And I thought I had it figured out... I got into the FTE forum back in Jan. I was not familiar with the Darkside thing but I decided to just lurk for a while to figure it out. (Hey, us old guys need time to figure thing out...) I had come to the conclusion that Darksiders were guys that put Chevy drive trains in Fords. I felt pretty safe because I would never do that. Now I'm seeing posts that suggest that putting anything other than stock in the old trucks is considered Darkside.

OK, guilty as charged... I'm glad that is all lout in the open. Now, where are the cookies???

 

I ain't scared of the dark! later,Bill

 

LOL....

Yup. the true lightsiders are the factory correct, every part matching, all Ford components, no upgrades of any kinds, etc, etc, etc, guys. then things start getting dark and hazy from there. There is a large population of folks that want to keep their trucks basically stock with a few safety upgrades such as 12V lighting and alternators, radial tires, etc. And then we get into the modification guys who have no qualms about tweaking any and all components of the truck for a variety of reasons. These people range from a basic modern day drivetrain or suspension all the way out to full blown wild creations (you've seen Keiths's truck haven't you?).

What I have found is that they are all great people, they are all willing to lend a helping hand, supply tips on how to do things, provide needed parts, offer advice, spew out opinions, be total and complete smart-aleks, poke fun at you, etc.

I've seen your website and the gator creation, you are definately dark..........

enjoy the cookies
Bobby

 

So... Are you saying I ought to stock up on flash lights and batteries and keep my Light Sabre handy???

 

LOL.........

What is the stats on the gator? is it finished? how does it perform?

Bobby

 

Hey, I got to use this as much as possible

 

Keith Cruz ate ALL the cookies!!! He deserves ALL of them too!!

 

Dave,
Awhile back we had a long thread about this whole Darkside thing.. for your reading pleasure heres a link..... this should clear it up for ya.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...darksider.html

 

Everything should be on the gator site if you look around at all the links. I only tried it out once when I had juat enough of it together to run it. There is a link and pics on the site for the first run. I didn't go very far as I had to use the e-brake and the carb was leaking like a screen door. I just wanted to make sure the drive train was going to work OK. That was two years ago. I do remember it had a wicked turning radius. I only have a half acre here and I don't need the thing. Strange as it may seem, there are people who keep bugging me to get it done so they can buy it. I think somebody will get killed in it because it will probably go at least 70 MPH and it is a good candidate for a roll over or they will go charging through the woods and get impailed on a big limb. I just need to get it done and sold so I can start on my truck. It was one of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time but turned out to be a lot of work for something I don't really want or need. I do need to get some more recent pictures posted now that I have started putting it back together. I hope to get it done sometime this Summer.

 

Even I, the self-aclaimed "stock kinda guy", am thinking about headers on the ol' '51. I haven't been able to find a great set of stock cast manifolds. Found several sets of "ok" ones, but I would want some great ones...

Time will tell...

R

 

Hi Dave,

Thanks for explaining the "Dark Side" to me. After reading some of the things people say here, sometimes it like a code!

Thanks again,

Juuullliiieee!

 

the darkside lives in all of us , even the proclaimed all stock guy's . they just hide it better .i still got that consarned gm alternator , the headers , an aftermarket floor shifter and latermodel ford rims on my 53 , so .......................

 

I'm having a hard time seeing anything, it just keeps getting darker and darker,

does someone have a light i could use? or should i just continue to keep my eyes closed?

 

I learned about the DARKSIDE when I was handed a trailer load of parts that my friend gave me for work done. I had no idea what the darkside meant but as I took the parts off the trailer and saw a bunch of non standard running gear, the search light shined and I was in the big tunnel of dark..lol. What fun.

 

Hi Juuullliiieee,
Blame those other guys for your enlightening... I was in the dark about the Darkside too. But these fine gentlemen have guided me on to the path of Drakness. It's a lonely path but the cookies are warm and soft. Mmmmm Cooookies...

Oh yeah, the code... Don't feel bad, I have been workin' on and building cars and trucks for over forty years and there is a lot they say that I don't get either. I think they make that stuff up as they go... Maybe it's a side effect of those frosty beverages.