Greetings,
So I've had my '49 F1 for about six months now. It's down to the frame and it's time to make some decisions. I've recently decided to go with a small block Ford, 9" diff and a disc brake kit for the front end, due to the poor condition of the suspension and a questionable flatty 6. I'm wondering if anyone here has a build sequence list that they would share with me? A couple months ago I had a wild hair and had a bunch of small parts powder coated and now that I've decided to go another route, I have some things I should NOT have had coated (rear spring mounts, shock mounts, etc.) I want to avoid spending money unnecessarily in the future (TIGHT money build here) so I'm hesitant to spend more money before I'm sure what I'm doing.
I really can't afford "mission creep" of the build and will be doing as much as possible myself. I've read through a bunch of build threads and am beginning to understand some of the proper sequence to follow, but again, I don't want to nor can afford to make mistakes. The few questions I've asked here so far have been answered wonderfully by forum members so I'm looking forward to what some of you may have to say. Sorry about the length of this post!! Thanks!!

 

Welcome to the madness. I've only done 1 project and it isn't complete so I can't help much on "build sequence" except for a couple of "how not to do it" examples. I'm sure some others with much more experience will be along shortly with some good advice.

 

I'd divide the build up into major systems then make a complete list of what you'd LIKE to do for each system. Once you get all that written down go over it budget wise and see where you are at. At that point what you'd like to do and what you can do may be a little different. Obviously the systems that go last for example would be interior since you'd want the chassis and sheetmetal done before you tackle interior. Have it all mapped out though. So systems in my mind would be chassis (and that could be divided into smaller systems like front suspension, rear suspension, etc), drivetrain, sheetmetal (again could be divided into cab/front, bed/rear, paint), then interior, somewhere in there during suspension you need to plan on wheels/tires. There's a million possibilities. Should make a very good thread though. Good luck!

 

I could write for hours and you'd fall asleep. Basic thoughts are: do all the fitting of the drive train with the cab sitting where it needs to be to minimize redos. Don't paint anything until every part has been fabbed and test fitted. Spend plenty of time setting ride height and choosing tire sizes. Same goes for back space on wheels. When you're running exhaust, make sure you have adequate clearance with everything. I would have the chassis done and the cab fitted before doing body and paint work. Pay close attention to your seat, pedal and steering column area so you can drive it when completed. Test fit the wiring before final assembly. When you do finish assembly, buy several rolls of 2" masking tape and mask every area that you could damage by installing parts. Install sound deadner after you have test fit items in the cab. That stuff squeezes out around bolts and edges and is messy to work around. Plan a realistic budget based upon actual prices you see, not the "I might find a bargain" ones. Don't leave out lots for bolts, rubber items and plumbing. I've kept a spreadsheet on every project I've done since the late 80's when I bought a house computer. I also keep a daily log of what's done and when. I'm old and have no memory anymore.

 

Guys, this helps a bunch! I am already keeping a spreadsheet of costs and have a lot of entries for things yet to buy. I've already purchased a 20-odd circuit EZ wiring kit, all the rubber for the truck and all new ***** for the dash. Spending about $1300 so far, including the powder coating, a couple gallons of Pitt-Guard and too many cans of penetrating oil to mention, LOL. I'm writing a "blog" in a MS Word document of everything I do and taking copious pictures (mostly to remember how things looked before I took them apart, to aid this old fart in reassembling them a year or so down the road!) I'm searching CL diligently looking for a decent used motor, tranny and diff, plus trying to develop a relationship with the one SMALL wrecking yard owner in town. With the decision to go small block I've tossed my idea of having this on the road this year, as the budget won't allow such quick purchases of big items like engine, tranny, radiator, etc. I am buying a Champion aluminum radiator for a Ford build as soon as they come back into stock.
Thanks again, and if anyone else has ANY other good ideas, please let me know!
EDIT - Oh yeah, I've bought a 12V one-wire alternator, and of course a replacement for half of the cab floor. So.. I'm in deep (over my head? - only time will tell...)

 

I wrote a post on how to plan a build in this topic: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...1955-f250.html

developing a realistic build plan is the key to not letting a build get out of hand. Too many builders start just making changes without formulating a good reason to make them.

 

AXRacer, thanks so much for this info. This is exactly what I need to do! My project for today is to buy cards and sharpen a pencil! Being somewhat of a computer geek I may even build a cross referencing data base that I can use to pull all the repeat stuff together into one location. If I'm successful with that I'll be sure to share it here. Thanks again!

 

Not everyone on here is very computer savvy, so I made it as simple as possible to create a plan since it is so important to a successful build.

 

I know the feeling, i too went in one direction only to figure out later that I wanted to pivot and go in new direction. had bought some parts that are now not apart of my "new plan". I like the phrase "Mission Creep" you wouldn't be prior military would you? I am and that is a "Operations" pharsed used every day. Just got a good giggle out of seeing it here. Good luck with the build.

 

dferrell... yes, 28 years in the Army, 27 1/2 of which was spent trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to curb mission creep. Happens to the best of us! LOL

 

I usually do bodywork while I'm saving cash for my next parts buy. Suspension, drivetrain, and brakes were the first things I did, with lots of time spent planning, making notes and drawings, as well as reading the archives on here. There is so much information available on this forum, and time spent reading what others have done will help you plan the next phase of your build, as well as help you plan a parts list.

 

Good point TireDood. I have spent hours looking through threads... SOOO much great info to be found here!

 

I am hesitant to chime in, as this was my first project of this magnitude. I bought my truck with a 289/C4/9" already installed. The body was disassembled and had the usual rust and damage.

While having someone already install the drivetrain may seem like a help, it wasn't as everything was installed improperly (like the rearend at a 13 degree angle on the pinion).

Like Tiredood already mentioned, I did body work as I would slowly purchase and install parts on the drivetrain and chassis. My justification was that, since this was a big project and my first attempt at bodywork, I figured the bodywork was about the cheapest thing I would do and would find out quick if I was going to stick with it or not. One thing to watch is that I would recommend having the cab on when you set your engine and trans mounts. The elevation will be dependent on cab clearance. I used the stock trans crossmember with a small notch in the back to recess a mount for the C4. Then I made my own engine mounts to give me the correct angle for the engine. Also, if you are going with a Toyota PS conversion ( and would even be a good idea with the stock box), put the engine in with the exhaust manifolds you are planning on using to check your clearance with the steering box. I centered my engine and was barely able to clear the PS box (wish I had biased the engine to the passenger side and inch or so).

I did the usual driver mods - stuck with the original front axle (rebuilt everything and installed a disc kit), Toyota PS, power brakes and all new lines and components, etc.

I set a monthly budget, and used it to get the parts I wanted to work on in sequence (mostly), and once I had everything to get one step done, I would go to it. Unfortunately, there were many things I would do at the same time, which gets many things partially done and little sense of accomplishment. Eventually it comes together and it is quite a sense of accomplishment when it all comes together and you can drive it.

Plan on it taking three times the budget you think and four times the amount of time you expect, and you will be in the ballpark.

To give you an idea, I paid $450 for my truck, and ended up around with another 6K into it to get it to where it is now. That is with me being a CL and junkyard scrounge and doing everything myself except machine-work (brake drums and kingpin fitting).


Before:


After:


A plan is good, but if you convince yourself to just do one thing each day, even if it is five minutes of organizing parts or such, you will not lose momentum.

Good luck with it.

 

Ax's build checklist creation scheme is one of the better bits of information that you'll come across.

My notes were somewhat cryptic. I kept track of everything that I bought, including what year and model of donor truck my major components came from. An example is the 9" rear end is from a 65 F100 & it has the stock drum brakes from that model. The engine and trans is from an 89 F150. The fuel system and filters are marine hardware. The front brakes came from Engineered Components, but they effectively made their own brackets and used GM calipers and Mopar rotors. Someday I'll add up all of the receipts, but I'll probably keep that number to myself. At the time I was working too many hours so I made some cost versus time trade-offs & bought some parts that I could have spend days working on.

You could flip through my albums for a timeline of sorts!!

Good luck!

Dan

 

I read your post here and it sounds like you are describing me!