Looking good!
Nice tubing work.

 

Thanks guys! Appreciate the comments, especially from the work you guys have been doing.

I got some more work done the last few days. I was able to get the crown vic steering rack installed. Doesn't look too bad. I know there's a conversion kit that swaps the current power steering lines over to -6AN fittings. I'll end up going that route shortly. I know flea-bay has the kit's for about $30 not including shipping and Amazon has it for about $60. I just need to find some high pressure tubing that I can swap over to the correct fittings. Here's a link to the conversion kit: https://www.ebay.com/itm/35393681550...8AAOSwMIBiHEHJ. The fittings don't look like -6 AN, but for $30, it could probably work. Here's the steering rack installed.


Steering rack is installed. Old lines are still installed. I want to get a conversion kit to swap the fittings over to -6 AN fittings for ease of swapping tubing.


Here are the two lines that I'll be converting over on the steering rack to -6 AN. I'm going to guess the hose on the right is the high pressure line and the tube on the left is the return line. The return line will be easy to make. The high pressure line, I'll probably get some high pressure line like I did for my crewcab hydraulic cylinder for the hydro-assist. That's pretty high pressure hose and I'm able to get some fittings that I can attach in the field that are -6 AN.

After getting the rack installed the mailman dropped off something for the rear suspension. It was these inserts that you get for increasing the stiffness of the rear diff. There are two different inserts. One that is 90 durometer and one that is 80 durometer. I chose the 80 durometer for a bit of give, and they just look better in red than in black. Here they are getting installed into the S550 rear differential bushing area. I also received the roll-over vent which will allow fumes to vent out of the fuel tank but in the case of a roll-over it will close up and not leak. I'm not sure how this helps since the large tubes where fuel goes in will just pour fuel out... Safety... all in the name of safety...


Here's the kit you get. I got it off Amazon, since it was the same price from Steeda. You get two sets of bushings with all the bolts and washers you need.


Here's the first one installed. you can see how it stiffens up the rear diff bushings in order to reduce wheel hop.


rear half Fully installed. You can also see the roll over vent I received and installed for the fuel tank.


front half fully installed. You can see all the dust that's been collecting on this thing...

After getting the bushings installed I remembered one of the CV axles started to strip where the castle nut bolts on. I got a thread cleaner for that about a year and a half ago so I took the rear drivers side wheel off and started to see if I could clean up the threads.... ugh... they're F'd! It looks like it's only about three or four threads deep, so I could grind these threads off and see if I could salvage the CV axle, but I decided against it. I have a used OEM CV axle showing up this weekend that I got off flea-bay for $80 shipped. I'll run the thread cleaner on the threads to clean them up before I try and install the castle nut. Maybe I'll keep this CV axle for a really bad day if the used one ever snaps. Once I get the new to me CV axle installed, I'll fill the rear diff up with fluid to make sure I don't forget about it.

After that disappointment I went and got the original rear brakes out of storage. They look battered, so I ordered some SS lines from Summit. That should help as the front's for the Willwood calipers are also SS. I was able to get the E-brake cables out of storage as well, so I'll work on figuring out how to get those mounted in the original area of the truck. We'll see how it goes. I wasn't feeling up to doing much this evening or yesterday as the mosquitos are out in the evenings and they love to use me as dinner. So I gotta figure something out so I don't get eatin up while I'm out in the garage working. Here's a picture of the OEM brakes that I got out of storage.


OEM brakes that I got out of storage. Gotta figure out how to run these brake lines. I'll hopefully do that this coming weekend.

That's where I'm at right now. I have my nephew coming into town middle of next week, so hopefully I can get him to help out a bit on this thing. It'll be good for him.

 

Man a lot going on with the project!
For the fuel fill, it should be capped so it won't spill out in roll over. With vent, you can run non-vented fuel fill cap.

 

yeah, this is quite the project. It's been fun, frustrating, and time consuming, but when it's done, it should be a lot of fun. I'm hoping to get the frame completely done by the end of June/July time frame, and then start working on the rest of the bodywork. Hopefully I can have all the fab work on the body done by this winter so i can either paint it myself, or send it off for paint. If I send it off for paint, it'll cost me quite a bit as I'll want it perfect and the color will be Soul Red Crystal Metallic (The red on the new Mazda's). If I go with a single stage paint by doing it myself, it'll be a dark grey from Summit Racing. We'll see what happens when I get to that point.

Thanks for the idea on the fuel fill cap. I had a brain fart there. I've slowly been researching what fuel cap I want. It'll be on the inside of the bed along the side rail so I get to fab up something for that. I'll see what I come up with when I get to that point.

 

The last week I had my wife's nephew in town so I haven't gotten much done; however, we did change out the Drivers Side CV axle and filled up the diff with about 1.25 bottles of 75W-90 diff fluid. Here's what the threads from the CV axle looked like...


Threads on the CV axle. They were buggered and a tap that I purchased wasn't cleaning them up. So I got a new to me (used OEM) axle off of flea-bay for $80 shipped.

After getting the new to me axle put in, we filled the diff with some fluid. I wanted to make sure there was some fluid in the diff so if I forgot, it would still have a bit of oil in there. I'll make sure to drain and re-fill with what Ford suggests in this diff later on.

We then started on the rear brake lines. Trying to figure out how to route em is tough. I don't want something that look horrible, and I would like something to look somewhat stock. So this is what I came up with. I'll make sure to mount the fuel and brake lines on top of the diff brace here in a bit. Just need to get the correct drill bit and some bolts/nuts so I can mount the hold downs. Here is what I came up with. What you don't see is the SS lines from the calipers to the hard lines. Should def. help with brake fade/feel in the NM heat.


Rear brake lines ran. Just need to drill and tap the holes for the keepers on the outside of the frame where the SS lines mate up to the solid lines. I have the passenger side braced to the frame like the drivers side, I just didn't have it installed for this picture.

After getting the rear brake lines in we pretty much stopped working on the truck while he was here. I also ordered my brake master cylinder, so I got that mounted up today so I can check how my lines will mate up to it. Well, I now need to re-do my rear line to where it mates to the back portion. I have a break in the line just behind the cab due to multiple bends don't like going through a long straight tunnel so it was needed. Here's my brake master cylinder mounted up for now. I'll paint the vacuum booster gloss black in a bit, but I wanted to get this temporarily mounted so I could get my brake lines finished. I need to order some more 3/16" brake line, but that's not too expensive.


My brake master cylinder mounted up. I need to re-do the rear line to where it mates up with the rear lines but that shouldn't be too difficult.

Now that I know where my brake lines will start from I can get to making the front lines. I'm not exactly sure where to have the SS lines from the calipers meet the hard line hold downs. Shouldn't be too difficult to do once I figure out a plan.

 

Looking really good!

Only thing I noted from the picture, is that the lines do not run inside the frame rail. Understand they have to go over the IRS, but then think they should run along the inside of the frame rail, instead of under cab/bed. Just my opinion...

 

Oh, don't worry, they are routed through the frame. Here are a few more pictures of how the rear brake lines are routed, etc.

A close up view of the rear brake line and fuel lines how they go into the frame rails.


Here you can see where I've attached a union for the rear brake line. It's a pain to get to so hopefully I don't ever have to deal with it.


Here is the front portion of the rear brake line and where it comes out of the frame rail. It's a bit short, so I'll be re-making this a bit longer so it'll mate up with the brake master cylinder better. You can also see where the front part of the solid fuel lines will come out of the frame rail and mate to the flex line which will go to the fuel pressure regulator that I'll mount to the firewall of the truck.



I also received the mounts from Boyd's welding so I can mount my fuel tank to the bottom of the frame instead of sliding it into the frame where I'd need to remove the bed to get to it. This will make it easier for maintenance if I ever need to drop the tank for some reason. You can see the package sitting on the fuel tank in the below picture.


Here's the cross brace I removed that I'll be moving to the rear of the frame. This will help protect the fuel tank if I ever get rear-ended.

Cross Brace that I need to mount so if I get rear-ended I have some protection for the fuel cell. I still have to decide on if I want the wider portion of this brace on the top or not. I'll probably do that, but I need to figure out the holes for the rear most bed bolts to mount to as well. I'll figure it out shortly, I'm sure.

 

Really excellent work! High quality stuff!

 

I haven't really worked on the truck recently. I've been working on my FJ Cruiser (Aux fuel tank to double my fuel capacity) and having travel for work and then just wanting to relax a bit at home. However, I did finally get my pushrods measured for my engine. I used the puchrod checker springs and a pushrod length checker. Here are a few pictures getting that finished up.


This was taken at zero lash on the exhaust valve


Looking for the length on the intake valve.


This is what it looks like on top of the intake valve after rubbing off the permanent marker.


This is how the exhaust valve looks after the rocker rubbed off the permanent marker.


OAL. of the PushRod. POP will need the effective length. So the OAL minus the inner cup which is 0.19".

After getting the pushrods measured I went and ordered them uo from Precision Oil Pumps along with the remote oil filter adapter to go along with my Summit Racing remote oil filter mount. Should be pretty good once I get the engine installed. Now I can work on getting the intake manifold installed to close up my engine to help keep dust and crap out of it until I can get it put in the truck.

I also decided on a transmission for the truck. It'll be a 6R80 out of a 2011 Mustang. I found one relatively close to me down in Albuquerque. The guy said there's only about 50K miles on it. It came with the torque converter as well. I'll be using the US Shift Quick 6 TCU and the Speed Gems adapter kit. Total right now will be about $2500, but it comes with the flexplate, mini-starter, adapters all the bolts needed and also the Quick 6 TCU. So not a bad deal if you think about it. Here's a link if you would like to know.

https://transmissionadapters.com/col...39272434565238

Here are a few pictures of the transmission I got for $650. Not too bad. I hope it doesn't need a rebuild. I did get a quote from the Transmission shop here in Santa Fe and it would be ~#3800 with some upgrades if it needs a rebuild. Here's hoping it doesn't need a rebuild.





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For today, I decided to go ahead and finish up the brake lines. I started out making a first pass for the front lines going across the CV front end. It looked pretty good, but I was about 3 inches sort on the drivers side and I could make it a bit better with a second pass. So I took out my new batch of brake line and started bending. I think it looks pretty good and I'll get the brake line mounts bolted in here shortly.


Here you can see how I'm routing the brake line across the CV front end. Very close to the OEM CV brake line.


You can see how I'll be connecting to the 'T' for the drivers side brake and up to the master cylinder.


Getting it clipped into the brake line holders.


I got the lines routed up to the master cylinder. I ran out of brake line fasteners so I will finish flaring the lines once I get several more.


This is how I rant the SS lines from the caliper to the hard lines.

So the next things for this are getting the intake manifold installed on the engine to close it up. and then I need to get the engine mounts finalized so I can finally get the engine mounted. I'll also be getting the Transmission adapter so I can then work on getting the transmission mounted and the cross bar mount for it fabricated up and mounted. After that I'll be working on getting the interior of the truck finished up (stereo and HVAC controls area and also rear 6x9 speaker holders. I also need to finish mounting the rear fuel tank which shouldn't be too difficult.

 

I really like this build.

 

Slowly been working on this thing. Just haven't updated much as the weather is now good enough I can work outside easily without overheating or freezing to death.

Back in Nov. I got the -6AN line attachments for the power steering rack and pinion. I went with Massive Speed Systems. They were a tad bit more expensive than fleabay, but I also trust them a bit more. I also went with Russel hose and line fittings. Currently the rack is set up in a circular path so it wont leak any more fluid. Also, does anyone know which side (upper or lower) is the high pressure side? I'm going to assume the larger hole is the return. But I'm not certain.


Massive Speed Performance -6AN rack and pinion adapters for power steering


Hose I got for the power steering high pressure line. It said it would work, but I may need to adjust my thoughts if it really doesn't and only works as a return line.

I recently got back out in the garage and started finishing up the cab and filling all the trim holes up.


Passenger side camper special decal holes welded up


passenger side trim holes and a spot that needed fixing welded up. This metal was THIN! But I got it.


drivers side camper special decal holes filled.


drivers side trim holes welded up.

I still need to grind them down and check for an pin holes to fill back up. After getting these welded up I went ahead and cut out the stereo and HVAC controls section for my double din stereo that I'll be putting in. No turning back now.


Cut out and ready to party!


no turning back now.


This is the metal I have ready for it. It already accepts a double din stereo slid in which is useful.

I also cut out the ash tray holders. I plan on flipping the door for it around and welding that in like so....


All cut out.


After removing the ashtray door, I should be able to bend the edges out and weld it in like so.

Getting the stereo area welded will take some time as spot welding between the ash try door and the stereo is quite thin and wont take heat well. I'll need to just take my time there.

I also started on the rear brace that I was mentioning above that goes behind the fuel tank. I decided to start cleaning it up. The original coating they put on here worked well to make sure the frame didn't rust...


Getting started. You can see the coating I needed to get off.


The PPE I was using while doing this. After about 30 sec of working I realized I needed the respirator as it was smelling quite toxic. Glad I did. For those of you wondering, the Hoodie says "I Love Guns and Coffee". And I do.


Exterior all cleaned up with a wire wheel on a grinder.

I also figured I should straighten out the end tabs so I can re-bend them so it'll fit better.


End tabs all straightened and testing where I need to re-bend them.


Tools I used to bend the tabs back. Wasn't too bad. Just heat it and beat it!


Will def. be flipping this thing so the long end is on the upper side. Need to leave some room for any potential impacts to the rear.

Also started working on how to bend up the stereo metal. Here's what I have so far.


You can see where I'll cut enough to bend the metal and then using a TIG torch just melt the metal together. Shouldn't be too bad to do.

Ended up getting word that the local Pick-n-Pull had a few bumpsides that may have a few parts I need. So I went with low expectations and low and behold I need to go back. I got the steering column I needed (floor shift column), trim pieces (2 sets), 68 AM stereo, door panels and the interior light cover for my crewcab. There are a few more things left, but I'll see about going and getting those in two weeks when I have a day off.


One of the good hauls I got from the Pick-N-Pull today. They have two good bumpsides with some good parts. I'll probably go back and get a few more things that I can re-sell to others. The parts I needed were the steering column, one of the two sets of trim and the int. light cover.

I couldn't wait and started testing out the steering column in the truck to see where I may need to modify the brake lines. Here's what I have so far.


Well, looks like I'll need to modify some brake lines.


I think I'll push this forward a bit more for some more chest room.

Anyone know how to remove this center cap? If I am going to rebuild this column I'll need that cap off to get to the steering wheel bolt. And I don't want to ruin the cap.

Anyone know how to get this cap off? I want to keep it in it's original form and re-paint the center part. I'll need a re-pop steering wheel though as this is cracked quite bad.

And this is where I am today. Enjoying the haul I brought in from the Pick-n-Pull. I'm hoping the other parts are still there when I go back in a bit.

 

Hey Gump, good to see you posting!
Assuming this pick is the rear of the frame. be careful not to block the rear most bed bolts. Looks like the x-member you added blocks them. I did the same and had to cut it all out.

 

Got the cap off. Now to do some actual work.

 

Got a small amount of work done on the truck this last week/weekend. Unfortunately, I had to do a tune up on the FJ cruiser (Oil change, spark plugs, clean mass air sensor, filters, etc.) and then an oil change on my Kia Stinger. That took quite a bit of work and then getting into clean up the garage and then back to work...

So I decided to finish up the engine mounts. I had to re-cut them as there wasn't enough material around the bolt hole on the last one I made. I used that as a stencil and then cut these out. After cutting them out, I welded them together in order to make the exactly the same. Then I drilled the bolt holes out.



Bolt holes all drilled out. Time to test fit.

After getting the bolt holes all drilled out I did a quick test fit to see if the mounting bolts would hit the block or not. They didn't! So then I went and finished trimming up the sides to make the mounts equal and then the final test fit.


Test fit on the engine block. Looks good.


Side view of the engine mounts.

After getting the mounts test fit I went ahead and decided to do some TIG welding and weld some bolts to the mounts in order to make mounting the engine a bit easier... maybe...


Doesn't look too bad for not using any filler rod. No filler rod was used for these. Just melting metal together. Doesn't look too bad I guess.


Getting there. To more bolts to do after finishing these up.


One side cleaned up. Now for the other side to get cleaned up

After welding up the bolts I cleaned the steel up with a wire brush on a grinder and then it was time to paint em. I also cleaned up the oil level tube and painted it at the same time.


Getting primer... a few coats of this should do.


Then on to a few coats of red paint.


Can't forget the oil level dip-stick tube.


All painted and bolted in. Looks pretty good in red against the black engine block.

So now I gotta finish putting the engine together with the pro-flo 4 efi manifold and see about setting it in the engine bay. But I still have some work to do on the cab before that... Hopefully I can get the final holes in the cab welded up and then the dash finished up this coming week and weekend.

 

Did some more work. I went ahead and worked on getting the rear brace ready for paint. I started making a shallow cut on the ends where I want to bend them to get the brace to fit well. After that I went ahead and cleaned up the inside of the brace. It was better than the exterior, but still nasty. Took a bit to get it clean. After cleaning it, I bent the ends for a test fit. Looks like I need to adjust the ends a bit...


Marked out where I need to make a shallow cut to bend the end over.

Cleaning up the inside of the brace. What a pain.

Shallow grove cut and end bent over.

Test fit of the brace. Looks like it'll work this way. Just need to adjust the ends a bit.

Well, I 'adjusted' the ends....



Ends are now 'adjusted'.

After adjusting the ends I needed to fill in some of the holes that won't be needed, or will be re-drilled for mounting the bed.



Holes welded in and getting ground down.

More holes filled in and ground down.

After filling some of the holes I went and did a test fit to see where it'd land for mounting. Looks like the bed holes (yet to be drilled) will work if this is aligned well.


Last test fit before getting painted. Bed mounting holes will be drilled later for mounting the bed and the bottom bolt holes will also be drilled in the frame. As you can see I still need a bit more cleaning up to do on the steel before painting.

After getting the rear brace 90% ready for paint, I decided to re-install the steering column brace to help stiffin the dash for welding. It took a bit, but it's in.


Steering column brace. This will get cleaned up and painted before final install.

Brace and steering column installed.

steering column, brake booster, and master cylinder installed

I also installed the center brace on the dash. Cant really see it here, but it's there. It really makes the dash stiff. Will def. help when welding on the dash.


Dash braces are in and the dash is now braced for welding.

Here's a pic of the front of the cab. I can count 5 holes that I need to fill. I've circled them all for you. I'll work on tackling those next.


The five holes needing to be filled in on the front of the cab. None of these will be used for wiring or the clutch as this will be an automatic so no need for them.

So that's it for today. I'm hoping to get an hour or so of work in each night this week and then I have a three day weekend (I really like working a 9/80 schedule with every other weekend a three day weekend).