Thread: 56 ford

Tweet

hey how are things??
I just got my first truck it is a 56 ford and it needs some work I am just 16 and have a very low budget!!
I am trying to restore it but dont now to much about it just wondering if you guys know about it and if you do what kind of info can you give me?? any thng will help most preferably were to start!!

Well, amazingly enough my first vehicle was also a 56 Ford truck as well. Do you have the 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton or bigger? If you plan on driving that ol' thing around on the roads I would most definatly start on things that you NEED to drive it.

If you want to get it inspected for registering it then you have a ways to go, but if you just wanna drive it around under the noses of the law then it isn't so bad. Start with redoing the drum brakes, getting new shoes, wheel cylinders and maybe drums. Not to mention working on the parking/emergency brake. It might need to be relined.

You might also really want to look at that old suspension. When you drive it does it wobble back and forth quite a bit and have lots of slack in the steering? You will likely have to get leaf springs and bushings and pins for the leafs to bolt in all snug. The pitman arm is an arm that comes out of the side of your steering box with a ball on the end. Likely this ball is worn and if it is the press in style ball then you can get one with a little looking. It might not be a press in style ball though and you may have to either convert it to that style or look for a full arm. Either way, if its worn you will need to get another one. The next connection in the steering is the drag link which likely also is worn on the inside, the kits for these are easy and cheap though, they come with springs, and pads/cups. On the steering note, you will want to put in bushings and pins wherever you can to get that steering tightened up, including tie rod ends. However if you have the wheels off the ground and you notice that you can rock your tire by pulling on the top of it or pushing on the bottom or vice versa you might need some kingpins for those spindles. The steering box could also be worn inside, the inside is comprised of basically two things, the pinion shaft and the worm gear. The worm gear extends all the way up the column to the wheel and could be either loose and/or worn as well, another issue you might need to put some attention to. If you can get that steering and suspension to work out then you are well on your way to getting it moving, it's really not as long and hard as it sounds.

Check out that rear end, does it have excessive slack? Just turn the driveshaft while its in gear to see if it moves quite a bit. If it does, and I know mine did you should take off the cover on the diff and check out what you have. I should have noted this earlier because its a really good thing to do when you do the rear brakes. Pull the axle out and see if the splines are worn excessively and if they are then likely the spider gears are worn as well. If they are then you have to hunt down some. There might be some more backlash in that ring and pinion than you may like too, so check that before you pull everything out and if you do pull it out just shim it accordingly when you put it in to get proper lash. I believe a rule of thumb here is that a 0.010 will change lash by about 0.07.

Once thats all attended to you should have a truck that has its suspension, brakes, steering and rear up to snuff, or at least driveable. This is assuming that the engine runs and the tranny shifts hehe. Put some new oil in that air cleaner, assuming its the oil bath style, and clean out your gas tank, behind the seat right? It's easy to pull out and well worth it since they can plug the lines pretty easily, leaving you stranded, with dirt and leaves and whatever else got in there. You will want to put some new plugs in there and some new wires with a new battery as well. If you plan on rodding this truck then maybe the stock springs and rear arent what you want to put back in there, so decide if you want to put more motor/trans and a different stance on the truck.

It all depends on your plans for the truck and how long your plans extend into the trucks future. For mine I returned most components to stock but left the powertrain basically the same since I knew I was going to upgrade it in the future.

So for a quick outline:
Brakes, Rear, Steering, Suspension, Motor/Trans. For the future you can fix up that likely completely rotted out wooden box and body. If you plan to drive it some before you do anything with it then a seat recovering (if yours is in rough condition) might be in order. Fairly cheap and looks great on the interior. You want the truck to move under its own power and be safe to drive down the road and somewhat dependable at this stage, not look pretty. I'm sure there's lots I forgot to tell you though. It's been fairly long time since I worked on it.

Hmm, on that note, carburetion! Check that float and make sure it doesnt have a hole in it otherwise your engine will flood, and the little seal around the glass float bowl should be changed if it is leaking BUT, BE VERY CAREFUL and mindful of how tight those screws were when you pulled it off, because they should go back on the same way, this is one case where tighter is definately not better, it will actually warp the mounting flange or glass and you won't ever get a good seal. Things like new gas, new antifreeze and oil in the engine and trans and diff are ALWAYS a good idea too. Wow, enough of me and my banter though, hope some of this helps and I'm sure I have more I forgot, I keep thinking theres something really simple that I forgot. Tires maybe? Whatever, good luck with your truck. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. HAVE FUN!!

thanks alot that is a lot of info and it will definitly help if there is any thing else that you can remember please tell me and I do not have the truck at my house it is at the guys shop I dont have a way to get to my house until i get the engine put back together and it is going very nice i have hardly enough time to do any thing and it isnt a toatle rust buckit there is a few spots but it has been taken good care of he says it runs and I wont now until i get the motor put back together and the seat is like new tires good and along with every thing else there is only 66,000 miles on the motor so i am very happy about that every thing on the inside is ariginalso thanks again for the information. kickinboots

Take a look at this site. www.ford-trucks.com and go to the 48-60 forumn.