No real updates worth posting. Been busy collecting parts and planning work... I've now got everything for the exhaust system. Since I've added the turbocharger I've had to change up the original plan for the exhaust. I spent some time modifying a pre-made 3" single to dual setup that just isn't going to work out. I've decided to build my own single to dual setup and just received the last of the 90 & 45 bends last night. I'll get started on the exhaust after Thanksgiving. I've got all of my fuel system components in. All braided hose with a bunch of AN fittings, inline fuel filter, flex fuel content sensor, hose mounting brackets, etc. It shouldn't take too much time to route these and assemble everything. Since going to the turbo, I also got a different camshaft, and had to change to a different torque converter. I got one of the Jegs XHD Billet Converters. I've had the cam for a while, but just got the converter in yesterday. I'll toss the converter in when the cab is off the frame and I pull the motor & transmission out to finish weld the mounts. I've been mocking up the intercooler and radiator. Although I have a ton of space to package these, and they'll fit just fine, I just don't like how high they will be when mounted to the top of the frame rails. They're too wide to sit in between the rails. I'm conjuring up some ideas to lop the rails off in front of the sway bar mounts and build round tube rails to make some space to drop the intercooler and radiator. I still need to get a fan & shroud sorted out. I haven't pulled the trigger on it yet, but I'm about to order the AC compressor and a relocation bracket. I don't want to build the turbo downpipe, oil feed/drain lines until I know it'll clear the AC compressor. I got a Galaxie column with shifter from my dad, and am working on modifying an F100 column drop to fit, as well as sorting out how to shorten the column and shift lever. It seems I may need to add a bearing to make it work. I'll figure it out though.
Just a little update since I've been swamped the past few weeks. I was making progress on the exhaust system, starting with the dual tailpipes and working my way forward, then ran out of argon the week before Thanksgiving, then I was busy every day and every weekend since doing ranch stuff, work stuff, family stuff, and 2 swap meets. I'll get back on the exhaust system this weekend. Today, I put the seat back in and got the Galaxie column mocked into position, but still need to either modify the column mount or get something different. Also need to cut off the rag joint flange and put the new stainless U-Joint onto the shaft, then cut the DD shaft and then it'll steer. Instead of doing all those things, I wanted to see if my idea for the horn button/trim ring would work, haha. I wanted to buy a reproduction horn button and make it fit the '67 Galaxie horn ring, but didn't want to spend $50 on the button if it flat out wouldn't work at all. This past weekend I ran up to a local swap meet and I bought another '56 grille and 2 sets of '56 headlight buckets/trim and I got the guy to throw 1 original horn button into the bundle. Well, within about 10 minutes I had this thing pretty well fit up and functioning as it should. I need to make a filler ring to get rid of the gap between the horn ring and the button, so I'll measure it all out and get the CNC guy at work to cut one from aluminum. I'll buy a reproduction button, and then have the horn ring and shift lever/signal lever chrome plated, and it should all work out nicely. Gotta finalize brake pedal placement as well. That's all for now...
Not much progress lately with holidays, hunting season, travel, etc. I've been finishing up a C4 transmission build in what little spare time I have. I need to sell that transmission to cover the cost of a big order of glass, weatherstrip, interior knobs, handles, switches, etc. I got my new billet aluminum AC compressor bracket kit and a new Sanden compressor, Dayco idler & Dayco belt. I had to get these installed to verify clearance with the turbo and I have tons of room! The idler and belt fit perfect and the bracket kit is beefy. I'm going to get back on the passenger side firewall/floor soon. I need those in place so I can figure out the exhaust crossover/downpipe/wastegate pipe routing and clearance. I also need to modify the turbo manifold T4 flange for better turbo placement and the wastegate placement. I have all of the stainless tubing for it, just need to get off my ass. I finished welding up the single 3" to dual 2.5" tailpipe section, tested for leaks, and then I picked up some cribbing from a friend who was moving, so I promptly put the truck on them so I could start fitting the tailpipe section and get the hangers installed. Stay tuned for more...
are you going to use the truck clutch fan? Looks like there's room for it. I'm hoping to use mine on the Checker, mostly to piss off the guys who just know you have to use an electric fan...but also, because I think it's kind of silly to run a heavy duty alternator, just to use it to turn an electric fan that's sitting in front of a well designed fan driving mechanism good to see more progress
I agree about the tall radiator and innercooler. Most old trucks look really sweeet until your eyes land on that 'skyscraper' radiator ! It just needs to be down lower like cars. Anxious to see how you work that front frame rails and radiator support ! 6sally6
I recently scored a deal on a pair of OEM 16" brushless fans in the shround for a 2020 Silverado, so I went ahead and bought a 2020 Silverado radiator to see how it fits. It's much lower in height, but also much wider and I think it'll work out great. Should be plenty of cooling for this since it's essentially the same engine the radiator was made for. The Holley Terminator X Max system I have can control the brushless fans that operate on PWM (pulse width modulation) so the initial start up shock to the charging system is virtually gone and the operational speed and ramp speed of the fans can be fine tuned in the Holley tuning. Honestly I was going to use the clutch fan, it would have been fine, and I'm all about simplicity and reliability. I also have to consider what the factory modern vehicles are doing and since my EFI system has PWM fan control I might as well put it to use. I will have to buy a remote expansion tank with a radiator cap since the 2020 radiator doesn't have provisions for a cap.
Man, I wish I had time to work on mine..... I'm actually at work at almost midnight. My boss called last night and asked if I would come in and oversee a crew from 6-6. That kills my day. I'll be asleep for the most part.
I hear you. I feel like I'm barely making any progress with what little time I have to work on the truck. It seems I'm always waiting on a part to be able to get to the next step, so I bounce around and do little things in whatever spare time I have to dedicate to it.
Small updates: I got the tailpipe & over axle exhaust section fully welded, tested it for leaks by pressurizing and spraying soapy water on all welds, only had a few pinholes to fix. I got the stainless exhaust hangers in place and was proud of my work, then I realized I had basically trapped my exhaust system between the frame rails with my hanger to frame placement. Fortunately, it was a simple fix by modifying one of the hangers. I ordered a new puller to pull the steering wheel as my 40yr old puller I got from my dad 20 years ago was too big. The new puller was also too big, so I had to modify it. Got the column apart and got the U-joint in place. I need a lower bearing to live between the steering shaft and the column shift tube, so I ordered one that should fit, we'll see. I got the column mounted in the cab and at a good angle. Being a non-tilt column, I wanted to raise it up and put it at a more comfortable angle so I don't feel like I'm driving a school bus. This really affects the brake pedal location on the firewall. I'm using a '99-'04 Mustang automatic brake pedal assembly/MC/Booster and the pedal sits too high from the floor so I'm going to try out a pedal assembly from a mid 90's F-150. Based on my research the F-150 should have a longer pedal arm which would get me closer to where I want to be. I also walked by the truck and realized that my bed rail angle doesn't match my lower window sill angle. I originally lined up the bed angle by the gap between the bed and the cab, and never noticed the angle difference from the profile. It's only a 3-degree difference, but I'm glad I caught it now because I still need to make the rear bed mount. I also bought a new front lower valance, as well as a new tailgate. I thought I was getting a great deal on them until I had to pay freight shipping. Oh well, these are the last of the body parts I need to be 100% complete, so I bit the bullet. Not many photos for this update... 'til next time.
You should have ordered the parts from Mar-K. They are here in town. I could have ran and picked them up for you and then we could've done a hamb relay. Nice exhaust. I need to learn how to weld stainless. What's the bar at the back? Is that part of your hanger system?
I looked at Mar-K stuff, but it's too pricey. The tailgate from Mar-K is $235 more than I paid! I'll tell you, this is my first TIG work ever and I've learned a lot through trial by fire. I do not have patience for the prep work, but I'm gaining it. It takes so much more time to fit pieces together nice and tight for a good weld. Slow and steady is the key. I'm still learning, but I'm happy with what I've done so far, and my confidence is building. It's definitely a skill I'm glad I'm acquiring! The little tube across the pipes is just to keep the pipes even during all the welding. It's just tacked on, and I've cut a tack from time to time to see if the pipes spring out of whack (they do), fortunately I can persuade them back into position with a little heat and force, but the tube keeps them pretty close. Now that all of the welding is done out back I can cut that tube off, but I've left it on as a shin saver.
TexasHardcore, I have no idea what you exp. or age is but one of the things I have learned is that if you want it to be really good, it will take time. Prep is paramount for welding both in cleanliness and fitment. You take a short cut and pay the price. When you are short on time, you want to make the most of it. If you have to redo, what did you just do to yourself? I used to be the poster child for short cuts. Not so much anymore. Parts and supplies are expensive enough that we can't afford to make mistakes so doing it once becomes real important.
I used to short cut stuff too, but I've gotten a bit more patient as the years ago by. A big part of the reason this truck has taken so long is that I'm trying not to get ahead of myself so I don't have to undo and redo stuff. The "that's good enough" attitude I had when I was in my 20s-30's is long gone. Now, I'm not striving for perfection, and this will never be a "show truck", or built for others approval... I just want to look back in 10 years and know that I made the right decisions when building this truck.
Tailgate and front valance got delivered today while I was home for a quick lunch break. I inspected the valance for any issues and put it back in the box until it's time to mess with it. But I had to throw the tailgate on for a quick visual. I'm going to do something different with the hinge hardware and ditch the chain tabs.
No big updates or photos... I sprained my ankle something fierce a few weeks ago and hobbling around the garage wasn't on my list of priorities. I recently sold my Model A projects that I posted earlier in this thread, so that cleared up some room not only in my yard, but in my brain, and put some money back into my pocket to fund this money pit of a truck. I've been tinkering with the brake pedal assembly for several weeks. Nothing was working out. I wanted to use OEM stuff instead of aftermarket and tried the 99-04 Mustang Pedal, Booster, and Master Cylinder. It was too short of a pedal arm, with too much travel, meaning the pedal sat too high off the floor and had almost 12" of stroke, which put it through the floor when fully depressed. I played with the positions and just wasn't satisfied. I decided to try a 90's F-series truck brake pedal, assuming it would be a longer pedal arm due to it being a full size truck, same thing... it just wouldn't work. I even cut the pedal arm off the Mustang assembly and welded the F-150 arm to it to get a better rested pedal position, but the stroke was still way off. I then opted to try a Jeep TJ pedal assembly, assuming since the seating position and leg room of a Jeep would be similar to that of the F100. With only one minor modification, it fit the Mustang booster rod with the correct ratio, puts the pedal in the right spot, and the pedal stroke ends before it touches the floor. Success! Now, I just need to build some bracing to eliminate firewall flex, as well as make a whole new firewall section because I drilled so many various holes in in trying to get the other two pedal assemblies to work. I picked up some new tools. I got a new plasma cutter, which I wish I had when I first started this project. My original plasma cutter gave up when I was cutting the firewall out of this truck a few years ago, before the actual "build" began. I grabbed a bead roller, which I've never used, and my test pieces I played around with let me know very quickly that I'll need to practice a lot before I get comfortable enough to use it on something I will actually need it for. I also now realize that I should have spent the money for a motorized version, so I'm looking into options to add a motor and pedal to mine. I also scored a set of American 200-S "Daisy" wheels I've been searching for, so I'm looking into tire options for those. I now have all 4 sets of wheels I want for this truck. Well, there's one more set that I want, but not a priority right now. Anyway, thats all for now...
For my project (36 truck) I used the 92-96 F150 clutch & brake pedal assembly. This era used a hydraulic master / slave. I was able to retrofit the cable quadrant for a foxbody mustang to the area that the master attached. Then used one of the firewall cable adjusters and stock foxbody clutch cable to hook it up to the T5. Worked out pretty well. I cut the stock metal pedal plates off the bottom and fabricated some new ones that work with the smaller mustang rubber pads. I havent welded those on yet as I want to get everything finalized first.
Not much progress being made lately. I've been busy with a trailer I just purchased, moving stuff out of my storage unit, swap meets, and helping a friend on his no-prep drag car. I've been procrastinating on the passenger side floor/toeboard/firewall/rocker for almost 2 years and felt I needed to get back on it, so I did. Nothing exciting about drilling out spot welds and cutting out rust. I'm fitting the rocker, floor pan, and firewall/toe board now, inching up on it a couple of hours a week maybe. Hoping that when the dust settles around here after 2 swap meets, a drag race event, and LSRU, I'll be able to put some more time into the truck before the 3 month hibernation (June-July-August) starts as it'll soon get so hot in my garage it's simply unbearable to be in after work.
Holy crap it's been a month since my last update here and very little has been done in that time. Some firewall/rocker fitting, some new parts ordered, some new wheels ordered, some new tools purchased including a brand new JD2 Tubing Bender. Lots of other stuff going on right now and very little time and energy leftover to apply to the F-100 lately. I've got this weekend and next weekend open so hopefully I can spend some time on the truck and make some progress.
Well, I replaced the passenger cowl side section. The only rust was at the bottom, which I havent fixed yet, but rather I removed the cowl vent louvers and welded in a smooth piece in it's place. I never liked the louvers on just one side, so I got rid of them altogether. I didnt use the whole replacement cowl side panel as the edges are not as nice as the original, so I just used the replacement piece for the pre-bent sections. I left the bottom rotted part open so I could fit the rocker and reach in there to weld and treat the metal before sealing it all up. I've got the passenger rocker and floor pan welded in, body mount on passenger side is fit and the cab is now bolted down on all 4 mounts for the first time. The firewall is screwed into position for now because I want to be able to media blast & coat the backside of the dash, but it'll be pretty easy to get fitted. Gotta start building the tunnel and firewall recess now. I want everything as low-profile as possible, but also with enough room to be able to remove the transmission easily. I have the material ready to tack together a mockup piece then take the real sheet to work to use our big brake to form it to fit the mockup. Also working on the wiper motor set up. I'm using a Jeep YJ 2-speed wiper motor, just working out placement/bracket details. It seems it's going to be easier than anticipated, but I need to finish the firewall recess first so I don't have to do anything over. I'm working on modifying the passenger side turbo manifold for better fitment and turbo positioning. With the firewall & toe board now fit to the floor I can work on the downpipe and wastegate dump positions. Busy every other weekend and also trying to buy a house right now, so I've got very little time to work on the truck. It's also 90F degrees inside my garage at 8pm, so there's that. Also I realized I havent taken many photos of my truck in months. I'll snap some in the next few days when I mess with the tunnel mock up, but here's one I took a while back...
As a retired TIG welder (nuclear submarines) I always 'hated' when guys would second-guess my work! (a lot of times they were right!) BUT.....don't be afraid to add plenty of filler wire when 'tigg'in'. If it comes out sorta lumpy or just plain uuglee..just go back over it withOUT adding any filler wire! Widen your beads or whateverrr to make it look like you want it.... You're doing a heckuva job on that truck !!! Keep up the good work/take your time/take plenty of pictures/ignore old men's "advice" when needed !!! 6sally6
I promised pictures, so here's a few... Wiper Motor Bracket, not sure if I'll be using this, depends on how much massaging the firewall gets for engine clearance. Temporary brace to keep the floor halves level and even so I can start building the transmission cover and firewall recess. Repop panels fit terrible as usual, but with some persuading, they're not bad. This is the cowl side with the vent removed. I tig welded it in place (my first sheet metal tig job), Unfortunately there's an inner seam/joint that I can't get around that prevents me from hammering the top weld perfectly flat. It looks worse in the photo than it really is, you can barely catch a fingernail on that edge, and I'd bet it's only 1/32" off. I still need to weld up some holidays and finish the bottom, but overall I'm pretty happy with how it came out.
I didn't take a photo, but last Thursday I built a mockup trans tunnel out of 1/8" steel rod. I was planning to run to work on Saturday to use the big shear and brake and make a real tunnel using my mockup as a template, but the soggy weather kept me at home. While I was home, I spent a bit of time on Saturday getting back on turbo stuff. I modified the cast log manifold, and the T4 flange adapter to better position the turbo, and also added the merge for the wastegate onto the T4 adapter. Since I had the turbo in place, I decided to tack together a downpipe to see how it's all going to fit between the transmission and the frame rail. I added a wastegate dump tube, but I'm not 100% stuck on it's position. I wanted to keep the heat away from the coils/plug wires, as well as away from tires and have enough room for routing AC hoses. I think this position is a good compromise, but it's not locked in.
This trans tunnel took way too long, because I'm stubborn/lazy, but it's almost there. Instead of taking it to work and using the 10' brake, I formed it over my knee and over an 8" pipe, then flanged the edges with the tipping die on my bead roller. That freaking sucked, I need a motor on that bead roller because it took my shoulder out of commission for a bit. Then I beat the snot out of it with a hammer and dolly and a form for the ribs for a while and got it fitting quite well. There is over 2" of space between the tunnel and the transmission, so plenty of room to slide it in & out, and enough sof an air gap to keep the heat out of the floor. I was about to start doing the final fitting and welding, but I sweat so much that it rusted the bare metal floor pans and the tunnel in a matter of a couple of days. That took some time to do a proper acid cleanse and DA sand to get the metal back to fresh. Then I coated the pans in some good primer. I also bought an AC unit for my garage, it takes a while to get the hot air out, but it makes it manageable inside. I've got a little more hammering and fitting and trimming, then I'll weld this thing in and I can ditch the cross brace that's keeping the pans level and move on to forming the firewall section. That's all for now...
The Jalopy Journal
