Should I be concerned?
 

I'm looking at purchasing a 41' Ford F1 and the owner has shared several pics of the truck. One thing that has thrown up a red flag is the installation of the coolant hoses on top of the engine. They have been installed with a bow in them. There's a high spot in the middle and the hose is lower at the radiator and the heads. I've attached a couple pics so you can see what I mean. The truck has only been driven a few hundred miles since the engine was installed (claimed by the owner). Would the upper coolant hoses installed this way cause any issues down the road?

Re: Should I be concerned?
 

It's the wrong motor for a '41, that motor is an 8ba type used from 48-53 in trucks and 49-53 in cars. If the person who did the engine swap didn't take the time to get the hoses right how many other things could be "Mickey Mouse" together.

Re: Should I be concerned?
 

I'm not sure the hoses are a problem..overheating, etc. ....but, if at all possible, you need to see & drive it for yourself. I paid a "professional appraiser" to check a car out for me.
BIG MISTAKE !! He missed things that cost me big time just to make the car safe to drive.
Looks like a nice engine bay though.

Re: Should I be concerned?
 

Agreed. That's just a the way the hose is going to be do to the outlet location and rad location.

The lower part (where it attaches to the head) should have been made shorter to prevent that.

I don't know why, but stuff like that bugs me. I would start looking around to see where else they made shortcuts.

Re: Should I be concerned?
 

To answer your question, so long as the hoses do not rub on anything, there should not be any issues.

Re: Should I be concerned?
 

I like it....I really like that the owner installed a fan shroud.

Charlie

Re: Should I be concerned?
 

Agreed! I refuse to even make an offer on a car until I have driven it personally. Thanks for the advise.

The owner shared that upfront, and I imagine the mis-match of the 8BA in a 41' forced the hoses to be fitted this way.

Thanks. I have poured over the 30 some pictures the owner sent to me, and while I do see some problems (it's not perfect) I'm going to go look at it. This will be the 6th car I've looked at/driven. All of the others had major problems the owner "forgot" to mention.

Thanks for the replies, I really do appreciate it.

I attached a few more pics.

Re: Should I be concerned?
 

The water pumps move a tremendous amount of water, hoses should be shorter but not a problem.
Paul in CT

Re: Should I be concerned?
 

quik, from your pictures, the truck...based on what we can see....looks to be in pretty good shape. Would be worthwhile to get the invoices for work done on the truck in the recent past. It's been lowered, at least in the front, so undercarriage should be looked at closely.

Welcome to the Barn!!

Keep us posted!!

Re: Should I be concerned?
 

That's good advise. The owner says he has almost all of his receipts, which I'll be sure to rummage through when I go look at it.

A few more details:

1. H&H Flatheads long block
2. Painted 2 years ago
3. Rebuilt original gauges
4. Rebuilt T5
5. Rebuilt Ford 8" rear with 3.00 gears
6. Parellel leafs in the rear
7. Radial WW's
8. New chrome
9. New glass

He says he's tired of working on it and wants to move so he needs to sell. It needs the headliner installed (how hard of a job is that?) and it needs kick panels.

Re: Should I be concerned?
 

The hoses themselves are a very simple fix.

Re: Should I be concerned?
 

Any chances of posting more photos of the engine compartment and the engine? Where is the breather and oil fill. Are the hoses installed like that so the fan blade clears the hoses?
What kind of radiator is in the truck? Does it overheat?

It looks like a nice truck but, I am surprised that the owner didn't finish the interior. Wonder why? Be sure to drive it and look at the quality of the work done on the underside of the truck.

Re: Should I be concerned?
 

IF you have 30 more pictures It might be worth while posting more of what you have, just like deer in a field, the"more" eyes on the the pictures, the more likely to catch a "hunter" or "danger" as the case "may" be!!! Also might yeild leads as to areas to concentrate on when you get there to "check it out". JMO!!!! Truck's didn't have headliners or kick panels so those most likely will have to be fabricated IF they did have anything of the sort then it was black Masonite (card board type material which if they did "Should" be avail from the usual suspects LMC, Drake, NPD, Carpenter's etc etc would be a good start). I'm sure the "truck" guys here on the Barn will have more "accurate" info on that!!!

Re: Should I be concerned?
 

The F designation originated in the 1948 model year.

Re: Should I be concerned?
 

Agreed, but seeing the money the guy put into it, I am curious as to why someone wouldn't fix it. Motor cost was around $6-$8K depending what is done to it. That's all.

By pictures, looks nice. I'm sure this isn't cheap and needs to be looked at and driven.

Re: Should I be concerned?
 

you can go to an auto parts store and find some preformed 1 1/2 inch hoses that have enough length and a good 90 degree bend that will bring things into better alignment...

Re: Should I be concerned?
 

300 gears and an overdrive...should be good for about 200mph !

Re: Should I be concerned?
 

I would think a flathead would have a difficult time pulling a 3:00 gear ratio in overdrive!

Re: Should I be concerned?
 

Here is another set of pics.

Re: Should I be concerned?
 

Another set.