1971 f250 DESERT truck- 10/24 race prep

[03rangerxlt]

man i hate that for you. hope you can find a tire toget you going again.

[OldRedFord]

Sorry to see that Ryan. I wish I could help you out to get her right again.

[fordman]

its amazing what people throw away.

[1971ford]

oh you should hear the oooootttther story.
In this shop, there is a huge shelf rack full of racing parts.
Rick, the owner, grabbed the whole rack with the forklift and took it to the dumpster and started throwing everything away because he didnt want to see it there anymore (rack was full of things such as a complete MSD ignition for my 429, and many other parts). Another guy i know stopped him and grabbed a handful of things but the rest is now gone.... so sad. one mans trash is another mans treasure

[aramil]

theres water in your oil j/k glad to hear you got some tires and i like the looks of them gauges.

[1971ford]

Today i got the antennae for the GPS, can't wait to hook it up.
Also i picked up my tires! Did you know that 4 33" tires and 4 35" tires/rims fit in the back of a bronco if you plan it out for an hour?
so i trimmed the rear fenders and mounted them... man they are massive. way bigger than i thought!
I also started on my rear bumper. I only need about one more hour and i will have the whole rear bumper/tire carriers tacked together.






should be sitting like this soon... need to get the beams away from the bumps!

The bumper nerf hoop will be getting tighter bends to give it more space from the main bumper tube.

[aramil]

what is the rear axle in youre truck? its probly posted already but im feelin kinda lazy tonight .
if its the 9" do you have any worrys about it holding up to the load the 35"S will put on it?
ive seen alot of them broke by 35s but thats usually on rock crawlers with some good power.

[jeepermc]

I believe Ryan is running a D60 in the back....

[BradyCouchman]

You running stock rear 9"?

It's a F-250, but I think he's still gonna run the stock D60 though.

yep stock D60.
it has 3.73's which i planned on running but since we plan on 35" tires i think were going to need something in the 4.o's

yup a D60....

[aramil]

i think it should hold up then, cant wait to see it in action.

[1971ford]

yeah the plan is to have it stay together
i have two spare axles that each chase truck will have just incase we feel like twisting some axles.

-cut/notched/tacked on spare tire carrier tubes, rear bumper, bumper suppors and plated rear of frame
-welded brace from bedside top to main hoop so that will no longer bang/flop around, i will probably add a gusset soon on the top of the brace. I may also add a large-tube gusset from bed floor, to bedside about a foot up.
-started patching all the cab floor holes. half way done, way too much exhaust heat, rocks, dirt and fumes comes through as it is!!

My 34's are obviously bigger, but they are a 3/4 inch wider too so they fit perfectly snug in the carriers, and the spare 33's half about 1/2 gap to one side when pushed against other side. air in the tires should help but they will not go anywhere with 2" ratchet straps cranked on them.
I am also adding two more tubes that will go from the bend on the main bed cage tubes down to the bumper to give the tire support on the inside.

some say they stick up too high, but i am leaving them like this. If i cut the floor out under them to sink them a few inches, i will be cutting out one of the few remaining bed support crossmembers and hte bed will start to fall apart. But, the way the carriers are made i can cut them out in the future and they will still work great.




i need to adjust the toe on the truck, im sure its off. it squats more than usual when reversed into driveway.

[1971ford]

-made lug wrench mount with T-handle
-fiberglass front fenders
-made a center console and supports
-All gauges work! Tach, oil pressure, water temp, volts, and trans temp (actually that isn't hooked up yet. need to do that). All lights work with the flip of a switch as well.
-wired some switches up. We have a switch for the horn (the old Start switch, it doesnt stay clicked on so its good for a horn), fuel pump, electrics on/off, gauge lights, and amber, which is also wired.
-rear bumper extension to protect fuel cell, still needs to be welded. We ran out of c02/argon!
-seat belts are all mounted with the exception of a couple tabs that just need to be welded on.
-Seat mounts just need to be welded as well
-painted bed cage because welds were starting to rust


lug wrench mount


High-tech state of the art zip tie mounting mechanism:




I don't have good luck with tires. A nail is in this tire, we will plug it tomorrow. I think it is safe to say that during the race we will be swapping out a left front.



I have a blue vinyl im going to cover it in eventually. for now, paint.





Ammo cans will go here, and pumper will later go behind them. Real-size cup holders will go in front.






We have only one more weekend for getting the truck race-legal! Then the weekend after is testing. Still have many things to do

[Vinniesempire]

that is awesome. what shifter is that?

[trukcrazy]

Looking good Ryan.

[1971ford]

Thanks
It is a Winters gate shifter. I have two, this one goes with this tranny, and i have the reverse pattern of this one for the built tranny. This tranny i can leave it in 3 and it still shifts auto because the valve body isn't full auto, but once the built tranny is in, we will be continuously shifting