Now that I've started restoring a 1978 4x4 Supercab, I'm amazed at the threads I've found on here. I guess I hadn't been looking in the right places before, but since I've been poking around for information on the subject, I'm impressed with the quality of the work ya'll have been doing. I just finished reading this thread from start to finish, and there is some great stuff in it. I've just started a thread on my project, as it is currently nothing more than a sandblasted frame, and I'm sure I'll be soliciting advice from those who have already done what I'm about to do. I can sympathize with loading the frame in the back of your truck. At least I had a trailer (which was way too narrow for the frame), but doing some of these things without an extra set of hands can get interesting. Keep up the good work, and you can be quite sure that there are plenty of folks who are interested in seeing what you're doing.

 

Oh, I figured somebody out there was paying attention as during my last couple posts, the view count went up by over 300 in less than two days. It is nice, though, to get a little feedback from time to time just to reinforce my feelings about taking the time to post my progress.

I saw your new thread, and it sounds like you're starting from square one just like I did. Depending on how nuts you go, it'll be a long road, but in my opinion it's worth it. I know my build has gone off the deep end in a lot of ways, but I made up my mind before I started that I'd never get rid of this truck, so I might as well build exactly what I want, regardless of cost or how long it took. I know I'll never get the money back out, but since I'm not selling, that's not a concern to me. As I tell friends, "Buford has an 8 foot bed because it'll fit my coffin".....and I'm barely kidding about that.

Anyway, I hope the ramblings in my thread have given you some helpful information, or at least informed you about what not to do in some situations. Regardless, good luck with your build.....you've got a great resource in this site, and as long as you have the patience, it'll work out for you in the end.

Thanks again for stopping by to snoop!

 

Awsome Truck!!! Super Nice Job!!
This build is keeping me going on mine.

Have you fired it up Yet?

What seats did you use?

 

Looking awesome! Looks like a brand new truck.

 

Thanks guys.......no, I haven't actually fired it yet. I'm still chasing down some air leaks in the system that I installed, and I'm going to build my own throttle linkage as the stupid cable I have is the wrong one....(figures). Also, the kick down cable I got from Lokar is great, but the bracket gets directly in the way of the throttle, so that's out too. Going to have to go with the original kick down shaft, but luckily I had already had that powdercoated black in case the cable didn't work.

After that, I'm going to install all of the vacuum lines, washer lines, and install the new differential covers that I've got. I had a pair of cheapy chrome diff covers and even sitting in the garage out of the elements, they've managed to rust......complete garbage. The new ones look a LOT better, but I kinda wanted to hold off on installing those until I had the rear disc brake conversion completed. Guess I'll just have to take them off and put them back on again...carefully.

Once all that's done, then I plan on starting to put fluids in, check for leaks, double check everything about 500 times, prime the oil pump to get some oil up in the heads, and then maybe we can bring Buford back to life. I WILL have a pair of EMT's in my driveway when that happens as I'm sure if anything goes wrong, I'll have a massive coronary, and they'll need to bring me back. I'm hoping that I've done my homework pretty well, and that I've been careful enough to have not overlooked too much of anything. We'll see how that goes, but it should be happening in the next few weeks.

After I know the engine runs, I'll start buttoning up the front end (fenders, grille, hood, etc.), and then I'll have to go get the bedliner protective coat they have out now at Line-X. It keeps the existing Line-x coating from turning chalky in color, and stays shiny black. They didn't have that product when I first had it done, but they said I could have it shot in now with no problem. It's only an extra $50 or so, so I figure why not?

Once that's done, I can then install the toolbox into the bed that I've got. It's a prototype, and it'll definately have a different look to it than the tired old diamond plate that's been out for 25 years. After that, it'll be troubleshooting whatever issues that come up, as well as taking it to a shop to have custom stainless transmission lines bent and installed, and then it should be pretty much roadworthy.....I hope. We'll see how this summer goes, I guess, but I'm hoping to have it at a few shows before mid-summer is over.


By the way......the seats I used.....I used a 40-20-40 variety from Discount Van and Truck. I liked the style of the seat, and figured it would look pretty good in Buford. That's why I had the back seat upholstered to try to basically match the fronts, even though it's a bench. I did have to make some alterations to the mounting frame as it wouldn't allow the back seat to fold down properly, but it wasn't too difficult to fix. Overall, though, I think the seats came out nice. I could have gotten power everything, including heat, but in my opinion, that's all stuff that's going to break eventually, and all I needed was a manual adjust, and a manual lumbar support. Bolted right in, and didn't have to route any weird wiring under the carpet (although I've got a LOT of wiring going back to the speaker enclosure, but it's pretty well hidden).

Thanks for the compliments, guys......I really do appreciate it.

 

Sorry, no pictures tonight as it's getting dark and I don't want to have the flash make everything look like crap. I'll try tomorrow when I get home.

I did make a little progress this weekend, but it was really slow progress. I think I've finally got the combination to use the Lokar kickdown cable with a throttle rod that I've fabricated from a Mr. Gasket kit, and some of my own creative engineering. The rod is easy enough to make as the kit provides the spherical ends, jam nuts, and the rod threaded to 1/4" 28 (I think). Well, once I made the rod, I used a yoke that I bolted to the gas pedal arm, and connected the rod to that. The problem arose when you'd let the pedal up, and the rod would stop on the bracket for the kickdown cable. So, I had to figure out a way to extend the pedal arm up about one inch to provide the clearance for the rod, but also provide a solid mounting position for the yoke. I also drilled the yoke, and cut its arms down by about half, so I need a new piece of rod to offset the reduction in length. Once I get the new rod, I should be able to bolt things up pretty easily, and I think the throttle rod should have a nice even swing (I hope).

I also exchanged my press fit air fittings for brass compression, and I'm happy to see that the tank is holding pressure for the first time without leaking. There might be a small leak, but I have yet to detect it anywhere. I'm going to have to get out the spray bottle with soap, and see if I can find any leaks.

Finally, I pulled the cheapo chrome differential covers, and put on the nice ones that I picked up. The look good, and man, they do increase the fluid capacity. The rear Dana 60 took just over 3 quarts when I filled it back up, which I thought about two was typical.

Anyway, once I get the throttle rod fixed, and the air cleaner installed correctly, I'll see if I can get some updated photos posted here in the next couple days.

 

Yeah, I know I'm a little slow, but at least I'm making progress. I managed to finish making the carburetor throttle linkage, and it works well. I made a small bracket for the gas pedal arm to raise the mounting position of the rod by about one inch. I then mounted a small yoke to that bracket after I cut the yoke in half, and drilled a new mounting hole for the spherical bearing. After that, I measured, cut, and threaded the rod, and assembled the throttle rod. Once that was done, I mounted it on the carburetor and it worked perfectly. It cleared the Lokar kickdown bracket by about a quarter inch, and the pedal arm misses the firewall by only about 1/16 of an inch.

After the carb linkage was finished, I measured the mounting stud for the air cleaner and got it mounted up. I think it looks pretty good now that it's assembled. I still have to get in there and clean everything again, but that's just house cleaning.

I also managed to get all the vacuum lines routed and mounted, as well as the washer/wiper hose. That was actually a bigger pain in the butt than I thought it was going to be. I also think I'm just about done tracking down air leaks, which would be great if I don't find anymore. Finally, I filled the differentials and the O/D unit with oil, so I'm getting closer to firing this thing up!

Anyway, here's a couple shots.....enjoy!

 

First, I want to wish everyone a happy 4th of July, and hope you enjoy the holiday.

Next, however, I have to make an announcement.......

*ahem*

IT'S ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's right boys and girls, after six years of fighting with him, I got to fire Buford up for the very first time today. I've got to tell you, the engine sounds absolutely great, and seems that it will have more than enough power for my needs. I ran into a few problems this morning with the starter, and had to use a stock starter as the high torque mini starter was not behaving. The stock starter worked perfectly, so I may just stay with that. I've got at least an inch and a half of clearance to the headers, so I don't think heat soak should be a problem. I did wrap the starter in a reflective blanket just as a preventative measure, though.

I can't use him yet, as I have to chase down all the little issues here and there, but once I've done that, and I've bolted the front end together, I'll be getting really close to taking him out for his maiden voyage (around the block). Anyway, just wanted to drop an update for those that are paying attention. Once I'm able to get Buford buttoned up, I'll be taking more pictures, and posting them here.

 

Well then let me be the first to say CONGRATS!

 

Thank you much, sir! I can't say how nervous I was before I finally got that beast to start. I was considering having EMT's in the driveway just to bring me back if anything exploded, but luckily they weren't needed. I still have a number of things to work through, but at least there's a pulse now!

I figured I couldn't have this kind of news without at least posting a couple pictures, so I went back out into the garage to snap a couple shots before I called it quits for the night. Enjoy!

 

Congratulations.
What a great feeling that must be.
Seriously, Great Job.

 

Im happy for ya Behemoth! tremendous looking

 

Nice, ain't nothing like hearing a motor fire for the first time... Were about to that point with one of our (non-Ford) projects...

and while I'm here, I gotta ask, where did ya get that air cleaner?

 

Thanks guys.....I was a pretty happy guy yesterday...so much so, I had a couple drinks last night and have realized this morning why I really don't drink much at all anymore.....ugh. That was a pretty big step yesterday, and if I can get my body moving this morning, I'm going to try to start buttoning up the front end today. We'll see how motivated I am, but I'm not too optimistic so far (man, I should just never drink anymore....I'm a huge lightweight nowadays).

That air cleaner actually has a bit of a back story to it. A couple years ago, when I was trying to figure out what kind of cleaner I wanted, I was toying with some sort of forced induction setup, or at least a ram-air kind of configuration. I decided that I didn't want my engine compartment that busy, so I opted for a simple air cleaner. Well, I wasn't going to just go with a round cleaner, so i started scouring every catalog I could find to see what was available. I had my Ford Racing catalog, and noticed in the dress-up section that they had these oval air cleaners that said "Cobra" and "Mustang" on them, either of which you can buy just about anywhere. What caught my eye, was that in the Ford Racing catalog, there was a picture of the "Ford" oval air cleaner at the bottom of the page, sitting on an engine that they had taken a picture of for the catalog. I searched through the index, and the parts list, but there was no mention of a "Ford" oval air cleaner in the book.

So, I went directly to the Ford dealership, and showed them the picture of the "Ford" cleaner, and asked what the part number was (since it was in their own publication). The parts guy had no idea what it was, and couldn't find it either. So, he placed a call to Dearborn, and went straight to the horses mouth. The folks at Ford headquarters said that they made an extremely limited run (like 5) of those "Ford" oval air cleaners, just for pictures and such, but didn't put them into production. According to the guy on the phone, they sold those cleaners to an aftermarket company to sell the ones they had, but that was the extent of their plan. He told us "good luck finding one", and that was about the end of the conversation. Before we hung up, I asked what company they sold them to, and he gave me the contact information. I called those folks, not expecting to find anything, but the guy said he had one left. Without trying to sound too wound up about it, I asked if he could ring me up and ship it to me, and he did.

I figured that the oval air cleaner that was at home on the Cobra, Mustang, Galaxy, would look really interesting on one of our trucks, but I'd never do it if it said "Cobra" or "Mustang" on it. I just lucked into one that said "Ford". I'm not even sure you can find these things now, or if some aftermarket company has put them into production, but I can say that I got one of the first ones in existence. I'm glad I found it, as I do think it goes really well in the engine compartment. The filter element replacements are kind of expensive, but I've already talked to K&N about special ordering one of their filters that hasn't been oiled yet (so it won't be red). I'll use a different filter charger kit with either clear oil, or i'll dye the element blue, so it will look good with the rest of the black, silver, and blue theme. Anyway, that's the background on my air cleaner...(I know you probably didn't want to know all that, but it's how it came to be).

 

Your truck is absolutely beautiful! I thought I had taken a little care with Pop's Truck, but I had no clue what care really was. This is the difference between someone who knows what they are doing and someone who is flapping around on a wing and a prayer ladies and gentlemen. I could probably try to start Pop's Truck now, but I'm scared to death so I just keep working on other things to put off the inevitable, so I know just how you felt. I'm glad everything worked out and it ran so well for you. I know it was because of a lot of hard work and effort. Once you hear the engine fire up, everything else is just lace and pearls. Great looking truck and a video would really be nice to see. Take care.