1971 f250 DESERT truck- 10/24 race prep

[1971ford]

Our beams are forged. You CAN weld and bend forged.
Later on, when Ford closed the forging plants they began stamping, (cast) and you can NOT weld or bend those.

[OldRedFord]

So what was the issue with the radio?

I guess the camber lookse worse with large tires.

[1971ford]

The cd player issue is that it won't turn off. It took me a while to figure out why my battery kept dying! Now i just take the faceplate off when its parked. But i will rewire it next weekend.
The negative camber is better than the positive camber it had and it will all go away once we redo the front end.

[Fordnatic]

Our beams are forged. You CAN weld and bend forged.
Later on, when Ford closed the forging plants they began stamping, (cast) and you can NOT weld or bend those.

Yes, bending is always how the alignments were done. I just didn't think you could weld on them. Probably just most shops won't take on the liability. I have welded tie rods before, and no shop (that I know of) will do that-and they are mild steel, easier to weld.

[1971ford]

Yeah i wouldn't think they would bother for liability reasons too. We will definitely know if you can weld/plate beams and keep them strong at testing and the next race But many people have done it on a few offroad forums i am on, when welded and plated properly it is just a strong.
I am going to cut, shorten and weld my tie rod next too.

[Fordnatic]

I didn't want to buy the whole drag link. You know how one end is a small threaded end and the other is the whole tie rod that's quite expensive? I just bought the screw on end and welded it to the end of the long rod. I think I've tested it well with 35"s and lots of rough 4 wheeling over the last 15 years-didn't break it yet. Also didn't break any of the welds in my power steering conversion.

[1971ford]

okay... haven't done anything big so i haven't done an update for a while but now i have quite a few small things, that it makes a half decent update.
So the race truck has been my daily driver for a 2 months now. I've had a few minor problems that i am glad happened now and not in a race.

-Swapped out stock cast iron intake for aluminum edelbrock performer intake
-Truck wouldn't start in a Winco parking lot... starter finally died. Therefore: New starter, should of replaced it a long time ago because now it cranks over much faster as well.
-At the same time, the MSD box ground wire literally fell off the screw... easy fix and i am so glad it was not at a race! Daily driving the truck is like a big long prerun
-Alternator broke off on the way to a store. When we went to leave, my buddy jumped my truck and i drove home as i watched my volt gauge drop from the fuel pump sucking power (only thing needed for the truck to not die). Turns out the bolt sheared at the block, but was extremely lucky because it simply threaded out with a pair of pliers. new bolt, alternator problem fixed.
-Alternator belt now wines bad, adjuster maxed out, just bought new belt to put on tomorrow
-Installed CB radio, antenna, tuned (bought my buddy one too, so we can talk as were lost!)
-Picked up a set of Chevy 64" leaf springs, I am going to run those with Jeep wagoneer front leaves (lots of thin leaves). I am also buying 2.5x14" FOA resi's for the front soon.
-Painted cage black. I may paint it blue for old schoolness.
I think that's about it.








The 64" springs i picked up that i am going to put in and some other small leaves off a '70 dodge crewcab

the jeep wagoneer leaves im going to go back and get


Things that will be done soon...
-install the coil spacers in the front that i got with the coils, therefore making camber closer to zero and bringing my drag link into adjustable range, fixing my alignment
-New alternator belt
-Chevy 64" springs in the rear, 7" shackles, my Rancho rebuildable shocks mounted to cage (going to make the mount so it will be where it needs to be for the 2.5x16/18" shocks, and im going to just strap it so i can use my Rancho's for now)
-FOA 2.5x14" shocks up front, mount my limit straps to finish the front end

Should be doing some decent work soon!

[basketcase0302]

Ryan,

Very admirable thing you've done here! A late congrats on the race, good write-up by the paper.
Your race was more than most of us here might ever be able to accomplish.

Good luck in your next race, keep us tuned!

[1971ford]

Thanks!! I am soooooooooo excited for the next desert race, which is in May. We are going to haul the mail this time, i promise Definately plan on passing the pit crew at least once!
Basically, from our last (first) race, to our next race, these are the things we have done and will do, and this course is nothing compared to the last one
-2.5x14" FOA resivoir shocks up front in replacement of the stock shocks. This will be a huge difference!
-Chevy 64" springs in the rear, with 14" Rancho rebuildables (another HUGE difference over stock springs/shocks)
-Heavily braced bedsides unlike before
-Tires with tons more tread, I have a brand new 35x16" Toyo mud terrain that was given to me
-Last time right before we called it quits we noticed that the faster we went the smoother, so this time we will be going twice as fast, so the wheels don't fall into every hole


Today I swapped in the coil spacers i got with the autofab coils, this corrected the negative camber to just about perfect camber, and brought my drag link into adjustable range (now toed just right).
I also installed a new alternator belt, no more wining and worrying about that.
Then i mocked up the 64" chevy springs in the rear. I just need a shackle and then I'm going to throw them in. I need to cut the rivets out of the front hanger and move it forward a good 6" though.
Then i stole my blade wheels off of the 69 again because i like these wheels way better than the 10" wide ones i have


Chevy 64" packs mocked up

[robroy]

Hey Ryan, that new stance looks very healthy! You're able to accomplish major things on your truck and make it look like, "no big deal."

Robroy

[1971ford]

Thanks Robroy!
Right now the front end sits just right. It will be either sit as it is, or how it was before the coil spacers when I build a front shock hoop and mount some real shocks up there. The ride heigh is just going to depend on how much up travel it has. For example, right now it might have too much up travel, the coil might bind before it were to hit the bumpstops. If that is the case when i put the new shocks on, then i will take the coil spacers back out.
The front is sitting about 3" higher than the rear. But the rear will be up in the air again in about 2 weeks with the new springs. I am so excited to get the new spings in the rear, and new (Real!) shocks all around. Mainly because i haven't taken this thing in the dirt in months, because I'm waiting for some new things to test out!

[1971ford]

oops


yes that's both sides.

SO.... coming VERY soon now that I'm daily driving a truck with NO shocks...

I'm going to run those since i have them. That's a comparison shot between the old vs. the new. these are 10" travel shocks that I'm running just because i have them but I'm going to swap in 14" travel shocks soon so im just going to strap it short with my current 10" travel shocks.
The front is going to feel like a whole new truck.

I'm going to hack 1/4 of tthe coil bucket off, then plate it back in. This will allow for the new shocks to have room. I'll then be building a shock hoop.


I am also making a new spare tire setup. this is how it will be, and the top spare will only be on the truck at a desert race.

temporary although it is very sturdy with just these straps. I'm going to be building a mount with lugs for the spares to go on.




THen i went to the junkyard and found a air tank in a bump. $10 for the tank, line, and the electronic valve. I bought my horn at the same junkyard a year ago for $5. $15 air horn setup... not bad!


Then i played.





ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I know what you're thinking.... oh man you just put 200lbs of mud under your truck. Yes, I did. However... right now the whole underside of my truck is the cleanest it has ever been! After i got back i spent 2 hours under my truck with a hose and it is so clean under there now! Perfect since im about to re-do the whole rear suspension and re-do the front!

So, 3 big things happening in the next 2 weeks.... totally new spare tire setup, completely new rear suspension, REAL front shocks/shock hoop...

[GSequoia]

You might want to do something about that brake line too...

[1971ford]

The front suspension will be strapped at about 7" downtravel, which is before the brake line is maxed out, but it would max out if we were to crank the wheel to the left while the wheels are off the ground for some reason. So yes, new brake lines to come!

[BobbyFord]

Hey, fix that steering leak!