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Well, I don't have much time to update today, so I'll just throw up a few pics. The first step of the transmission conversion involved pulling all of the old stuff out, and gutting the front half of the interior. Things came apart really well....and the old Massey 1855 came in handy man-handling the 5R110! I got everything cleaned up a little, and organized on a pallet to be transported to the next owner.
Along with doing the manual transmission swap, I decided to clean things up a little as well. The green engine and piping looked good in its day, but had gotten faded, scratched, and dirty. Not only that, but the wife decided green wasn't the color for the engine. So, with all that taken into consideration, I decided to change things to kind of a translucent anodized blue color. It was a Metalcast paint. While this initially seemed like a good idea, it turned into alot of trouble. I had to degrease and clean, and then lay down a couple base coats of white so that the Metalcast would show up blue. Then, it took multiple coats of the blue...and for some reason, it is very un-paint-like. The color changes with multiple coats, and it's very difficult to get a consistent look. Finally, everything had to be coated with high temp clear gloss engine enamel. All said and done, I probably would've picked a different paint, but I suppose it turned out okay for this project. I decided to paint the Excursion emblems and add a couple color-matched Cummins emblems while I was at it. I made some attempt at painting the shocks as well...although part of the motivation in choosing the anodized blue color was to eventually have it match a set of 2.5" King shocks from Carli Suspension!!
Here's what things looked like when I started:
...and then the transformation toward blue. I also worked at cleaning up the undercarriage, painting the frame, exhaust, etc. I've still got a ways to go on this, but it's coming along.
While I was at it, I got distracted with some other cosmetic stuff as well. I found a brushgaurd off of Craigslist, and then got some 9" Lightforce HID lights for long distance, and a 34" 18,000 lumen light bar for the front. I also got 1260 lumen square LED lights to replace the OEM fogs, and to use as backup lights. I'll have to get some better pictures of these, particularly the back-ups. And, I've not completed the installation of the fogs yet. Finally, to subtly increase visible, I added super mini LEDs all around the perimeter of the vehicle. I put them in the valence under the front bumper, along both running boards, in the rear bumper, and at the top rear of the lift gate.
I also added some rear light guards to match the front brushguard.
I ended up tinting the rear tail lights, as well all of the little marker LEDs to integrate things a little better.
So, at this point, things began to get exciting. It was time to cut a hole in the middle of the excursion. With the manual and automatic floor pans both in front of you, it's obvious that there's more than just height differences. The shape of the hump is different, the slope of the angles on the side of the hump, etc.
Here's the section of the manual transmission hump from an '06 F-350 that I had to work with:
From here, it was a little trial and error, measuring and cutting, trimming and beating, fitting and welding, buffing and painting...until the new hump fit the Ex like a glove!
One of my main goals for this conversion, was to use as many Ford factory pats as possible, such that the form/fit/function would be just as it would've come from Ford. Dad welded the new section in on top and bottom. I sealed it again from the bottom with Rubberized Undercoating, and painted the top with metal etching primer. Finally, I installed the fiberglass heat/sound shielding under the transmission tunnel from the OEM F-350, and I applied thick padding/sound absorption/heat reflective material in the cab that completely covered the front of the vehicle.
Awesome and horrible story all at once. A real adventure to tell the baby when they grow up. Incredible build too.
Just to clarify....that's not a sub-zero temp in your picture..... this is sub zero temp (Makes me feel like Crocodile Dundee for some reason)
By the way, where exactly did he Excursion come from, I live in N. Wisconsin. Just funny to hear how others find their way nearby.
Lol, I knew someone was going to bring that up! I took that picture after we were down to warmer weather. We definitely saw our share of cold that trip. I don't think we saw -30, but it was in the -20s a couple nights.
We picked up the Ex near Minocqua, WI. The snow was to the bottom of the mailboxes, and not because it was banked that high from being plowed! It looked like a pretty area to visit in warmer weather sometime under better circumstances
This is a great build. I too, am looking at doing the 5.9 swap. I am keeping a built 4r100 however. When the time comes, I hope you don't mind fielding some questions. Your motor swap/build is very clean. BTW blue looks sick. Keep up the great work.
This is a great build. I too, am looking at doing the 5.9 swap. I am keeping a built 4r100 however. When the time comes, I hope you don't mind fielding some questions. Your motor swap/build is very clean. BTW blue looks sick. Keep up the great work.
I don't mind a bit! I considered the 4R as well, as it is a proven transmission. However, since I was going to all this trouble, I decided that having 6 gears for towing heavy, and having a good OD ratio would be worth the extra trouble.
09-10-2014, 04:59 PM
