Thanks Dave

 

Coil packs mounted




Fan mounts made from 5 1/6" round rod that I have on the shelf. These are used as radiator support cross braces on 3rd gen firebirds and camaros, also have gotten them from mid 1990s caprices. I parted out a bunch of them over the years to get the drivetrains so I have this kind of stuff sitting around.



Shortened up a couple of them, put in some bends and welded on tabs for the fan. Easy to do and plenty strong. Had to mount the fan slightly closer to the top to clear my electric water pump. I may have to make a shroud for the fan or switch to dual fans, depends on how temps look in traffic. Right now all my smallest fans are 12" so I cant get two on this radiator, but dual 10s would fit.

 

what did you do for the ends of the fan mounts? Did you heat them, flatten them with a hammer and drill them?

 

That is too much work, these rods come with flattened and drilled ends already installed, that is why I save them. If I have to make my own I cut a slot in the end of the rod, slide a flat tab into the slot, weld it, and drill it.

 

Radiator hoses done. LT and LS engines need a steam line connection to the radiator, I use these $5 ebay inline pieces that have a 1/8" npt port for a temp sender or whatever connection you need to the coolant system.



Lower hose done. Made from two different pieces of hose and an exhaust pipe adapter. I put some weld on the adapter so the hoses cant slip off, works great. Also works great to bring into the parts store and try to find a one piece match, but this will work fine with no issues.

 

Dave, I have to say you are resourceful in the tradition of a true hot rodder!

 

Thank you! I think most hot rodders are working with a budget and have to work with what is laying around lol..but it does make you come up with solutions, especially those of us putting stuff together that was never designed to work together! I only wish I had more Ford related ideas to pass on, but at least some of this stuff crosses over to different brands.

 

Also the true hot rodding spirit, use what's available/most suited, who cares what it originally came off of. Even the OEMs did/do that. i.e. The full syncro 3 speed tranny in my 67 Pontiac Tempest was made by Ford, the GM Saginaw "canned ham" PS pump was used by every major manufacturer on at least some of their cars. There is a long list like this.

 

Wow just realized last week was one year on this build, I thought I would be done by now but I think I slacked over the winter. The older I get the less I want to deal with the cold!
Should be firing it up soon, still dealing with lots of small projects. I back fed the fuse box to verify some electrical stuff and found that the green LED I had put in the center gauge cluster was too bright to be on all the time. I am a little paranoid about running an electric water pump so I had the green LED lit as long as the WP relay was working. Added a relay today and changed the LED to red, now if the WP relay fails I will get a red light indicator. These water pumps are supposed to be good for thousands of street hours so hopefully the pump itself will be good for the long term.



Wipers are done and installed, however one arm is moving faster than the other and I didnt get the park function working yet. I am going to make another set and spend some time figuring exact motor placement to get the arms at the same speed and also get the park working, but honestly as long as the wipers work I dont care if they are out of sync, any electric wiper is an improvement over vacuum. Pics and more info to come on that.

Started teardown and rebuild of the heater as well today.



Lots of screws holding this together, and quite a few did not want to budge without the chance of stripping out the heads. To deal with this I have a screwdriver with a notch in it, I put that against the screw head and give it a shot with a hammer, the screws come right out after the shock breaks them loose.




All apart for blasting



My heater core tester Bicycle tire tube clamped on the heater core. I set the air pressure to 10psi and submerge the core in a bucket of water. Doesnt matter if the tube doesnt seal completely, just pushing air in will show as bubbles if there is a leak.



This core is good, but I have one with a leak on the edge so I am going to either find another core for truck #1 or make a different core work. Time for research!

 

What's the progress with body work on build #1?

 

Most of the pieces are here in primer, rear fenders, nose, bed is done other than the front panel, cab chop is done, still some cab work to be done. I assume I will be painting it over the winter, I have not been pushing hard on it since I am building truck #2, but once this one is done I want to get #1 back on track. By then the supercharged engine will be built (still at the machine shop) so that engine may end up in #1 with the 6 speed.

 

Wow, I got to say 20 pages is a lot to read but I couldn't stop once I started, there is a ton of good information here. I have been looking around for a truck like this but no dice so far. You are right about the trucks from the south, I have a rust free, barn find 55 Dodge truck, want to trade for one of your Fords?

I'll be keeping a eye on these builds, they are awesome to read.

 

Thanks! Have to pass on the trade though, already have a 56 Dodge C3 waiting for me in the corner, its so ugly its cool
If you were local I might be interested in buying it though!

Anyway I put the heater together today. Pic in progress.



Funny thing, I was in the store last night with my daughter picking out a paint to use on the heater, she wants it purple..I tell her maybe for the Dodge truck build and get metallic blue.
Paint the heater with the metallic blue today but it was a rainy humid day, so what happens? The blue blushes to purple!



Pretty funny! I left it for her.
Also shown are a couple mods, my resistor pack is mounted on top so there is air flow over them. Also I found a great deal (like a couple bucks a length) on 1 1/2" heater duct hose on ebay which is a steal if you have priced this stuff. Last rolls I bought from grainger or fastenall just to get decent prices, but this was too cheap so I modified the heater and defroster ducts to use 1 1/2" hose instead of the factory 1 3/4". Yes this is a budget build, $20 saved is a good thing. Also changed one heater core outlet to work with 3/4" heater hose to match the engine.

 

It can't hurt to ask, I wish I had the tools/skills you have to build one like this. If momma decides you have to build a automatic for her let me know if you want to get rid of this one, I'm originally from NY so I could help you clean out some of your clutter.

 

So how are you doing on the wipers?