yes another flip front end thread!! been looking latety about all the threads about a flip front end, i have a steel hood and fiberglass front fenders which i think would work perfectly for this, my plan so far is to make a frame with square tubing which would run under the fenders, i would then make brackets to attach the hood to the tubing, it would then go down to the front rails where the pivot would be installed, then i would make a slide in the front to move the front end before it pivots open, i want to keep the fenders in one piece,cuting only at the bottom where the running boards are. **my question is how close are your fenders going to be to the side of the cab?? should there be a small gap so they don`t rub?? also thought when building the inner structure to install a spring on each side to allow the fender to slightly push outward before sliding out? there would have to be a mechanism to push the fender in when in driving mode??

 

Gil,

sounds like an ambitious project although very interesting... as for your questions:

the fenders lay right against the cab and when the doghouse raises up they slide against the paint... (part of the problem with the low cut in the fender) I've seen installs where owners used rubber or velcro strips as wear strips on the cab to keep the paint from wearing off... your spring idea sounds like a solution but it would have to spring the whole back fender edge out at least a little. Thinking about it more... there's nothing to keep you from building a serious stiff frame for the whole thing (much like a drag car front clip) and bolt everything to that... then you could massage the rear edge of the fenders to allow a gap...say 1/4" so there would be no rub... but I think it would ruin the flow of metal and be very noticable when walking from theback to the front of the vehicle... but otoh it would increase the air flow over the engine somewhat I guess..

when you're designing this mechanism you probably ought to add in something to latch the whole thing down when driving... those fender wells catch a lot of air and they will either be flapping in the breeze or trying to raise the doghouse up.

the slide/tilt..

there have been some very nice workable solutions to this but they take some one-off machined parts to make it work nicely. The ones I've seen with drawer slides and such just had too much play and slop in them when things started moving... kinda wobbled out and up...not nearly as smooth as a hinged assembly mounted to the frame rails.

I guess if you have sufficient time/money/talent you can make it work AND look good too... but probably two of those three components might grow exponentially before you get the desired result.

Also consider the air deflector holds the radiator so additional radiator supports will have to be fabbed. Since you're framing and hinging the whole thing you wouldn't have to worry about the support rods running from the firewall to the air deflector.

Also consider any a.c. hosing and wiring will have to be considered as well as inner fenders if you use them AND if you plan to use them, how will they attach to the fiberglass outer fenders.... and if you figure that out...you're gonna have a bear of a time getting to the engine with all that sneet metal in the way..

you didn't mention tilt slide power... electric or hydraulic ??? consider the wiring/plumbing/fabrication needs there also.

just some things to consider.... if you attack this thing take lots of pictures and document it well... write an article and post it here for all of us with flip fronts to copy and steal all your hard work...

later
John

 

thanks John for the reply, for the slide i thought of using 2 bearings side by side (2 sets of them each side)with a stud sticking out each to attach to the hood frame, i would build a c chanel so the bearings would glide inside as the hood is pushed forward, the hood and fenders would be attached to a frame, back of fender would have a spring to push out the fenders out before hood would open, normally closed actuator (spring loaded would close the gap of the fenders when hood is completely closed, or possibly a spring loaded latch (some type of stud with a little hook at the end) would push the fenders to the cowl and a doorlock actuator would release the latch?? i have it all in my head just have to get at it and make it happen!

 

Send me a PM with your real e-mail address. I've got a full tilt on my 51, have tons of pictures, a write up with lessons learned - I'll send it to you.

The problem you are going to have with the fenders and cab sides is that the fenders will have to be pulled in a dash to fit tight and get over the running boards. Once they are past the running board tops when coming down the spring tension created by the cab sides will push them out tight against your running boards. The 51 had a thick soft rubber fender to cab welt that looks good and is the perfect cushion. I'm sure it would fit on an F-100 fender.

I let the backs of my fenders float free. The last set were clamped down and the different movements between the running boards and fender disintegrated the backs. This way I have a piece of 1/16" sheet rubber (the soft half of velcro works good to) glued to the back of the fender and it is snug on the running board. There is NO movement.

I use a centered single 400# 12 inch electric linieal actuator it keeps the hood locked down tight.

I'm not going to put catches or latches on the backs of my fenders. But I have pictures of a very simple latch and roller mechanism I took that were on a 47 Chevy puck-up and work great.

 

here`s a brawing of the slides i want to use

 

now that is just a tease....

send me a copy

jniolon (at) bham dot rr dot com

thanks
j

 

Hey Julie, I would like to see what you did. I'm working on a 51 F1 also. I can't PM. My email is delkmadams@windstream.net. Thanks a lot, Delwin

 

John, i hope you got that copy i sent you, i`ve come up with a better idea for this one, basically 2 pieces of pipe slid in each other so the hood would slide forward and backwards, what the actuator would do is push ahead, up to when the cross bar would hit the end of the slide, causing the latch to go up and locking in that pivot, then you would reverse the actuator which would then raise the whole front end, see my rough drawing!! am i full of it!! would this work??

 

i like the concept...and from the sounds of it, it should work....and if im following you correctly once the hood reaches it outward possition it would lock there for engaging the tilting motion?!?!

 

HI Guys,

I got a ton of requests for photo's - I sent them out tonight, if I missed anyone let me know!

 

You didn't send me your photo Julie What's up

 

Gil
I saw a car that had a system like this years ago at a car show. I kick myself for not having my camera with me. The guy was a machinist, and he made some aluminum tubes that slid into another set of tubes (almost like a hydraulic ram). At the front end of the inner tube, was a T that was the pivot point for the hood. I think he had convertible rams to power it. The rams would push the tube forward until it bottomed out, then the hood would start to tilt. The back of the hood road on a set of tracks with a pin that would lock everything in place when the hood was closed. I have a picture of a truck in my gallery that has a track that was similar to this. I probably have some additional pictures of that truck if you are interested. Both were VERY clean installations! Keep us posted on what you do.
Scott

 

Never an ounce of slack from you guys!

 

thanks Julie for the great pictures you sent me, i really apreciate it!! , going slow, yes the hood moves forward until the rear roller bottoms out and trips a latch, then the actuator can be reversed causing the hood to tilt back, SDC, this is verry similar to my second design but no side linkage like mine!! i like it! i`ll have to think this one over a bit more!

 

Hi Julie,

I am building a 42 Ford truck (not an F1) running a Flathead engine. I am considering making a tilt front for it, bolting existing bonnet & guards together. Saw your truck - looks good. I see you haven't cut the front guards - I want to avoid doing that myself. Would you please send me (e-mail chris10sen@bigpond.com) any photos or info about how you did it?

Thanks for your help,

Steve.