1956 F100 Angry Bird

[jclars]

It was time to drop the engine into the frame and paint misc. accessory parts such as motor mounts, exhaust headers, drive line, etc.

I placed the 53-55 era gas tank in place (56 had the gas tank behind the seat and I want more leg room). Also the air system set on platform ready to detail.

 

[jclars]

The gas tank turned into an adventure. I had purchased the plastic version of the 53-55 tank, and charged ahead on the presumption that I could weld the T-bird outlet fixture onto this tank. I wanted to use the T-bird submerged fuel pump along with the sending unit if I could. This was probably the wrong basis for my decision as I learned the hard way.

I started by cutting out the hole I needed in the new tank and tack welded the T-bird flange into place. Or so I thought. I relearned a lesson about cross-linking in plastics. It seems that molded PE is no longer capable of welding after the molding process. Those tack welds popped right off with force.

So, option 2: Last year I had run with an unknown tank that had a nice flat surface where I was able to seal the T-bird flange with a gasket. Since the new tank did not have a flat surface in the right location, I decided to move the flat surface from the unknown donor tank. That was all well and good, and I was able to thermoform the piece to match the curvature of the new tank, but how to seal it off?

That's when i learned of the lack of good sealant vs. gasoline. I finally settled on a product by the name of Seal-All. It claimed gas "resistance" and had good reviews on a tractor forum. I modified a piece of hollow core MGB trunk (er, boot) seal for a gasket and sealed it with Seal-All. (At the same time I put a test sample in a can of gas, just for fun.) I bolted through the gasket, with rubber washers backing the small nuts. I did a leak test with water, and this stage passed!

I did the same procedure when putting the T-bird lock collar in place. I fiddled with the sending unit float to extend its range for the deeper tank, re-soldered a pump inlet tube I had to reposition, and put the tank in place on the running board brackets.

The final process of relocating the fill tube just happened this week with the installation of a PVC fitting in a rubber grommet that was also leak tested. The truck came with a shaved fill spout on the cab. The PO had moved the fill cap to the rear LH fender, and I had come to like that location, so I decided to continue its use for now.

(I can report that more than a month later, the Seal-All test patch is still very strong, and has not deteriorated in the least.)

 

[skull]

fun

0H the joys of building these toys.

glad it's all figured out.

Later

 

[christcrusader13]

Looking good, I've got a sending unit, pump etc if you want it, it's just in my way, let me know, I can drop it in the mail to you, that way if you need a back up it's on the shelf.

 

[jclars]

Thanks for the offer ChristCrusader. Is that for a T-bird or other? I will see how this one works in a few weeks and let you know.

Much appreciated!

John L.

 

[christcrusader13]

Its from a t-bird, pulled if for one I thought the gauge was bad on, turns out it was a plug on the control board. LOL

 

[jclars]

While I waited earlier this Month for a new air bag to arrive (another adventure in the works), I started on the four rotten corners of the truck. While some rust is good, if the rust has evaporated into thin air, it probably should be replaced.

I had done the the LH floor pan last year out of necessity. The PO had this truck at a tech school as a learning project and I would guess the students werent supervised. Benefit of the doubt there. Instead of replacing the floor pans, the took 1/8" plate steel and bolted/welded randomly to reinforce the bottom. Well, some of those bolts interfered with my brake install, so instead of enhancing what was there, I just went with new.

So this year, I ran into the same steel sheet on the RH side. It was welded in the corner at the support post which got interesting. I replaced both front sill pieces during this phase.

Following right after that, I did the front corner panel, including fender reinforcing.

 

[jclars]

The RH corner had the same treatment, but I had to cut up higher, and still couldn't get away from all the bondo. The problem was the students hadnt pulled any of the dent out, so +1/4" of bondo was everywhere.

 

[jclars]

Well, I was on a roll, plus I wanted to get it over with, so I went ahead with the rear corners, which I had heard horror stories about on various forums. The main problem was getting the door jam and cab /rib/fluting to come together while maintaining the bottom corner curve.

I determined my jambs were in solid shape, so I could cut just to the edge which was the consensus approach. But once I found out what lay underneath the panel, I couldn't avoid cutting up into the rear cab rib/fluting.

The rear cab support, while not collapsing, was missing a lot of material where rust had taken its toll. I shaped some sheet metal panels around these areas and reattached the support flange. I doused the remaining areas with rust converter. I then was able to fit and finesse the rear corner patches into place. Lots of lower panel was missing, but by leaving the jamb out of the equation, the corners pulled in with some effort.

 

[jclars]

In all, I figured I put in about 40 hours of labor to get those panels tacked in. I still have the body work left to do, but figured I would get the cab on the frame first, to make sure all the corners fit.

I was glad to have that over with! Not my specialty. But appreciate the fact that many of us are able to afford this sport by diving in and doing things that others have to pay someone to do for them.

Thanks to boards like this one, there is lots of tech experience and encouragement to help us all to move forward and learn something along the way.

Now I have the problem of matching patina to help blend the new pieces back in. Any thoughts?

John L.

 

[MercuryMac]

Bravo, jclars, for taking on projects like tin work and learning as you go. A few years ago I was in your shoes and mostly enjoyed learning about what tin did and why.
On the 'faux patina' issue, could you take a chunk of your cut out cab corners to town and get someone to scan the piece and make you up a couple of rattle-cans of flat paint. Tell them that if they have to err, to err on the light side because you could blend your paint down with red oxide to darken it. Sometimes I spray the second colour on while the first is still very wet. If you spray very lightly, from quite far back, immediately after the first coat the paint seems to blend better and not end up the colour of the last applied paint.
Off topic for you, but good for future endeavours, camouflage paints are ultra flat but pretty dark.
Good Luck.

 

[Torchie]

Bravo, jclars, for taking on projects like tin work and learning as you go. A few years ago I was in your shoes and mostly enjoyed learning about what tin did and why.
On the 'faux patina' issue, could you take a chunk of your cut out cab corners to town and get someone to scan the piece and make you up a couple of rattle-cans of flat paint. Tell them that if they have to err, to err on the light side because you could blend your paint down with red oxide to darken it. Sometimes I spray the second colour on while the first is still very wet. If you spray very lightly, from quite far back, immediately after the first coat the paint seems to blend better and not end up the colour of the last applied paint.
Off topic for you, but good for future endeavours, camouflage paints are ultra flat but pretty dark.
Good Luck.

All of the above plus practice on a piece of scrap then go at the truck.
Torchie.

 

[jclars]

Thanks for the ideas - I have big enough scraps to get a paint match. I was also thinking of doing faux rust on the corners. Now wouldn't that get some remarks from the purists!!! Adding rust to a a new rust repair panel.

John L.

 

[jclars]

Shown is the scrap heap left from this years repairs. Doesn't include last years floor board with steel plate backing. The newer looking sheet metal block in the center was a temporary brace to hold my floor up, because I hadn't incorporated the tunnel into the structure yet.

Last year, I fit and refit the T-bird tranny tunnel relative to the seat position. I must have done 3 trials and as many cuts. Each time I realigned the seats, I would re-position the tunnel. It was well worth it in the end, to maximize leg room and steering wheel position and comfort. So I was ready to weld the tunnel fast to the floor. Wow, did that add stiffness! Was happy with the result. And happy to throw that temporary brace away!

I was aware of the small spot light hole on top of the cab that needed patching, because the PO said that the truck had been a California utility truck. By comparing paint schemes of various CA agencies, I determined that it must have been a CA Dept of Transportation vehicle (the baby poop color). I also finally realized that the paint patches on top matched that of a row of cab lights, probably from the same era. I patched the hole on top with a fender washer, doing a plug weld in the center to close it up.

 

[jclars]

Almost caught up. Bear with me.

The last major body patch to accomplish was the front cab mounting plates. I wouldnt have even known these existed except by examining the Mid-Fifty catalog! No wonder the Passenger door kept popping open last year, not to mention a poor hood and fender fit.

I painted the bottom of the floor boards with a rust stopping paint and at least had the cab ready to mount.

Time to return to the air bag issues.

 

[bob w]

Looks real good under there. That should stabilize that part of the cab.

 

[jclars]

Several issues imerged last year on my air bag system. One was a crossed inlet thread to a front airbag. I finally fixed it by threading into JB Weld. Well, that surfaced it's ugly head this year when I tried to get the bugger out! It would not budge. So I went ahead and got a replacement bag, since I didnt know what I was going to do with a cross-threaded fitting anyway.

This year, Slam Specialties had introduced a new controller which would get rid of all the wiring going to my console. I liked that idea. So along with a new airbag, I soothed my suffering with the new controller.

I reassembled everything, except more neatly this year, and installed the controller which worked great. I got rid of the 4 individual switches which were awkward to manipulate. The system is located under the passenger floor board on the running board brackets and accessed through the former battery box hatch. Quite convenient actually.

But that same airbag is still giving me fits with a leak I cant seem to eliminate. It keeps pressure long enough for drives, but even my JB Weld fitting did better than that. So I went onto other tasks, but this one is gnawing at me.

John

 

[jclars]

So back to the cab, where there was one gaping hole left to patch before I could put the cab back on the frame. I had gotten overzealous last year with the cutout at the firewall, thinking I needed more room for the bell housing than was actually necessary. I also had wanted to eliminate all firewall attachments as a minimum, and perhaps smooth it somehow at the best.

The patch was a bugger. Several angles, bulges and curves to bring together. I managed to do it with two pieces.

I went ahead and fit a flat sheet metal panel to the firewall. I insulated the back of it, but cant say I totally like it yet. It is fastened in with flat sheet metal screws, so it can be easily reversed or changed out. The thought is I will redo it next season, if I don't grow to like it.

 

[jclars]

So, as was true in overestimating clearance requirements for the tunnel, I underestimated it with the firewall cover. When I floated the truck over the frame (easy squeazy with that equipment lift, borrowed from work), I found some hoses and cables interfering. I also wanted to throw some paint on it before dropping it in place for good, so it was kind of planned...

Notice the notch for hoses, cables on the driver side after the fit-up. Not really noticeable when buried below the engine line.

I was in a quandary as to what color to go with, as I wanted to do the entire engine bay in the same color. I decided on "silver", but it ended up a shiny aluminum. Another thing that needs to grow on me. Or not. I wanted something to off-set the silver, black and dark grey of the engine. One of those things you cant really tell without doing it and seeing how it turns out.

 

[Todd]

Wow, sorry I missed this build. Great job John.