1951 3/4-Ton Ford F3

[Model A Canuck]

I thought i would share these pictures of my friends original 51 Ford 3/4 ton F3 pickup.This truck came from Western Canada a number of years ago and was owned by my neighbor up untill he passed away a number of years ago and later by his son up untill he passed away last winter.Pictures were taken in front of the P.L. Robertson offices on Bronte Street in Milton Ontario a few summers ago.The building on Bronte Street is the only remaining building from the P.L. Robertson Manufacturing Company

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._L._Robertson

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by Model A Canuck

I thought i would share these pictures of my friends original 51 Ford 3/4 ton F3 pickup.This truck came from Western Canada a number of years ago and was owned by my neighbor up untill he passed away a number of years ago and later by his son up untill he passed away last winter.Pictures were taken in front of the P.L. Robertson offices on Bronte Street in Milton Ontario a few summers ago.The building on Bronte Street is the only remaining building from the P.L. Robertson Manufacturing Company

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._L._Robertson

[cas3]

Nice truck!! 9' box?

[GB SISSON]

Originally Posted by cas3

Nice truck!! 9' box?

Everything about that pickup screams Heavy Duty, and it looks to be in great shape! I'm quite sure the 9' pickup box made it's debut with the F-350 in 1953, in which case it's still an 8 footer. And to the original poster, the F3 was rated as one ton pickup, the F2 being the 3/4 ton. The wheels would be 17" widowmaker typle multi-piece wheels. If the tires are 7.50 x 17, they look bigger somehow but I have never seen an 8.25 x 17. There's a '51 F3 sitting in a field a half mile from me. Owner bought it on the mainland a year ago and has since lost interest. Those photos are inspiring me to get in touch with the guy. In the meantime I'll just enjoy yours from afar. Love to see more pics. Does it have the 6 cyl H or the 8RT V8?

[Model51]

Great looking truck! It sure screams beefy and get out of my way!

[47merctruck]

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Originally Posted by GB SISSON

Everything about that pickup screams Heavy Duty, and it looks to be in great shape! I'm quite sure the 9' pickup box made it's debut with the F-350 in 1953, in which case it's still an 8 footer. And to the original poster, the F3 was rated as one ton pickup, the F2 being the 3/4 ton. The wheels would be 17" widowmaker typle multi-piece wheels. If the tires are 7.50 x 17, they look bigger somehow but I have never seen an 8.25 x 17. There's a '51 F3 sitting in a field a half mile from me. Owner bought it on the mainland a year ago and has since lost interest. Those photos are inspiring me to get in touch with the guy. In the meantime I'll just enjoy yours from afar. Love to see more pics. Does it have the 6 cyl H or the 8RT V8?

I’ve never seen a F2 or F4 in Canada. Also after searching for a 4 speed syncrosilent trans mission in Canada I found out that Ford of Canada never sold 6cylinder flatheads here. Doug.

[GB SISSON]

So, ModelA Canuck, in your original post you called this a Ford F3. Is it not badged as a mercury? Did Canada get Fords to sell at the Ford dealerships and Mercury's at the Mercury dealerships?

[rotorwrench]

Canadian Ford and Mercury trucks started out using a load weight rating instead of the F number rating. They only made the F47 and the F68. The US built F series Bonus Built pickups did use use F1 through F3 in 1948. The F2 and F3 were a little off on the load ratings so the F2 was pretty close to 3/4 ton and the F3 was shy of 1 ton too. It was basically a heavy duty 3/4 ton. The F2 & 3 had the big brakes and the Timken Detroit rear axle plus the longer frame and bed (8-feet). The F3 likely had a little heavier rear spring set. I think in 1951, Canada went to the F1 and F3 designations through 1952. The Mercury brand would be M1 and M3.

I learned to drive in my Pop's 1952 F3. I caught on to double clutching and rpm matching that way. Most other trucks were easier to shift. Pop had several 49 F1 pickups but they were at a different farm location than the home place I grew up on. I ended up with a 53 Chevy 3100 delluxe cab to use for school. Pop sold the F1s and I wasn't a happy camper when he did. I only wanted 1 of them. Such is life. The F3 he kept to haul his livestock water tank for years more but it was a low geared old work horse.

[Model A Canuck]

Thanks guys for clearing up the correct ton rating and box size.This truck is a excellent example of a nice well preserved early Ford V8 truck wich has never seen salt or brine out in Western Canada it is almost like having a California car.The body and under carriage are in great shape it is 99.99% original exept for a few new reproduction parts from Dennis Carpenter glass and brake parts ect... the headliner was taken out due to mice but not replaced.It is just a really nice old truck

[Als48]

Model A Canuck,

Thanks for posting pictures of that great looking old truck. It reminds me of my grandad Sam's '52 F2, which was very similar, but Washington blue. It had the 8 foot bed which would close on an 8 ft sheet of plywood, 4 speed trans (Non synchro) large wheels/tires (I assume 17"), the full floating rearend of about 4.56 or lower, and very heavy springs. These all sound like great features to have but made it a miserable vehicle to drive. My granny Bex could drive it, but just barely. She was only 5'0" tall, so could barely get into it, with the low gearing it would buck and jump as she tried to let out the clutch, and then shifting it, grinding every gear seemed to be a nightmare for her. I learned to drive it fairly well as a teen and she was impressed that I could shift it as well as I could. Sam did ok in it, but I can see how that truck never racked up many miles, as no one enjoyed driving it. I should have kept it as it only had about 50k miles, but scrapped it for $40 in the 70's. I would have made a few changes to it to make it a driver. GB would have loved it! Ha ha

Al Hook

[GB SISSON]

Originally Posted by Als48

Model A Canuck,

Thanks for posting pictures of that great looking old truck. It reminds me of my grandad Sam's '52 F2, which was very similar, but Washington blue. It had the 8 foot bed which would close on an 8 ft sheet of plywood, 4 speed trans (Non synchro) large wheels/tires (I assume 17"), the full floating rearend of about 4.56 or lower, and very heavy springs. These all sound like great features to have but made it a miserable vehicle to drive. My granny Bex could drive it, but just barely. She was only 5'0" tall, so could barely get into it, with the low gearing it would buck and jump as she tried to let out the clutch, and then shifting it, grinding every gear seemed to be a nightmare for her. I learned to drive it fairly well as a teen and she was impressed that I could shift it as well as I could. Sam did ok in it, but I can see how that truck never racked up many miles, as no one enjoyed driving it. I should have kept it as it only had about 50k miles, but scrapped it for $40 in the 70's. I would have made a few changes to it to make it a driver. GB would have loved it! Ha ha

Al Hook

Duh. I'm a glutton for punishment.

[rotorwrench]

Nothing to worry about. A lot of folks get confused about the Ford with Monarch and Mercury with Meteor thing in relation to the way Ford of Canada had to do business. It was different for sure. The Mercury pickups had a lot of bling compared to their Ford counterparts. I think they were pretty cool and are a big part of what makes Canada a unique country.