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-   -   Lunch box truck build thread with pics! (https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1241075-lunch-box-truck-build-thread-with-pics.html)

Tomahawk 01-21-2015 06:42 PM


Originally Posted by 1973F250CREW (Post 15006562)
Man that's a sharp truck. I'm always lookin at those bumpsides trying to find a new color for my crew. Yours definitely caught my attention... so I stretched it a little to see how it would look LOL.


http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps9e1d95ac.jpg

Man that's a really nice P-shop job, the back door looks fantastic.....now I want a crew cab!


Originally Posted by NFLD FLARESIDE (Post 15006620)
Sweet truck

Thank you!

I hope to have a small update soon....:-X03

Tomahawk 01-21-2015 08:13 PM

Here's the 2014 update.
The sector and input seals were bad on the steering gear box. I pulled out the sector shaft and found the lower needle bearing outer race was warn through on the bottom end so both needle bearings were replaced.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...116_212946.jpg

Front axle and steering parts after bead blasting.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_4884.jpg

Turning a tool to insert and align the new needle bearings in the steering gear box.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_4914.jpg

The tool and a PVC sleeve I turned to keep the needle bearing straight prior to entering the bore and getting pressed into place.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_4922.jpg

The PVC sleeve in place and the bearing on the tool.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_4923.jpg

Alignment sleeve and bearing......ready to be pressed into place.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_4924.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_4925.jpg

Done!
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_4926.jpg


Removing the front clip to work on the front end.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_4843.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_4847.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_4848.jpg

Getting ready to pull the engine.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_4930.jpg

The engine came out really easy........after I removed the ground from the fire wall to the intake manifold......duh!
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5120.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5124.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...326_170754.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5139.jpg

Tearing down the tranny. The gears were fine but it needed new synchros.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_4956.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_4961.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_4962.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_4963.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...401_070638.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5143.jpg

Once I got it apart everything looked good except the output ball bearing, it was cheese.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5144.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5146.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5147.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5148.jpg

The rebuild kit from Novak Conversions had everything I needed and included detailed instructions....with two errors.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5150.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5156.jpg

Getting the outer race of the input shaft bearing out was not as easy as I thought it would be. The instructions said "A machinist can plunge or side cut the cup....." to remove it. That didn't work and it cost me a $20 carbide end mill.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...404_071641.jpg

I welded a plate to the race and by the time it cooled it almost fell out.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5157.jpg

Bead blasting fun.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5160.jpg

Parts prepped for paint...
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5171.jpg

...more parts ready for rattle can goodness.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5182.jpg

Two coats of primer and two coats of gloss black.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5206.jpg

All done.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5215.jpg

Almost all of the hardware that I bead blasted and tumbled were blackened.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5219.jpg

Dip the part in the blackening solution then into some water soluble oil (machining coolant).
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5220.jpg

The blackening reaction is acidic, about 4 pH. The water soluble oil has a pH of 9 so it kills the reaction and leaves a coat of oil after the water dries.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5221.jpg

My son and I took a trip to South Dakota the first week of June.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...607_123313.jpg

We had a blast riding with another FTE member and his son.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...609_132130.jpg

Back to work assembling the tranny.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5240.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...617_210913.jpg

The instructions says to check the end play on the output shaft. The output shaft has the ball bearing, the input shaft on my NP435 has a tapered roller bearing. That's the side that needs to be checked for end play. The end play is adjusted by shimming the input shaft bearing housing.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5579.jpg

Done, almost.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5564.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5567.jpg

The PO2 steering gearbox install needed to be cleaned up. The welds looked worse that mine.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_4849.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_4850.jpg

Pulled her outside to cut out the old plate and degrease the frame.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5397.jpg

Setup to mark the holes in the new mounting plate.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5404.jpg

The new mounting plate with the spacers glued in place.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5407.jpg

Nice, one hole almost lines up. Time for some drilling.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5411.jpg

The holes in the frame got drilled out and I welded up the gaps around the holes and then had to re-drill the holes 'cus I got too much weld in the holes. The figure 8 hole was my booboo.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5421.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5422.jpg

Back outside for some gloss black rattle can goodness.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5428.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5437.jpg

Done!
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5438.jpg

The engine had a leaky oil pan and valve covers so I decided I would take a peek at the bottom end and put on a new intake manifold while I was fixing the leaks. It's all cleaned up and ready for paint.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5526.jpg

The harmonic balancer spacer had a deep groove in it from the timing chain cover seal so I turned a sleeve from O-1 tool steel. A repair sleeve came with the timing chain cover gasket, but it looked like crap. The chrome plating was flaking off.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5527.jpg

So I made a mandrel to turn the down the end of the spacer.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5528.jpg

I cleaned up the entire OD and made the step cut for the sleeve.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5530.jpg

I heated the sleeve with torch, slid it on the spacer and cleaned it up with a Scotch Brite pad.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5531.jpg

Alter blackening.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5555.jpg

Looks good!
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5538.jpg

The cylinders were bored .030 over and I checked the stroke length and it's a 390...err, it's a 395.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5539.jpg

Plastigaged the bearings and they were all between .0015 and .002.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5542.jpg

I wasn't going to do anything with the oil pump but the price of a new pump was low so I decided to change it and I'm glad I did. I pulled the old one apart and found the inner rotor was pressed on the shaft backwards. From what I have read, the dimples on the inner and outer rotor are supposed be on the housing side not the cover side. The dimple on the outer was on the housing side when I took the cover off. When I got the new pump it didn't have any dimples so I very carefully put it back together.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5548.jpg

Glued the oil pan on.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5557.jpg

Mr Gasket had the crossover ports well covered up.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5562.jpg

The distributor got cleaned up, bead blasted and shot with clear.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5551.jpg

The outcome was pointless...........sorry.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5554.jpg

I spent a lot of time bead blasting parts this year.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...012_103817.jpg

Thanks to the fine folks at MRM for letting me use their blast cabinet.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...012_103838.jpg

I'm going to have headers and I didn't want to make a stove pipe to the air cleaner so I cut the damper door off the snorkel.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5571.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5580.jpg

New sheet metal.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5581.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5582.jpg

While I was getting ready to put the front leafs and axle back on the truck and I notice one of the frame rails at the front looks a little higher than the other. So I grab a level and check the frame front to back and I find the frame is twisted. The very front drivers side frame was 1/2" lower than the passenger side. The middle of the frame just ahead of the transfer case was perfect. At the back, the drivers side was 3/8" higher than drivers side. Crap! I start looking at Youtube videos of frame straightening and I get an idea.
I laid the truck over the front of my 10K trailer. Next I took two 5/16" chains and ran them both from the middle drivers side frame under the trailer to the front passenger frame and tightened them both with load binders.
Before I got started, I removed the two rear cab bolts and took the nuts off of all the bed bolts to keep from tweaking the cab and bed when I start pushing on the frame.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5627.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5636.jpg

I kept the tractor tied to the frame just in case things didn't go as planned
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5630.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5631.jpg

The PITA part of this setup was dragging the trailer under the truck so I used a tow strap and my little Honduh.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5633.jpg

With the frame tied down, I used a bottle jack to tweak the frame...and it worked....and it was so easy.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5634.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5636.jpg

It took 3" of over bending the frame to get 1/2 inch I needed for the frame to be straight.
When it was all done the frame from front to back was off 1/8" and most of that was from the transfer case to the rear end of the frame.

When I drop the jack in the video notice how nothing moves but the frame.

Front leafs and axle finally are back in place.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5641.jpg

I wanted to check the toe in so I first checked the discs for runout and they were both +/-.002
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5643.jpg

Then I clamped pieces of 80/20 aluminum extrusions to the discs.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5646.jpg

It seemed to work good, we'll see.
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/...0/DSC_5647.jpg

I think I need to have a little more frequent updates.

SavageNFS 01-21-2015 08:34 PM

I think you missed your calling, Gavin. That is some of the best work I've ever seen in my life. I can't wait to see the next update. EPIC POST :)

twofifty 01-21-2015 09:44 PM


Originally Posted by SavageNFS (Post 15016483)
EPIC POST :)

+1 Amazing job all the way through! Just read from the start. I'm another one that remembers seeing this one on eBay and thinking it looked good, but needed some "details" worked out... I'd say you're doing that and then some!

Jigger2020 01-21-2015 10:08 PM

Awesome pictures & perfection as always Gavin, very well done chum

Tomahawk 01-21-2015 10:33 PM


Originally Posted by SavageNFS (Post 15016483)
I think you missed your calling, Gavin. That is some of the best work I've ever seen in my life. I can't wait to see the next update. EPIC POST :)

Wow, thanks buddy! I can't wait to get it on the road.


Originally Posted by twofifty (Post 15016781)
+1 Amazing job all the way through! Just read from the start. I'm another one that remembers seeing this one on eBay and thinking it looked good, but needed some "details" worked out... I'd say you're doing that and then some!

Thank you! I want it to be a DD so I'm trying get it mechanically sound as possible. I hate fixing something twice.


Originally Posted by GIGGER (Post 15016882)
Awesome pictures & perfection as always Gavin, very well done chum

Hi Gerry, I'm glad like it, thanks for the complements. I should have another update soon. :D

Nite nite. :-X17:-X17:-X17:-X17

NFLD FLARESIDE 01-22-2015 04:58 AM

Sweet!:-jammin

co425 01-22-2015 05:19 AM

Very nice rebuilds man. Gotta do the same to my new 205 soon.

Tomahawk 01-22-2015 06:53 AM


Originally Posted by NFLD FLARESIDE (Post 15017324)
Sweet!:-jammin

Thanks!


Originally Posted by co425 (Post 15017345)
Very nice rebuilds man. Gotta do the same to my new 205 soon.

Thanks Brandon! I'll be looking forward to seeing your 205 rebuild. I want to see what rebuild kit you pick. I'll prolly wait until next winter to work on my 205.

darren32 01-22-2015 08:15 AM

UMMMMM WOW Gavin. That is quite the update!!! :-X03:-X03
Now know what you have been up to :-X04

Andre nailed it, really AWESOME :-X06

turbohunter 01-22-2015 08:18 AM

Very nice work.
I'm jealous of your shop, your truck, your tools and your work ethic.
Thanks for the update.
Hope all is well with you and yours.

BlackBeest 01-22-2015 09:12 AM

Holy ****, Gavin, I'm speechless........All I can say is to repeat what turbohunter said...


Unbelievable work/skills/tools/shop (who has a LATHE??!! lol)


Wow.... just wow....

sbryan 01-22-2015 09:15 AM

Yup, Andre was right on. Fabulous tour through the rebuild. A lot of work has gone into the rebuild and it is just as much work to document and comment what you have done. Great thread.

Dakster 01-22-2015 11:00 AM

Amazing work and awesome shop. Keep the updates coming!

PlayersZ28 01-22-2015 11:23 AM

WOW!!!! That is some awesome work!

Love the redneck frame straightening :)


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