Gregster
Well-known member
I'm sure it will look great when you get it tightied up
50 Ford F2 build
- Thread starter hellfirejim
- Start date
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hellfirejim
Active member
I'm back. Sorry for the delay but sometimes life gets in the way.
I am going to start with the dash. Here is a picture of what I started with.
And
Starting with the first picture on the left corner is a toggle switch the PO had hooked up to a flasher and those tractor lights on the side of the body. Crude but it did work. it gives me great pleasure to say that it and the lights are now gone. More on the lights themselves later.
Remember that the only thing the steering column does is steering and the locking column. I cleaned everything and I mean everything off the dash and started over. Since I wanted a clean steering column I needed a way to hookup turn signals. I found it with an electronic turn signal unit from speedway motors. I bought the delux kit for single lights front and rear. It mounts behind the dash just right of the dash insert. I used industrial velcrow not to be confused with regular velcrow. I can just pull it off [difficult] and then have access to it for any work. I will try and get a picture of it. This unit is activated by a 3 position center neutral toggle switch in the left side of the dash. There are indicator lights on either side of it. The unit is pretty cool in that it turns off the turn signal by time.
[/IMG]
I just wanted to mention the headlight switch at the extreme left of the dash. Not your normal 3 position switch [off,low,high]. it is a 4 position switch with the addition of hi beams as the last pull out and the indicator light to the right of the switch. Eventually the other hole will get filled and yes no more dimmer switch on the floor simplifying the wiring even more.
This just leaves the blue knob button on the right and that is for the 4-ways. This is just momentary switch. Push once it is on and push again it is off. The amazing part of all this is it really works just as advertised.
I needed to help my mind along so I first painted half the dash:
and then I painted the rest of it.
Remember the second picture and I will talk about it in the next post.
I am going to start with the dash. Here is a picture of what I started with.
And
Starting with the first picture on the left corner is a toggle switch the PO had hooked up to a flasher and those tractor lights on the side of the body. Crude but it did work. it gives me great pleasure to say that it and the lights are now gone. More on the lights themselves later.
Remember that the only thing the steering column does is steering and the locking column. I cleaned everything and I mean everything off the dash and started over. Since I wanted a clean steering column I needed a way to hookup turn signals. I found it with an electronic turn signal unit from speedway motors. I bought the delux kit for single lights front and rear. It mounts behind the dash just right of the dash insert. I used industrial velcrow not to be confused with regular velcrow. I can just pull it off [difficult] and then have access to it for any work. I will try and get a picture of it. This unit is activated by a 3 position center neutral toggle switch in the left side of the dash. There are indicator lights on either side of it. The unit is pretty cool in that it turns off the turn signal by time.
I just wanted to mention the headlight switch at the extreme left of the dash. Not your normal 3 position switch [off,low,high]. it is a 4 position switch with the addition of hi beams as the last pull out and the indicator light to the right of the switch. Eventually the other hole will get filled and yes no more dimmer switch on the floor simplifying the wiring even more.
This just leaves the blue knob button on the right and that is for the 4-ways. This is just momentary switch. Push once it is on and push again it is off. The amazing part of all this is it really works just as advertised.
I needed to help my mind along so I first painted half the dash:
and then I painted the rest of it.
Remember the second picture and I will talk about it in the next post.
hellfirejim
Active member
So now we talk about the center of the dash. Opps I need to tell you that I m going to put in a dash insert painted or powder coated black]for the instruments which will hold an electronic speedo and 4 gauges. The speedo is a Auto Meter unit that is black and white and at night it glows red....
Ok back to the center of the dash. Since i don't have the money right now for the 4 gauges I need to stick with the junk put there by the PO. I took the guages out of the holder and painted the holder black and fixed the wiring. So now it is back and looks a bit better.
In the last picture of the previous post you can see what it looks like. There is a fuel gauge under the dash and a override toggle switch for the electric fan. Both will go away eventually. In the center where the speaker was I plan on the 2 center vents for the heater/ac being installed there covered by the radio speaker cover and right now i am leaning toward a muted copper but we shall see. Where the gauges are is where the radio delete plate goes. I plan on having that plate hinge up to cover the controls for the heater/ac. This way everything is hidden away. For the 2 end vents i plan on having them in flip down holders that pivot up under the dash when not in use.
Well that is the tour of the dash and represents a lot of hours getting it all wired and working. But Like I said before, it is so cool the damn thing works.[cl
more later
jim
Ok back to the center of the dash. Since i don't have the money right now for the 4 gauges I need to stick with the junk put there by the PO. I took the guages out of the holder and painted the holder black and fixed the wiring. So now it is back and looks a bit better.
In the last picture of the previous post you can see what it looks like. There is a fuel gauge under the dash and a override toggle switch for the electric fan. Both will go away eventually. In the center where the speaker was I plan on the 2 center vents for the heater/ac being installed there covered by the radio speaker cover and right now i am leaning toward a muted copper but we shall see. Where the gauges are is where the radio delete plate goes. I plan on having that plate hinge up to cover the controls for the heater/ac. This way everything is hidden away. For the 2 end vents i plan on having them in flip down holders that pivot up under the dash when not in use.
Well that is the tour of the dash and represents a lot of hours getting it all wired and working. But Like I said before, it is so cool the damn thing works.[cl
more later
jim
hellfirejim
Active member
Todays topic is the front park lights. Originally they were park only and I wanted park/turn signals. The original units were messed up thanks to the PO so i just bought repoduction front lights and their "conversion" kit to park/turn signals. The conversion kits didn't work so I made the simple choice to add good quaility light sockets to the original housings.
When I wanted to mount it I realized the PO had really torn up the lense holes so i figured no problem I will use the the reproduction housings. Not even close as the repo had the light socket a good 1/8 inch or more lower than the stock housing. Plan C was to get another set of housings which I did.
I needed to use the new front chrome ring and lense and gaskets. What a joke. It took over and hour to get them to work with the original housings. But the good news is it all works.
More next time as this is good for me and I hope somebody else. I realize that this is not as exciting as the chopping and Zing the chassis but just as important, just in a different way.
jim
When I wanted to mount it I realized the PO had really torn up the lense holes so i figured no problem I will use the the reproduction housings. Not even close as the repo had the light socket a good 1/8 inch or more lower than the stock housing. Plan C was to get another set of housings which I did.
I needed to use the new front chrome ring and lense and gaskets. What a joke. It took over and hour to get them to work with the original housings. But the good news is it all works.
More next time as this is good for me and I hope somebody else. I realize that this is not as exciting as the chopping and Zing the chassis but just as important, just in a different way.
jim
Last edited:
hellfirejim
Active member
Just to get out of the wiring for a while I went about fixing a cooling issue that was driving me crazy.
In the first picture you can see the top radiator hose came off the intake manifold, went up and then dove down to the radiator that was mounted really low. Amazingly it cooled really well but had a tendency to air lock. BTW: no thermostat too. Had to disconnect at the thermostat housing and pour it in from there. Yeah I know, that was what I was thinking.
I first tried to put in a fill point in the top radiator hose and though it worked I knew i could do better. I got hold of a moroso extended height thermostat housing that had a radiator cap at the top. See picture:
Since nobody makes a hose to fit what I need I just created it out of 4 pieces of radiator hose, 3 pieces of 1 1/2 inch copper tubing and 8 clamps. It had to clear everything and still keep the new radiator cap as the high spot in the system. Took a while but it turned out ok:
and
For now it works but if I ever need a radiator hose I am in deep dodo..... So eventually I will take this hose and go to my parts store and just brows their radiator hoses to see what they have that is closer and then I will make a spare.
jim
In the first picture you can see the top radiator hose came off the intake manifold, went up and then dove down to the radiator that was mounted really low. Amazingly it cooled really well but had a tendency to air lock. BTW: no thermostat too. Had to disconnect at the thermostat housing and pour it in from there. Yeah I know, that was what I was thinking.
I first tried to put in a fill point in the top radiator hose and though it worked I knew i could do better. I got hold of a moroso extended height thermostat housing that had a radiator cap at the top. See picture:
Since nobody makes a hose to fit what I need I just created it out of 4 pieces of radiator hose, 3 pieces of 1 1/2 inch copper tubing and 8 clamps. It had to clear everything and still keep the new radiator cap as the high spot in the system. Took a while but it turned out ok:
and
For now it works but if I ever need a radiator hose I am in deep dodo..... So eventually I will take this hose and go to my parts store and just brows their radiator hoses to see what they have that is closer and then I will make a spare.
jim
hotrod preacher
"Official RRR Chaplain"
looking like a fun project....keep up the good work[cl
I love the story aspect & seeing what issues are being overcome, vs ripping everything out & building new. The problem solving process is awesome.
On your Franken-hose, you might look at getting the copper pieces flared so the hose clamps have something a little more to bite on.
-Chaz
hellfirejim
Active member
Thank you, just doing what I can to get my baby back on the road in a safe and drivable condition.
jim
jim
hellfirejim
Active member
Had a pretty good day today as I got a number of things done. Nothing earth shaking but important. The first thing was to install my rebuilt door mirror. I thought I had a picture but I guess not.
The next part is really cool. I had taken my ashtray cover and glove box door and sent them to a friend of mine, Purplemyth, in Georgia and got them painted. I love it and now i have to make the truck better to fit.
More pictures here: http://s93.photobucket.com/albums/l66/hellfirejim/50 ford pickup/Interior/
The next part; some will like it and some will not like as I mounted the new tires and rims and they are on the truck. They are a lot shorter,about 5 inches, but only about and inch or two narrower. Sorry about the "snowy" pictures as some know I am keeping it at a body shop and i forgot to wipe the lense. Yeah I know duh!!!
The first picture is a view from the rear showing how wide the tires are:
And this is just a side shot:
Yeah it changes the original look but when I have matching slots for the front I think the overall look will be cool. One additional bonus, when I lowered the rear with the shorter tires it raised the front enough that there may be no or very little issue with ground clearance up front anymore.
jim
The next part is really cool. I had taken my ashtray cover and glove box door and sent them to a friend of mine, Purplemyth, in Georgia and got them painted. I love it and now i have to make the truck better to fit.
More pictures here: http://s93.photobucket.com/albums/l66/hellfirejim/50 ford pickup/Interior/
The next part; some will like it and some will not like as I mounted the new tires and rims and they are on the truck. They are a lot shorter,about 5 inches, but only about and inch or two narrower. Sorry about the "snowy" pictures as some know I am keeping it at a body shop and i forgot to wipe the lense. Yeah I know duh!!!
The first picture is a view from the rear showing how wide the tires are:
And this is just a side shot:
Yeah it changes the original look but when I have matching slots for the front I think the overall look will be cool. One additional bonus, when I lowered the rear with the shorter tires it raised the front enough that there may be no or very little issue with ground clearance up front anymore.
jim
