49 Ford F6 Rat Duallie

When I was trying to figure out what kind of Rat Rod I was wanting to build I saw this and it got me interested in the 48-50 Ford F6 trucks



so I hit Craigslist and found this gem... and decided not to go fenderless with a suicide axle like the trucks pictured... but that may change down the road...



It was complete and I was assured by the seller that it wouldn't take much to get the motor unstuck...ummm ya



Although I had visions of build using as much of the original truck as possible I wasn't totally delusional... with a little research I headed back to craiglist and found a donor...



1986 Ford F-350 that a strong running re-manufactured 1978 400m motor had been swapped into... Besides the $500 price tag other selling points for me was that it was carburated, had a hydraulic clutch and a clear title.
I had decide early on that I was going to Z the exisiting frame instead of building one from scratch. Although I see the benefit of starting with a clean slate, I liked look of a chopped up factory frame... for lack of a better word I feel it adds character.
Stripping down the donor I was careful not to just cut and hack at it since I wasn't sure at this point what I was going to need to reuse.

Having been stripped of the cab I started measuring and brainstorming trying to figure out what my goal was for wheelbase and how much drop I was going to get with the front and rear z I was planning. Although I had the F6 sitting 20 feet away and I made countless trips back and forth with a measuring tape I still managed to misjudge a little and I'll get more into that more later...



I took about 36 inches from the frame and the drops from going top to bottom on the z's came out to about 9 inches in back and 6 in front.
Going this route allowed me to reuse the transmission crossover/mount.
With a little massaging of the carrier bearing crossover mount I was able to move the carrier bearing to the topside.

Since I'm not looking to haul anything other than pull a small motorcycle I decided to take 3 inches out of the 4 inch stack of springs. I removed the overload springs too.

Test fitting the front clip.



Notice how nice and centered the front wheels are.... um ya... remember the misjudging I mentioned earlier...
after I got the cab in place I realized my mistake...



I considered several fixes and after I mounted the cab and radiator support... including going fenderless...



I decided to enlarge the front of the wheel opening figuring the fenderless option is alway there...




Here's how it looks today.



I know I skipped a lot of steps but if anyone has any questions I'd be more than happy to go into greater detail.

Fill in the area behind the front tires and you've got something interesting.

I'm diggin' it! Enlarging the wheel well was a good fix for your minor faux pas. In my opinion if you are gonna miss, a forward miss is so much better than a rearward one where it looks like the wheel has fallen off and you are running over it. Keep us updated on your progress and welcome to RRR.

Thanks. I'm thinking maybe running the exhaust out behind the front wheel... not sure how... maybe like a gasser header...

Snake Farm said:

I'm diggin' it! Enlarging the wheel well was a good fix for your minor faux pas. In my opinion if you are gonna miss, a forward miss is so much better than a rearward one where it looks like the wheel has fallen off and you are running over it. Keep us updated on your progress and welcome to RRR.

Click to expand...

Agreed. It looks good, post some pics with the exhaust exiting behind the wheel. I like the idea.

I have a couple of observations. One, Old Iron is right, just fill a little bit on the back of the wheel well and you'll be laughing all the way to the bank. Two, you probably didn't screw up the measurements. Your motor, radiator, and fenders fit on pretty well this way and leave you a good firewall, so the front axle is too far forward compared to the rest of the front end, which is not your fault. So, you've fixed a problem by trimming the wheel-well and avoided many other problems, by measuring it the way you did. Good work.

Just another thought...fenderless, I see some lines that may look good with the exhaust following the flow...

I'm actually liking the axle-forward look of the wheel well. The more I look at it the better I like it. Some mistakes work out really well. Did you try to just move everything forward first to center the wheels?

I agree that filling the back of the opening is in order. Filling it with a "stack" (rather than level) of 2-1/2 inch (maybe 3 inch would be even better) exhaust headers snaking out behind the tires would look great. I am envisioning them following the arc of the back of the fender opening.

I was thinking about moving just the fenders forward 2-3 inches, french around the headlight recesses and make pieces for above and below the grill to join the leading edges of the fenders... looked cool in my head... but then I would have created other gap issues I'd have to cover over...

gdivino said:

Thanks. I'm thinking maybe running the exhaust out behind the front wheel... not sure how... maybe like a gasser header...

Click to expand...

Here's a Photoshop version... although I do like the staggered idea.

gdivino said:

I was thinking about moving just the fenders forward 2-3 inches, french around the headlight recesses and make pieces for above and below the grill to join the leading edges of the fenders... looked cool in my head... but then I would have created other gap issues I'd have to cover over...

Click to expand...

IMHO I would not move the fenders forward as you will be creating a lot more work for yourself as you pointed out. Right now the only gap issue you have is behind the front tires.
If you indeed wish to fill that area then the fenderwell headers are a good choice or you could fab some filler pieces to remake the back of the wheel opening.
If I have read skip's idea correctly that would look cool as well. 4 exhaust holes stacked to match the contour of the rear opening. You can get some pretty big cannon exhaust ends these days.
I would put caps on them like lake style pipes but ahead of them run a single pipe into a regular muffled system. When you want you can uncap them to wake up the neighbors.
Hope all that made sense.
What ever you do build it to suit your own sensibilities and vision. That's what makes a true rat rod in my book.
Torchie.
Torchie.

Thanks for the input! That's why I'm here! Next on my to do list is the steering. I managed to strip down the f-350 tilt column down to a pile of pieces and put it back together 'locked' in a usable angle. I maintained the steering wheel placement that is pretty close to the original position and the shaft comes through the firewall in a more friendly angle. I just got my universals in the mail so I hope to have it knocked out today. Here's a picture of the tilt column, it's not quite finished. The picture was actually taken to show off the sweet seats I just scored at a local yard sale.

Update
I found a 40 something Studebaker bed that the length was perfect but I had to narrow it 3 inches to fit right. I'm going to widen the fenders about 9-10 inches to clear the duallies. I'm have the starting and ignition wired and working. I'm thinking I have the charging figured out but I haven't had a chance to actually do it yet.
I meant to post more as I get things done but it's not happening... my hat's off to the guys that have done such a good job document their builds...


left to do...
widen rear fenders
finish transmission hump
raise bed floor 3 inches
gas tank
exhaust
wiring

All good progress. Stay after it.

I like it...[P

I like how this one is turning out!

Changing the shape of the front side of the wheel opening is an improvement. ...filling in the back side of the opening will make it even better.

Oh yeah, cool project! [P

Looking good!

I got the ignition wired and she'll start and run but I'm looking at getting a single wire alternator before I try to finish the up the wiring.
Here's a shot of the transmission hump. The diamond plate is something I had laying around and it will probably get painted black when I get it done. Also in the picture is the steering column that was a tilt wheel but I stripped it all down and welded it back together locked in a favorable position. I also cut down the 86 instrument cluster to fit the opening... but decided to go with all mechanical. I'm open to suggestions on a aftermarket speedo to go with the 78 drivetrain.


Here is a few shots of the widening of the fenders to fit over the duallies.








I'm having to flare out the fenders a little to clear the tires and I have to support them better.

Still lots to do. Thanks for looking.

Looks wild man!!
I dig it.[cl [P[P
Torchie