Hey guys, I'm new to these trucks and Fords in general hehe.

Anyways here's my situation. My dad has a 56 ford pickup thats been sitting a while. It is pretty rusty and has mainly been used for storage hehe. So I was thinking of taking it off his hands and turning it into a street/strip dragster.

It looks like it definitely needs a new front end, right now it's set up so the entire front end tilts forward (easy engine access) and possibly a new bed. What are my options here? Best for the money? I'm 19 remember and I will be working full time pretty soon plus school (will be in the marines after summer). I would really appreciate any advice. The cab is rusted on the roof as well. My dad mentioned the possibility of having the roof cut and welded back on or something?

The engine is a fairly mild 351 Cleveland 4v. He said when he first got the motor it was running 12:1 compression but he put in new flat top pistons to lower it to 10.5:1. The cam is a comp cam 494 lift 268 duration. What kind of numbers do you think it's putting down? Any suggestions on what to do to it first? I've never really been much of a Ford guy so I'm not sure. I know the heads are reworked with valves and springs. Not sure if they've been ported or not. The motor only has 15-20k on it and it's been balanced and blueprinted as well.

After I get the body into decent shape and put a new rear end in there (he snapped his old 9" with 3.73 gears in it) and right now it has 2.68's or something lol. He said the casing on one of the axles might be leaking so I'm not sure if I need a new rear for it.

Sorry for the long post but I would really appreciate the advice. If you have any other forums/info places for these trucks or the motor I would appreciate those as well

 

Big Project to undertake. Lots of $$$ required to turn Pickup into a decent dragster (esp if you want traction on the rear).
Really need to get a good plan of what you want to do first and get some prices. Otherwise you will waste a lot of money and get nowhere.

4v heads are a sort after item. sounds like the motor has potential!!

Dont rush this project or you will ruin a potentially good Rod

Dan

 

USMC.Devil.Dog...
You want to go to the FTE home page click on John Niolon's article about the trials of a first time builder. In it you will find comprehensive details on how to approach rodding your truck.
The answers to your questions lie in the article. When you have your plan complete it is easier for the folks here to answer your specific questions about engines and metal work. I can guarantee you will get the right answers and any number of opinions about your quest. Best. Himmelberg

 

Marine

Here are a few thoughts. You are undertaking a very time consuming project. Trust us, you won't finish by summer. Do you know where you are going to be stationed yet? You will likely find a very well equipped craft shop at your duty station. Marine camps are located near the good project truck areas of this country. A lot of guys build cars and trucks in there spare time. It might be easier to find a restorable body at your duty station and get the good stuff from home later on as you proceed.

Good Luck,

 

Well Fenders He probally could finish by the end of the summer if he had the money. If I had $7000 I could be driving by september.

 

 

Hey, somebody said they were giving away $7000 so we could finish our rides by September. Is this where we sign up?

 

Yeah I realize that it is going to take me a looooooong time to finish the project ( and $$ ) but for now I am not looking to restore it completely just turn it into something I can mess around with on the street and maybe make a few passes at the strip.

I need some ideas on what I can do for the front end. Right now the entire front end (fenders and all) tilts forward and I would like to have the new work the same way. I just need a few options I can look at because that's mainly what's rusted.

According to my dad and people who have checked out the engine specs it should be around 400 hp at the flywheel, but like I said before I'm not really familiar with Ford motors, and in particular 351C's so if anyone has some recommendations on what to do first hehe. I'm thinking after I do the rear end and get the front end in better shape I was going to do a cam and a decent stall torque converter (3000?) so I can get off the line. The cam in it is pretty mild and I know that motor wants to rev higher than 5 grand

The truck was redone from the frame up a while ago, but its been sitting for a few years. I'll get it up and running eventually. If I went with a completely different chassis I would probably end up going with a Chevy though ;p

 

I have seen exactly one 55 F100 make a pass at the dragstrip. It went approximately like this. He came out up to the line looking good. 351Winnie and a 4SPD growling through some open headers. I was impressed. Then the light turned green, he instantly redlined his rear tires and it hopped all over the track. He back off it and regained some control. He repeated the procedure when he hit second gear. He got the message when he had an out of control straight axle truck at 50 MPH or so and he cruised the rest of the track, finished up his 20 second ET and headed to the pits to rethink the dragboy plan. He realized he was unprepared for this day. He had installed a nice drivetrain in a farm truck.

If you intend to see any dragstrip action then I would go in this order. Steering and brakes, then traction controls for the rear. Safety stuff has to be in perfect order. You don't mention any suspension changes so I assume it has a straight axle. They were never intended for 100MPH+ action so it should be rebuilt if it's not already. Same goes for the brakes. At a minimum you will need traction bars and skinny slicks for the rear.

Hope this helps.

 

God Bless the Marines!
First off , THANKS. Thanks for serving the U.S. of A., for protecting our way of life, and for kicking Sadam's *** back into some bunker where he should stay 'til he rots.

Now, to your dream truck: the Comp Cam's 268 duration was recommended to me by my motor guy, but my motor is only mildly built with the obligatory "weekend warrior" bolt-ons. So, you may want to explore cam's with greater capacity for your dragster.

Front-end wise... better get BIG brakes if you're going to build a steroid monster motor! Big discs/calipers also suck vacuum from the motor, so keep an eye on how that affects motor's performance output. If available, you might consider a newer model Camaro IFS. I know, I know... it's the "C" word on a Ford forum, but they ARE easy to build for big stopping needs and will fab-in with less hassle than most Ford applications of equal/better capacities. (post quesiton on "brake" forum to confirm/deny).

REgarding the roof and bed: if it's a "dragster", who needs a working bed? We don't need no stinking beds!!! Fab and rivot some sheeting; done.

REgarding rear end: should be fixable; shouldn't have to replace entire rear end.

Lastly, a bit of advice from a mid-lifer: make a plan on what order you need to get things done in and stick to it. Do NOT go to the next step, do not collect $200, until the current step is completed. "Do it right; do it Once"...

Daryl

 

Yeah I am definitely going to do brakes, with regard to the straight axle, I'll have to ask my Dad what he did but he has rebuilt the entire thing from the frame up in the past so I will have to see.

About the no bed thing, I was thinking of that. What exactly do you mean? Anywhere online that show what it could look like possibly or what I'd need to do? With no bed on there I could probably fit as much slick back there as I needed. Probably need the extra slick due to less weight in the back.

 

I think I would try out the hot motor-no bed combo at the Super Wal-Mart Daryl. After hours of course. Let me know, I don't want to miss it.

 

I think I would try out the hot motor-no bed combo at the Super Wal-Mart Daryl. After hours of course. Let me know, I don't want to miss it.


You already know that's what's in my plans, Dewayne! And I'm heading for Iowa as soon as I get a fire lit in the Windsor and the cab and doghouse are bolted on. We'll do Wally World at midnight. Please do bring your video camera. Think you can round up a spare set of skins for my trip home?!? Unless, of course, you can forward that 7 G's now. Then I can afford to put the bed on by then and bring a couple spares with me! LOL

 

My 2 cents worth.....why mess up a truck that probably is already a decent driver or close to one? Why not find that Chebby and go drag on it. The truck, beside being designed for slow speeds and hauling is heavy as lead. Get something light and then build to your hearts content......then pull it to the track with the nice driver ford truck

Thanks for serving, I sleep better at night knowing you guys are on the wall.

Hands

 

I've seen plenty of similar year pickups turned into strip cars. It may not be as light as my buddies 64 nova or anything but from the looks of it, it seems to be a pretty good platform. Working on it is a breeze and I already have the truck and the motor in it has a lot of potential. Not to mention how often do you see a 56 ford cruising around. If I wanted to be like everyone else I would find a mustang or chevelle and rod it.