Thanks , I'll check out what you made. Just want to see a good way to support the cab and be able to roll it around

 

Here is my simple cab dolly:

 

Looks like a nice workshop there.

I used a pitman arm puller on my gearbox and it came right off. I would pull it for ease of cab removal.

 

Yes that is a nice workshop. And a nice looking two door hardtop - is that a Mercury or Lincoln? '56?

 

a Lincoln. Haven't actually run it yet, but it does turn over. Hasn't been driven or run since around 1991, has been parked in a pole building. Same with the red F-1 that was behind it.

 

Not much progress this week but made a cab dolly, almost finished but ran out of argon. Need to add some cross braces and ill be good to go!
Using this opportunity to learn how to TIG weld. I know MIG would be alot faster but I need the practice.

 

Ordered some suspension parts
I'm going with a Mustang II based IFS in front, with tubular arms and Drop spindles,
and a 4-link rear. Excited to get the cab off hopefully this week.

 

Ok.. Started pulling the cab.
Found an issue with my plan, halfway through. The bed had to come off first, because to pull the cab with the steering intact I had to move the chassis forward, and couldn't do that with the bed there. So I rigged up a way to quickly lift the bed off.

















Next fininshed lifting the cab up and found a way to secure it to the dolly I made. Frame is in better shape than I hoped. Bed is in worse shape than I thought.

 

Yesterday did some work on the frame. Pulled the old 6-cyl. and trans, started taking the old suspension off.
Wow, I never realized how much these frames flex! Definitely going to add some reinforcement and box this one in.
Going to finish stripping everything I don't need off of it, to get to the point where I'm ready to mock up the IFS and 4-link.

 

Working on stripping the frame still. Hoping I didn't jump the gun because after all this I realized I probably should have plumbed measurements for the centerline of the front and rear axles. Maybe not?
The suspension set-up I purchased is from Full-Tilt Hot Rods and I got about half of the stuff today but unfortunately not the Box with the instructions in it.
Anyways, added some cross bracing to the frame, so nothing moves.



Pressure washed some of the stuff and cleaned up the cab. Removed the gas tank from the inside. The cab is hurting bad on the bottom drivers side footwell area, to the point where enough support is gone that that side of the cab is sagging. So I am going to need to design something to tack it into place so I can remove the doors and replace the floor board.

 

No progress in a while been working on my project Audi. But i did salvage a donor car for the truck's drivetrain.

and got some parts...









Frame back from being sandblasted.




Parts car will supply the engine and rear end.




Doews anyone know how to identify the engine that's in this car? It's a '66 T-Bird and according to the VIN I think it should have a hipo 390. I know from looking at it its an FE based engine. Beyond that I know very little about these engines and V8's in general.

 

My mom had a 64 , and I think it had a 351 c in it. Got in a lot of trouble in that car. Always liked the ribbon speedo and the column that moved out of the way. Guess that helped the fat ones get in and out. Looks like your making some good progress. Keep it up.

 

66 Thunderbirds had two engine options, 390 and 428. If the vin decodes to the 390, chances are that's what it is. It's not a hipo engine. Just your run of the mill Thunderbird 4V 390 engine. Nothing special inside. Stout engines, though. it'll be fun in that truck. There are limited ID features externally on FE engines. You might look for a small metal tag on the intake manifold or front of the engine, usually near the coil. Many times they're discarded by ham handed mechanics over the years, but if it's as original as it looks it may still be present.



You mentioned the donor would give the engine and rear end. Any reason why you wouldn't use the C6 auto trans with it?

Oh, and if you're parting out the rest of the 'bird, there may be some pieces I can use. I have a 64 resto going, among my many projects.

 

Does anyone have a ballpark idea what the factory flathead 6 would be worth? Looking to clear out the ship a little and net some cash to fix my daily driver/tower truck.

 

The c6 would be good but for some reason Im stuck on manual transmissions, was hoping to find a suitable one to mate to this 390.

Sent you a PM but If anyone else is curious I have more of these T-birds that I was going to sell as parts cars. A few I have titles for, varying condition. I dont have any clue as to the value of a 64-66 Tbird with a straight body but if anyone is looking for a project I have a couple.