Don't get too upset, I just mean mine. I'm having second thoughts about going this route. Yeah, there are a ton of folks who hate these things, that I don't care about. I can't stand it when people blatantly ask permission to build there car on here. I think it has always been in the back of my mind that it would be a shame to ruin this truck to build a fad. I spent most of my time trying to justify it. Two things are driving this, the fact that I can use 40-41 sheetmetal to make it not ugly, it's a '46 ford. And that I have the whole truck except for the ugly front end. In this case, it is going to be fibergl***, unless I find steel parts for about the same price. Steel is not out, but the 'gl*** is going on it because I can afford it and actually finish it without waiting 10 years to find parts. So now I need ideas. From what I can tell, the best thing I can do is pretty much build a stock truck, lower it, hop up the flatty, put on some duals with gl***packs and go. I don't want to go the Kustom route, just a nice traditional truck. I wanted to chop it before, but with fenders I think it needs to have more done, custom wise, to look right. There was a thread that had some good period pics of trucks, but I can't find it. I think it was part of a "bobber truck" tyrade. Also, now that everything has changed, I have some questions. This is a '46 not a 40-41, so things are different. I have parallel springs up front. Does anyone make new ones? Mine are broken. We have a spring shop here, but they will be pricey. I know that F-series trucks have longer springs up front, so those won't work. i have the original steering box, I have found some rebuild parts, but what are my chances of getting it back in order if it is notchy and has lots of play? Is there a better choice? What if I decide to go power steering later? To be continued....
I did find this old thread: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-433.html It mentions that the frame on my '46 is longer than the '40-'41. Does anyone now exactly what the differences are in these years? I can always hang the frontend and find out myself, but I can't shorten the frame any and keep the leaf springs. The front perches are right on the end of the frame. I don't wnat to go MII unless I have to, but I am not against it. The thought of discs and power steering is appealing, then my tiny wife could drive it. It would be nice to know ahead of time that I should plan for it. Last question for now, and most important. What is the best way to re-attach all the brackets I cut off the frame? The front crossmember could be welded. But it and the spring perches, front and rear were rivited on. I don't know if I should weld them, they look cast. Maybe they are forged. Should I just use bolts? I don't really need them to be concours correct. What does everyone else use? I have more questions, but I will rest a second first.
Look for a 35-40 p***enger car frame. Same as truck, except for the one rear body mount that has to be removed on the kickup. That way you could go a stock or dropped axle with transverse spring. Pat.
Yeah, that is way more trouble than I can do right now. First, finding a frame would be impossible in my area. And, I have already stripped this one and have it primed. Also, if I wanted to go with a transverse spring, I would just put in a new crossmember and buy all new stuff. I am trying to use as much of the original parts as I can. So is that car frame the same as the 42-47 truck or is it the same as the '41 and earlier car? To me it would make more sense to be the latter.
If a "Rudy Truck" is what I think it is, I'm really glad to hear you're not going that route. I think that a Rudy Truck is a forties model cab built like an early model fenderless lowboy. Correct?
A stock-ish truck with a hot rod stance is a timeless piece. Was in style 50 years ago, and still will be in another 50. Rudy trucks as we know them today are going to be date-stamped. It's OK to build modern, but I prefer timeless. Good luck either way.
Put a gl*** 40 Willys front end on it and make a G***er truck out of it??? BTW Rudys truck is/was a 35 cab...........
I've seen some trucks (and old Chevrolets) with parallel leaves that sit right, but in most cases, it takes a lot of figuring and cleverness to make it happen. I know this probably isn't what you want to hear, but by the time you figure out how to lower it and make the parallel leaf setup work, you could have put a Mustang II setup from a reliable vendor on it, gotten the stance, performance, and improved brakes all at once. Keep us advised about what you decide. My '41 rides on axles at both ends (the frame is virtually identical to the '35-40 p***enger car ch***is), and while it rides like an old truck, it sits OK and works well enough. But my truck came with transverse leaves to begin with, and was easy to get there. With your frame, it might not be as easy.
I like the idea of a stock(ish) truck with some lowering and a hopped up flatty. As a poster above put it.... timeless.
Most "Rudy Trucks" today are straight-up RAT RODS... I mean that in the most derogatory sense of the term... Rudy's truck was considdered a Rat Rod back when the term made no sense. It makes PERFECT sense now... Rudy's truck had Hot Rod elements as timeless as a 32 Roadster... And it was well-built. It wasn't my style and it still isn't my thing... But it had a unity to it that was pleasing to the eye. And NOBODY has built anything similar that looked as good since. Congratulations on developing a sense of PRIDE in your vehicle and a higher sense of style. Build a TRADITIONAL ROD and you'll be able to trade it for an appropriate fenderless rod later if you want.
Rivet replacements can be done with bolts, if you aren't too fussy about the looks. Just tack weld the nuts on and they won't loosen up over time.
My friend, the first thing you need is a good dose of Knowledge about your truck. The 42-47 Pickup was the first of the New Design trucks from Ford, having dual springs front and rear rather than the old transverse spring design used from 1925-1941. It was also the first open drive Ford Pickup, a feature Ford cars wouldn't see until 1949. It was also the last series of trucks to use the old style Ford V8s as the new style V8 was introduced in the new F-1 Pickups in 1948. The 42-47 cabs are similar to the 40-41s but the 40-41 sheet metal does not directly bolt up to it. Put down your torch, and pick up some magazines, books, and such about building hotrod Fords and even stock Fords of the 42-47 era. You've already done a bit too much fiddling around with no knowledge base to work from.
How about a pic of the original Rudy's Truck, if one exists? Never heard this term before, now it's on the HAMB twice this week
Wow, don't know where this came from, but since I already knew everything you just said and more, maybe we both need to be "schooled". I don't have a torch and I don't jamb **** together. If I were concerned with everything directly bolting together, I wouldn't have even started on this project. I would be building some cookie cutter kit car. Don't get me wrong, I don't know everything, and I welcome all information. If it comes with an at***ude, I don't need it. I've had this thing for over a year now and I have done plenty of research on what little information there is on these trucks. I had read that earlier fenders and hood could be made to fit possibly. The thread I referred to had more than one person who had seen it done or actually did the deed. Until somone proves to me it can't be done, maybe I will try to prove that it can be.
Ok, cool. I figured that this would work, but wanted to find someone who had done it or had other suggestions. Thanks!
Totally agree. This is the exact thing that finally came to me. If i build a **** pile, even if it is a well executed **** pile, I could sell it to someone that is wanting to drive their lifestyle around town, but doing this right can get me much closer, if I decide to sell it someday, to that roadster.
Yeah, I know it isn't really traditional to go MII, but when I decided to put fenders on it, the idea did pop into my head. I am going to check on having some reverse eye, lowered springs made on Monday. If the cost of those and having the axle dropped ends up costing what I think it might, the MII might be the answer. My wife loves old trucks, and for her to be able to drive this thing would be cool. She's small, so it would have to have power steering and brakes at least. I can do discs on the straight axle, but the MII would solve a bunch of problems. I think the frame length difference may come into play and I think the only way to find out for sure is to just get some fenders and see how it all fits. The only thing about the fat fendered bodies, to me at least, is that there is a super fine line between traditional and street rod. They can go wrong real fast. I guess my pink and turquiose scallop scheme is out, right? he he.
Yep. When I first saw one, (the one now in the Coker ads) I thought it was a crazy new idea. A good way to use up all the truck cabs laying around. But then, everyone was building some kind of even more frankenstein version. I didn't see the original truck that Rudy built until after I was almost sick of them and having second thoughts. I think I read that he just threw it together to see how it would turn out. I have seen some of his other work. It is amazing. That black roadster (I can't remember if it was an A or a deuce) is absolutely beautiful. You can get a little chub from looking at that car.
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