Stripping down to the chassis then paying professionals to install a new front end might be a good compromise short of buying a brand new chassis. I'll look into it. Thanks Albuq!

T

 

Hey Tyler,
That name does sound familiar - still a very good place for breakfast downtown. My relatives were in the same business - the Clift Hotel in San Francisco near Union Square was built by my great grandfather.

If you do come through Austin the guy you want to see is Sam - He is the Yoda of Old Ford truck resotrations on this forum with 7,000 posts. Not sure I'd bring your son - Sam's green '55 truck is so awesome it's been in movies. My truck comes back from paiint around Oct 1st. (Kelly at rzns60 is another active local truck restorer). Look forward to meeting you.

Ben in Austin

 

Tyler, I'm just curious as a follow up to see what you decided to do.
I myself am hoping you do
1) remove cover and inspect what you got - maybe no changes needed
2) if broken seriously consider a 9" with a 3.25 or 3.5

but that is all just trying to guide and advise - the decision is really up to you. Did you open up that gear ratio calculator I embedded in the other thread and spend some time considering the different ratios with some various tire combos?

I went with a 3.0 not because I need to see 88mph, but because I want the mpg when going down I70. For you, to keep the kid from doing ~90mph I would opt for the 3.25 or 3.5 (easier dead stop starting too), and eat the slightly lower mpg that costs you.
...anyhow, back to why I posted - what tire size are you going with and what is your plan of attack; decided yet?

 

Hi Tyler, been following this thread. I will throw my 2 cents in as well. Seeing as I have a daughter the same age who has been helping with my truck and hinting at what her car will be, I can relate to your circumstances. So given that I would recommend the 8.8 or a 9in as replacements. The 8.8 is fairly easy to do if you have the tools. (Which I do $$$) The 9in is a little easier to replace but you miss out on the disk brakes. However given that I think you want a reliable safe vehicle for your Son and have limited mechanical skills, the TCI frame sounds like a great solution. You get a modern handling and stopping vehicle for less than the cost to pay some one to weld it all to your stock frame. It will still be quite a bit of work to strip and move all the existing sheetmetal to the new frame, but this is more in line with your skill sets. This will make replacing the wiring easier, save you from dealing with replacing all the brake and fuel lines etc. I would recommend make a list of all the work that would need to be done and all the parts you would need to buy and evaluting from there. When I threw my spread sheet together my heart just about stopped at the costs and the long time line in the gant chart. If you come to austin, be glad to show you my project.

 

Good points Kelly - I went the other route & I believe you are correct - cheaper/better to start from a solid frame with the modern suspension & brakes - Expensive but better. Gant charts - You are organized over there! I did mess around with Microsoft Project but nothing too serious.

Ben in Austin

(Tyler - you still alive over there?)

 

I work in IT so I have to be organized. Plus cars have been a hobby all my life so I know how much work they really are to rebuild. I really wanted to have a good idea of what I was in for before I made decisons like doing all the frame boxing and IFS work myself.

 

Hi there everyone...

It has been a while since I posted in this long and crazy thread. It got a little out of hand and derailed. I will summarize.

I started out asking about replacing the rear end of my F-1 because I was told by the PO that he thought it had a broken tooth in the differential. Keep in mind that the truck was last driven in the mid 80s. The PO, who is also my mechanic, was doing a little work on the truck to get it to the point that I could pull it in and out of my garage after I towed it home. He opened up the rear differential, cleaned it out etc. It seems to have a little play in it, but no broken teeth and seems to function more or less as designed. He thinks he may have fixed the differential in the early 80s and just not remembered it. Anyway, it is still old and a pretty big gear ratio I think, but still in serviceable shape.

In the process of asking questions and learning about the rear ends of these vehicles, I discovered some of the other issues I would have to deal with in rebuilding my truck. Things like replacing the front end with modern IFS and the probable cutting and welding to do that. I learned that changing out the tranny would also mean cutting out the old cross member and putting in a new one to accommodate a different transmission. Etc, etc, etc. I was beginning to see the domino affect. One change leading to other changes.

That is when I began to inquire, both in this thread and another, about the advisability of just buying a new rolling chassis, built from the ground up with IFS, the right cross members for the transmission, a new rear end, disc brakes and all that.

So...

I now have the truck home. The engine runs, but runs hot and over heats. My son, my dad, a friend and I rebuilt much of the brake system so I could safely test drive the truck and at least make it stop. For the last several weeks my focus has been trying to diagnose and understand what I have, what works, and what doesn't. The rear differential seems OK. The transmission seems to shift, but is very rough and will not hold the truck still in park.

Once I understand what I am facing and what my options are, I need to decide what I can and cannot afford both financially and time-wise to get this truck from its current state to a safe, reliable, reasonably comfortable daily driver for my now 14 1/2 year old son to drive in a couple of years. If the engine is gonna need a $5000 overhaul, can I still afford to buy a new rolling chassis? Will fixing what I have in the front, rear and chassis cost just as much as just buying a new one? Those kinds of things.

I am on the cusp of a decision, but have not had any super clear revelations or "aha! moments".

So that's where I am. Thanks to all of you for your advice...

Tyler

 

I see you figured out that the engine is a 351W..
Funny we all have our decisions to make and the one change after the other thing is a dilema sometimes. I like to think like this: You are learning, your son is learning, and together it's memories! Some good some maybe we would like to forget!
I like this stuff also because, I have some acquaintances(not really friends) that spend all their time and money drinking, etc. What a waste of life to be in an altered state of mind all the time. They have troubles at home, troubles in court, troubles with bills, troubles with insurance, etc.
You are in the RIGHT kind of hobby in my book!
I am not knocking a good cold beer! but to have life revolve around a 12 oz. can is just not for me..I keep watching your threads and I admire your goal!

 

Yeah, thanks Jeff. I am gonna upload some pics to the thread about identifying my engine and show how I reached the conclusion that it most likely is a 351W.

Now...I need a beer.

 

Tyler, I had mine down for a mandatory electrical overhaul (PO nightmares) and I really really considered doing a toy steering box, transmissions swap (I have the spur gear crash box), and front discs... and when I had the first revision of my list down the dominoes all over the floor scared me off. I just couldn't stand being in year 8 and starting major surgery. Now after "finishing" it enough for plates and insurance (insured as of Nov 1) a year later I realize I wasn't even seeing half the dominoes hidden under the sink. I hear ya loud and clear on the overwhelming feeling that it's a loose sweater where you can't dare tug one thread.

I am going to throw out another round of advice... As a young 16 year old kid I had a wreck before 18 (not at fault - the other 17 year old kid's fault), both my sisters were in wrecks too.. the whole school - from the geeks to the jocks, everyone has that learning experience sometime in the first 5 ish years of driving. Since odds are the kid is going to scratch it some day, I would opt for the disc front as the only "must" mod... stopping power is the one thing kiddos don't judge and they really should, and probably the one highly necessary thing above all to minimize losses.

 

I didn't do anything too stupid when I was 16 and driving.
But that's because my 88 ranger was too damn slow to crash into anything.

I wouldn't worry about any go-fast mods until about 23

The PO is also your mechanic?
How long have you known this guy?
He work out of a shop?

I don't trust mechanics at all.
I could go on about this for hours.

When its my own car I'm fixing (keeping it going, not a full rebuild) - I half *** the hell out of it.
When its my firends car, I make sure its perfect. Why not do that to my own car? Because they are paying for it! New fasteners, special, glue, correct color wire, whatever it is, they pay for the little things to make it perfect. And if I forget something, they are going to the store to get it. With me its "ohhhh Ill fix it later"

I find most mechanics are the same way. Ever seen a mechanics car? usually a POS.
A paint & body guys car - ugly and 4 different colors.

He may still have the "this is my truck" mentality. I would just be careful is all.

2nd, Im new to this whole old ford truck thing, But what I have noticed from my own restoration project, a truck is 100x easier.
Best way to fix everything (in my opinion) Take it all apart.

Once the bed/cab is off the frame, the inner workings of everything become much clearer.

 

I 2nd that! I don't trust "mechanics" either! I have had several problems at shops with the "your vehicle has a serious problem" and if you give me your credit card # we can have that ready to go by this afternoon...
Not saying they are all like that but I have a couple shops around here that have built a rep for themselves...Criminal is the first thing I can think of...

 

Hey Tyler,
There are a couple of ways to approach the truck:
1) Major Surgery - Take the cerebral approach & think through everything that could possibly go "wrong" with the truck & fix it "all" in an orderly well thought out process with budgets, timelines, etc.. or

2) Outpatient Surgery - Fix what's actually broken or unsafe.

Some Thoughts:
Your truck actually runs & stops - that's miles ahead of 90% of the people on this forum. This place is littered with guys who had a running truck & took on the major surgery approach & now their truck sits for years waiting for more money or energy.

I would highly recommend Outpatient Surgery - Make a short list of what needs to be done for safety & keeping it running. Don't take on anything that's more than a weekend worth of work - Don't take it all apart. Small bites.

Why is the engine running hot? Let's start with that one - there could be lot's of easy solutions or something more fun. There is a pretty quick process to determine if it's a keeper - let's start there & move forward on the overheating problem.

How do the brakes feel to you after you spent some time on them?

How's your son doing in all of this? Did he enjoy helping with the brakes?

Summary:
Buying a whole new chassis for a 60 year old truck - points to maybe you should have bought a new truck & skipped this exercise. You can get this old truck puttering along & driving & stopping well without making it brand new. You need to get it ready in a year & half - that's not too big a task because it's already running & stopping.

Ben in Austin

 

Howdy Ben,

Ha Ha! I have heard the "if you're gonna get a new chassis you should should just buy a truck that's already restored by someone else" line of thinking before and I just don't understand it or agree. In buying a new chassis there is still a ton of work to do to get everything else in working order and to get it moved from the old chassis to the new one. Also, The TCI chassis I am looking at does not come fully assembled. The spindles and brakes etc. have to be bolted on, wiring still has to be run etc. I think the new chassis route is somewhat of a compromise of a way to do lots of the work yourself but save a lot of time that would other wise be spent cleaning and fixing little parts etc. We will certainly learn and experience less but will still know our truck very intimately and have lots of work to do ourselves.

All that said, I am not convinced that a new chassis is the way to go.

And I hear what you are saying about getting the truck taken apart, then having it take forever to get back together. That is a dilemma I am trying to solve. I get conflicting advice on that issue. Also, my goal is NOT to have a crappy truck that just putters along in various stages of disrepair, but rather to have nice, comfortable, reliable truck. I am trying to "know thyself". If the truck works and is getting around town sort of ok, I fear I may be more likely to just let it go and never really get it to the state I really want it in. Or, as you suggest, I might enjoy the truck so much that I am motivated to get the jobs done a little at a time and progress well that way. But if I bite off more than I can chew by tearing it all apart, then run out of time, money and energy to get it all done, I have a garage full of truck parts and nothing to enjoy. Conversely, if having it all apart makes the work faster and easier, as many suggest (as you say, several of these guys have trucks that have been in many pieces for many years and are still several years from ever driving their truck), I might git 'er done faster/better/cheaper than doing it piece meal. Decisions, decisions. Again, I am trying to know myself and I think that is the key.

But the intent of my earlier post on this thread was to let everyone know (they've been asking) what decisions and solutions I have arrived at regarding my rear end...er...my truck's rear end. Unfortunately decisions and solutions have been in short supply here in my garage. Still sorting thru everything.

Best, tyler

 

Yeah, i hear ya. I have known my mechanic for about 11 years (yes he works out of his own shop that has been in his family since the 40's) and I trust his integrity. My in-laws have been doing business with him since the early 80's. I am 100% sure of his integrity and honesty. I am NOT 100% confident in his judgment about what is best to do with this old truck. He looks at this stuff from a business and customer service perspective. What gets the job done quickly and efficiently with a satisfied customer. I am looking at this from a quick and efficient stand point too, but also from a learning and a father-son bonding experience. He understands that too, but has a hard time identifying with the idea of enjoying the work etc. He doesn't want to mess with cars in his time off. He wants to hunt and fish and hang out with his family. So a different perspective.

The "go fast" mods are already there...351 Windsor and a big differential.

Anyway...

T