63 Short Wrong-Full Crown Vic Swap

[HawaiiKid]

Two weekends in a row of working on our own sh1t?? Unreal! Only one day though, back to a customers truck tomorrow morning...

Anyways, got a LOT done today.

First thing was to reroute all the wiring from the cab back...


Makes it so much cleaner...


Got the interior wiring tucked up behind the dash about 90% of the way, no pictures but it looks much much better. Next step on the interior is making plates for the gauge cluster and my glove box A/C and radio controls.

Got the bed laid out...


And then ON!


Looks good from the back!


Had to cut the center portion out, and then notch it a bit for the front four link frame mounting point.

You can see we are using the stock wheel wells which is just one less thing I'll need to do!


And here she is! The bed is just sitting there-we notched the pinch weld in the rear to have the bed sit properly there, the front has about two inches of clearance from the bottom of the bed to the Vic frame. The bed needs to be scooted forward about 3/4 of an inch and we will be picking the front of the bed up about 1/2 an inch, maybe a bit less.


And here is how we'd like it to sit! It needs the extra inch of drop in the back to pull some of the rake out of it...


A few evening shots-remember that the bed is loose so it will not sit at that angle...




And just a reminder of how she started less than a year ago!

[Robert]

that's turning out to be a nice truck

[rickairmedic]

Looks like your getting pretty close I am getting closer but probably at least a couple weeks out from having my chassis and truck in one piece again .


Rick

[thenephilm]

It is looking real good, good job!

[HawaiiKid]

that's turning out to be a nice truck

Thanks man, it will be a rough around the edges shop truck but should be a hell of a lot of fun.

Looks like your getting pretty close I am getting closer but probably at least a couple weeks out from having my chassis and truck in one piece again .


Rick

Cant wait to see it together man

It is looking real good, good job!

Thank you!

No pictures worth posting but screwed with the front harness some tonight and got it to fit the grille shell/Vic core support better. Also got the headlights wired :bigtu :bigtu

Made a big ass list of everything I needed to do to "finish" it, and then went back and checked off the things that were needed to make it road worthy. I'm really pushing to have this thing on the road, rollin, inspected and legal SOON! Next step is figuring out blinkers (the stock housings wont fit because of the Vic radiator/core support and the frame rail), getting the bed really on, then getting the new cab corners and rockers on. [smilie=3g


But...HEAD LIGHTS WORK :woohoo

[s281scsaleen]

Great job on your slick I'm just starting mine. I'm considering using my CVPI floors and firewall to retain the ac but I want to use the heater box as well I even considered using the cv dash will it work with a little nip and tuck or is it just a waste of time. How are you gonna bag your front Your slick looks awesome!!

[HawaiiKid]

Great job on your slick I'm just starting mine. I'm considering using my CVPI floors and firewall to retain the ac but I want to use the heater box as well I even considered using the cv dash will it work with a little nip and tuck or is it just a waste of time. How are you gonna bag your front Your slick looks awesome!!

Thank you. Using the floor and firewall let us keep the AC box, steering column, brake booster and all of the other awesome features on the CV firewall but I ditched the heater side of things because I just didn't need it. 90 percent of life here in Texas in in temperatures where you either need AC or nothing at all so rather than having that ugly mess I just skipped it haha. Using the stock F100 dash meant that my room was limited and I wanted a cleaner installation. Using the stock crown vic dash is probably doable with some trimming but I wanted the F100 dash-it just flows so well with the rest of the truck I didn't want to mess that up!

I'm not sure about bags yet...I've looked into doing the RideTech Shockwaves but no one can really give me an answer on how they might work on my 01 Vic front end. We'll see, gotta get her on the road first!!

Got one of the cab corners cut out this weekend, the two bed braces measured, cut and welded into place, and cut up my brand new cab corners to make them fit our "slightly modified" truck haha. Pictures to come soon, hope to be back out there an evening this week to get crackin!

[LM14]

Just a thought, does the body sit further back on the wheels than it did stock? Usually when you lower a vehicle you move the wheels forward of you end up with them tucked in the back of the wheelwells (because the wheelwell usually tapers toward the back). I would have probably sat the wheels forward between an inch and a half to 2" for better aesthetics myself.

SPark

[HawaiiKid]

We moved the cab back on the Vic frame a bit to account for that some

[foodstick]

Brings back good memories seeing that gas tank and suspension sticking up thru the box floor. I still remember how good it felt the first time I lowered the uni down over the LTD frame and those wheel wells in the box just slid down the outside of the frame perfectly.

[HawaiiKid]

Brings back good memories seeing that gas tank and suspension sticking up thru the box floor. I still remember how good it felt the first time I lowered the uni down over the LTD frame and those wheel wells in the box just slid down the outside of the frame perfectly.

Your thread is the one that made me feel like it was really doable! The Maurader/F100 thread on FordTrucks was what first sparked my interest because it popped up first but yours was so much more in depth and detailed it made me think I could do it! I'm thrilled with how it is coming along-I wish it was at a much faster pace but that is just the way it goes I guess.


Progress pictures...
My cab corners from Dennis Carpenter, already cut to fit the frame


Cab corner and rocker cut off, ready to replace!


Getting the front bed mount brace welded in...


Bed brace in and notched for drive shaft clearance


A quick shot of part of our shop...


Dual side exhaust? Yes please!




Also not pictured is more wiring work inside, and the fact that I am conceding that I need a new hood. I was going to try and suffer through this one but it is so screwed up at the back that every time I need to jump start the truck it turned into a 10 minute ordeal and had it fall on my head more than once. Anyone near Ft Worth have an extra hood for me??

Now that both cab corners and rockers are cut out I need to go back and start cleaning those areas up. Once thats done I'll hang both sides and clamp or screw them in place and start working on the inner step piece. Hoping to get back out there tomorrow night!

[Shadow]

Very Nice. That Truck Is Going To Sit Perfect! Hey Why The Name Hawaii-Kid? Are You From Hawaii.....

[Toyz]

Might check Barclays out near Alvord for a hood.
Paul

[HawaiiKid]

Very Nice. That Truck Is Going To Sit Perfect! Hey Why The Name Hawaii-Kid? Are You From Hawaii.....

Born and raised in Hawaii-went to school in upstate New York, moved home for a year and a couple years ago moved here to Ft Worth, Texas

Might check Barclays out near Alvord for a hood.
Paul

I'll have to check them out!

Massive progress this week, too tired to upload pictures. More to come soon....

[Shadow]

Born and raised in Hawaii-went to school in upstate New York, moved home for a year and a couple years ago moved here to Ft Worth, Texas

What Island? I Spent 8-Months On Maui (Kihei-Beach) Doing Union Tile Work At The 4-Seasons Resort. Ended Up Moving To Kauai And Doing Marble & Tile At The Grand Hilton Kauai And Ended Up Staying For 6-Years When The Job Was Over Living In Hanalei. Right Now I'm Missing It! No Harsh Winters There On The North Shore Like Here In Kansas. ........

[therealjoeshmoe]

TAKE YOUR HOOD HINGE SPRINGS OFF AND WATCH YOUR HOOD SIT DOWN PERFECTLY.. JUST HAVE TO HAVE A PROP ROD, BUT CHEAPER THAN NEW HINGES..

[HawaiiKid]

Born and raised in Hawaii-went to school in upstate New York, moved home for a year and a couple years ago moved here to Ft Worth, Texas

What Island? I Spent 8-Months On Maui (Kihei-Beach) Doing Union Tile Work At The 4-Seasons Resort. Ended Up Moving To Kauai And Doing Marble & Tile At The Grand Hilton Kauai And Ended Up Staying For 6-Years When The Job Was Over Living In Hanalei. Right Now I'm Missing It! No Harsh Winters There On The North Shore Like Here In Kansas. ........

I lived on Oahu in Honolulu and spent a lot of time on Lanai also. Hanalei is beautiful, I like Kauai but it was a little too quiet for me haha. Winters, summers, springs, falls...what isn't nice in Hawaii!! I like having a change of seasons here but I hate the horribly hot summers in Texas. With that said I also love the cost of living and the car and truck culture here so I'll be staying for a while

TAKE YOUR HOOD HINGE SPRINGS OFF AND WATCH YOUR HOOD SIT DOWN PERFECTLY.. JUST HAVE TO HAVE A PROP ROD, BUT CHEAPER THAN NEW HINGES..

I took your advice when you gave it to me a few months back in this thread actually, but the left part of the hood had actually been ripped out by the previous owner due to the screwed up hinge. I don't want to invest a lot of time in rewelding it and trying to make it look good when it has hail damage and rust in numerous places so I'll be making a wall ornament of it soon I think. For now it is behind our shop having more "patina" added to it haha.

For my update....
Our custom rockers! The steps had been totally rotted out, poorly replaced and then rotted again. Rather than screw with buying new steps and cutting half of them off we used 90 degree angle 3/16ths steel (WAY over kill but the only angle that was big enough for us), Dennis Carpenter rockers and Dennis Carpenter cab corners (all of which was totally destroyed on the truck). I still need to make a couple small patch panels to fill in the gaps and weld the cab corners on but I now have steps and rockers!!!!


The rocker is straight, the door...not so much haha


Our 72 Stepside that we are frame swapping to an 03 Crown Vic-no floor swap here, but it is still getting the full custom Farm Truck Racing treatment!


Another angle


The bed back on, drilled and mounted in the back...




Got back out there today and didn't take any pictures but got a lot done:

Got all of my grounds actually "grounded"-to this point I've had three vicegrips holding my main grounds to the frame! Now all of them are properly grounded and that seems to have fixed part of my hard starting/battery drain problem. I also went through my main fuse boxes and pulled everything I wasn't using so I would avoid any unnecessary drains on the system. Started to get the tail light harness sorted out so I'll have running lights, tail lights, brake lights and blinkers all ready to go soon. Got the front bed mount drilled and prepped to have the bed mounted and then we set the bed back to get the cab corners welded and mudded tomorrow. Test fitted a wheel I know has never been on an F100 or probably a Crown Vic ever before too...pictures to come if it all works out!

[HawaiiKid]

Bonus picture

[Shadow]

I also love the cost of living and the car and truck culture here so I'll be staying for a while

I Hear You. The "Big Save" Supermarket In Hanalei Was One Of The Most Expensive In The Nation. 1-Pound Of Hamburger Was Over $5.00 And This Was 20 Years Ago! I Ate A Ton Of Fresh Fish & Buffalo While Living There. When I Got To Kansas I Discovered What A Good Steak Looks Like. My Friend Had A Climate Controlled Garage On Kauai For His Car Collection Because The Rust From The Salt-Air Is Worse Than The Mid West. Your Truck Is Coming Along Great! Mahalo & Aloha Nui Loa.....

[HawaiiKid]

I also love the cost of living and the car and truck culture here so I'll be staying for a while

I Hear You. The "Big Save" Supermarket In Hanalei Was One Of The Most Expensive In The Nation. 1-Pound Of Hamburger Was Over $5.00 And This Was 20 Years Ago! I Ate A Ton Of Fresh Fish & Buffalo While Living There. When I Got To Kansas I Discovered What A Good Steak Looks Like. My Friend Had A Climate Controlled Garage On Kauai For His Car Collection Because The Rust From The Salt-Air Is Worse Than The Mid West. Your Truck Is Coming Along Great! Mahalo & Aloha Nui Loa.....

Its crazy how expensive Hawaii is, but I guess that is the price of Paradise.


Got a bunch of stuff done today! Got the cab corners welded on and rough bondo'd in-they will be cleaned up before paint but they are good enough for now! Got the bed bolted on front and back, got a few more wires tucked in the cab, started sanding the bed and loaded her on the trailer to head to work for paint and glass!!!





And who says you can't tow with a lowered truck Farm Truck Racing's coowner's 2014 Tundra, dropped 5/6ish (depending on where we set the shackles)




So excited to get the paint on her and glass in it-almost road ready!!! Need to get the tail lights and blinkers working, the gas filler neck hole filled, paint the interior, paint the exterior, put the glass in and get her legal!