Thanks for the kind words jhutch713; they always help encourage me to do the best I can with what I have. Like you, I prefer to see engines of the same make as the vehicle they are mounted in but I have to admit I make a few exceptions with regards to vintage engines. I love Model A coupes with either Flatheads, Nailheads, or Hemi heads between the frame rails.
You have a good point there bigcheese and I've read a few articles in street rodder along the same lines. "back in the day" hot rodders used when ever "inexpensive" way they could do get more performance out of their cars but as the car scene has evolved over the years some engines are just easier to mod than others. As I mentioned earlier, I prefer to see Fords in Fords and Chevys in chevys but I do make a few exceptions. Good point artfrombama, some swaps are definitely better than others. As for '40 Fords with SBCs, yeah, I almost shot Dr. Pepper out my nose laughing at that comment.
Well, since you got it all figured out, I think you need a "winter vacation" down to sunny Florida to help with the suspension on this F4.
Good work David. Detail-oriented, well thought out. For every hour of actual work there's 2 or 3 hours of ciphering! At least that's how it is with me, and I get the impression that's how it is with you. Don't know if that's a blessing or a curse. Hard for me to imagine putting all that work into somebody else's machine though. Do you mind me asking . . . are you getting paid for this?
It definitely helps. As every HAMBer knows, there is so much wealth of knowledge here that every comment, suggestion and even opinion helps in one way or another. Thanks BrerHair and you are exactly right, I do a lot of thinking before actually doing the work. For me, the thinking about it is as much fun as the work. When I first started working on the F4 I didn't have a project of my own, but now I have my '57 Ranchero. I must admit, there are times when I'd rather be working on the Ranchero, but I still enjoy working on the F4 too. I'm to the point with the F4 that I'm ready to see it start coming together and am thinking of paint colors and such for it and what I need to do first before I can paint it. As for getting paid, yes, I do get a little bit for every hour spent working on it and obviously the owner pays for the parts. I don't get much, but that wasn't really the point; this F4 is the first vehicle I've ever restored so I'm learning a lot and trying to do my best. What funds I do receive usually goes for tools or parts for the Ranchero.
Ok, I have a few more progress pics. I would have posted them sooner but I ran out of welding wire right in the middle of my progress!!! Does that happen to you guys too?? Anyway, who ever installed the motor made these massive motor mounts and they worked fine with the stock cast iron manifolds but you got to put headers on a motor right?? Well, the motor mounts were in the way of the headers so initially I cut just enough of the corners off to clear the headers, but since the motor has been removed from the frame I decided it was time to clean up the motor mounts and make them look better. This is what I started with on the driver's side. You can see how much I initially had to remove to provide header clearance and my marks of how much more I was going to remove. And with the offending metal removed. And all welded up. This area on the frame is right behind the passenger motor mount, I'm not sure what happened here but I decided to cut out the mangled areas and weld in some straight metal. With the areas all cut out. And with the new metal welded in. I beveled the edges of the metal in order to get better weld penetration but I wondering if I should also weld this from the back side. What are your thoughts????
If it was mine I'd weld it on the back side, no sense in taking chances on the frame. Btw, I do believe those motor mounts would withstand a thermonuclear explosion.
I welded the back side this afternoon...boy that was fun...not. Laying down on the floor and reaching up to weld something I could almost see. Such is life I suppose. Yeah, those motor mounts are pretty big. As I mentioned earlier, I'm not sure who built them but I think their function definitely took precedence over their form.
I finally got the front axle unbolted from the leaf springs tonight. Had my trusty 7/8 boxed end wrench and BIG ole pipe on the end of it. Man those bolts were on there tight!!! I'm sure rust and time didn't help either. Unfortunately I broke two of the U-bolts. I wonder how hard it will be to find some replacements? As I suspected there is lots of rust between the leaves but I do have one question; is there a bolt that is supposed to go through all of the leaves? It appears to be that way but dang thing is so rusted I'm not sure what to make of it. The passenger side seems to be intact, for the moment, but the drivers side was rusted in two. Sorry for the out of focus pics. Passenger Side Driver Side
The bolt going through the leafs keeps the individual leafs in alignment and prevents "walking around" when the spring is flexing. As for u-bolt availability, check a local truck repair shop or automotive spring shop. It might not be a bad idea to have a spring shop check out the leafs if they are heavily rusted. Breaking one while the truck is fully loaded is almost guaranteed to make you say a bad word or ten.
Thanks OahuEli, check around to see if I can find a spring shop. I know one of the springs on the rear is broken.
Got a little more work done on the frame. At some point in the truck's history the frame crossmember that supports the transmission was cut. I wanted this to look like it was supposed to so I welded up the hole. A buddy came by with his plasma cutter and helped cut the circle. Man, I've got to get a plasma cutter.
Thanks Farmer and Charley. I wish I had some updates. I've been trying to sort out some transmission woes on my Ranchero so I have not been able to work on the F4. For the most part, I have the F4 frame stripped down and I'm trying to decide what I need in regards to painting the frame. Someone had already blasted the frame and sprayed some redish primer on it. I'm not sure what the primer is but man that stuff is tough. I don't think I need to take it all back down to bare metal but I am certainly open to some advise. There are some rough spots (places where there was rust pitting, and areas where I've made some repairs) that I'd like to smooth out but I'm not sure what to use. Should I spray the frame in an etching primer and then put a skim coat of filler on it before priming, sanding and painting????
Since the frame is already primed I don't think etch primer will help any. Maybe just clean it good, rough it up a bit and hit it with a little filler.
What kind of filler would you use? I know they make different kinds but I'm not well versed in their differences and uses. Thank you Sir. One step at a time right? I'm enjoying following along on your build as well. Love the color.
I'm certainly no expert on filler, but I've gotten decent results from the regular Bondo brand. Its easy to work with and the flats of the frame will make the fill-in a quick job.
You are making good progress on that F4 man . It is some nice work goin on there as well Dave . That will be a very nice looking truck when you get done with her thats for sure . Later , Andy..
Thanks Asphalt! I've got this vision in my head of what the truck will look like when done and I'm so ready to see this vision come to reality. Now that would be a sweet truck....classic looks with a modern power house.
I love the big trucks.. The wheels and tires on these trucks makes them.. updating running gear and brakes is all I would want.. cool project
It's definitely been a learning experience project. I haven't been able to work on it this past month so I'm getting anxious to start it again. I'm ready to get the frame painted!!! but lots of work to do before I can.
Looks great so far. I like how you're cleaning up all the things on the frame. If that was me I would have left the stuff. That poor motor is going to be singing at 55. The OD will help but I fear it will make for a not so fun drive. Even in town. The trany is going to shift right through the first few gears and just run D and OD most of the time. If it is geared anything like my '43. 45 mph is the fastest I have had it and that was downhill. Things started to smell funny to. Anyway, just throwing out there that a rearend swap for some more friendly gears should be a consideration. But if it can't be done. I'm sure you will get along fine.
The Jalopy Journal
