1952 F6 flatbed

D

Don McNeill

Junior Member
I found a 52 F6 for sale. This is supposed to be an original low milage, 19K, truck that was once entered in a couple of local shows. I am puzzled by the engine tho. It has a Mercury 8CM. Could it have come from the factory like this? Good body, bad paint, fair tires ( duals on back ), flatbed with rotten wood, was running when parked, has title and was last tagged in 96. Is $1,500 too much to risk? Thanks, Don
 
Wouldn't be the original engine, unless for some reason some one replaced the old heads with Merc heads. Stranger things have happened with these old guys. I would check the stroke distance to see if it is really a Merc mill.
There's a standing argument about whether Ford ever put any 8BAs in the trucks, (I have an F-2 that I bought from the original owner and he swore he bought it that way) but it can't be proved either way, and some of us are tired of the argument. I can't see Ford using the more coveted Merc heads in their trucks. Most trucks had the 8RT designation on the heads.
If this engine turns out to be really a Merc with the Merc crank and is a good rebuildable one, ya oughta jump at the price if ya got the inclination to own it and have any money left for this type of thing...slim
 
Last edited:
"coveted Merc heads"?? Why would anyone want to lower the compression on their 8BA/8RT? Back in the day the trick was to put 8BA or EAB heads on a Merc engine to get more compression.
 
According to the 48-54 Ford parts and accessories catalog, the V8 engines had 8BA heads from 48-51 and 8RT heads from 52 to 53. The 8BA heads were superceded to the 8RT heads in late 51. If the truck has Merc heads, it was probably a used replacement engine. I did that in 1971 on a 49 F-2 as it was the only engine I could find locally to replace the 8BA engine in the truck.
 
Biggest reason the Merc heads were "coveted", (maybe the wrong word here) was to misrepresent the engine. True, the Merc heads were lowest in compression for mating the longer stroke.

Barry, could you direct me to where in the parts book it has this information. I have not been able to find this info, and would love to prove this arguement and settle this bit of history. I have the book...slim
 
From talking to the owner again this morning, I now believe that the engine is an 8RT that someone in the past put the Mercury heads on. Thanks for the information. Don
 
Years ago I saw a big F6 (?) dump truck in a junk yard that had a Merc back draft carb on it....if that means anything? Cant remember what heads it had on it though
Randy
 
Ya sure it wasn't a big ole F-7 or F-8, Rand? They were carrying that huge 337 cu flathead that had the Merc/Lincoln style carbs. If you would have looked very close you would have noticed though. Dizzy in the rear and BIG engine...slim
 
Slim- Look on page 201 and under Ford basic part number 6049. It shows the first line with the 8BA part number and just before that in the description line it shows the 8RT supercession. Next line down showsthe 52-53 use of the 8RT head.
Page 202 on line 11 under the Ford basic part number 6050 shows the left side 8BA head. Same description area shows the 8RT supercession. Line 12 shows the 52-53 listing for the 8RT head.
This shows the listing as trucks had the 8BA heads from 48-51 and 8RT heads from 52 and on. If you had 8BA heads and had a problem in late 51 and 52 and on, you got a replacement 8RT head. It appears the head gasket was a different thickness and you had to use the EAB gaskets to match the 8RT heads. I also have a O.S.I. ( Obsolete-supercede-interchange ) catalog from early 52 and it backs up the supercession. These were issued between catalog printings to keep us Parts guys up to date on changes.
THe 48-55 version also has this info.
This F-6 could have a Merc engine,( replacement, not original) but to be sure, He'd have to drop the pan and measure the crank for a start.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top