Future idea... What do you think?

Hey all, I was thinking about sometime in the future building a truck from the ground up. Might not happen for a few years, but I'm planning my project now. I'm thinking of taking a Ford Bonus Built (F-1) and going rat rod. The idea is to make it light weight, low, and fast. A dirt road racer. Anybody gonna help me do some homework and give some suggestions? I'd love to put wider axles on the thing and do a little strip down on the fenders. What do you think I should consider when planning it?

My first suggestion would be to start out with a sketch, a drawing, or a photoshopped pic to see what you really have in your head. Right now, you have described what lots of these builds wind up as. Suggestions will follow but the instructions are lacking so far.

This is the general idea I want. Now, this isn't completely road legal in the state of PA (which is what I want it to be), but that will only take a few tweaks.

Sooo....you wanna take a dirt track car, plop a F1 body on it, make it road legal, and drive the snot out of it? There have been a few builds along those lines on here. Good stuff.

Fuel injected Aluminum small block Chevy (LS1, LS2, LS3 etc)
Winters quickchange rear end with aluminum axle tubes, and gun drilled axles.

I would like to keep and adapt the original frame. No car for me. And no Chevy engine. Keep it Ford.

dannyboy3141 said:

I would like to keep and adapt the original frame. No car for me. And no Chevy engine. Keep it Ford.

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Ford motor in a Ford Truck [cl [cl [cl

IronRat said:

Ford motor in a Ford Truck [cl [cl [cl

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I was raised all Ford. I won't tarnish a nice Ford with anything else. Especially not Chevy. I'm contemplating going Mustang II for the front end. Does anybody know if 4-link in the rear is street legal? And I'd like to know about any reasonably priced Ford V6 engines.

Personally not a Ford fan at all.

However, I prefer car's that are powered by their company's engines. Best of luck with your project.

dodge

pilot house race truck, sorry l have no info, just a few pics and l'd lose the rear fenders.

the red chevy was for sale in salem/roseberg oregon area a few years ago..

Later

The red chevy is just right. The Dodge is poorly thought out and just hurts my eyes.

I like the look of those trucks, and I am planning on replacing the rear fenders with something more minimal. But I would also like to do that with the front fenders, too. I'd ditch the fenders completely if Pennsylvania didn't require the wheel tread to be covered.

Make the front fenders floaters like on a Ply Prowler.
Widened trailer fenders will suffice in the back.

Make them easy to remove and install.

Take them off after you are done with the DMV. Well at lest at the shows. Right?

dannyboy3141 said:

This is the general idea I want. Now, this isn't completely road legal in the state of PA (which is what I want it to be), but that will only take a few tweaks.

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That would be a really fun build and would awesome when its done.

I don't want to put a huge engine in it. I'd rather have a smaller engine that I can tune up. It'll be lighter weight and easier on gas for everyday use. Any crate engines or rebuilt engines (Ford or some other aftermarket company) that you guys would suggest? I'm looking at 4 or 6 cylinders. Straight 4. Straight 6. V6. Something like that

ok...late model eco boost?

best of both worlds....light, turbo'd for power and fuel economy...V6 or 4...there's my 2 cents...

47 Chevy

No need to copy anything , but this wood look good with me behind the wheel.



http://www.killbillet.com/showthread.php?21900-47-Chevy-AutoX-Truck/page17

dannyboy3141 said:

I don't want to put a huge engine in it. I'd rather have a smaller engine that I can tune up. It'll be lighter weight and easier on gas for everyday use. Any crate engines or rebuilt engines (Ford or some other aftermarket company) that you guys would suggest? I'm looking at 4 or 6 cylinders. Straight 4. Straight 6. V6. Something like that

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The cost vs mileage of going with a small engine is always what would hold me back. That and eventually you'll probably want more power. [ddd

A guy I know put a stock 2004 5.3 LS in a 64 Ford Longbox 1/2 ton, and it was getting 28+ MPG. In a small, light vehicle I bet you could get it over 30. Look up the cost of doing an ecotec or similar, and 30MPG out of a 320+HP V8 might not sound too bad.

Just my thoughts, you're free to do what you wish, and a 4 or 6 could be a great ride too.

hansgoudzwaard said:

No need to copy anything , but this wood look good with me behind the wheel.

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This truck has been re-bodied.. I think it now has a scout body on this chassis

CORPO said:

This truck has been re-bodied.. I think it now has a scout body on this chassis

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Yep, they still have the old body and plan to do something with it. The change to the Scout was due to a change in the rules for Autocross require stock body dimensions.