Long time no see...at least on this thread...but I do have some pics of what I've managed to get done over the summer. I've been juggling work on the house, the property, the truck, and the car so far this summer, so there hasn't been much time or money for any one of them in particular.

OUT WITH THE OLD

I had to schedule the tranny swap, as Ed is my only dump ride and I knew it could take awhile for me to do. I have to say that the worst part by far was removing the C6. It is very large and very heavy, and working alone in my driveway led to some interesting situations. I'll leave it at that.

The rear seal and the pan were starting to leak, and I'm pretty sure the front seal was going out. Combine that with the oil leaking from the engine and it made for one heck of a mess.

Here is the C6 after it came out.



IN WITH THE NEW

I spent a full day just cleaning and prepping everything. Luckily, the grime kept the rust away so I had some very greasy but very solid pieces to work with. The guy who installed the u-joints for me asked me if the driveshafts were custom made new...

Anyway, once everything was cleaned up I began to slowly and methodically install all of the pieces I had acquired since last September. I was glad to have all that time during the cold months to work on prepping everything that was off the truck. Folks who came to visit me must have thought that all the truck parts in the house were decorative. When my mom came to visit me and she saw a transmission in the living room, she just shrugged. Didn't surprise her one bit. Here is the whole assembly ready to go...



The transmission got a good cleaning inside and out, new seals, new gaskets, all new bolts, a thorough check of the internal adjustments, and a newer cover, as the original one was badly rusted. The stick is an old Mr. Gasket that I got at the junkyard and modified to work on my application. It has large coarse threads which allowed me to use the broom handle **** from an '89 White/Volvo cabover. It definitely cuts down on the reach, as it is now a good 3 inches taller than the stick supplied with the Hurst Indy kit.

Whenever I could I put things together off the truck and did all of my measurements before I actually got around to doing the swap. That way I had everything set to just how I liked it when I had it out and easily accessible. It also took out a lot of the guesswork and prevented something that was not an option for me...potential removal, adjustment, and reinstallation.

Here are the flywheel, pilot bushing, clutch, pressure plate, release bearing and fork, and bellhousing all installed and awaiting the transmission. *TIP- note the 8" long grade 8 bolts with the heads cut off to make guide studs. These make installing the transmission a whole lot easier, and since I was doing everything by hand, easier was always better. These bolts have been put in their own box and labeled for future use, if necessary. Priceless!*



*TIP- When installing a flywheel and torquing the bolts, you need to prevent the crankshaft from turning. I used a piece of 1/2" aluminum U-channel which I cut to length and slipped between two of the ring gear teeth. I then wedged it against the bottom inside corner of the frame at about a 60 degree angle. The aluminum is softer than the iron teeth, so any damage will occur to it long before the teeth, and it will actually conform itself to the iron teeth if enough pressure is applied. The U-channel also fits perfectly over the outside edge of an FE flywheel, so it will not slip off!*

To actually install the transmission itself, I slid it under the truck on a piece of cardboard, then used two pieces of 2" round hardwood stock laid across the transmission tunnel as "hands"...I tied two pieces of rope under the front and rear of the trans, then ran them over the stock, then back down to me. This way I could pull down and push up from underneath, while having the option of tying off the rope to the frame to hold the trans suspended while I repositioned. Unfortunately I do not have any pics of this process, as getting out from under the truck unnecesarily was not acceptable at that point. You can get the gist of it, though.

Transmission and shifter installed, and floor notched for shifter clearance.



Everything installed, including the 1982 Tymco 6000 RPM tach in the unused air vent. I like this tach because it is more of a factory-looking tach and fits in well with the style of the other gauges.



While I had the dash out, I decided to try some tinted bulbs behind the instruments rather than the plain white with the two blue "blisters." I removed those, installed red bulbs, and reinstalled the dash. Even with the brightness turned all the way up, they seemed very dim. So I did the best I could to break both wrists and removed the red bulbs from under the dash. I replaced them with plain white and was not wholly impressed with them either. I repeated the process with amber bulbs, and they actually look good. They seem to pull the instrument panel together well. Too bad I can't get a picture of it lit up at night. And yes, before anyone asks, I left the other lights alone. they are still plain white with the colored plastic.

I also made a cover plate for that other annoying hole in the dash beneath the stereo, then pre-installed some switches in it. The switches are currently non-op, but that will change before too long.



Next I'll be working on a custom made boot for the shifter, then it will be the hood and tailgate. I needed to use a lot of stuff I had stored up and get rid of nearly as much before I could start work on other things. As far as the tailgate goes, I have settled on the '67 Cougar sequential taillights with the false gas door inbetween, which will be set in a completely scratchmade tailgate. That will obviously take some time to do, but it'll be fun doing it!

 

the trans swap looks good, nice work..

 

Just saw this thread. Great idea.

So, are you going with a striped paint job?

"Currently, the hood scoop design is occupying the kitchen counter,"... not married, huh? Just a guess.

 

Amazing Thread! Subscribed!

I love the work that you're doing, and you're doing it with such desire and passion. I just love your truck, all the mods and the idea behind it.

I think any FTE user should be proud to have seen this thread, and I sincerely thank you for sharing this with us all.

From all of us at FTE, Great work! Keep er' up!

Can't wait for a finished product!

I want to get in on these suggestions here too, since you're slowly back at work with it.

I have to ask, as others whom have posted already - What colour scheme are you going to use?

I would like to ask about a few other things too:

1) Mirrors - Every custom truck has custom, killer looking mirrors. Even though I do love the look of dents as they are, your inspiration to give your truck a "shelby" facelift is facinating and I'd love to see what you'de come up with for a different set of mirrors on your truck.

2) Shaved Doors - It may sound a little too "flashy" at first, but I wouldn't mind having someone photoshop your doors to make them shaved. It's just an idea, and as I'm typing I'm already starting to throw my own idea out the window because it seems too flashy for your exquisite taste in ideas.

3) Trim - Every truck has some sort of trim scheme. Whether it be none, or the full-blown chromed out look. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on what kind - if any - trim that you're going to be using. Your ideas are a nice mixture of shelby vs. dentside, but I'm still excited just typing this, to hear some trim ideas.

4) Hood - I think that an idea to consider (if everyone thinks it's not overdoing the word "Shelby") putting "S H E L B Y" on the front of the hood, almost to replace the 78-79 "F O R D" look.

**VV EDIT VV**
5) Hood Locks - Just to give it that bada$$ look on the front like most mustangs and a few trucks have. Like as if it has something to hide, and you don't want to find out what it is. I think it would give the truck the whole persona of the famous cliche "I'd tell you, but I'd have to kill you".
**^^ EDIT ^^**

I can't say this enough times, but so far, this is the best thread I've read since I've been a new member on FTE. Great work and I hope you get what you want out of this, cause I know the rest of us are getting A LOT out of this build.

 

On the topic of hood locks, I saw these and have thought about installing them on the front sides of the hood. I like that they sit flush and can lock and in my case the hood scoop generates some pretty good lift at high speed and the extra locking protection would be welcome. Just another idea.

 

Yes, but I haven't been able to settle on the colors. I think black pearl with cast iron gray metallic stripes would look SICK on this truck, but I also really like the Wimbledon white with the same stripes.

Bingo.

Thanks for all of the compliments, guys. This is my most involved and creative project vehicle ever, and I couldn't have gotten to where I am without your support, ideas, and feedback.



When it's done hopefully it will have a look and a persona that it will kill you without having to tell you anything.

 

Lovin' it!

I have your pics of the headlights in the grill mount saved, to shamelessly copy when i rod my '76. (if you don't mind)

Looking forward to seeing where this goes.

G.

 

You could try some LED in your dash. I did it to mine and they look great and make the stock lights look like they don,t even exist. By the way great job and good luck with it.

 

That's funny how you installed the transmission, as I struggled with how I was going to do mine by myself. I ended up using two 2X4 boards over the tunnelwith chains and using two floor jacks to lift it up, tightening the chains as I went and then when I got the height and tilt, I just "walked" the 2X4's across the tunnel to the bellhousing.

Piece o' cake.

I see you removed the block plate in your picture of the removed C6, you did re-install a block plate with the bellhousing right?

Josh

 

Wimbledon white sounds amazing to me. Without any trim on it, it'll look like a true shelby truck because of how most other shelby vehicles look.
Great choice!

Exactly what I wanted to hear. Haha.

Now that I re-read what you've said about a sort of "cluster" in spots on the vehicle, it might be too much to install "S H E L B Y" on the front of your hood to imitate 78-79 "F O R D".

Instead, I would just simply replace the "F O R D" in your grille shell with white "S H E L B Y" so that it's just a replacement, not an addition. Again, it's all up to you, so you choose. What I just described might take the same amount of effort and precision as your headlight bezel installation. However, if you pulled it off, I don't think it would take away from the truck at all, and would grab a lot more attention when you get looks from a rear-view mirror.

Also, I was going to ask about your mirrors. I'm not too sure what kind of mirrors those are or where they come off of, but are you looking for a car style or truck style mirror?

I noticed a couple nice pairs of mirrors on a 67 gt 500 that have the shape of a pointed bullet slug for the frame of the mirrors, and then is cut off flat and has a circular mirror piece.

Okay, so I found the car again, and unfortunately, it's from the infamous "Elanor" that I know you're not too fond of. However, I think the mirrors would look nice and go very well together with the clean, white painted dentside look if you got them to sit parallel to the elongated dent on your truck.

Here is the picture of the truck with the mirrors fabbed on that I created quickly, using Paint:




I won't say anything about it, I'll just let people comment.

 

Floor jacks would have been nice...but nevertheless interesting how similar our methods were. And yes, I did reinstall the block plate with the bellhousing.

I am very seriously considering adding S-H-E-L-B-Y across the hood, but I do want to be very careful about making sure I have a good method for filling the empty space above the grille.

The mirrors that are on it are the ones that were on it when I bought it. They are too bulky for what I am ultimately doing, but they work great for what I am using it for at the present time. The mirrors I almost bought were on a '50s Kaiser...a small base with a 5"-6" round pedestal and a square mirror. Definitely old-school, but really slick and definitely more streamlined than the originals. I may still go back and get them, but I want to be sure I don't find a set I like more in the meantime. I have a feeling they will cost me a pretty penny.

When will you start rodding your truck? I'll try to have the patent approved by then. Just kidding...no, I don't mind at all. I'm glad someone else likes the idea enough to want to use it.

Can you please post some pics of how you did it? I thought about that when I was in my AutoZone (well, it is...I've invested enough in it!). I didn't know if it could be done. The little spotlight LEDs that they have look like they could be installed in the sides and shine across the gauges, but that would require drilling holes.

 

Just a quick question from me again. Any ideas on what you'd fill the space where the letters "FORD" are with? I understand that you don't want just a big blank rectangular slot, but I can't even think of anything to fill it with right now. I'm sort of stumped passed getting "FORD" out of the grille, and "SHELBY" on the hood.

 

ok just my.02 let me start by saying that I like this idea, alot, am thinking that Shelby would have used, eather the 428, or 429 cj, and know from experience, that eather would have worked well, and gotta rember that he would have used all at his disposal, to make sure that it hooked up, including traction bars etc. also probibly would have used a rear set of disk breaks. again just my .02, keep it up am liking this thread.

 

I didn,t do anything like that I just bought my dash LED from here
Super Bright LEDs - Miniature Wedge Base Bulbs
All you do is just snap them into the stock housings like normal and use the dash like normal.
One important thing to remember is that these LED work on only one polarity so if at first they don,t work pull the bulb housing back out and turn it so it goes in the other way. I would get a picture of what they look like working but the camera is not working right. Good luck with your project and if you do decide to put Shelby on the front it should be in that 73-77 style grille where the FORD letters go in my opinion.

 

I gotta get started on mine this month, soon as i sell some the dumb topper off it... doing a conversion to a custom flareside bed. probably be next spring before i get to the grill so you got lotsa time for that patent

I'd deff say put the shelby in the grill where the ford letters are, no filler needed, and a little subtler look(not that your going for subtle though. )

Or, for a filler in that grill strip, run a tube or two, like what they make those billet grills out of.. Thats what I'm planning for that space, but it will match th full billet tube grill in mine.

BTW, did you re-paint your gauge cluster for the white around the gauges or did it come that way? can't remember ever seeing one other than black in there.

G.