Since you eluded to costs, It's currently at $4,780 excluding the EFI and TKO-500 but including the $650 I paid for the truck. I've got another $2,500 budgeted for tires, TMI 70 Mach 1 bucket sport seat foam & upholstery, roll-on bedliner, driveshaft, gas tank relocation, dual exhaust, door speakers.

Let's call it $7,500 project If I had taken the all too common/too easy route with a carb and retention of the NP435... but what fun would that be?. The EFI and TKO will make it a $12,300 project.

I wanna take this rig on Hot Rod Magazine's PowerTour.

 

beware the feature creep...

 

HIO, I am really digging how the intake turned out, looks original but at the same time the VHT makes it almost appears to be powder coated. Very sweet job there!!

 

No kiddin'! I still wanna add power windows and locks since I'm too short to reach over.. I'll see if I can lo-buck it using salvage yard parts.... there's a thread somewhere in here that used Explorer drive motors.

I too am liking how it turned out. We'll see how it all comes together.

 

I love what you're doing here HIO but I have to say, once you crest the $10K mark (which you're doing handily I might add) your build no longer qualifies as "Lo-Buck". Not that I think anyone could do as nice a job as you appear to be doing for as little as you're going to spend overall.

I mainly say this b/c my "lo-buck" build (back before I blew up my AOD transmission b/c of a loose kickdown cable) cost me about $2,900 to get it running down the road. Granted, mine doesn't look any where near as clean & polished as yours but then again, that's not necessarily the look I'm going for anyways so... My "rat rod" project is more about being dependable (although a blown transmission isn't very dependable) & less about restoration.

For now that is...

Keep the updates coming.

 

.. and that's why I cite two figures - a lo-buck cost and the other with EFI and a 5-speed which many ponder and inquire about but very few undertake. One intent of the project is to illustrate what it could cost depending on your budget and know-how.

For example, a 25-foot roll of brake line is $15. Compare that with pre-bent lines from Classic or Inline. The Wilwood PV is $80 versus an OEM (about $240 if you can find one) or the typical brass aftermarket version at around $150.

'got the valve covers painted last night. Rusty (my cat), the very inquisitive and social one, wouldn't move.

 

Literally. I dang near blew a brain gasket. A cast iron, FE intake weighs....



Cleaned up the mating surfaces with a blue Roloc disc and dimpled the intake walls so the RTV has something to hold on to:



Test fitted the Edelbock 2105 so I know how much RTV to lay on... about 3/16-inch. Perfect. Oh, a 2105 weighs 22 pounds.


C'mon now, you didn't think I'd reuse the nasty azz and mismatched bolts did ya? Arrrright... arrrright... it ain't lo-buck but the ol' girl needs some jewelry. I've saved mucho bucks in other places so a splurge is OK with the budget.


Installed and torqued. Before torquing, installed the dizzy to ensure proper alignment. I've read a few FE articles stating that the intake could leak by not doing so... better safe than sorry.


Valve covers installed. It looks how an engine should look..... except for the distributor. Ewww. There goes my OCD again....



The damper got cleaned up and shot black after the pics were taken and moved on to cleaning and dressing the flywheel, block plate inspection cover, and hardware. Gotta clean, tape off, and shoot the valve cover breathers too.

I do believe I'm on track this coming week to install the clutch and TKO-500, and then drop it between the rails next weekend.

Woohooo.

 

Man, wish I could get up there to help you.
I'll be doing a brake system.
Have fun.

 

I'm definitely gonna need some help putting the hood back on the LBB!!!

I'm thinkin' about doing sortie to Pick N Pull to grab a steering column plate and a single-piece driveshaft with a 31-spline output yoke. The POs did a PS swap long ago and it's still wearing the manual plate which doesn't sit flush to the firewall. The LBB had a NP435 with a 10-inch case so a two-piece it had. The front half doesn't have a slip yoke.. it's on the back half.

I checked the online inventory and it looks like the flooded the truck area in the last 10 days with a slew of F-series. Maybe another set of bucket seat brackets await me....

Enjoy your day bending and flaring turbohunter. The reward is just around the corner....

 

Nice touch "dimpling" the china walls...

I also like to dimple the corresponding mating surfaces on the intake...

RTV needs all the "bite" it can get.

Motorcraft's TA-31 rtv is well worth the few extra dollars imo (unless you've bolted everything up already).

 

Overall a pretty good day parts hunting...

A 72 Sport Custom showed up about 10 days ago and gave up its PS-specific column plate and a pair of Jr. Western mirrors (the latter is not pictured). I noticed two wires coming out of the dizzy... red and black.. DING! It's got to have a Pertronix module and it did. It'll be the spare in the glove box.

The same '72 also had a frame-mounted trailer hitch which is kinda rare cuz most folks will stick with the heavy, 75 lb. dock bumper. This one had both.... Only $26.



Back to work...

 

Thx.. the underside was relative rough.

Yeah, it was already sealed and torqued. Motorcraft RTV mentally noted....

 

It's really good stuff.

 

HIO, the valve covers turned out great, I really like the finish on them. Did you use the VHT on them also? Kinda surprised you didn't use the same color (VHT) on the damper and then a blue (engine block color) for the distributor...I think that would look killer!! But it still looks very sweet!! Nice work!!

 

Thanks... Yep, three coats of VHT cast aluminum and then three coats of VHT clear gloss... 550° engine paint and supposedly chemical resistant. I'm glad I shot clear on the rough surface of the intake cuz it was really easy two wipe off some greasy smudges. I think it wouldda been a pain otherwise.

The damper has the timing marks so it needed contrast. The dizzy will be natural aluminum. Let's hope it cleans up well but that can wait until after the engine and trans are installed.

I came upon a 390 in the yard.... thought about grabbing the crank and rods but then again the LBB hasnt' even broken 80K miles. It's been well take care of as exemplified by the lack of sludge on the valve train or valley. I scoped it and it has only a lil build up on the backs of the valves. OK for now... I plan to drive it a few years before embarking on a snot-slingin' 445FE.

Being in CA, rain in the SF Bay Area usually starts early November. The LBB is parked in my side yard cuz the convertible and the 68 Mustang (single stage urethane with no clear) is in the garage. The 68 got sunburned with water spots last year so it is never parked outside. I busted my azz wet-sanding and buffing it all out.. not worth it. That means, I gotta get the FE in and the hood on within the next few weeks.