Hot Rods New Project: 55 F100 Build

After four years of an off and on search I located this 54, soon to be a 55 in a garage in SW Wyoming. Story was the builder died and sister has had the car in the garage for years. Apparently had the body off as the frame is in good shape and painted. Body has some small issues but nothing major.

I needed a daily driver to keep the OT diesels from short trips around town. I almost went for a late model 150 but decided to build a close to HAMB friendly daily driver. Got a load of parts on order from Midfifty and am loading the empty trailer today for a trip to Socal to pick up a 351 Cleveland, 9"Ford and a T5. Only down side was the Fugly 54 grille that will go up for sale in the near future. I've found a decent 56 grille to cut up and use the frenched headlights to graft to a 55 centerpiece.

If anyone has a 55 grille laying around I'll be interested in buying it. Posie springs are on the way for the stock suspension. I hope for this to be quick build. Never posted a build thread but here goes.

Maybe this will keep me motivated.

 

Hell Yeah...

 

Why not! Should be fun.

 

Congratulations

 

That should make a great daily driver.

 

I likey

 

Cool project.

 

Finally time for an update. I spent some time on eBay, Craiglist, Facebook Marketplace and personal contacts to get what I needed for the project. It was and interesting trip that picked up parts from 8 places in Nevada and California. I have made a lot of bad deals in the past but the engine looks like I lucked out.

The guy I bought it from had purchased a running 70 Mustang with the engine in it. He knew nothing about it other than it ran strong without issues except for pan and intake gasket leaks. He suggested all it needed was an intake and pan gasket set. I felt I would be more comfortable with at least a look at the internals. I pulled it down to a shortblock and found very little signs of wear. The pistons are .030 over with very little carbon. I plastigauged the rods and mains and everything appeared to be consistent with a recent rebuild. Its a 2 bolt main but has 4V heads and a Performer manifold. I had no idea what the cam was so I pulled it and found it was a mild Comp cam. I would have reused it but I tripped and knocked over all the lifters, which meant I would need a new set.

I then ordered a new cam and lifter set along with the necessary gaskets. The only thing not to like were the valve springs so a new set was ordered, along with new seals. The pan rail was warped and there some old dents and scratches so I replaced it. The old 292 had T Bird valve covers that are my all time favorite so I found a T Bird emblem from a later Bird and mounted them to a set of Ansen finned covers. I'm really happy with the result. I cleaned up the short block and painted it red.

I hate trying to keep rough aluminum casting clean so I painted the aluminum manifold with aluminum engine paint. The Mildon pan looks good with the gold color so its going to get some clear over it and be good to go. Pretty happy with the results so far. Its all back together except for the cam. I went to degree it and thought I had some solid lifters but was wrong and I ran out of time. Wont be back on the project till April and then I only have two weeks until next fall. I will get the engine buttoned up but its doubtful that I will get past that till this next fall and winter.

 

I picked up a 9" Ford on my trip to Socal but it was geared to high to suit me. I cleaned it up and installed a set of 3:50 gears from Dutchman. I'm trying the new Lightning gears from US Gear. I was told they tend to be noisy but time will tell. They sure look good.

I was all ready to put it back together but when I went to put the new bearings on the shaft they dropped on. I never realized there are two bearing journal sizes on 9" axles. I already had the tapered bearings and wanted the outboard seal so I am waiting on new Dutchman axles.

I had originally planned for disc brakes all around but everything was backordered so I decided to keep the 71 F100 brakes on it, at least for now. I hope to get the rear end complete by the time I return in April. I was lacking two brake fittings so I couldn't even finish the brake lines. First time using the NiCu lines. I sure like them. I sprung for the high dollar tubing bender from Jegs and sure like it. I wish I had bought it and the NiCu lines years ago. Here is where it stands at present.

 

Its been 19 months, give or take since the last post on this project. Shortly after the last post I found I was unable to able to continue working with the government officials in southern Utah and my wife and I move to a more redneck friendly area. It took a while to make the move and rebuild a shop but we finally got it done.

I still have lots of projects on the farm but the severe and unusual cold weather forced me and my old bones into the heated shop and stopped the outdoor projects. This last week has been quite productive.

Last Sunday I pulled the bed and started working on getting the cab off the frame. I spent a day and a half removing the transmission cover that had been welded in. That was a shame as the cover was in great shape but I had to destroy it to get the floorboard ready to accept an OEM trans cover. That took a bit over a day. After getting that done I move on to removing the cab.

This truck is a puzzlement. There are part that appear to be done correctly and with obvious pride and then there are others that appear to be done by Mickey Mouse while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. I'm not sure who to blame. It might have been the last person who owned the truck, or the person he got it from. No way to tell as I bought it from an estate.

At any rate I'm moving forward. After pulling the cab and bed I was ready to start building it back up. I had rebuilt a 9" Ford to replace the unknown GM diff. I had ordered Posie springs all around but never checked anything until today. That's when I found the springs that were sent were for a 55-56, not a 53-54. All is well as I was able to ove the hangers and make the Posie springs work. I have a couple of pictures showing what I did to remove the welded trans cover and the a picture of the back of the original spring mount. The existing holes don't really show that well but hopefully those with a "need to know" will be able to see what was done.

 

Sorry, hit the wrong button. Here are the pictures of the transmission cover issue. Why the hell would anyone buy a new transmission cover and weld it into the floor instead of bolting it in????

 

Subscribed. Building a 56 in the near future.

 

Here is the deal on the 54 vs 55-56 springs: Almost two years ago I purchased new springs from Speedway. The sent the correct springs for the front but they sent the longer rear springs. After checking it out I was able to use the longer 55-56 springs by using the stock front spring mount and simply moving the rear mount back.

I was pleasantly surprised in that I could use the original rear side frame hole for the front and then there was an existing hole for the new rear hole as well as an existing bottom hole. I only had to drill one new frame hole on the bottom and everything works fine. The old spring on the driver side shows the rear bolt in relation to the crossmember. The new, longer spring is shown on the passenger side with the spring hanger moved back.

 

The last post only showed the passenger side, so here is the old spring and rear mount location on the driver side. Its hard for us old guys to make all this technology work.

 

I guess I still can't get the driver side image to show up. I hope this comes through as its my last try for the night. Since I had such a hard time finding out information on this subject I think I will start a new thread on F100 Springs.

 

I respect your perceverance, gotta follow this one. Subscribed.

 

My guess is that the cobble-job repairs were made by a earlier owner when truck was just a hauler/beater. The good workmanship was prolly from the last restorer/ owner. Looks like you're coming right along. Love those emblems on the valve covers!

 

Keep up the good work, my favorite truck.

 

Another frustrating day. I got the spring deal worked out on the back end and moved on to the front. It took a bit to realize there is a difference from the pin to the eyes. After struggling with the one side I got it figured out and it was a snap for the other side.

The Posie reverse eye springs have the eye reversed on one side only. The reversed eye goes to the back of the truck. Put the rear pin in first, then the front pin and lift the axle back to the spring. It takes a slight bit of jiggling and the spring pin drops in the axle and all is good.

Next step was the Wilwood brakes. I decided to go with discs on the front and drums on the rear. I bought the Wilwood kit and it was a nice set up. The directions however left a lot of confusion. The schematic clearly states its for the right side and it shows the caliper in front of the axle but the photo shows the driver side and the caliper is to the rear of the axle.

Wilwood is closed for Kwanzaa, so I had to make an executive decision. I looked around on the internet and all I could find was threads on MII front ends, parabolic springs, Crown Vic clips and the such. I'm surprised at the number of people who think they have to make major changes to these trucks to be road worthy. I have never felt the need to do anything other than add disc brakes to the stock axle. I guess Ford never thought there was a problem with that as they used a solid axle on two wheel drive truck for years.

I'm long past my "best if used by date" and I have spent many hours way north of the speed limit with stock mid fifties suspension. Disc brakes and radials have satisfied me for years. I chose to go with the schematic and put the calipers in the forward position. Since the pistons are the same size I really cant see it makes much difference but I will be checking with Wilwood tech support in the morning.

There is a slight interference problem with the zerk fitting on the passenger side and I chose to file a notch in the caliper bracket. There is no interference on the driver side and the only problem with filing a notch is that anything that goes wrong in the future will be blamed on the "notch". Warranties aren't worth a damn anyway so who gives a damn. Everything is all buttoned up and I think the the front end is done for now. The plan is to get the axles in the 9" rear end and get it back to being a roller.

One of the previous owners did a fine job of cleaning up the running gear but that was two decades ago so I need to move it outside and clean it up. A quick work over with gunk and a pressure washer will be good enough. I will touch up the frame with some Rustoleum chassis black and call it good. This is going to be a ranch truck, not a show truck so just being decent is good enough for me. There is nothing special being done at this point so I will refrain from posting any pictures till I get the thing cleaned up and painted. Hopefully that will happen in the next week or two.

 

Your yellow truck is exactly what I was going to paint my 56 a decade ago. I still haven't decided for sure but it will probably be the original red. I had a red 53 with a warmed up 292 and I loved that truck. That was back in the early 60's.

I've gotten too old for the strong arm steering and fading brakes. I'm going with Wilwood discs in front and the drums on the back that came on the 9". I did spring for the CPP power booster but didn't like the mount. I also went with the CPP steering but I haven't even opened that box yet.

 

Is it just me @corncobcoupe, or do I hear Yellow submarine by the Beatles when I look at your truck? Lol

 

At the start of this project I ordered most of what I thought I would need and that was a mistake but it is what it is. I ordered the power brake booster and mount from Mid Fifty along with what is called a clutch conversion kit. That was over two years ago so there is no chance of a return.

When I got the boxes opened up there was no way to make these parts work together. The CPP booster mount would work fine for an automatic trans but it would have to have some serious modifications to work with a clutch. I still had the stock master cylinder and brake pedal in the frame. The clutch pivot shaft was still in place but the clutch pedal was cut off.

There were several things I didn't like about the kit. The brake pedal would be fine but it has an entirely different look than the original and would not match the clutch pedal when everything is finished. The kit bolts to the frame in three places. Two in the top of the frame and only one in the side where the frame has the most strength. There is a factory rivet in place and CPP opted to weld a spacer in one bolt hole to hold the side of the mount to the frame.

I guess that would work but I like the original where its sits flush to the frame. Ford used three bolts and put a notch in the bracket to miss the rivet on the inside of the frame, then there are the two bolts to the top flange of the frame as well. If I had to do this again I would simply use some sheet stock and make the adapter for the power booster but I had the non returnable kit so I used as much of that as I could. I enlarged the rear hole of the stock mount to accept the spacer welded into the kit mount. After cutting the face plate and a bit of the corner with the spacer I pressed the two pieces together and welded some gussets for strength.

The kit used the end of the shaft for a brace that ran to the booster studs that keeps the plate from flexing. I can't do that because the pivot shaft is now used for the clutch as originally done by Ford. I solved that by making a brace that runs back to the stock mount and bolts into place.

I've heard that Farmer Welds were the ugliest but I have proven that Veterinary Welds are even uglier. Mine are ugly but they always seem to work.
Stock pedal and mount vs Kit pedal and mount
Faceplate and side cut out of kit mount. Gussets welded in. Notice how spacer is pressed into enlarged hole of stock mount. This keeps everything in the exact same relationship from stock to kit.
Finished and mounted in frame. Stock brake and clutch pedals will work as originally designed.

 

The master cylinder won't fit on the driver's side firewall?

 

There was a '56 around the corner from where my brothers and I grew up. It was a really good looking mostly stock F100 with a new bright lemon yellow paint job, a nice stance and some baby moon chrome wheels. My born in '56 brother became a devout 56 F 100 fan and I give the bright yellow fitty six a lot of credit. A dropped axle on the front of Corn Cobb's ride would do that beautiful body and those sharp wheels justice.

Thanks for the thread, thanks for the Ford in a Ford, love the T-Bird emblems on the finned VCs. Keep the updates coming, thoroughly enjoy them. Good luck.

(My brother's "first '56" now referred to as the one that got away. '56 F-600 big window cab and front sheet metal on a '54 frame. Photo before he realized that the F-600 fender wheel openings were gargantuan and replaced them with F-100 fenders. FE powered, dropped axle and disk brakes circa 1978.)

 

That would ruin the look of the firewall and wouldn't be what I have traditionally done in my mid 50's Fords. :<)

 

I checked out my frame and its dead nuts on with cross measurements. I think its ok if the vin checks out. I have a bill of sale for the vin on the frame that says its a 55. The vin I was told that was on the vin plate on the dash was for a 54. I'll let the DMV sort it out. I bought it from a nice lady who inherited it from her brother when he passed away. She had no idea what it was. I do have a question about a couple of butchered holes in the front crossmember. They were originally 5/8 holes. Anybody know what they were for???

 

You are opening up a big can of worms..