Sharing my 56 F100 project....
#166
#167
Hey Dano,
You did a ton of suspension work!!!!!! It looks great. I think you'll be happy you took the time to center that front axle - it just looks better. Excellent write up & photos! You have been busy while you were away!!!!
So... Are you back on the road?
Ben in Austin
1950 F1
You did a ton of suspension work!!!!!! It looks great. I think you'll be happy you took the time to center that front axle - it just looks better. Excellent write up & photos! You have been busy while you were away!!!!
So... Are you back on the road?
Ben in Austin
1950 F1
Only have two things on the '56 that need address. The charging system is just not putting out enough amps at idle. Just at idle. Increase in RPM and it catches up. Not sure what to do with that. It has a 100A alternator, Ford style externally regulated. The other issue is a more permanent and certified fix to the steering arm I welded up. I've been watching it, hasn't given me any reason to worry, but you know... murphy's law..
And i could REALLY use some used bed wood. Don't wanna buy new yet, not till i get close to painting it. My wood is wasted. Rotted bad.
#169
#170
And the final leg of my 2014 year working on the truck was to solve the cooling issue. Sitting still in traffic it would just heat up like crazy but going down the road it was fine. So my best guess was the single fan just wasn't cutting it and getting the surface area coverage I needed. i opted for a set of Spal dual 11" fans. I used the Permacool thermal switch that I was using with the single fan and used it as a trigger for the relays I installed with the new Spal fans.
Just gathering though on how to mount it up. The old single fan in the background.
A simple couple pieces of trimmed up angle in which I drilled and welded bolts from the back side to used as studs. Then added a tab on the upper bracket from larger angle to serve as the mount for the thermal switch. It doesn't show a picture but I had to do a little trimming to get the fan's shroud to sit nice and flush between the radiator side brackets. It was very minor.
Now for the wiring.. I used 2 Bosch 30A relays that had mounting tabs and also a single stud bulkhead that is a hot feed direct from the battery. I removed the hood latch panel and horn to make life a little easier to work in there. Figured this would be a good place to somewhat hide all this wiring. Turned out pretty good and works fantastic!
Here's the a diagram I drew up to show my wiring. Unlike most temp trigger switches, mine is designed to 'ground' rather then send a hot signal. If it looks a little backwards to anyone, that's why. But it works fantastic.
So that's pretty much what I've been up to most the year aside of a couple huge home projects and other vehicle work. One problem I'm having now with the '56 is the charging system will not put out enough amperage at idle to keep up with the fans. I installed a 100A alternator and still not doing it. Once you add rpms, it's fine, just terrible when idling. So I'm up for suggestion on how to tackle that as I'm at a bit of a loss here. i'm thinking there is some sorta adjustment in the voltage regulator maybe? Or?? I'm not sure yet. But that's the update for now.
Just gathering though on how to mount it up. The old single fan in the background.
A simple couple pieces of trimmed up angle in which I drilled and welded bolts from the back side to used as studs. Then added a tab on the upper bracket from larger angle to serve as the mount for the thermal switch. It doesn't show a picture but I had to do a little trimming to get the fan's shroud to sit nice and flush between the radiator side brackets. It was very minor.
Now for the wiring.. I used 2 Bosch 30A relays that had mounting tabs and also a single stud bulkhead that is a hot feed direct from the battery. I removed the hood latch panel and horn to make life a little easier to work in there. Figured this would be a good place to somewhat hide all this wiring. Turned out pretty good and works fantastic!
Here's the a diagram I drew up to show my wiring. Unlike most temp trigger switches, mine is designed to 'ground' rather then send a hot signal. If it looks a little backwards to anyone, that's why. But it works fantastic.
So that's pretty much what I've been up to most the year aside of a couple huge home projects and other vehicle work. One problem I'm having now with the '56 is the charging system will not put out enough amperage at idle to keep up with the fans. I installed a 100A alternator and still not doing it. Once you add rpms, it's fine, just terrible when idling. So I'm up for suggestion on how to tackle that as I'm at a bit of a loss here. i'm thinking there is some sorta adjustment in the voltage regulator maybe? Or?? I'm not sure yet. But that's the update for now.
Looking forward to see your progress and the finished truck
By the way I just started disassembling my 56 F100 and I'm now trying to install MII front end
#171
I missed all these updates back in January...truck is looking great! As always, we appreciate your detailed write ups. Thank you!
I will probably have to deal with bump steer eventually, so it's good to see somebody going through it ... I also wasn't sold on a front sway bar, by may consider it now .
I will probably have to deal with bump steer eventually, so it's good to see somebody going through it ... I also wasn't sold on a front sway bar, by may consider it now .
#172
Looking real nice and I love the detail you put into the truck and also into this thread. I have a 56 that I am also running a 390 / C6 in. Well, truth be told running is a bit of an exaggeration, the truck went through hurricane Ike while I had the hood off getting painted. Flooded the engine with rain down the intake. So after moving to Oregon and rebuilding a car for my son, I now have time to get back to my project. one thing I am looking to do is improve the cooling. I was considering the alluminum radiator you put in your truck. Do you like it now that you have dual fans, and do you remember what radiator hose you used?
#174
Looking real nice and I love the detail you put into the truck and also into this thread. I have a 56 that I am also running a 390 / C6 in. Well, truth be told running is a bit of an exaggeration, the truck went through hurricane Ike while I had the hood off getting painted. Flooded the engine with rain down the intake. So after moving to Oregon and rebuilding a car for my son, I now have time to get back to my project. one thing I am looking to do is improve the cooling. I was considering the alluminum radiator you put in your truck. Do you like it now that you have dual fans, and do you remember what radiator hose you used?
Sorry I've been a bit of a ghost around here lately. Seems life takes away from playtime these days. Glad to hear your back on your project. What part of Oregon did you move to?
Anyways to answer your question, YES. The Dual fans were a HUGE improvement. Now it will sit in traffic no problem holding at 190* give or take on a hot day. However, now its just getting the charging system to keep up with the fans at idle. I installed a 100A alternator, factory Ford 1G case as nothing else will fit on the FE in the stock location. All the other Hybrid and GM cases are too long and hit the cyl head. SO... It charges, however still not well at idle. If you come up off idle, it picks right up. So survey says... the alternator isn't spinning fast enough at idle. So I picked up a few overdrive pulleys for the alternator through Summit. I've got the Powermaster pulley on it now which isn't the smallest one I bought. The March pulley is just a bit smaller but isn't chrome, but rather billet so it didn't match my alternator exactly (its Chrome). Now it seems to be charging at idle with the smaller Powermaster pulley. In drive, not sure yet as I have the front spindle tore off of it. But it will be going back on here soon.
As for the hoses, the lower I believe was from a Ford Super Duty Napa #8092. Now I whacked and whittled it down to fit as it's a lot larger and longer but it had the curves I needed to snake it around the power steering belt and clear the cross member I left in that I should have removed (the y-block front mount x-member). Also had to use a bushing/sleeve Gates#26392 to bush the lower radiator snout up to the hose size. Hose fit fine onto the waterpump without a bushing/sleeve. The upper hose I believe was from a 92-96 F150 w5.8L Gates# L-1034.
The radiator I used was a Champion Aluminum stock replacement type (driver lower outlet, centered upper inlet) 3-row radiator, 1/2" cores. They offered a 4-row, but it was $$$ more. Not sure if that would have done any better or not anyways. The dual fans and better coverage from them made a huge difference.
#175
Well as said in the above reply, had some troubles with the charging system and my 100A alternator. Seems as the FE belt system just doesn't spin fast until you come up off idle. So I went on a search and found 3 overdrive pulleys at Summit and decided to get all three for experimentation purposes.
Here is the Powermaster #110 installed on my 100A Ford 1G externally regulated alternator.
I also purchased 2 others, a Tuff Stuff performance and March Performance pulley. Stock OD pulley on the left. Quite a size difference. The Powermaster's box is in the upper right.
The Powermaster being the largest of the three, figured I'd start there first. At this point it seems to now be charging 13-13.5v, fans running with lights on at idle. A far improvement over barely 12.5v with just the fans running and no lights. Sub 12v numbers with the lights on too. Still need to check it in 'drive' but cant at the moment as I have the driver front spindle tore off for repairs.
So far, happy with what I see and still a couple slightly smaller pulleys at my disposal.
Here is the Powermaster #110 installed on my 100A Ford 1G externally regulated alternator.
I also purchased 2 others, a Tuff Stuff performance and March Performance pulley. Stock OD pulley on the left. Quite a size difference. The Powermaster's box is in the upper right.
The Powermaster being the largest of the three, figured I'd start there first. At this point it seems to now be charging 13-13.5v, fans running with lights on at idle. A far improvement over barely 12.5v with just the fans running and no lights. Sub 12v numbers with the lights on too. Still need to check it in 'drive' but cant at the moment as I have the driver front spindle tore off for repairs.
So far, happy with what I see and still a couple slightly smaller pulleys at my disposal.
#177
Well got my spindle back and my weld job checks out good. So its all set and ready to go. Figured I'd snap a few more pics of it up against a stock spindle and arm to better illustrate what I did, with it out of the truck.
Here is reinstalled, it's a tight fit. About as close as I can get that arm to fit without hitting the I-beam. Doesn't touch, even when dry-steered on the ground.
Now just need to button up a couple things and go take it out for a test run!
#180