Gentlemen,

There’s been a substantial influx of new blood to the forum in past year. Additionally, the skill levels of these folks ranges from rank amateur to highly experienced. Backgrounds range from Engineers to ner-do-wells....

I’m thinking about kicking off another collective article..

For you newer guys, what this means is;

In the past we have started threads on commonly discussed topics to collect information from everyone and anyone that wants to contribute. After the influx of information being posted into the thread starts to die down, one/two people take it offline and write a tech article using the info. Typically another person proof reads it for grammar, spelling, PC’ness, etc. Somebody that is good with objects/pictures imbeds pics into and within a few months a tech article is born. It gets posted into the tech article section for all to refer to for time immemorial….. Like our 12 part IFS article – the writers/editors/etc remain anonymous, so there’s no fame or riches coming to you for your effort. (But you do get a better seat in heaven, when that time comes….)

We’ve already done IFS alternatives and we’ve done rear ends. These had proved to be the two most asked about topics in the past…

Anybody got any ideas for a new article?

Perhaps a compendium of commonly used major components – i.e. gas tanks, seats, what else?

So the questions I’m posing to the members of this forum are;

1. Do any of you feel there is another topic that is of frequent enough interest that it would warrant a tech article? (You don’t have to be willing/able to contribute to the article to suggest a topic).
2. Would you be willing to contribute to the article? (You are allowed to suggest a topic even if you’re not willing to contribute to it)

If it is determined that there is a suitable topic or a few possibilities, then we’ll take vote, pick a team of volunteers and work on it through the winter.

If the general membership determines there is not a suitable topic left or not enough people willing to work on it, we’ll let the idea drop.

(George – Would you sticky this thread for a couple of weeks?)


Let me know what you think.

 

I think a good topic would be steering alignment angles etc. as pertains to our group of trucks. AX and others have a great start on that Mongo thread they did awhile back. I have see others related to Early Fords with wishbones with drawings some measurements and the lokes.
I'm thinking on the lines of "For the stock 49 - 52 Ford F1 the critical measurements are 15 smeagleas from the framus to the doohickie. If you lower the shameling tube more that 6 ferples you need to adjust the framus downward 6 smeagleas."

I sometimes get this real hair raising feeling when I read what people are doing to their vehicles in attempts to make them look "Cool". Thankfully on this fourm we have a ample selection of the non-too-shy who will try and correct the wayward.

 

This seems like a great idea, so I'll give my thoughts. My one word of advice would be to try very hard to include the heavier duty trucks in the article as they are getting more and more prevalent in here.

#1 I really liked the front end 12 part article done by the group in the past, however it didn't cover one front end that I would have liked to see... namely 4x4 front end swap.

#2 I think brakes would be a great article to write, plusses and minuses of disk-disk, drum-drum, disk-drum, etc... which kits are good which aren't, what are the options on F1/100 and heavier trucks too

#3 I like the steering idea already posted, however I think it should include suspension as well becuase of its direct impact on alignment geometry, and should include power steering options and installs

#4 Extensive swap guide, I know that we have some stuff on the early trucks already stickied, but there are a lot more trucks out there in these years and a lot more parts that can swap than are listed

#5 Tech info guide: By this I mean a spreadsheet with the active members of this forum on one side and a list of mods/specs on the other. This way if you are thinking of doing something to your truck you can look the item up and see who's already done it and maybe contact them and get some usefull information


#6 Body work: A tech article with the common areas that rust out and need repair, what it takes to do this or that modification (big window, chopped roof...), different ways to attack each repair/mod. Lists of tools needed would also be good. This could be a huge cost saver to a lot of hard working members especially if the article included things like downloadable templates for patch panels. I know that buying the tools and metal is a lot cheaper than buying the pre-made panels.

 

Body work, with hammer and dolly....

 

I will help with the writing, not sure I have any useful knowledge about the technical aspects. Generally it is me asking the questions, not giving the answers.

I am a retired technical writer with lots of time on my hands, and wish to remain current in the writing department. In fact I have ghost wrote one article for FTE already.

One idea I started on but did not find any SME (subject matter expert) who wanted to work on it was on locating an engine - that is, finding the best place to mount it in your truck.

Somebody mentioned covering the big trucks - that is ok but I would be satisfied if we could also cover the 57 to 60 pickups too.

I am also lost with the new paint and bondo - I grew up with only one type of body putty and enamel paint. A discussion on those would be helpful.

I also have a lot of research on rust - prevention, removal, and converters. That subject should be common to us all.

 

Body work and sheet metal mods.

I would be glad to participate in any way. My wife and I used to own and run a wordprocessing business. So, besides having some experience in the body work stuff, I am also very good at writing and proofreading.

 

while I'm with Cuz on the tech article stuff...with very little back patting, we did a great job on the IFS and others...

if we can't decide on ONE topic... I'll offer another suggestion... a FAQ for all the questions that get asked over and over and over and well...you know...

like
what late model frame can I put under my truck ???
what steering column is the best for my truck...

there are dozens others...

just a thought...if we can't find a commonly interesting subject where we have enough expertise to write an article.

later
john

 

John - The FAQ's are a great idea!!!

 

I doubt that I could compare with any you guys and your knowledge base. I would be more than happy to help out in any way that I can.

Here's a few things I've noticed on a regular basis;

Toyota power steering swap

Body work (hammer and dolly, leading, etc) I know, I know, there is a forum for that already but I am more comfortable with this group of guys than trying to break in another group

Rust prevention/conversion ( could be in with the body work)

Electric wiper conversions

Reccommended vendors

and one that I've been kicking around......How to research parts and what might work via the internet before heading to the wrecking yard or parts store

Thanks
Bobby

 

There are a number of parts, wheel bearings, gaskets, points, condensers, etc: that are availabe from your local parts houses. Usually they are less expensive and have no wait or shipping problems. It would be nice to have such a list handy.

I have gotten a Flathead V8 Gaslet set from AutoZone. Ordered ome day, picked up the next for about 2/3's of the catalog price.

Some parts cover alot of the Trucks we play with.

 

Good idea Bob. I'll contribute, provided I have any knowledge to offer of course. The common donors for seats, gas tanks, steering columns and such is definitely worth doing. And so are most of the other ideas mentioned.

Bodywork would be a very tough one to tackle though. You might be better off using previously net published info for a starting point. (With permission of course) Or perhaps compile a list of links to bodywork sites that have this info. Just my 2 cents.

 

this is a good idea. i've been doing body work for the past 14 yrs. so doing a a patch panel article or some repairs is not a problem. i'm not good at writing a how to though.

not sure if anyone would like to see this. i'm going to be flipping the rear axle on my 58 sometime next week. also i will be removing 3 leaves from each spring and possibly boxing and c-notching the frame. i could snap some pictures of that.

 

Pictures and a discription are always needed, even if they just reside in your gallery. When someone has a question about the procedure they can see the Pic's.

 

I think salvage yard seats that fit the 48-56 would be a good topic. The question of what other application radiators fit comes up regularly also.

Vern

 

I would like to see some info on complete rewiring of our trucks, where to start , what order etc.