1962 Flareside restomod Perbuild notes and work up

[Sadler]

Hello
Well I picked up a 1962 Flareside's about a year and half ago.. I'm about to start working on it.
This will be the first truck Mod/build I have done for myself. I have done a lot of custom work on BMW, Ferrari, Lotus, and on all high end imports.
My background is BMW service TECH the age little rust and just one rust hole (drivers side behind the gas tank)
I plan on reading up on what everyone here has done to the 60's trucks.

MY plan at this point is: calling her "THE SIDE-STEP" , "Blue my Money" or "Blue My Gas"
1. Put the crown vic front end.
2. The bed-I'm not sure if I'm just going to sheet metal the bed or go with wood. It will be used to pick up engines
and transmissions as well as to tow cars.
3. clean it up and get it ready for paint (Ford blue)
4. inside will be done in the body color blue and gray/silver seating headliner etc...

5.Drive Train-QUESTIONS- NEED INFORMATION

I'm looking for input on the drive line. (looking to get killer MPG from an old truck)
It has a 292 in it (Spun bearing on cylinder 3) I have a 4.6 DOHC from a Mark VIII on the floor in the shop.
I need the truck for towing cars back to the house/shop that are out in BFE that I fix up and sell.
So if I stick with the 292 I'm going to need to ditch the 3 speed that it has. I would like to go with the
TOD5 or the ZF6 (has anyone done this?)

How does the 292 do with towing over all? I will need A/C, what compressors can be bolted up?
If I put the 4.6 in, I'm planning on using a turbo setup with a ZF6 from a 5.4 or 6.0D.

What year trucks can I get rear springs and a differential that swap over. (thinking F250 or F350 for towing)

I would like to know some info about the gas tanks in this truck (do they blow up if you get T-boned?)

Is it better to install the under the bed gas tanks from the 1980-90's F150 (safer?)

This may be a basic questions, but is this a 12V power system in this truck?

Need to:
Check the differential it has in it. Dif. ratio will need to be fig. based on Eng and gear box for best high way driving and MPG towing.
put a pic. of the truck up.
keep looking at others post about mods and tips.

If you have some input please copy the question or part that you are referring to with your answer below so its easier for me to make notes.
Also any links would be nice.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this and all the input.
Looking forward to doing this build with you guys as this plays out. (I did kick around putting in a BMW 4.4 or 5.0 V12and its not off the table)

[Shadow]

Hello From Kansas! Before You Step Into The Same Bear-Trap I Did Be Warned. Fords Are Referred To As "Flareside's" Not Step-Sides ( A Step-Side Is A Chevy Truck). I Made The Mistake Of Using The Term "Step-Side" And Was Swiftly Chastised By The Tribal Elders. Where Are You Located? Please Post Photo's ASAP....

[kstones63]

from Phoenix.

Here is a pic of the Mark VIII engine in my truck. It sits sown in the engine compartment really well.


I have 3:23 gears in this truck and it runs great but I don't think that it would pull a trailer real well with the Mark VIII trans. The trans is too high geared in first gear, 40mph before it shifts if you are on the throttle hard. 3:73 gears or a different geared trans(possibly a truck trans) would help.
I haven't driven the truck enough on a regular basis to give you MPG results.

Kevin

[unibody madness]

Welcome to the madness. The 223 seems to be a decent mileage motor and hauls as well. All the original motors that I have delt with were geared and set up as work tools so they will tow well. My sons 223 got good gas milage and towed,pulled, well. It is getting a clifford performance intake and exhaust installed right now,and mated to a t5 mustang tranny so it will be awhile before I can post the results.
My 292 y block is rebuilt and mated up to a t5 mustang tranny as well and I just broke the motor in last weekend, so again too soon to post results.
I can however tell you that my first 61 unibody back years ago had a 292, t98 four speed and I towed a flat bottom race boat that out weighed the truck, with no problem. Fuel milage was another matter, 12 mpg up hill, down hill, pulling the boat or not. Seems you can get the pulling power or the mileage but not both with the 292. I am hoping the t5 will help at highway speeds.
Others have done this conversion and will pop up with there experiences
John

[jeepbut]

Of the three names that you are considering, I would chose "THE SIDE-STEP". It has a nice old truck ring to it. Thanks, Lyman.

[Toyz]

I have a 292 in my F350 tow truck. It does quite well but fuel economy and creature comforts SUCK. The Mark VIII is an easy fit with the CV front, and I would have no problem considering the use of the 4R70W if teamed with something like a 3.89 or 4.11 gear set. Rather than changing to a heavier rear and springs; I would be inclined toward a good set of air assist springs, coupled with some LT tires, fresh hd shocks, and a rear sway bar The o/d will help with fuel economy and the slush box will hold the towing load quite well with the addition of a good heavy duty trans cooler. If you prefer a manual I would want to go with at least an M5OD, or even something like the expensive Tremec 3650 or the even more expensive T56. I would probably shy away from the T5 for your intended use. The ZF would be a good choice, not sure of interchangeability (as far as fitting the chassis, shifter position, etc.), however.

Paul

[Toyz]

The slicks are 12v negative ground. I have no qualms about the in-cab fuel tank; if I were t-boned hard enough to rupture it, the fuel would probably be the least of my concerns. My reason for sometimes relocating the tanks has to do with fuel injection as well as cab room. Early Mustang tanks fit well between the rails at the rear, which is probably not the safest placement, either. Aside from legality, a fuel cell can also be a good option to consider, especially with the 4.6 fuelie.
Keep in mind that if you intend to tow, you will probably want as much suspension travel as stock. Keep that in mind when installing the CV; there is some readily available height increase, but it will not easily bring the loaded front end up to the original height without extra work. I would highly recommend the Police package for the heavier components and spring rates.
BTW, welcome, and where are you located?
Paul

[Indy63]

How heavy a trailer are you looking to tow? MPG and towing don't really go together, despite what many diesel owners would lead you to believe.

If you want any hope of decent mileage unloaded and occasional towing ability, go with a more modern drivetrain. It won't be popular here, but I'd recommend something of the LS variety to reliably get the power of a mild turbo mod motor with a possibility of decent mileage. A 5.3/6.0 with a mild cam and tune with the matching 4L80E behind it will cheaply put down the horsepower it sounds like you want with a lot more torque than any of the proposed combos while getting better mileage.

The 9" it should have come with is fine for single-car towing, but you'll want 4.11 gears. You can tow with a lowered truck without any problem so long as everything is set up correctly. Go with assist bags if you care about how it rides empty. Don't forget trailer brakes.

[Toyz]

Scratching head here
No conjecture, just fact!
08 Silverado x-cab 1500, 6.0 auto 3.73 10,900 tow package = 12.7 mpg for 56,000 miles (since new); was 13.1 until a recent trip to NC with 20 ft enclosed trailer with 10,000 gtw.
08 SAAB Aero 6.0 LS2,4.11's, awd, auto, 6000 tow = 12.9 mpg for 20,000 miles with very little towing. Both have been seen towing my various slicks around, both were purchased because Ford had nothing that fit my perceived needs as well at the time.
Things change; a friend's Ecoboost has been pressed into the exact same service with the exact same trailers- average fuel economy so far = 15.7 mpg
Another friends's 5.0 F150- same service, 14.2 mpg.
BTW, I have also spent much of my recent life behind the wheel of another 08 Silverado 6.0; this a 2500 with 3.73's and the six speed auto. The mileage did not improve over my 1500, but the six speed made towing much more comfortable than with the 4L80.
Turbo motor? yep, I guess you could turbo an LS; done right; it might surpass the Ecoboost on power. Not an inexpensive partaking by the time you work out engine controls Of course, you could drop in a $6500.00 new 412 hp Coyote crate motor with warranty, or a low mileage F150 Coyote drivetrain with proven controls.
As to the statement regarding diesels; I have seen that increased power and fuel economy when towing were not mutually exclusive, and I certainly am not alone in that area!
A lowered truck is not necessarily a deterrent to comfortable and safe towing; however, decreased suspension travel certainly CAN be!
Next!
Paul

[Sadler]

Thank you every one for jumping in here right off. I feel welcomed all ready and thank you all for not flaming me.

Shadow: I edit the post to "Flareside's" and thank you for the tip. Right when I read that i remember that you were right on!
I'm located in Spring TX (just north of down town Houston)

kstones63 (Kevin) :
under your hood is great! It looks like you have set the bar! What type of fuel management system do you have set up?
My plans if I go with my 4.6 will be to turbos it and put a ZF6 speed from a F250/350 witch should put me in the range of 3:33 or lower and still tow by just using 5th gear and not 6th. But going with no load it will save gas on road trips and give me a great top speed! That is what I have come up with on paper at this point. Thanks Kevin, Do you have build notes or a write up on what you did?

John thanks for the info and input.

Toyz (Paul):
I'm planning on doing this build to keep the truck for the rest of my life and I'm not kiding about it at all. So the Manual trans is a must so I'm not having to deal with a rebuild or over heating issues from towing every 90-130,000. I'm a huge ZF fan coming from the Euro car market. The Zf is going to set me back $900-2500 depending how I get my hands on it. The ZF was never put out with the 4.6 but the 5.4 or 6.0 has them and from what I under stand bolt holes are the same pattern. I just need to change mt crank to 8 bolt and use the 5.4 fly wheel and clutch set up. Ford turck needs a ford engine? unless I stuff my 4.4 BMW M60 and six peed under the hood and
make it a ForMW, B-ford or forb lol! O man I may just do that!! Forb !!! I like it!

Front end is from a police Vic. I'm going to have to fig out the front ride height based on what goes into the back end. Thank you for the point on air assist! I have never even look at that. Do they leak? The land rover air ride systems always leak or get out of balance. But I like the idea!!
I need to learn more about what I can do with this front end and how much ride height adjustments I can make. I'm think 60/30 balance on this truck is my target?

On the MPG I'm just trying to get the best MPG set up for the trip out to get the cars. if I get 10-14mpg with a car on the back that just what it is...
Thank you for the great pointers!!

Jeepbut :
"The Side-step" name is what I'm thinking the most about. Because I'm going to an old truck and this lets me side step the Emission laws in Texas. the reason I sold my F350 and picked this truck up.

Indy63:
I have a tow bar and for low profile cars or AWD cars I just rent a transport trailer from U hall.

Thank you every one!

[Toyz]

Looks as if you have done your research! My son just sold a 5.4 Superduty with the ZF (I assume). He has an earlier 5.4 F250-7700 of which I am not sure of the transmission type. I don't know if it will become a parts truck, but it likely will. If you check Kevin's posts, not only will you find a lot of great info, but his current project is a Navigator 5.4 in his son's uni. Although he is utilizing Jag suspension front and rear, there will be a lot of info which may help you. Personally, if I were intending to boost a manual trans mod motor; thus needing to mod the engine and replace the crank as well as requiring a custom control system, I would seriously consider the Coyote crate motor
BTW, while I haven't had a BMW driver since the 1600/ 2002's, I have had a "Forb", or more accurately, a "BMark"! Had big plans for adding boost, but life (and 302 HO's ) got in the way!
I am currently (slowly) installing a Mark VIII IRS in my Fatman-fronted shortie. It appears to be a good choice for matching the height of a CV front while leaving the bed undisturbed.
Getting off-topic here, but a group of the Houston members were up your way this weekend for the Conroe swap meet. Wish we had known you are somewhat local. We have some up-coming get-togethers you might be interested in; just let us know!I think we tend to be a pretty helpful bunch with a myriad amount of accumulated knowledge concerning various builds.
Paul

[jeepbut]

Just noticed it was "SIDE-STEP". That is too funny. I can use that to rib Gerald(Grits-n-gumbo) next year at Pate swap meet. The club has about 30 spaces and lots of food, so please join us next April. Thanks, Lyman.

[Sadler]

Paul I look forward to talking to you at some point on the phone. I'm doing my research and I'm not done yet... this is how I found this group.
I need to have this worked out on paper first. This truck feels like a blank canvas and I'm about to do a masterpiece for my self.
Paul let me know if you part out the truck and if its a ZF 6 up for sale. I have not picked up everything yet because I'm not set 100% on the path before I start.
I was reading the write up on the Jag XJ6 IFS into F100 and I'm liking the ATE 4 piston brakes. So Jag Vs crown vic for the front end?
OR
I started kicking the tires on this idea.. I looked in my BMW books for the specs on the X5 front end and found every thing but the frame measurements. So I call a friend and asked him to give me the measurements from the subframe from a X5. He then told me he has one in his bay on the lift and the subframe is pulled! Measurements should be in Monday morning.

It hit me like lighting on the hood emblem about putting my BMW drive line in the truck and the jag or X5 front end last night well I was reading and posting here.
Ok So my back ground is sports cars, GT track cars not building mod trucks that will tow. I have had ford trucks and just serviced them.
So IF I go with my BMW M60 10.5:1 compression with a
Getrag 420G transmission (should hold up) 1:4.32 2:2.54 3:1.62 4:1.23 5:1.00 6:0.83 R:3.75
If I picked up a ford 8.8 dif tagged with gearing of 2.73 do you guys think it would be to hard on the clutch/eng to pull from a red light. Also need input on Ford Dif. I'll post a pic of the tuck and dif. (no tag, I looked for it today)

I have to fig out the a/c and the cluster set up after I pick a drive line set up. Can someone put up a link to the best A/C systems that fit well in this 62 with out the loss of the glove box? I was thinking of an A/C air box in the center console area?

What is set in stone : I'll be driving a Blue 1962 Ford or Forb named "The side-step"
Seating will be gray from the newer F150s (I like the square look of the seats)
The bed of the tuck will have the spare time holder removed and a sheet metal bed with a sprayed bed-liner.

Tail gate (i dont have one) will be made out of Aluminum 6063-T5 Square Tubing. vertical pins hinges to swing open to the left or the right. Ez unload of eng, tow bar or setting up bike ramps.

I'm keeping the gas tank in the cab and adding a second tank under the bed.

I'm getting tons of info from you guy on here and input thank you! I hope when I'm finished here I can give as much info as I have taken. When this is done it would be grate to do Car Shows, Swap Meets, BBQ's, Meet & Greets.....

[Sadler]

I'm in Spring North of Houston south of the woodlands.
Toyz (Paul) I would like to get you my number and see if I could talk to you for a few.

[bruceandersson]

Just a couple of notes on gas mileage. The biggest factor to gas mileage and pickup trucks is how fast you drive them. I have had numerous trucks over the years and there is a huge difference between driving 55 and 65+. My first truck was a 74 3/4 ton high boy 4x4. It got 17 MPG on the highway at 55, towing or not. This was a manual trans and I have no idea of the gearing. I had a 2000 F350 (7000 lbs empty) truck that would get up to 19 MPG at 55 and 16 at 65. This had the 5.4 triton, 5 spd OD auto, 3.73 and was also a 4x4. My '66 352 4 spd granny, 3.25 got 16-18 MPG coming across the country at 60+. I think the Lincoln engine and appropriate OD trans would work fine and get you the best combination of reliability, performance and mileage. I'd only go with the heavier rear end if you plan on carrying a lot of weight or have too much tongue weight on your trailer. I would use real truck tires. The rolling resistance at 80-90 PSI is much less than that at 35-50.

[kstones63]

kstones63 (Kevin) :
under your hood is great! It looks like you have set the bar! What type of fuel management system do you have set up?
My plans if I go with my 4.6 will be to turbos it and put a ZF6 speed from a F250/350 witch should put me in the range of 3:33 or lower and still tow by just using 5th gear and not 6th. But going with no load it will save gas on road trips and give me a great top speed! That is what I have come up with on paper at this point. Thanks Kevin, Do you have build notes or a write up on what you did?

I am using the factory fuel injection system on this engine. I just relocated the throttle body up top from it's original position on the back of the intake.
Here is a link to my build thread.
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=10877

Kevin

[Sadler]

Kevin and Paul I will PM you my number.
I'm freeing up cash to hit the truck hard when I start on this 62. Sold a car last night (quick flip) bike is up for sale and I'm going to sell of a few guns.
This is my first truck build and I'm trying not to look at it like a GT or a street car set up.

I would like to know how the Jag front and rear feels with a load on the back of the truck? Eng in the bed and transmission or towing a car? Jags have a monster set up on them. Has any one installed a full jag V12 set up into a slick 60's(check me out I've been reading posting) ?

If I go with the Vic front end will the bolt pattern for the rear be the same on the wheels? I read some post that say dif things.

I'm not sure if the x5 will work. I'm checking into other BMW sub frame setups

ok I took some pic. I'll post them here.

[Sadler]

Ok not sure how to post a picture on here. I set up the album.

[F7BIGJOB]

LONG LIVE the longbed flaresides

[Greg D]

The 300-6 and an M5OD, 351 W with a 5 speed was used in plenty of F 250s in the 90s.
If you need more engine than those you probably also need more truck too.
Unless you are dragging full size trucks across the USA those combinations are probably sufficient.
Welcome to Slick 60s.