"DL" wrote in message
news:8qAfe.2580$Fv.337@lakeread01...
Off topic, but woodworking related...

I am in the process of getting our (actually my wife's) 1951 Ford F1
pickup restored. I would like to make the wood out of birdseye maple for
a different look than the traditional oak. The original boards are faily
rotted in the several sections so I don't have specific measurements that
I feel comfortable relying on. I have done several Google seaches and not
returned the dimensions I am looking for. The vendors that sell them have
not been willing to give me the dimensions understandably, and I don't
want to drop the $250-300 to get the dimensions from a new set of oak
boards.

I do plan to post on some of the old truck enthusiast websites, but I
thought I would post here to see if by chance anyone has the dimensions of
the boards. I think that they are the same from 1948 - 1956 just in case
someone has a different year than ours.

Thanks,

David


Ford has an excellent archive and I would bet they could come up with the
info for you if not the original blueprints. Don't know what they might
charge or if you are local enough to Dearborn to make a visit, but
definitely worth a phone call or letter. Another source would be the Henry
Ford Museum (Benson Ford Research center).

Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company Archives
Schaefer Court - Suite 180
14441 Rotunda Drive
Dearborn, MI 48120

Contact:
Elizabeth Adkins, Manager of Archives Services
Darleen Flaherty, Assistant Corporate Archivist
Telephone: 313-845-0556
Fax: 313-248-4921
E-Mail:

Type of Business: Automotive manufacturing

Hours of Service: M-F 8:00am-4:30pm

Conditions of Access: Access policy currently under review.

Holdings: 1903-current; bulk dates, 1950-1980

Total Volume: 7,000 cubic feet

Description: Majority of collections fall into the category of executive
correspondence and
international operations; large collection of executive speeches; corporate
newspapers
and periodicals; hundreds of smaller collections on a wide assortment of
Ford Motor
Company activities/programs/buildings. In December 1964, a major donation of
Ford
archival materials, along with 460,000 photos and negatives, was made to the
Henry Ford
Museum Archives, Research Center, P.O. Box 1970, Dearborn, MI 48121, Phone:
313-271-1620, ext. 650, Fax: 313-271-9621. The Museum holds the bulk of the
early
Ford historical records, 1903-1950.


The Benson Ford Research Center houses an open treasury of research,
historical expertise and unparalleled collections documenting the American
Experience.

The Research Center holds the Ford Motor Company Historical Archives from
1903-1955, as well as a nationally significant collection of business
records, automotive product literature and periodicals, manuscripts,
photographs, prints, postcards, maps, trade catalogs, early American
dictionaries, and other library and special collection material

Contact the Research Center

To set up an appointment to visit the research center call (313) 982-6070.

If you wish to do research from offsite, you must contact us in writing.
Fees apply to most requests for research from off-site. For more information
on cost please see our offsite research fees. We receive many requests, so
please be patient. Requests for information can be mailed, faxed or
emailed:

Benson Ford Research Center
The Henry Ford
P.O. Box 1970
Dearborn, MI
48121-1970
USA

fax: (313) 982-6244


http://www.thehenryford.com/research/request.asp

Good luck!

Tim