1st truck, 1st ford, 1st build

olliesshop · Post by **olliesshop** » September 16, 2010, 6:30 am

Man you continue to make great progress. It's going to be awesome !!!

frdnut · Post by **frdnut** » September 16, 2010, 9:45 am

Wow that is starting to come together nicely..Great work..

Rusty 63 · Post by **Rusty 63** » September 16, 2010, 5:00 pm

As you can see the box bed is very rusty and I did a 2 minute cut job on it so I could set it on. Need to build a floor for it, with the hump to clear the suspension.

See now, this is where I'd personally hack the frame instead of the bed. Run some rails straight back just over the axle & mount some coil overs under the wheel tubs. Keep the floor flat & truck-like... but that's just me.

Looking great - keep it up & post away!

japedo · Post by **japedo** » September 16, 2010, 10:46 pm

I understand what you are saying about not wanting to hack the floor of the truck. And If that bed was solid I would have had a hard time convinceing myself to cut it. But I am not really planning to haul anything with it. Also thinking of a tonneau cover as well as fuel cell in the box up near the cab. So the hump shouldn't be an issue under a tonneau cover.

lol these are the things i run through my head to convince me of things anyway. lol

I'll keep posting pictures as the progress is made. Hopeing to pickup some steel tomorrow and move on with the build.

THanks to all wh take the time to view this thread.

Japedo

japedo · Post by **japedo** » September 23, 2010, 1:34 pm

built a couple sills for the rear section of the floor. Also installed a few cross members. Made of 1" by 2" 1/8th tubing. The cross members between the wheel wells are 1" by 1" 1/8th tubing.

As you can see here I had some issues with the front rail of the box, just a bit tweaked. lol

I fixed this by cutting it out and replacing it with 1.5" by 1.5" 1/8th tubing. I had to take my time cutting this out, but it straightened the box up nicely. In this picture it is just tacked into place.

The box is very solid now with the new steel. The cross member up top at the back is just there untill the box is complete. Just keeping things square.

I have all the materials I need to finish the box off, I will be using 16 gage to sheet in the box floor.
Just a little bit of work here and there, whenever I get the chance. But things are coming together. Starting to get excited.

Japedo

slickmainer · Post by **slickmainer** » September 23, 2010, 2:18 pm

man you are flying on that thing

japedo · Post by **japedo** » September 23, 2010, 2:23 pm

slickmainer wrote:man you are flying on that thing

thanks for the kind words, just gotta keep this thing flying to the end.

although I could see the snowmobiling season slowing down the progress.

THanks
Japedo

japedo · Post by **japedo** » September 26, 2010, 7:46 am

I measured 12.5" from the bottom of the rocker panel under the front door post. In this picture the cab is sitting on some 1" boards on top of the frame rail, so I can lower the cab a bit more if I want to. But I am still thinking that further lowering will be done with the coil springs.
Also the fender mocked up in this picture isn't getting used in this build, just for lining up the wheel wells.

Here is how I cut the frame down, this probably isn't a real safe method. lol BUt as long as it is clamped really tight works well.

Here is the new 2x4 1/8" tubing rear cross member. My bumper mounts will be attached to this.

I have also built and installed the front box sills/floor supports and cross members. And am currently building a raised crossmember on the frame for the front of the box to mount to. But I didn't take much for pictures yesterday and am at work now, further updates to come.

Anyone able to move this to the "builds/projects" forum. Again my bad by not starting it there, sorry

Japedo

japedo · Post by **japedo** » September 26, 2010, 8:20 am

Also interested in what the gap is suppposed to be between the box and the cab. If anyone had this information it would be great.

Also have another question in regards to mounting my box. I friend of mine seemed quite sure that I am supposed to bolt the box cross member to the frame mount, without and bushing/insulator in between.

I don't like the idea of bolting steel on steel, a 1/4" hard plastic spacer is what I am thinking of using for the box.

Any info or ideas are welcomed, thnanks folks!

Japedo

japedo · Post by **japedo** » October 2, 2010, 9:07 am

Can anyone tell me what the gap is supposed to be between the box and the cab? The box is bolted down and I need that measurement before figureing out cab mounts.

THanks folks!

Japedo

f100matt · Post by **f100matt** » October 2, 2010, 9:55 am

That is going to be a good looking truck when you get it finished up, wish i could do that kind of sheet metal work..

from the back of the bed to the cab is about 15/16" on my 66'.

japedo · Post by **japedo** » October 2, 2010, 11:27 am

f100matt wrote:That is going to be a good looking truck when you get it finished up, wish i could do that kind of sheet metal work..

from the back of the bed to the cab is about 15/16" on my 66'.

Thank you for the kind words there, my sheet metal skills are primitave compared to some on this site. But it's all about experience, digging in and seeing what kind of mess you can get into. then figure out how to fix the mess. lol

15/16 of an inch, that's great f100matt. Now I can figure things out with the right spaceing.

I have a couple progress pictures, guess I need to get motivated and update the thread.

THanks, Japedo

unibody madness · Post by **unibody madness** » October 2, 2010, 12:27 pm

Great progress,
Can't help with the spacing because mine doesn't have any ,but I do have what looks to be 1/2 inch rubber under my uni bed portion where it meets the frame. I plan on replacing it with conveyor belt material, it is thinner ,but I like the idea of its rigidity, and the cloth woven into it will stop it from misshaping around the bolt like the softer solid rubber it came with. The step sides have blocks of hard wood under the bed for spacers
Someone will come along in a min that has bought new replacement rubber from the likes of dennis carpenter, and can give you measurements. I would not use plastic as it will wear away quickly and give you a much harder ride.
John

japedo · Post by **japedo** » November 1, 2010, 9:57 am

It's been a month since I last posted. And unfortunantley I haven' t got a thing done to the truck.
First my trusty 94 850 turbo quit starting with 510kms on it, and i decided to take it off the road as all the little things were starting to add up.
SO then I spent a week or so test driving second hand stuff untill we settled on a 2007 nissan altima 2.5S as our new family car. THe nissan gets great fuel millage and is our family's primary vehicle now, and our 2001 volvo XC with 176 miles is filling the 850's shoes as our second vehicle.
THen I took a good look at the volvo and decided if I want to keep her around for another 5 years it needed some maintenance. So I replaced timing belt, tensioner, idler pulley, water pump, control arm bushings, front axles, flex hoses, upper engine mount, atf, diif fluid etc... to the tune of about 1000$ parts.
And after all this spending I still need winter tires for both cars. lol however the awd volvo might just get used tires this winter.

So although I havn't progressed with the slick on a vic, ive been in the garage. In a way the break from it was nice, and im starting toget excited for moving on with the build.
Ive also located a couple more donor trucks and parts in the area, so not all time was lost.

Hope I can have some new progress pictures for you soon.

Curtis

Post by **foodstick** » November 1, 2010, 6:50 pm

this thread, and frame looks familiar !

looking good...
You will LOVE how it drives, I guarantee.