49 Ford truck with 59a engine
 

Any of the Ford history guys know when they switched over the engines in the Truck line? I have a 59a that came out of a 49 Truck. It was coupled to a 4-speed with a power take-off. No idea on the Truck serial number, but did the trucks lag the cars in the switchover to the 8ba? It all sure looked original, but who knows.

Re: 49 Ford truck with 59a engine
 

My understanding is that the switchover in trucks happened in 1948, before the cars, Thus the '8' in 8BA.

Re: 49 Ford truck with 59a engine
 

8BA motor first came out in the 48 F-1s.

Re: 49 Ford truck with 59a engine
 

This was a larger truck (not sure of the tonnage), not an F1.

Re: 49 Ford truck with 59a engine
 

My sister and her husband bought a new F1 with the light duty 3 speed in the early spring of 1948. I Rembrandt it well, there was still snow and it was cold and as we were moving from Montana back to Wisconsin we saw one sitting in front of a Ford dealer’s showroom some place in N. Dakota or Minnesota. It was the first Ford truck we had ever seen with the new horizontal bar grill.
A couple weeks later my sister n husband bought one.
I had occasion to drive it many times until it got so rusted out with a weak clutch and rod knocks in 1966. I always wondered how 48 Ford could have that engine with the top water hoses going to the front of the heads.
Then our closest neighbor bought a new F5 in the summer of 48. Same engine!
As the man said above, it came in 48, that’s why it has the number 8 in its designatio.

Re: 49 Ford truck with 59a engine
 

The sales ads and brochures of the time promoted the 'new' 239 V8 in the larger trucks.
http://oldcarbrochures.org/United%20...20%286%29.html

Re: 49 Ford truck with 59a engine
 

I have never seen parts books list any 59AB stuff for ‘48 or ‘49 trucks so I always figured
The trucks were 8Ba....or8rc.
By the way, what is different on an 8rc other than the low compression heads, the oil pan and the intake manifold.? How is the manifold different.?

Re: 49 Ford truck with 59a engine
 

I had a 60 2 dr Saratoga with imperial brakes, also chrysler never made a 2dr Saratoga. I found out later thay the Chrysler 300 was made fron the winsor 2 dr Ht on a special line. When the 300 were done the remainder were just put together and sold as???? Not only did the car have biger brakes,it also had the hevvy duty suspension abd axles 383 engine. So finding a different engine ir other parts in a transision eara car/truckm iight not have a logical answer.

Re: 49 Ford truck with 59a engine
 

Guess it is possible someone switched out the engine, seems like an odd thing to do, but farm trucks often have strange histories I guess.

Re: 49 Ford truck with 59a engine
 

I had a 1940 Ford Tudor with a ‘36 engine.
I bought the car with a tired engine. My cousin wrecked his nice ‘36. So............
I also had a ‘39 Deluxe with a ‘38 engine.
Oh, the 39, there was still the owners booklet in the glove box that mentioned for $75 the cars could be had with leather upholstery!

Re: 49 Ford truck with 59a engine
 

Trucks were usual the last to get changes. Easier to let car parts go to trucks, new car stuff sells. Big trucks might be different thing and sometimes put into 1/2 ton. As much as we think we know, the less we do.



http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/f...gs_engines.htm

Re: 49 Ford truck with 59a engine
 

An important point to recall is that the shoebox models were a bit delayed causing the '48 car models to be extentions of the '47 versions. There was an abbreviated run of '48 cars before an early rollout of the '49 cars. (per the Early Ford V8 Club 41-48 book)

The truck line update wasn't delayed and the Bonus Built models debuted with the '48 model year.