JB's 1970 F100

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JB5587
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Re: JB's 1970 F100

Post by JB5587 »

Hmm... They both seem like steel and aluminum to me. Can't find any specific specs, but I doubt there will be an issue with materials. The upgraded style ball joints already pressed in are worth it to me though... Just one of those things.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.ph ... 15&jsn=248
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.ph ... 15&jsn=251
nytling92
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Re: JB's 1970 F100

Post by nytling92 »

Guess I was wrong. I looked it up and you can get those replacement parts. They're not cheap when you consider what we give for a whole front end, but they are obtainable.
JB5587
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Re: JB's 1970 F100

Post by JB5587 »

Got everything stripped off and the frame cleaned up last week
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Went ahead and purchased a CV front end install kit from Jake Winterton. These are really popular and for me, worth it. Just one of those things that take the thought out of a generic fab job that would take many more hours. I like fabbing custom things, but these are money well spent.
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1 of the 50 times I test fitted over and over... Hard to pull the trigger and finally say it is right and weld up everything! I measured across and diagonally from various points that were the same on each side of the frame. The most deviation was 1/8" out of any of them, and that was the bumper hole at the frame horn, so that works for me! Considering how hastily I've seen some of these front ends just slapped onto some projects, I'm sure I'll be just fine.
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As it sits now. Ready to blast a quick coat of paint this afternoon and then start on boxing the frame in. Not looking forward to that honestly... I hate cutting out plate and working out of a garage that also has an offroad truck sitting in there (STILL haven't sold it!!!!!! :cuss: ) taking up space hinders productivity and adds to frustration as I have to maneuver parts around everything.
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Lone Ranger
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Re: JB's 1970 F100

Post by Lone Ranger »

Wow good work! You make it look so fast and easy. That frame looks in perfect shape!
1972 f100 4x4 4 inch lift with dump box kit-sold
1969 f250 4x4 highboy in progress.
http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... 22&t=85251
Kyle
JB5587
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Re: JB's 1970 F100

Post by JB5587 »

Lone Ranger wrote:Wow good work! You make it look so fast and easy. That frame looks in perfect shape!
Thanks. I'd like to say it was easy, but this is the first time I'm pulled the welder out in years and tackled any sort of decent size fab job. Took me much longer than it should have and had some hiccups along the way for sure. The left frame's inside bottom corner was REALLY rounded for some reason and I had lots of trouble getting the install kit to sit close to the frame. The rear bolt hole on the CV left side is offset 3/8" so you essentially have to angle the kit. This drove the kit farther into the frame making it necessary to cut out some of the outside. I didn't like this, but with the bottom being so rounded, I had no choice. Other than that, the frame really is in great condition!

Here is after I hacked it apart :eek:
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And after rewelding and blending some (It's done now, but this was almost done)
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Then threw on a protective coat of paint over everything. Just need to box the rest in then respray the new added plate.
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JB5587
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Re: JB's 1970 F100

Post by JB5587 »

I'm getting ahead of myself, but as I was working on getting the boxing plate templates cut and stuff, I threw on the cheap 16" Mustang wheels I picked up so I could lower it down. Started really thinking about wheel/tire size... I'm pretty set on 19x10's because a lot of the 18" wheel/tire combos I've seen just look SLIGHTLY small. I think 19's could make up that gap a bit more and give just enough proportion since our trucks eat up wheels and tires and make everything look small. Wheels I want are 2+ months out, so I do want to have this part figured out sooner rather than later.

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I like the idea of this size, but have no idea how they will fit. I've tried to compare them with other builds since that is really the best way to figure out what look you want, but that is really hard to do and know they will fit. I did a search for "rim, tire, wheel" size and came across Hackster's build where he is using 18x10 wheels with 285/35-18. Since he had a few good pics in there, I compared the change in size with what I want:

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Width looks great since I'd shed 0.39", but I gain 1.81" in diameter which is significant. Anyone have any thoughts on if this should work? Have a full 65" width 9" rear by the way which pretty much matches the Crown vic width, so would be doing the same offset all around. Then offset selection is the next battle.
JB5587
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Re: JB's 1970 F100

Post by JB5587 »

Well picked up some Shelby GT500 wheels for $200 on Craigslist. They look good enough to run with for quite a while until the truck is fully complete and I then figure out what custom wheels I want to go with. Can't beat Craigslist scores like this.

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Grandpas72
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Re: JB's 1970 F100

Post by Grandpas72 »

Any new updates?
JB5587
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Re: JB's 1970 F100

Post by JB5587 »

Grandpas72 wrote:Any new updates?
Not really. We've had really bad fires here and there has been ash and smoke everywhere which means horrible air quality. So working on the truck outside wasn't high on the list during that. Was also waiting on some factory sway bar brackets since my Police Interceptor front end had these fully welded on types. So those just came. I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do to shorten the bed since it's a lot of welding of the body. I've honestly been shopping around for a short bed and it's pretty hopeless. Cheapest I've seen is $1200 which would start putting me back to the cost of a short bed truck in the first place, so that pretty much seals the deal on me just tackling it and seeing what happens. May start on the in the next couple of weeks. Just need to finish boxing in the front of the frame.
JB5587
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Re: JB's 1970 F100

Post by JB5587 »

Got home from work and decided to dig in. Been busy at work and haven't had a ton of motivation by the time I get home. Got the rear 4" out in a couple hours. Doing the front 16" tomorrow which should go much quicker now that I am more confident in what I'm doing here. Hoping to then tack it back up, remove it, then shorten the frame. Should have the frame done this next week.

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hfdco4
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Re: JB's 1970 F100

Post by hfdco4 »

Nice straight cuts! Progress is always good.
Paul
:fr: FE390PC
1970 F250 4x4
2016 F150 4x4 2.7 ECO
Gone 1997, 1999 & 2003 F150 4x4s
Gone 1988, 1989 & 1991 Broncs
JB5587
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Re: JB's 1970 F100

Post by JB5587 »

Well the weekend was productive. Buckled down and got it done. Need to fishplate the backside of the frame, drill 2 new holes for the front bed bolts, then start welding up the bed. Pretty happy overall with how it all went. I'm confident I got the back section of the frame within 1.5% parallel (horizontally from side) to the front. Super hard figuring out if it is straight with the other section, but at some point you have to realize it all old metal and you'll get different measurements all over. Got within 1/16" when measuring each side front to back then cross-measuring which is the most important part, so that's good. Overall, pleased with my $1700 "shortbed" :thup: :D

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hfdco4
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Re: JB's 1970 F100

Post by hfdco4 »

Wow great work!
Paul
:fr: FE390PC
1970 F250 4x4
2016 F150 4x4 2.7 ECO
Gone 1997, 1999 & 2003 F150 4x4s
Gone 1988, 1989 & 1991 Broncs
IN2FORD
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Re: JB's 1970 F100

Post by IN2FORD »

Love seeing this kind of stuff! Awesome work!!

Barry
JB5587
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Re: JB's 1970 F100

Post by JB5587 »

Thanks. Got it all welded back up, ground down, and a shot of primer on real quick. The front left section of the bed was REALLY hard to line up. I think it was really skewed from the factory as there weren't really signs of damage. Went together fairly well... The seam isn't QUITE lined up so I will rework that a bit by cutting a slice and shifting it up, but wanted to get it all together anyway. I've decided I don't really enjoy bodywork. Thin sheetmetal that is finicky, sensitive to heat, and easy to mess up don't make a great combination with large scale projects like a bed shortening. Took a LOT of tack welds all over, back and forth over many hours. Never touched sheet metal before this and definitely learned a lot. I'd do it WAY cleaner if I could do it all again. The pictured butt weld clamps played a huge role in getting the bed back together and lined up though. Life savers. I'm sure I warped the metal slightly in a couple areas, but not too concerned about it. Anyway, it's a fully complete truck again which is awesome. Just waiting to start the major tear down and next stage in the build. Hopefully somewhat soon. Until then, it will sit under tarps.

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