. The thread Buddy references has lost the pictures and I really struggle to remove that plug. Here is how you do it. Go to the engine side of the firewall and find the plug on the engine side. There are (3) 10 mm bolts that hold (3) plugs into the main plug. You will need to take the power distribution box out of the way to really get good access to it. I also had the plastic wheel well splash guards removed and the fenders and hood off when I got to this step. It is a good idea to have all of that out of the way. I also had the steering column out and the brake assembly out as well. Not sure all of this has to be out of the way, but that's what I had done at that point.

To remove the plug, take each of the 10 mm bolts out. The plugs will remain retained in each plug and the plugs will easily pull out of the large connector at this point. Once the 3 plugs are out of way, you will find a back plastic frame around the connector that was held in place by the three plugs (engine side). That frame easily pulls off of the large connector which allows you to now see the 6 clips that hold the connector from the engine side. You can easily push the connectors in to allow the plug to fall into the interior of the truck. Done!

2. I did not cut my explorer body in half like Buddy. I plan to use the floor boards from my Truck so I removed the body pretty much in tact. Like Buddy, I did cut off the roof because it just makes the job easier and the body lighter when it is time to remove it. I found that there are (6) large bolts that hold the body to the frame. Just like Buddy, I removed these. (2) came out by using my air gun. 4 did not. For the (2) located behind the rear seat, I cut away the body so I could find my angle grinder with cutoff wheel attached into the holt and but off the head of the bolt. For the (2) located at the very back edge of the body by the tailgate, I just cut off the head. For the Passenger side front floor board bolt, I did not want to damage the floor boards so I had to find a way to get the head off the bolt. I decided to drill the head off and got a small drill to drill into the bolt, then a larger drill to drill more of the bolt. I got to the 4th larger bolt and all of a sudden, I could not drill the head any more. I am not sure why. It seemed like the head got super hard from getting hot and cooling down. I then took an air chisel to the head. I also went back to my small drill and drilled holes into the head at about a 30 deg angle around and around the head to remove as much material connecting the head to the bolt as possible. I then when back to the air chisel and the head popped off.

3. Here is the biggest difference in my procedure from what I have see in other attempts at this job. At some point, it seems everyone comes to the conclusion that the engine compartment is too wide for the first gen body and they end up cutting off the arms (inner fender mounts) and narrowing the radiator support to fit these into the fender and inner fenders of the first gen trucks. This is not going to work. If you have seen any results of this type of job, you will see an engine compartment that is jammed full of everything that came out of the engine compartment, or you see them remove everything and install a simple carb or aftermarket fuel injection system. It kind of defeats the process. Instead, I retained the engine compartment and my measurements indicated that they might fit under the fenders. Turns out, I was right! Wow. What a stroke of luck.

I cut the inner fenders just where it met with the old explorer fire wall. I removed the inner fenders from the first gen fenders, and put the cab on the frame in the right location. The fenders fit nicely over the inner fenders and it looks like I will be able to weld the inner fenders to the cab on sides where the fenders meet the cab. Not sure if I will weld these are bolt them on. There is about a 2" gap between the inner fenders and the cab so I need to fab some brackets to make the connection. But the good news is that this will allow all the accessories like ABS, power distribution, radiator overflow, washer fluid, etc to mount to the inner fenders as they did in the original explorer.

If someone can tell me how to add pictures, I will add some pics showing how this all looks and fits together.

 

[VR4]

I'll be watching this. Have a 49 f2 I'm unsure what I want to do with

 

[MikeCol]

I'll be watching this. Have a 49 f2 I'm unsure what I want to do with

Yeah, this will be a big help to you. Do you know how to post pictures?

 

[MikeCol]

This picture shows the inner fenders that I cut at the connection to the firewall.

This picture above shows the cab, hood, and fenders sitting on the frame. The cab is setting on a couple 2X6 boards. The front fenders are sitting on the inner frame rails shown in the pictures above with the original F1 inner fenders removed. We did have to cut off the front bumper horns (the explorer frame rails with bumber mounts had to be cut back about 5") and the front air bag sensors had to be removed.

The plan is to make some stiff fender mounts that will connect to the explorer inner fenders that will keep the top of the fenders in the correct position. The hood will be bolted into the original hood mounts.

 

[MikeCol]

Here is a picture of the start of this

 

[MikeCol]

Here are some pictures showing how the inner frame rails were cut off the body.

 

[creakyjoints]

I like it!

 

[WormsExplorer]

That looks awesome. Can't wait to see the finished product.

 

[Rhett]

Reminds me of my friend's 1950 Ford truck he used to have. It had a 429 dropped in it, but the fenders, hood, cab, etc. are identical. Really brings back memories.

Your front fenders are in remarkable condition considering where they were. Usually the bottoms are eaten out pretty badly due to ground contact. Yours must have been just high enough. Do you have any history of the truck? Like how it got in that field?

 

[oddball101]

Had to post so I could subscribe. I can really appreciate what you are doing here. Good stuff! Are you going to be keeping that "3 on the tree" feel, using the stock steering wheel for the body, or are you going with a modern feel for the interior?

 

[CDW6212R]

Great project, that will be nice. ABS on an old Ford truck, that's cool too.

 

[MikeCol]

Reminds me of my friend's 1950 Ford truck he used to have. It had a 429 dropped in it, but the fenders, hood, cab, etc. are identical. Really brings back memories.

Your front fenders are in remarkable condition considering where they were. Usually the bottoms are eaten out pretty badly due to ground contact. Yours must have been just high enough. Do you have any history of the truck? Like how it got in that field?

The truck belonged to my daughters husbands great grandfather. He bought it new in 1950. When the grandparents took over the farm in 1964, it was already parked in the field. I am not sure what went wrong that caused it to get parked, but the front leaf spring was broken and the transmission was stripped out. I can only guess, but I would say they hit a stump and broke the front suspension and then stripped out the transmission trying to move it.

 

[MikeCol]

Reminds me of my friend's 1950 Ford truck he used to have. It had a 429 dropped in it, but the fenders, hood, cab, etc. are identical. Really brings back memories.

Your front fenders are in remarkable condition considering where they were. Usually the bottoms are eaten out pretty badly due to ground contact. Yours must have been just high enough. Do you have any history of the truck? Like how it got in that field?

I am also surprised at the condition of the fenders and the running boards. They were all the way under the ground. We decided at the last minute before we began pulling it out of the dirt to dig down and see if there were running boards, and sure enough, there were. So we dug that out as well as the front bumper before we pulled it out. Glad we did. Not sure how it survived so well. I can only guess it was because it was never in salt and only dirt.

 

[MikeCol]

Had to post so I could subscribe. I can really appreciate what you are doing here. Good stuff! Are you going to be keeping that "3 on the tree" feel, using the stock steering wheel for the body, or are you going with a modern feel for the interior?

I am going to use the Mountaineer steering columb and seats. But I am keeping the original dash and gauges. I have to have the stock mountaineer gauge pod plugged in but I think I am going to stuff it up under the dash or under the seat somewhere to hide it and plug in a blue tooth adapter to monitor the speedometer and gauges and on my iphone. That way I can just leave the dash and gauges as they are and keep it looking like it does. I might change the steering wheel to something more vintage like a Grant Steering wheel. I don't need the air bag so I am just going to get rid of it. But if I can get it to look more orignal with a grant steering wheel, I think that will look pretty good. We'll see. We have to cross that bridge when we get to it.

 

[MikeCol]

So I finally got to do some more work to the truck today. I wanted to get the front end lowered to get more of a hot rod look. This Mountaineer/Explorer has a torque arm front springs so they are easy to adjust the ride height. I adjusted them down as much as I could and got it 1.5-2" lower. I then took to the inner fenders and found my front fenders were hitting on the radiator support. But cutting out a section of that radiator support (see pictures) I was able to lower the fenders about 2"s. That got the fender lip just at the right height so it is just above the tire. I am pretty sure I could go farther with the stock front suspension. I could pull the torque arm out of the adjuster and turn it one click lower and see how low it is at the point. I think I would be sitting on the bump stop but I might try that yet so see how low I can get it. I am not looking to be hitting the bump stop with ever little crack in the road. I really want this to be driveable, so I think I am going to leave it right were it is now and enjoy it. If I want the tires tucked more, I can always go with larger wheels/tires.

Also note, I tried to take some pictures of how the Mountaneer/Explorer inner fenders fit up under the F1 fenders. They seem to fit well. My next step is to mount all the electrical, ABS, Radiator fluid resevoir, etc to the inner fenders and see how that all works under the F1 fenders. They are going to be back under there and I am not sure how well I will be able to access the fuse box or fluid resevoirs. Again, I have to cross the bridge when I see how it works. I am hoping to just bolt them back to the inner fenders where they were and still be able to access them as needed. But I think I might have to do some tweaking to get it to work.

Last, I am still looking for ideas on the HVAC. The box from the Mountaineer is just not going to fit. End of story. I need something smaller that mounts mostly inside the cab of the truck. Anyone who has an idea, I would be glad to listen. Keep in mind that my budget on this job is $0 so used OEM ideas are best. I know Vintage Air makes a system I could pretty much just bolt right in, but I don't want to spend $1000+ for a a/c system.

I have a rear heater system my son gave me out of a toyota 4Runner that is really small, throws out huge heat, and would be really easy to fit into the truck. I could install that for heat and live without AC until I can afford a vintage air system. Again, any suggestions would be welcome.

Here are the pictures:

 

[MikeCol]

 

[MikeCol]

 

[MikeCol]

 

[WormsExplorer]

This is looking awesome.

 

[MikeCol]

I spent the day today working on the inner fender area. I was able to fabricate the inner fender mount for the Explorer to cab and then set the fenders in place and I worked on getting the inner fender on the passenger side to fit right. I cannot tell you how many times I have now installed that inner fender. One of the things I don't like in these trucks is that the fender is supposed to sit about a 1/2" off the cab and there is a rubber seal that goes in that gap. I think it looks like the fit and finish is off so I am bolting the fender directly to the cab so there is no gap between the fender and cab. This caused me to have to mount and remount the inner fender over and over. I will also have to drill some holes and bolt the fender to the cab (I just have a couple temporary self drilling screws holding it in place now). I also had to do some hammer work to the fender and inner fender lip to make this all fit right. It looks pretty good but all I got done today was the passenger side. Now that I have the process down, the driver side should go faster.