Skip's 39 Ford PU. How it happened

[Skip]

Frame and Suspension

When I started thinking about a project I had an open wheeled bobber in mind. Then when I found a cab, it came with a set of usable fenders. From there, the challenge was to figure out how short I could make it all with fenders and a bed. The conventional wisdom is to find a two-wheel drive standard cab long bed donor. It has an almost exact match for the stock wheelbase. I didn't want that, so I ran an ad on CL for a short wheelbase S10. This showed up.

 

[Skip]

The new chassis was rust free, and the manual steering was tight. All good. So I pulled the cab off of it and got to work. First thing was to put the chosen wheels and tires on it. The other option for wheels was a set of American 200Ss that are in the rack. The slots just looked way more bada$$ in this application. Plus, the 200s need some repair work.

Now we can see that back end is way too high and the frame is still a bit too long. But it is shorter than the stock 39 by about 6 to 8 inches. As you can see, there is lots of frame sticking out on both ends that will only get in the way of making this as short as possible.

 

[Skip]

3 inch lowering blocks in the back got the frame leveled pretty well.

Since the frame was a base model, it has no extra suspension niceties like sway bars. A trip to be bone yard supplied me with front and rear sway bars, and of course new shocks were in order as well. The front sway bar was a stock one off of another S10 PU. All the mounting points are there to use. The rear sway bar came off of an Olds S10 4-door Blazer clone. I fabricated the brackets that weld to the frame for these. The rest is bolt-on. I suspect this baby will corner like a...

 

[Skip]

Once I thought I had the body and fender placement sorted out, I clipped the front end of the frame back to the steering gear. On the back end of the frame, the target was to allow for the shortest bed possible. So, everything behind the rear spring shackle got the ax.

NOTE: I ended up trimming more than necessary off of the front. Be sure to leave the bolt hole for the front sway bar if you are planning to use one. Its that half a hole on the bottom. I need to weld a tab back on to secure the sway bar bushing retainer better. Live and learn.

Other than trimming off unneeded body and bed mounts, that is pretty much the extent of the work on the chassis. It turned out that I did not have as many pictures as I thought.

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

I like the slots, Skip! Far and away my favorite wheel! [cl

.

 

[DozerII]

Your making some great progress. [P[P

 

[Skip]

Weather is finally getting nice (I know, I'm a woss) and my bones are not screaming at me. So I went out and looked at where I left off, and I think the new radiator mounting system is ugly. It will work just fine, but if I looked at some other guy's car and saw that, I would not think highly of it. Problem is, that it is part of the fender support bracket mounting system also. Need to stare at it for a bit. I'll figure out something.

This is at least partially self-motivational.

 

[earthman]

.................

 

[smallfoot]

Making good progress! I like the slots better too Skip!

 

[Skip]

I need a house keeper. And a secretary.

After I washed the dishes and made breakfast, and ate while checking my mail and RRR/UDS, I put a load of cloths in the laundry, and finally headed out to the shop. I am happy to report that it is still there.

Surprisingly, the fix was really simple. Well, getting rid of the ugly part was anyway. After that, since the geometry had changed a bit, I clamped the rest of the radiator mount in place, and positioned the radiator. Then fitted the grill and surround in place and checked everything for clearance. It will fit! YEA! [cl

And the laundry is done.

Next I will take it all back apart and finish fitting and welding the pieces of the radiator mounting contraption together. Then I can trim a few bits and whatnot, and it will look fairly decent. Especially considering it will be in a dark place anyway.

Nothing really picture worthy with today's work. I'll put some up of the finished product.

 

[Skip]

Making good progress! I like the slots better too Skip!

Maybe I'll put the 200s's on the altered. Or maybe I'll find them a new home.

 

[Skip]

Dummy Spot Lights

New eBay score. "Buy it Now" $35 + the ride. May use it here. Haven't decided. Funny thing is that I contacted the seller twice to get a measurement on then, because they seemed awfully cheap. Thought maybe they were some little things. He never answered, so I crossed my fingers and went ahead and pulled the trigger. They are the real thing. A really bad looking set sold for $65 + yesterday in normal bidding. [cl

 

[Skip]

Went to the steel store today. WOW I'm glad I save all my scraps. Anyway, I bought 2 4-foot pieces of 3/8 round cold rolled and a 20-foot piece of 5/16 of the same stuff. That's all they had 5/16 in. Also got a couple 4 foot pieces of 1/2x3/16 bar stock. Cuts are expensive. I need a rack for my truck. The 5/16 folded alright, though.

Tried all three samples to see which made the best looking radiator support rods. The 5/16 won. The rest will find a home eventually. I'll finish them up tomorrow. Can't rush these things.

My apologies to those that liked the all-thread installation, but in the end I just couldn't run with it.

I'll have to figure out another idea for holding the grille in its rightful place. Right now it springs out about two inches further than it should. I think the mix and match front-end sheet metal is fighting with itself a bit. I used a big truck "chin" that I trimmed on the bottom to match the pickup fenders. I like the look.

 

[bkvail]

Went to the steel store today. Cuts are expensive. I need a rack for my truck. The 5/16 folded alright, though.

I used a big truck "chin" that I trimmed on the bottom to match the pickup fenders. I like the look.

I have folded long steel in half a time or two to avoid the cutting cost too and 10' will fit inside the Suburban and on the roof rack of my Outback, hahaha. I call the Outback my truck because that thing can haul a lot for how little it is!

The new 'chin' looks great!

 

[Skip]

I have folded long steel in half a time or two to avoid the cutting cost too and 10' will fit inside the Suburban and on the roof rack of my Outback, hahaha. I call the Outback my truck because that thing can haul a lot for how little it is!

The new 'chin' looks great!

Thank you, Karin. I just checked out your website, and it looks great!

 

[05snopro440]

3 inch lowering blocks in the back got the frame leveled pretty well.

Since the frame was a base model, it has no extra suspension niceties like sway bars. A trip to be bone yard supplied me with front and rear sway bars, and of course new shocks were in order as well. The front sway bar was a stock one off of another S10 PU. All the mounting points are there to use. The rear sway bar came off of an Olds S10 4-door Blazer clone. I fabricated the brackets that weld to the frame for these. The rest is bolt-on. I suspect this baby will corner like a...

I didn't see a photo of the 200S wheels but they're one of my favorites, I think they would look killer on your truck. That was my other option for wheels on my 46.

Just a note about sway bars, you may find after you drive it that you want the bigger bar on the front too (it looks like you might have the smaller one) because it might not have the balanced handling that the rear sway bar is meant to produce.

I just purchased ZQ8 sway bars front and rear for mine, and am waiting for them to show up. Should be fun with the bigger bars.

 

[joedoh]

I am happy to report that it is still there.

be careful what you wish for, my wife is always happy to report that my projects are still there. as in making us the eyesore of the neighborhood (which isnt true anyway)



looks good with the face! nice score on the lights too.

 

[Skip]

be careful what you wish for, my wife is always happy to report that my projects are still there. as in making us the eyesore of the neighborhood (which isnt true anyway)



looks good with the face! nice score on the lights too.

In my hood, we have a very good system for keeping projects tidy. If you leave it in the front yard, the tweakers will steal it.

My shop and all projects/parts are in the fenced back yard. But, I am thinking about fencing the front yard, too. [ddd

 

[Skip]

I didn't see a photo of the 200S wheels but they're one of my favorites, I think they would look killer on your truck. That was my other option for wheels on my 46.

Just a note about sway bars, you may find after you drive it that you want the bigger bar on the front too (it looks like you might have the smaller one) because it might not have the balanced handling that the rear sway bar is meant to produce.

I just purchased ZQ8 sway bars front and rear for mine, and am waiting for them to show up. Should be fun with the bigger bars.

Early mock-up. I decided on the slots because the 15x10 rears looked wider and more aggressive due to the way they are made. And, I only had 14x7s for the front. These wheels will find a home.

 

[smallfoot]

If you're going for disk brakes, won't you need 15s anyway? Thought I heard you couldn't get a caliper to fit behind anything smaller.