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I had a major overheat event in August that toasted my 302. I’ve been working on a stroker 347 for the last year or so and this winter is a good opportunity to do some other work before the engine swap.
Some will remember this yellow truck from my build thread 6 years ago. I pulled it out of a forest in New Hampshire and brought it down to New Jersey thinking this would be the economical way to get myself a cool 56 driver. No, it wasn’t economical but I learned a ton in the process.
The paint and body work is ok for a driveway job but I know I can do better so I’m going to clean up the back of the cab, the roof, and fix some rust in the rear fenders.
Frame is all good and the mustang 2 front suspension and 4 link rear has worked out great.
I hope to paint it in pieces in the next few months and get the engine up and running by summer.
Here are a few pics of it originally, as finished, and where we are today.
Sept 2019 I’ve had it in this condition for about 3 years. 347 built from a roller 302 block, afr 165 heads, eagle rotating assembly, Kieth black pistons, torker 2 intake. Bed removed tonight so I can get to work on the fenders and bed panels Pile of parts that I’ll strip and take care of any repairs. I was going to switch to the correct bed but I like this one and I already have a new bed wood kit for it. I think I’ll just stick with it and save some $$. The frame and cab will get tarped up tonight and will wait outside for a few weeks while I work on the bed.
Lol you call that an imperfect driveway paintjob(gorgeous)? Wonder what you would've said about my imperfect driveway paintjob($**t)?
hah. My finished photo is a bit deceptive. The hood and fenders I painted in a booth. The cab, doors, and bed were done in the driveway and I had air problems when I sprayed. So it’s basically 2 different paint jobs and the the front end makes me believe I can get the whole truck right.
Starting on the bed and fenders. When I was under the truck last year I noticed the center supports for the bed wood were really rusty. It made me worried there might be some hidden rust under the paint. When I painted the bed last time I did a scuff and spray because the body work and paint were pretty good.
So far, all of the bolts for the bed wood have spun out and won’t unscrew. The strips are rusty and I’m going to cut out as much as I can and then use the cutting wheel on my grinder to cut the last bolts off.
Stood up the bed to make it easier to separate the bed wood from the sides. Not much left of the center strips on the bottom. Sawzall and a little muscle and a big chunk is out of the way. Finally getting smart and blocking off the rest of the garage from the sanding dust! I’m using some magnetic hooks and clear tarp with eyelets. Easy enough to take down later.
Started on the metal work this weekend. I sanded the left rear fender down to bare metal. Three paint jobs on it over the decades and the original one really resisted.
im happy with the integrity of the metal and just needed to make one small patch for the front bottom edge.
Overall a really nice fender The rust on the lower front was caused by dirt and water trapped between the support panel and the main sheetmetal. This is what I cut out Pulled a patch from some metal leftover from when I repaired my cab several years ago Mockup of patch Welded in. Will need some hammer and dolly work and a bit of filler but I’m happy with it. There’s some light surface rust further up that I’ll treat before primer. Bottom edge where it rolls under. I have one more little patch to make to connect the lower edge.
This week I worked on the fuel door. Last time around I had the filler in the bed via a boat style inlet. I never liked how it worked, looked, or led to spillage on the bed wood.
This time I’m going with a fuel filler in the left fender. I went with a unit from tanks inc that has a spring actuated door, capless filler, and radiused similar to the fender.
I first placed this unit in the back of the fender to find the best match for the curve. Then drilled 2 holes, one at each upp r corner. I then made a paper template and aligned it with the holes on the front side of the fender. Traced it out and rough cut the rectangle hole. I then tacked the bottom edge of the filler panel in place and did a cut and butt around the other three sides. Cleaned up the welds and hit it with 60 grit paper on a random orbital. Here’s how the door works View from the back of the fender. I did the 45 degree outlet so I can create a gradual bend down to the tank under the bed.
I haven’t done much on the truck the last few weeks but the snow finally melted off enough to move it back into the garage.
I changed direction on the bed as the one I’ve had was from a mid 70’s truck and I want the correct one. So I ordered one from Midwest and am going to pick it up at Carlisle.
I was looking at the back of the cab today and it became obvious why my front sheet metal didn’t line up very well. The rear cab mounts are at different angles, causing the right side to sit lower. I have the adjustable cab mounts and will use those when I reassemble it.
Also ordered a new under bed fuel tank and efi pump from CPP. The tank has a side fill setup that will accommodate my fender mounted filler better. Also trying a new style of fuel level sending unit from Holley that uses LiDAR to judge fuel level. I’ve always had problems with the old style senders so I figure this is worth a try.
You can see the sag of the cab to the right. LiDAR fuel gauge sending unit
I’ve been working away at the truck but haven’t been posting.
This is a project catch up post. I’ll explain with the photos!
Decided to go with the 289 rather than the 347. It’s got nostalgia for me and the guy that taught me how to build stuff, Ted Dineen (RIP), had a killer old logging company 55 f100 with a 289 in it. It wasn’t a nice truck but it was an awesome one, if you know what I mean. Finally got some weather here in NJ to get the Biscayne out! Paused work on the truck for a family trip to Myrtle Beach. The folks down there treated us so well and it was a welcome break! Of course, I had to dust the family on the go carts! Got back and it was time to pull the cab. I built an X shaped dolly this time to make access easier and to provide more stability than last time. Pulled the engine and trans today so I could get the frame prepped Finished out the day with a degrease and pressure wash on the frame. Everything held up well in the 5,000 or so miles since I built it. It was obvious where I had some rattle can touch ups on the frame vs the POR 15. The spray paint blew right off with the pressure wash.
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