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Sam, Great video and body work. Excellent work on getting rid of that hideous nest and buttoning it up like it never happened. You have some serious skills with the sheet metal.
thanks Gary - lots of things Id go back and do differently but thats part of the learning process. Happy to have solid sheet metal to work with and no rot on the cab.
I am still amazed at how you discovered the cure for the 17" multi-piece wheels on your tonner. I personally am ok with them and I have a small collection of new 7.50 17s, but for many, it's been a deal breaker. I still have two jailbar tonner chassis on the property and I also have a nice Sterling 10 1/4 rear axle from a '94 F350 SRW. It's 4.11, worst part is I got it along with a front axle from the same truck and it was a dana 60. Somebody wanted it so I sold it to him for 400.00 as I paid 300 for the pair of axles. Live and learn. The axles had come from a truck that burned here on the island. I did get the 5 nice stock steel wheels. Thought maybe I'd build a chassis and set one of my cabs on it someday. Then build a steel flatbed that looks much like the factory setup. I have about eight good FH V8 blocks here and a guy can't have too many jailbar tonners.
I am still amazed at how you discovered the cure for the 17" multi-piece wheels on your tonner. I personally am ok with them and I have a small collection of new 7.50 17s, but for many, it's been a deal breaker. I still have two jailbar tonner chassis on the property and I also have a nice Sterling 10 1/4 rear axle from a '94 F350 SRW. It's 4.11, worst part is I got it along with a front axle from the same truck and it was a dana 60. Somebody wanted it so I sold it to him for 400.00 as I paid 300 for the pair of axles. Live and learn. The axles had come from a truck that burned here on the island. I did get the 5 nice stock steel wheels. Thought maybe I'd build a chassis and set one of my cabs on it someday. Then build a steel flatbed that looks much like the factory setup. I have about eight good FH V8 blocks here and a guy can't have too many jailbar tonners.
Do it!! A fella can never have enough antique vehicles let alone old ford tonners!!
a real solution would be using the factory 5 lug 17” rims with modern gearing ya know? I too love the look of the original wheels - sometimes I feel like Ive taken away from my pickup’s personality by moving to modern rims but the price to pay to get around quicker…I had my original 17”s modified for my 1950 F3 flatbed, some days I think about having another set of 17”s made and putting the 17”s on the 47 for that original nostalgic look I I love.
Also an update…I am laying out the wiring in my basement over the winter, using one of those $30 dollar harness kits off ebay and an assortment of leftover switches/components from old projects. This is the fun part that made all that nasty sheet metal worth it! Also mixed up a batch of rustoleum “Barcelona blue” for fun…we will see how it looks on the inside of the cab this spring…
Finally back to working on the truck, this winter took forever. Had a few days off and decided to focus on the ‘47. I was able to finish assembling my dana 60; brake drums, new seals, new studs, oh and some black paint. Also mounted the bed rails on the sides. My friend has an ‘48 F2 with an express box that I plan to get dimensions off of for the crossmembers.
I FINALLY finished my last patch on the cab. Found more rust, had to fix it. I finished fabbing last night and spread some bondo on. Nothing fancy just make it look decent, after all this truck will keep quite a few of its little dents. Its really my first time doing this body work like this, easy to be hard on yourself but overall I feel like it turned out pretty well. All solid sheet metal with minimal warping. I will get some close ups once I get some paint on there.
Next is to clean up the interior and slap some paint on it. Then I can dig into my favorite, bolting the whole thing back together. Also - been thinking of wheel colors. I have always planned on black but now Im thinking I want to experiment with a rusty orange. Not sure why but think this would look good with the old weathered blue….the grey has got to go.
Dont worry I will be straightening out the boards!!
A quick update…with poor pics cause the truck is in the back of the garage. Ive been chipping away at it all summer. Some things Ive finished: brakes (bled etc), fuel system done, wiring complete, glass installed (wibdshield/rear), choke, throttle assembly (thanks Gary for shipping me the pedal assembly!!), alternator bracket/mounted, custom battery tray, and various other things. Please excuse the mess…goes with working in a small garage…once I get the ol guy outside Ill get much better pictures, hopefully by then trim will be back on, wheels painted black, and running/driving.
Thanks guys! This weekend I needed some motivation, so I got rid of those hideous grey wheels. Satin black is the replacement. They are a little too shiny for my taste but they do the trick for now. The best part is they really make those big 8.25-16 tires pop. Also got my driveshaft installed yesterday, no more excuses why I cant take this down the lane anymore.
The list is getting smaller…Ive gotten sidetracked today working on my Trans Am, leaking turbo 350 transmission…had enough of it/cursing and went back to working on the ‘47. Man I appreciate the huge engine bays and ease of working on these older rides
Finally got all the teeth on this thing, what a difference. Feels like a jailbar again. This past weekend I was able to fire it up from the cab. Just dropped coolant in it tonight so I am going to need to fab up an exhaust very soon. I am pushing it with my gas tank and pin holes so on the hunt for a new one but I am going to run what I have for now. Oh I also narrowed a ‘50 ford pickup bench seat I had in my stash to fit in the cab, in the spirit of keeping it all Ford.
A few weeks back while working some Merle Haggard came on and it occurred to me to call this pile Merle cause the old feller is a little haggard. Haha I don’t typically name my vehicles but I love old country and old trucks so why not.
I used a dealer in PA many be 20 year a ago on a 70 AMC Javelin tank as no one makes a tank for this car.
Now I have not had the car on the road yet and only put 5 gallons at a time in it, dont want a lot of gas going bad.
Mine was coated inside & out but if I remember you can have just the inside done so it looks factory on the outside.
Dave ----
I took the first drive tonight. I finished the exhaust, made from a F3 v8 crossover pipe, was able to get my fuel system worked out too.
But boy do those 3.73s make a difference. I probably didnt break 20 mph on my drive down the lane but man it was awesome. 1st gear the whole way, first time using a first gear on one of these trucks too. And nothing better than that straight six purring and the non synchros humming along. Straight music to my ears.
Plenty left to do…but now I can work on it and drive it which is where I want to be. This truck has challenged my need to make things perfect but best part of this project has been coming up with solutions to save money and working with what I got. More to come…
Sammy, It just plain has a GREAT look and feel. I could see the 'rusty' orange wheels. I painted the wheels on my green tonner red over black primer which shows through in places. Even though it seems rather odd and 'christmaslike' I like red and green together. Some early Oliver, Rumely and other tractors did this paint scheme. I have been told I have more than just that in common with 'Red Green'.
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
The axles had come from a truck that burned here on the island. I did get the 5 nice stock steel wheels. Thought maybe I'd build a chassis and set one of my cabs on it someday. Then build a steel flatbed that looks much like the factory setup. I have about eight good FH V8 blocks here and a guy can't have too many jailbar tonners.
