48 Ford PU build

[JSC]

I've been watching the site for a couple of months now and thought I would start a thread on what I hope will be my daily driver.
The first picture is out of a magazine that I have been hanging onto for a few years now. My wife sent the mag to me wile I was deployed and I just couldn't get the image of the truck out of my mind. Now the picture is of a Chevy, but I am a true blue ford guy so there was really no choice in what I started with. The goal is to build a good solid driver that will look good and not be a hazard to drive cross country.
The plan was hatched when my brother finally wore down one of the local farms in Il. to part with a couple of his old farm trucks. I then promptly drove up and stole the best one from him.(thanks Hob) The truck was in awesome shape with absolutely no rust in the cab.

 

[JSC]

Here are a couple more of the begining. The blue dump wasn't in as good of shape, but still a pretty cool truck.

 

[roddguy]

Nice beginings, I would have been happy to start with either one of those cabs. Looking forwardt to seeing lots more.

 

[Gastrick]

well JSC, it's always good when you can steal...er...I mean get a cab that's in that kind of shape. Especially when you live in Florida where old tin is hard to get. Good luck with it. Is that it in your avatar lready lowered onto a different chassis?

 

[JSC]

Next up was the initial mock up.

THE PLAN
Chassis - Homebuilt 2x4 tubing with strait axle in the front and parallel leaf live axle in the rear. Looking for about 5 inches of ground clearance.

cab - I want to be able to drive it, but I didn't want there to be any doubt that it had a lot of work done to it. Playing with the computer and cutting up a bunch of pictures, I decided on at least 4-6 inch chop, 4-6 inch section, lay the wind shield back and do something with the big eye brow portion above the wind shield.

engine - I wanted something different, but I wanted a modern engine for reliability. I love strait sixes and since I am a ford guy, I settled on the 300.

Transmission - I had a T-5 from another project and it sounded like the perfect set up to me.

Hood and grill - I originally mocked it up with the ford hood, but just didn't do it for the look I wanted. So I found an old beat up 50ish Chevy and decided on that. The grill will be a cut down Chevy as well.

Bed - They are actually Chevy bed sides as well and plan to leave them at about 51/2 feet.

wheels - stock ford junk out of the junk yard.

Pretty much everything is used, old or out of the junk yard. My idea of a traditional rod is to build as much as possible at home. So here it goes

 

[JSC]

rodguy, I have been following along with your build and it has kept me motivated to get out inthe garage and keep the process moving on mine.

Gastrick, that is the same truck in my avitar. I have been going strong on it for about 8-9 months now. Busting my butt on it, but every time I do something I keep dreaming up more and more to do

 

[Bonehead]

I like a man with plan. You have a good one. Looks like you have got everything going the way you want it.

 

[roddguy]

Hey JSC,
Glad to hear that my build had been some motivation for you. I was looking at your mock up here, and was thinking that perhaps the proportions would work a little better if you did somthing like I did with stretching the cab through the doors. I was amazed at how well it worked out on mine after I layed the A pillars back. I ended up with great leg room and good vision all the way around. It would give you more room even though you are going to need more chop that I did. If this sounds interesting to you I can fill you in on more of the details involved in what I did to my cab. It's funny, but I was inspired by that very same pic the got you going to. I still have that mag, but it's pretty worn out now. lol.

 

[Bonehead]

I really like your reference lines you put in before the photo chop, and the white back ground worked well to.

 

[JSC]

The chassis was the first thing up. After the mockup, pretty much settled on making the distance in front of the cab equal to the rear. We also decided that the front tires would not extend past the grill and the rear would be centered on the bed. This left a wheel base of roughly 125”. This being the first project of this magnitude that I have attempted, it seemed awfully long to me. But, after reading as much as I could in different builds it didn’t seem way off base. I bought a complete 34 ford front end off e-bay for 200 bucks and while I was stealing the cab from my brother I grabbed an 87 Lincoln 8.8 rear end he had laying in the barn. A trip to the junk yard netted a set of ford explorer rear leafs for 10 bucks a piece. I also grabbed 4 steel wheels from the same yard for 10 buck a piece as well and I was off.
I decided on 11gauge 2x4 tubing for the frame. The goal was a 5 inch ride height. After I got the frame all welded up, I got a little scared with this and built some adjustment into the spring perches, so I could move it up or down a little if needed. I put the frame rail out as far as I could, thinking I might need to put the seats inside them, but it didn’t turn out that way.
I used my work benches as a chassis jig and did my best to make it as strait as I could.

 

[JSC]

Bonehead, thanks. I would like to say I planned parking the trailer there for just that reason, but I'm just not that smart. I definitely used up a lot of time and brain cells second guessing myself on the chop. By the way, I love your work and check your threads most every day to see if I can steal any ideas.


roddguy, I didn't find your thread until after I had already started hacking it up. At the time I was pretty scared about making a big weld seem across a big flat panel like the door. Not sure why, because the roof is definitely a big relatively flat panel. I definitely love the look it gave your cab however. Do you have any pictures of the doors or did I miss them in the thread? Very interested in what you do for your bed, I haven't put a lot of work in mine yet and am open for just about anything

 

[Gastrick]

Looks good so far JSC. I like the photoshop concept and agree with Bonehead. The tape reference lines were a good idea. Are you sure that you didn't want to use a Chevy cab? . Just kiddin ya. I like the concept, idea, plan, and the work so far. Looking forward to following along.

 

[tiny1]

going to look great cant wait to watch along as you build it.

 

[JSC]

Here is the rest of the chassis. After mocking up the engine, I rethought my radiator location and ended up extending the front end another six inches. The rest looks to be pretty basic, although I did make the rear spring mounts with a little ride height adjustment.

 

[JSC]

Next up was the cab. Although I really wanted to start the cutting I built a new floor and fire wall first to make sure it would be solid for the abuse it was about to receive.
I used 16ga sheet, which makes it very solid, but this stuff is tuff to work with. I tried making the trans tunnel rounded, but had little luck with my limited metal working equipment at home. Not as sexy as a rolled one, but it will get the job done. I also welded some stiffeners that run under the floor that the seat rails will be bolted to. The floor is also raised 1 inch from stock to give a little working room between the floor and frame.

 

[JSC]

Here are the rest of the floor and firewall. From the looks of the pictures, I did this after the section. That is coming next.

 

[JSC]

The cab is next. I laid it out a hundred times and then finally got the nerve up to slice it. I had every intention of taking 6 inches out of the middle, but chickened out after it was in half and just cut 4. After wheeling it out, I think it was the right decision for the look I was going for. Plenty of head room and I think the leg room will be fine.
I used a saber saw for the majority of the cut with the sawzaw for the posts. This was also my first attempt at welding sheet with a TIG welder. Initially I really sucked, but with all the welding involved in this I am getting a lot better.

 

[JSC]

Next up was wacking a little out of the roof. I ended up taking four inches all the way around. I then laid the windshield back to give it a little rack. Still have a lot of head room, probably should of taken a couple of more out. But, being my first chop of any sort and first major body work I’m not loosing sleep over it. The biggest thing I wanted to get rid of was the amount of roof above the windshield. By the time I was done, I think I got a couple of inches out of that area. I think I need to start pulling the truck into the garage the other direction, because the drivers side keeps getting to be the guinea pig for the attempted cuts. As a result, all of the cuts on the passenger side seem to be turning out a lot getter. But, pretty happy so far

 

[JSC]

The hood has been the biggest challenge so far and I am still working to get it mounted. I really liked the looks of the Chevy hood and about half way through the cutting I was kicking myself in the butt for it. To start with I had to narrow it 6 inches. After tacking it back together, I then tacked it to the cab and some temporary supports I mounted to the front. I then cut it around its perimeter and dropped it inside . I wanted to give it a little more slop in the front, so I pushed the center section all the way back and then put relief cuts in the front in order to pull it out to the lower portion of the hood. Once I started welding, it looked as though I had ruined the hood. But after I got it all welded up and applied the hammer, it is pretty close. There must be about a mile and a half of welds in it though. I need to buy a bigger tank for the welder. I can go through a tank in a day.

 

[Bonehead]

looking sweet, really coming around.