Removing the inner structure doesn't seem as difficult as I thought it might. Of course with everything else you've already removed helps out quite a bit.

Nice progress of far.

 

Thanks,

I have about an hour into stripping the front sheet metal off along with the radiator and everything attached to the inner structure. The owner has about 2 hours in drilling and grinding all of the spot welds holding the inner structure on.

Now on to the installation of the new inner structure. We left the upper and lower core support pieces bolted on to the inner structure so that it would all go on as 1 piece. Everything lined up pretty well, so we spot welded 3 spots on each side.



You can see the "hump" in the side rails. The front edge of the side rails are also a little longer in order to pick up the front edge of the fender.



After the cross measurements checked out, we hung the front sheet metal in order to confirm that the gaps are acceptable.







Gaps have some fine tuning, and there is adjustment left in the fenders, but the inner structure is set to be finished welding. That will happen tonight. After this is welded in permanently, I can remove the upper and lower core support bars and replace them with the ones I have modified already.

The rest of the fuel system should be here this week, and then we should be able to start this very soon.

Steve S.
To many to list.

 

Looking good!

Do you plan modifying the new fenders to fit those larger tires?

 

We have talked about moving the front edge of the fender forward 2-3" but at this time, we are going to get the bumper on and see how it looks. The owner was over, and stated that the fender doesnt look as bad as it does in the photo.
So, time will tell.

Steve S.
To many to list.

 

Well, last few days have been spent wiring. No real pictures to show of that, but your not missing much lol.

I do have 1 picture to drop here for you guys. Call it a teaser



More to come.......

Steve S.
To many to list.

 

Love working on my own 5.4 gasser's engine from the rear----when the seats are removed.

That simple step seems to give me an extra 200 square feet of working room.

 

Some new parts came this weekend, so we continue the build.

Since we are running the 22.5 tires all around, the factory Superduty rear fenders were not going to cover this wheel combo. 4" wider fenders were ordered. There is still some fiberglass work to do in order to match the body lines perfect, but it is a start.



Next was the install of the Fass fuel pickup in the fuel tank.



I added the pickup up to the factory pickup location.



And back in the tank, and ready to go back in place. If you think that this does not look like the factory E series tank, you are right. It is a 57 gallon tank out of an E-cutaway series van.

I also finalized the placement of the regulator for the regulated return. On the Superdutys, the alternator is located on the driver side, and the regulator is bolted to the top of the alternator.



Now it is tucked down, close to the original location of the fuel filter. This will allow the use of the original air filter housing.

And as stated before, the wiring continues. There is alot of wiring that is tidyed up, but much more to go.



Steve S.
To many to list.

 

Wow. That rear tank is going to be awesome.
What are you using for a selector valve. I'm assuming you're keeping the stock tank also.

 

Only 1 tank at this time. With the 4x4 conversion, the stock tank would have to be shortened, and the decision was made to eliminate the factory tank at this time. It may be added back in at a later time, and we will figure out the system then.

Steve S.
To many to list.

 

Last nights installment involved body work. Since the new rear fenders came in, it was time to start fitting them to the van body. Time to break out the fiberglass mat and resin.



The gaps that were left are not too bad, but still requires a little bit of mat and resin to fill. I taped up the side of the van where the fender meets the body, bolted the fender on and started filling the gaps that were left. I will get these roughed in in the next couple of days so I can get them back to the owner and he can get them ready for paint.

If you have been following this thread, you've noticed a big hole in the driver side fender that is being swapped on. Well, last night I started to fill that hole also.



A custom badge plate will take its place when it is finished.

Steve S.
To many to list.

 

Time for an update. Want to keep this near the top for a little while longer

The last week has been mostly body work and small details. The rear fenders have been fiberglassed to the body side, and removed to be finished. Most of the mounting details have been worked out.





I also finished up the metal work on the mount for the 08-10 F series fender grill on the driver side.



The passenger side is next.

I also have been working on the intercooler mount. I trimmed most of the bar that holds the radiator, air conditioning condenser and the intercooler. Now it was time to stiffen it back up. I made a new support that was thinner that the original. This stiffens it back up and smooths everything out.



The hope is to have it ready to start toward the end of the next week.

Once it is up and running, then it is time to swap in the 2010 dash.

Steve S.
To many to list.

 

Not being the least bit critical but was it not possible to more closely scribe cut the wheel flares to fit the body, reducing the amount of mat and resin used filling the gaps?

Otherwise looking good---great progress on the core support etc.

 

Thanks!! With the fenders, there is a fine line between the gaps in the fenders, and the fenders sitting right on the van. The fit was pretty tight on the top of the fender, so if to much trimming was done, the profile would have looked to "rolled" over. Instead of the fender sitting like this ( l ), it would look like this ( / ), against the van, if that makes sense?

Steve S.
To many to list.

 

Makes perfect sense---after all you're working with the actual parts so have a much better view than me. Still looking quite good!

 

Weekend update. I am trying to finish up things, so this can start again, and move on its own. I finished up the intercooler mount and got the intercooler mounted for the last time.





I also got most of the mounting sorted out for the rear fenders. I dont have any pictures of that tho.

Since the intercooler was in, I figured I would install the header panel and see if any trimming was required.



No trimming required, fits like a glove. I love it when a plan comes together.

And since I was this far, might as well put the grill on.



I have to make a couple of new supports for the center of the grill shell, and I have to move the air bag sensor.

More wiring to be done, and assembly. The owner will be back in town at the end of the week, so I hope to have it ready to start up by then.

Steve S.
To many to list.