Crump Snr's second project

[Crumpsnr]

Hi all, sealed a deal today on a different type of project. It's not an FC but it is from the 50's . Should take delivery next week from a long way out West.
It's a 1953 (to be confirmed) Fargo 3 ton flatbed truck, dead standard. It's been sitting in a shed for 30 years, has done 35,000 miles (just under 60,000km). The last owner never drove it off the farm. Plans are get it on the road in standard configuration for now and use it to carry my FC when I need to farm out work such as exhaust, interior and paint. Measurements show me it should just fit a fully assembled FC, but I'll only need to carry the FC with front metal off anyway. Further down the road will be an engine swap and associated upgrades and possibly some tray work to enable it to take a larger vehicle. It's missing the seat back and the seat bench, plus the Fargo badges from either side of the bonnet. If anyone has contacts who might have these bits I'd be grateful. I'll get on the vintage truck forum to put out a call as well.
I think 'er indoors has worked out what I'm up to. As well as the truck, the FC and the two daily drivers, I can now get a 5th vehicle in the garage if I store it on the back of the truck   Regards, Martyn



The fuzzy circles are shards of glass on the inside of the lens. I dropped the camera and broke the lens and haven't had time to get it repaired yet.


The signalling arm has been removed for transport but will be retained. Always wanted one of those!

[FCRB26]

Thats a Cool truck...

Badges should not be to hard to find i think they are pretty much the same 50-70,s  and the decal is still available new on ebay...

Good luck looks like a good start.

If you get stuck for parts theres a place near home called "dodge city" thats all he deals in.

[Crumpsnr]

Thanks for the info Pete. Do you have any contact details for Dodge City? Can't seem to find anything on the interweb. Ta, Martyn

[FC Dave]

So, you had another road trip? Did she fire for you? I'll be expecting a call no doubt. Good score.

[NES304]

Yeah real cool truck, I like it.

[Crumpsnr]

Hi Dave, Yep, I'll be on the blower tomorrow. No, it didn't start.
Couldn't get spark, not that I'm surprised.  i forgot to take a spare coil, and the plug leads were not the best. On the good side, the radiator holds water, and the tyres held the air I put in 2 weeks ago. It threw over nicely when the starter was given a kick. Apart from the fact it's a truck, which I've never dealt with before, it looks like it won't be too hard to get it on the road. Don't hold me to that, the FC was just gonna get a coat of paint and now it's on the rotisserie getting a good workover 

[Ol_Girl_58]

Hi Martyn,

That's a cool truck!

Don't paint it - it's perfect as it is.

Cheers,

Josh

[Crumpsnr]

Hi Josh.
Yeah, I like it!
I'm not a fan of red but I like the original look so new paint is unlikely.
Under the mudguards where it hasn't been exposed to years of dust the paint is still glossy.
Should be taking delivery Thursday. First job will be a good cleanup. The wasps and spiders have had it to themselves for years.  Regards, Martyn

[FC Dave]

It never takes long for wasps to move in on anything sitting around out west. That sticker is interesting, is it in the cab? 

[Crumpsnr]

Hi Dave. The sticker is under the bonnet.

[Crumpsnr]

Hi all,

The truck arrived late last week, in one piece and with no new damage. The driver couldn't have been more helpful or done a better job. If it doesn't contravene forum rules I'm happy to post his details for the info of others.
There won't really be any cosmetic changes, just mechanical and safety, at least until the FC is finished.
 

[Crumpsnr]

Hi everyone.  A quick update on the truck. Started it last Sunday. After working through a number of ignition faults it was backfiring through the carby. Looked for stuck valves, and found cylinders 2, 3 and 4 had stuck exhaust valves. They were difficult to work on, being on the side of the motor, so removed the head. 2 freed up very easily after a light tap with a block of wood sitting flat on the top of the valve. The other valve took some real convincing, and about half an hour of playing whack the gopher whilst turning the motor over as it kept sticking and not dropping to seat properly. Eventually all valves were freed.
Put the head back on and it fired almost first time. No knocks or clunks so I'm hopeful that the years of sitting around haven't caused any major issues.
I'm still trying to locate a seat, so if anyone knows of someone with an early 50's Dodge, De Soto, Inter or Fargo with a spare seat, let me know! I could modify one from another vehicle but I'd rather stick with original. Regards, Martyn

[Crumpsnr]

G'day all.
Work is progressing on the truck. Not a lot that looks different in photos right now so won't post any until I get some more work done. I've got a question that anyone with an assembled FC can answer easily. I have a good dilemma. 'er indoors has agreed to be 'er outdoors occasionally so I've been in given in-principle approval to get a 4wd and a camper trailer. Count of wife's car, 4wd, 1 truck project, 1 FC project and a camper trailer = 5 units in a 4 car garage. Camper trailer is definitely too long to fit on the truck. I think the FC will fit without extending the tray. Could anyone confirm the dimension from the very front of the car to the centre line of the rear wheel? I reckon it should be about 3367, give or take. Truck bed = 3650, so I might be able to do it. This means with the suspension mods I'll be doing in the future to lower it the truck can drive in and out of the garage with the FC on the back. Happy days. Dave, I might be doing that swap with the Inter gear sooner than I'd planned! Thanks for dimensions in anticipation. Martyn  

[FC427]

That's a great score these 50's trucks are getting real popular soon we will all have one as a car carrier well done  ........FC427.........

[DJ]

Martyn, it's very authentic. The tray looks to be in great shape & without the usual bends in the tie rails.
Will you be keeping the floor & backboard in timber?

[hsv-001]

The seat swabs from memory are separated and the back pulls out at the bottom so you can access behind the seat and is fixed at the top .Its been many years since I did up my Inter. but they are narrower than they look and I used an old falcon seat xm or xp probably just as hard to get . The reasoning behind using the ford seat was that the swabs are hinged [pinned] and held rigid with 2 bolts [3/8 from memory ] on removal the back swab will hinge forward . And they are close to the right width . If you get an old one that needs upholstery then you can devise a way of locking the back swab to the cab rail .Just a suggestion . Haydn

[Ed]

Nice truck Martyn,

Would look great a little bit lower too.

Cheers

Ed

[Crumpsnr]

Hi all, thanks for the comments.

DJ, yep, it's pretty original.The tray and the rest of the external appearance will be staying as is, no painting or sanding and sealer. I like the idea of keeping it with barn find appearance but functioning and safe mechanicals. I'm not polishing the tray and I don't want to modify it either if I can avoid it, other than setting it up for ramps, hence why I'm really hoping a complete FC will fit on the back as is.

Haydn, thanks for the info on the xm or xp seats, that's handy to know in case I come across one. I currently have a 48 Chev seat sitting in it but it'll require some mods to fit neatly and even then I wouldn't have the option of using the area behind it for storage.

Regards, Martyn

[Ed]

Martyn,

Just a question. How will you get the car up on the tray?

It looks like you may have access to some pretty big lifting equipment.. but if using ramps they would need to be very long.

Cheers

Ed

[Crumpsnr]

Hi Ed, good question!
Yep, it'll have to be via ramps, and yep, they'll need to be a decent length! The tray is 3.650 long, so if I use ramps that just fit on the tray when travelling, I'd use 3.600, possibly with a drop down adjustable support mid-span. I'm onto another almost identical truck that has a tipper, so it may find its way onto this one.
My calcs show I'd need 199mm clearance under the sills to get on without scraping if i used the ramps, so if that's not manageable some blocks at the right point under the front wheels would see it on OK.
My real issue is getting the whole shooting match in my garage. As things sit now, the tray is 1100mm from ground level, a standard height FC is 1549mm (according to my manual), making a total height of 2.649mm. I just re-measured my garage door height, and it's 2.310 high, so I'm 339mm too high. I have a few options to get around that but it'll take a few beers to work out the best way.
Could someone please throw a tape on their car and give me the length from front of front bumper to the middle of the rear wheel, as well as ground clearance on a std FC? My car's on a rotisserie right now so I need some help with measurements.
Many thanks

Martyn