I'm gonna have Gary start making fenders for me......just throw my welder in the trash!

Still can't believe those running boards are wood!!!! Too cool.

 

I was hoping I'd catch you on this AX!

 

[QUOTE=tinman52;15208384]I'm gonna have Gary start making fenders for me......just throw my welder in the trash! You mean all running 'boards' aren't made of wood?

 

Those look awesome, good work.

 

Wow!! even more incredible


Thanks for sharing pics of the boards in the build process. Amazing.


And, congrats on losing the weight and on the recovery. I'd clink my beer mug against your wine glass in a toast anytime!


Bobby

 

I agree with others......those running boards look great. It never even occurred to me that they were wood. What kind of finish do you intend to use on them.

 

Those are just plain awesome!! I saw those and said to myself if that can be done wth what you had, than mine for the panel can surely be done so I was all motivated, than a few days later my motivation took a step back. I am very impressed with your craftsmanship and ingenuity. I say paint them black and watch the peoples expression when you tell them they are wood. Kind of like the winchester house pine cabinets grained to look like oak.

 

I think they will eventually be some form of dull black. My plan is to get the tonner panel operable so I can move it in and out of the shop. I need to be able to use my one vehicle bay during my 'restorations' because our regular daily drivers need attention as well. I got a call from the machine shop today saying my crankshaft is finished. This will have a real nice 59ab under the hood and look really rough on the exterior. I will be pulling the front sheet metal off to swap out the stuck flathead and then leave it off for quite some time so I can work on front springs etc etc. If I ever get around to giving it a real paint job (with a brush) I will do up the running boards at that time. Thank you all for the nice comments. I have been a career woodworker for 44 years, but old ford trucks are my real passion.

 

ok this may be a lil off topic, but Ill shoot anyway. Ive asked before and didnt get much back. Has anyone attempted/completed a 53-55 to 56 dash conversion? Im really wanting to try in when i start my truck. Im not too big on the wrap around windshield in the 56 but love the gauge cluster. Essentially trying to cut out that section of the 56 and put it into a 55. It will probably involve a good bit of blending but I think it would be awesome it i could make it happen.

Any thoughts?

 

Gary? You never cease to totally amaze me in so many ways.
I have also built cabinets and done a lot of wood work. But the
running boards are awesome. I knew a guy up here that had a
wrecked Courier. He built a complete wood body on it. Fenders,
bed and all. Ya it was a square looking plywood thing but he then
drove it around for years. So now lets see you build an all wood
body on something. I have some pics of what I am talking about
if I can find them. Stand by.

 

Somehow it has been deleted from my system Gary. I can't find it.
Not even on the net. Although I did fine several others. It's amazing
what one can do with wood givin enough time and tools.

Sorry. I may still find it on a back up CD yet. But I am in poor health to day
so just being chill.
A new wife, a new heart and new running boards. Bud, life is good. And the wife
works as well. You have it all my friend. I am still wanting to come bunk in your
old shed for the summer just to follow you around and learn. You Da Man!!

 

What ever happen to woodyf1. He had built a wood bed and tailgate that was a work of art.

Found the link.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...ics-woody.html

 

That Woody guy did great work. Would love to see it
finished. Wonder what happened.

 

Almost anything can be done with metal! The dashes in our trucks are structural, so they don't come out except by cutting. The 56 dash hump could be fitted into the earlier dash. First step would be to pull the windshield, the instruments and all the wiring under the dash. Use a donor 56 dash hump to see where the earlier dash needs to be cut. Cut, fit, weld it in, blend as necessary.
I'm playing with idea of smoothing off the hump on my 56 dash and mounting the instruments in a row on the flat vertical portion. I have already filled the glove box door and ashtray, added a lower dash extension and fitted a brushed stainless cover panel to the vertical portion.

 

I hope my little foundry project fits in with the theme of this thread.

I "Hot Rod" outboard motors in my business, and one of the parts I would modify was an aluminum intake manifold for a V6 Mercury. It is very labor intensive in cutting, welding, machining and grinding. About 5 hours labor for an 8 HP gain.
I decided that I would teach myself to do foundry work and cast my own part to sell. As you can see, this was truly a backyard operation.
This was in 2000, when I was still living in Florida.





From the front right, clockwise: the pattern, some sand cores, the core box, a couple of completed parts, and a wood pattern I used to cast the three protrusions on the finished pattern





The core box assembled.





The core box packed with sand. This was just play sand mixed with Sodium Silicate.





Gassing the sand mixture with CO2. This activates the sodium silicate making it harden.





Some finished sand cores out of the core box. The pink color is from a foundry wash that helps make a smoother finish.





The cope and drag. Here you can see the pattern still in the sand before it is removed. You can see the imprint in the sand from the mold n the other half.





The pattern removed, leaving a hollow cavity in the shape of the pattern.





The sand cores are in place here. This will leave a void for the intake runners in the shape of the core. The cores fit into core prints, left behind by the pattern, for precise location. The other half of the sand mold has a sprue hole cut into it for pouring, and vents, and risers to allow gasses to escape.





Three molds all closed up, ready to pour.<br/>The furnace in the background will melt 24 pounds of aluminum to 1250 F and then I will quickly pour the tree molds.





Here are the parts removed from the sand molds, ready for cleaning. The heat from casting softens up the core enough that they can be cleaned out, easily.





Machining the castings flat, top and bottom. These parts also get drilled and tapped, front and back.





Here is where the part is mounted on the engine. The large throttle body/EFI assembly gets mounted to the front of my new part.





The original part on the left. My part on the right adds 8 HP on the dyno.