Another 55 F100 build-Long Term

[PhantomEB]

Thanks, seen a 25 gallon late 70s bronco will fit too, my truck is gonna be built just for power and geared for cruising, not every damn gas station like most of my builds been.

Now sourcing out power rack and pinion with the biggest brakes i can get. Did see a complete kit rotor to rotor before with options galore... now ya think I can find it?

 

[HOTFR8]

Just read back over the topic and spotted the disc brake rear end set up. Nicely done.

 

[drewski]

Just read back over the topic and spotted the disc brake rear end set up. Nicely done.

Thanks........the price is right and if I break it, I know where there are lots more of them. The salvage yards seem to be full of the S10s, Blazers, and Bravadas. On the plus side...the rear sway bar in the Blazer was easy to adapt to the 55 and it only cost $10.

 

[PhantomEB]

I was talkin front but I just may steal the rear diff idea even though I kinda want to keep my Ford, if possible.

 

[Motown 454]

Drew; I just went through you whole thread. The truck looks awesome!
You've got some skills!

 

[drewski]

Well, my build progress tends to slow in the summer due to other things that require my attention like lots of grass cutting. But I did make progress....if somewhat slow.... on the exhaust system on my F100.

I ordered an exhaust bend kit from Speedway, already had a pair of 40 series flowmasters, picked up a couple flex joints at a local swap meet and went to the salvage yard and took a close look at factory exhaust systems, clamps, hangers and flanges.

So with a pile of pipes and parts I spent a good deal of time figuring how to make square cuts in the bends and how to hold the pipes in alignment while I made spot welds.

After making up all kinds of jigs and fixtures, I found that good old masking tape was more than adequate at holding the piping in postion and in alignment for spot welding. I would fit the joint, give it a couple good tight wraps of tape and then cut a small section out, make my spot weld and move around the pipe cutting out sections of tape and spot welding


I kinda went around the world on the x-pipe. I welded it together as a true x initially and then went back and cut it up and finally wound up with what you see here.

I wanted to be able to disassemble the exhaust if I would ever need to remove parts of it, so I grabbed a couple flanges at the salvage yard (about 4 bucks) and welded them in to rear sections that will turn out exiting through the running boar

After I was satisfied with the layout, I pulled the entire system out and finished welding all the spotted joints. Maybe not necessary but I plugged the different segments of the exhaust and pressurized them to check for pinholes and leaks in general. I cleaned up the exhaust and gave it coat of high temp paint.




I've had several people ask me why I didn't just take it to a muffler shop and I can only say that after talking to several shops I decided that since this is a budget build I couldn't afford them. One shop quoted me a $100 each for the flex joints alone. It was a lot of work, kinda rough on a 65 year old crawling under the truck on a creeper for what seems was about a hundred times, but I got it done. Total cost for the exhaust was slightly less than $200....keeping in mind that I already had the mufflers.

I've since done a quick wire up and started the engine for brief moments to heat the exhaust and cure the high temp paint and I must say that it sounds great. The x-pipe certainly changes the sound of the exhaust note with side exit pipes.

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

"It was a lot of work, kinda rough on a 65 year old crawling under the truck on a creeper for what seems was about a hundred times, but I got it done."


BRAVO SIR, BRAVO!!!

65 and still spry enough to do all that crawling. I am few years junior to you and know exactly what you mean. lol The important thing is that you got it done, and done the way you want, and for not much cash out of pocket; well done!

That exhaust note must be a really sweet sound, especially knowing that it was your work on the X x-over that made it happen. Maybe someday you'll be able to post a video of the beast running just so we can hear the rumble.

 

[tcianci]

I just stopped by again to check out your truck and I'm totally blown away! I wish I could fabricate like you!

 

[Duke55]

Excellent fab work Drew. Glad to see you are making good progress. I should be getting the exhaust on mine and hopefully get it fired up soon.

 

[54FordPanel]

I just went thru your thread again Drew. Excellent work and craftsmanship. You're doing a terrific job.

 

[drewski]

Well, I haven't updated in some time and I had to go back through my thread to see where I stood on my build info. I don't have nearly as much time to devote to my truck project in the summer as I do during the cooler times of the year so it's not going to show a lot of progress.

After I got the exhaust put together, I pulled the engine and trans back out (Again!!) so that I could paint the firewall. I'm shooting dove gray single stage urethane.



Engine, trans, radiator back in, I started some of the plumbing. Installed stainless radiator hoses.


Welded up a bracket to mount my trans cooler.



I'm locating the trans cooler up under the cab on the driver side. I spent a lot of time trying to find a place where I could locate the cooler where it will be out of site and still be able to function as it should. I'll probably fabricate a shroud of some sort to direct air over the cooler.

Ran my trans cooler and fuel lines.....not much to show here, just a lot of measuring and bending.

I lucked up on a 1 1/4" sway bar on a recent excursion in my local salvage yard. I suspect it came out of a 70's era Trans Am. Quite a bit bigger than the stock Chevelle bar that I had in my truck. Sway bar.....$12 and $16 for new sway bar bushings.



I also fabbed up some brackets that will allow me to use my $15 shifter taken from a front wheel drive Chrysler product on my turbo 350 trans.



Currently doing a little redneck engineering on folding brackets to hold my tailgate in the down position. No.....I'm not going to make them out of wood, just mockup to see what will work. I intend to cut the straps out of stainless so that I can polish them .



I'm sure I have more to show, but it's proving to be a total pain in the *** trying to find my photos in the new and improved Photobucket.

Maybe more later.

Drew

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Beutifull work,You sir are a true craftsman!

 

[bry@n]

This was an awesome read. You are very talented.

 

[emeraldcoupe]

the seat belt buckles are a neat idea. can you reach them both at the same time to unlatch the tail gate?

 

[VWPORSCHEGT3]

this is one of the neatest projects I've ever seen, not much of that thing is ford at all, and though I'm not a fan of those era fords, this one is the Shiznit. very very very cool!

 

[drewski]

Beutifull work,You sir are a true craftsman!

This was an awesome read. You are very talented.

this is one of the neatest projects I've ever seen, not much of that thing is ford at all, and though I'm not a fan of those era fords, this one is the Shiznit. very very very cool!

Shucks! You guys are swelling my head. Truth is I don't consider that I'm doing anything that any of you couldn't do. I screw stuff up and I've created a lot of scrap metal trying to do something that I have no idea what would be the best way to do it. As I've said before this is a budget build and being able to use things that I already have or readily located in salvage yards has been my main goal.

But I do appreciate the compliments.

the seat belt buckles are a neat idea. can you reach them both at the same time to unlatch the tail gate?

The width of the bed is just slightly over 48" so you can reach both buttons to release the tailgate. The seat belt buckle idea is not really anything new. It was popular in the 80's and then kinda disappeared

Drew

 

[HOTFR8]

In what location will you mount the trans cooler ?

 

[drewski]

In what location will you mount the trans cooler ?

I've got it mounted at an angle in the old location of the fuel tank. I'm hoping mounting it at an angle will help with air flow through it. The bracket is mounted to the frame of the truck.

I thought I had a picture of it mounted but I can't seem to locate it. I just "LOVE" the new and improved Photobucket!

Drew

 

[HOTFR8]

I've got it mounted at an angle in the old location of the fuel tank. I'm hoping mounting it at an angle will help with air flow through it. The bracket is mounted to the frame of the truck.

I thought I had a picture of it mounted but I can't seem to locate it. I just "LOVE" the new and improved Photobucket!

Drew

So that is on the chassis beside he gearbox ?

As for Photo bucket well MySpace did the same thing.

 

[drewski]

So that is on the chassis beside he gearbox ?

In the area above the running board brackets on the left side. Frame is between cooler and transmission. Cooler and lines are not installed in this photo.

Drew

 

[HOTFR8]

It may need a fan in that location and you also need to consider stone damage but it will work well.

 

[Duke55]

Excellent color choice!

 

[drewski]

Excellent color choice!

Thanks! I really thought I would have someone ask. Why gray?

 

[Duke55]

I am a big fan of solid grays and charcoals on street rods.

 

[drewski]

Time to do a little catch up on this thread. Grass cutting season is drawing to an end so maybe I'll get a little more garage time.

Finished up the folding tailgate straps. I fashioned them from some scrap 14 gauge stainless that I had in the metal pile. I used stainless bolts and locknuts that got a quick polish job before assembly.



Also been doing some work inside the cab of the truck. My instrument panel had been badly butchered by some P/O, so I cut it up to where I could mount a wood panel inside it to mount gauges in. The outside of the panel was rusty and had been painted silver. I sanded the panel and spent some time on the buffer polishing the steel and gave it a clear coat. My cheap approach at almost looking like chrome.



I searched my scrap wood pile for a panel to mount gauges in and came up with 3 sample panels.



Wife voted for the cherry panel due to the interesting grain and rays of the wood.



Several coats of clear finish

In the meantime my wife ordered a set of Autometer gauges for me. I know this is a budget build, but I decided to buy the better gauges after reading about people having problems out of some of the cheaper gauge

Gauges installed in cherry panel. I picked up the small led lights from Radio Shack.



Cherry panel with gauges mounted back in the original panel.



I had intended to fabricate my gas and brake pedals, but found a deal on pedals, throttle cable, brackets, etc. for less than $100. I was expecting less than great quality, but was pleasantly surprised. Also this setup keeps the throttle cable outside of the cab.


Hopefully, faster progress to report now that cooler weather is arriving. I'm a little more productive during the months when I can fire up the Ashley stove and hibernate in my garage.

 

[Duke55]

Drew, The gauge insert looks very good. Are there more gas and brake pedal hardware available at that price?

Now the the grass cutting is over it is glass cutting time. I cut my first practice windshield over the weekend. I will be trying a couple other cutting techniques but I think I am getting close to having a method I will be comfortable trying on a new windshield.

 

[HOTFR8]

That dash looks great.

 

[drewski]

Drew, The gauge insert looks very good. Are there more gas and brake pedal hardware available at that price?

Now the the grass cutting is over it is glass cutting time. I cut my first practice windshield over the weekend. I will be trying a couple other cutting techniques but I think I am getting close to having a method I will be comfortable trying on a new windshield.

PM sent regarding the gas pedal assembly.

I'm also getting ready to cut a windshield. After following this thread



I ordered one of the 40 grit bits that he referred to in that thread. Feeding water to the bit was somewhat of a challenge for me since I really didn't want to invest a lot of money in something I may only use for this one project. I used an old touchup spray gun that had a broken trigger to put together this redneck rig to spray water on my cutter. Don't laugh...



I used a bolt to lock the trigger to spray, attached a section of clear tubing to the pickup tube, bent up a bracket that uses a clamp to hold the gun on the roto zip. I threw the pickup hose in a bucket of water, hooked up an air hose and made some adjustments on the amount of water delivered to the bit and hopefully I'm ready to cut a windshield.

Drew

 

[drewski]

That dash looks great.

Thanks....the wood grain doesn't really show that well in the picture, but I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. I shot it with automotive clear coat since I wasn't sure how regular polyurethane like used on furniture would hold up to heat and sunlight.

Drew

 

[drewski]

A little catching up on my build....

I tried my rotozip contraption to cut my old F100 windshield as a warmup to cut a new one. It went well with no hiccups.





Got it all trimmed out and sitting in the truck....now to get a new one and do it again.

I had a tree fall on an old barn on my place last fall, so I spent some time trying to salvage some of the old boards to use in the bed of my truck.



Instead of metal rub strips, I'm just using smaller strips of barn wood milled to allow for movement of the wood planks.


I'm not making any effort to fix old nail holes or rust stains...my wife calls it character....and I agree. It's not going to be a show truck.

A little stain and finish.





I've also built a console and got my salvage yard shifter hooked up, installed my column, and attended to what seems like a million small details that don't deserve photos.



Finally getting close to adding fluids and a fire up to see if it can move under its own power.

 

[GJoustra]

WOW! You are talented, jack of all trades.

 

[HOTFR8]

Must be time we had an update on this project.

 

[mechanicalmoron]

Awesome work, top notch fabrication, etc. All around, great stuff.

But I still die a little inside, every time I see an old truck chopped (cars too, but less so). It had such nice preportions, so well matched to each other, but still stood so tall n' proud.... how tall cabs of this era appear is part of their designs vital flow, imo.

Chopping cars is a bit different, they're not trucks, you know?

 

[drewski]

Must be time we had an update on this project.

Thanks for the move to Fabrication. I really lost interest in taking the time to post pictures and details of my build in Free Parking. I'll refrain from giving my opinion of the Free Parking section.

As of yesterday afternoon, the F100 is now alive and able to move under it's own power for the first time since I first acquired it 27 years ago. Adding fluids and final checks on wiring and gauges went really well and it fired right up. Only leak I found was while bleeding brakes where I had failed to fully tighten a fitting. I've still got a ton of things to work on, but having the truck where I can move it around without having to push it will be real incentive to get my *** in gear.

Awesome work, top notch fabrication, etc. All around, great stuff.

But I still die a little inside, every time I see an old truck chopped (cars too, but less so). It had such nice preportions, so well matched to each other, but still stood so tall n' proud.... how tall cabs of this era appear is part of their designs vital flow, imo.

Chopping cars is a bit different, they're not trucks, you know?

If my truck hadn't been such a ragged POS when I got it, I probably wouldn't have chopped it. I really considered scrapping it right after I first got it. It has been a project where I could try any custom touch that I could dream up without concern that I was ruining a perfectly good truck.

Drew

 

[Gizmosity]

Absolutely astounding work. You sir are an inspiration to the rest of us sheetmetal hacks of the world.

 

[drewski]

Absolutely astounding work. You sir are an inspiration to the rest of us sheetmetal hacks of the world.

Thank you very much..........truth is, I don't show you what I screw up. I have my own pile of junk ideas that just didn't work out. Like the air cleaner cover I made out of two rear fenders from a Murray lawn mower. Turned out looking more like a helmet. Guess I'll go to Plan B on an air cleaner cover.:dunn

Drew

 

[MP&C]

Good to see progress....and that it's under power now..

That old barn siding sure looks nice all cleaned up!

 

[don long]

I just found your thread this morning and haven't moved from my computer
I have not only read but studied this build closely.
All I can say is "WOW" and thank you. I have a 1950 cab over build that I have lacked motivation to work on (Been finding smaller projects to keep me busy) until now.
Your work and skills are the best, and when I read that you are my age it made me feel much more like hitting it harder.
Again thank you for the inspiration and sharing this fine truck with us "wanabes"

Don

 

[HOTFR8]

Thanks for the move to Fabrication. I really lost interest in taking the time to post pictures and details of my build in Free Parking. I'll refrain from giving my opinion of the Free Parking section.

Many of this type of topic got moved to fabrication a long time ago. How we missed yours I do not know . Still it looks like the move of the topic will make for some motivation not just for you. Nice to read it is moving along.

 

[Rookie2]

Nice ride ! how long did it take to cut across the top of the 53" windshield ?