1971 f250 DESERT truck- 10/24 race prep

[heep70]

Was the heads and intake what you expected?

[1971ford]

I havent gotten them just yet. Peter was planning on driving by on the highway at 9:00ish and that was too late for my dad, so we will be making a little road trip down there which isn't too far. Im excited to get them though even though they will be going straight under my bed until late summer/next winter.

[1971ford]

OOOOOooooooooo look what we have here. 32 gallons of beauty


picked it up for $50, its worth several hundred depending on what it is, im still trying to find out.

[1971ford]

i spent an hour today performing a magic trick.

now you see it.


now you... still see it but not really


I hacked out the crossmember to make room. There were 10 rivets, and two were impossible to get at so it met mister sawzall.

I positioned it so i didnt have to loose the two bed bolts right in front of the cell. im going to raise it up about 4 inches for more ground clearence so it wont hit at full bump.

And ill be getting tubing,bolts(the strap's tie downs) and plate (straps) tomorrow to make this:


and i need some blue fuel line, and a inline fuel pump. And some wiffle balls (instead of foam) for the cell and it will be done.

next weekend ive got a guy that will be bending up my cage. and i was just told i am getting a free fully built race tranny (off a 460 so it will bolt to my 429) with all the goodies because it was out of a full on offroad race truck (trophy truck) with 54 miles
so we will swap that in, then ill have to pull the engine and build it a little to match the tranny's coolness. should have about 500hp after we port the DOVE-C heads, swap in a cam, intake, roller lifters, and other nifty stuff.

[BiggDogg]

As always, looking good Ryan and Ryan's dad By the time you have your license, your truck should be just about completed, and you can (legally) drive it all over the place

[robroy]

Hey Ryan your project looks most excellent. What a lot of capacity! How far will you be able to drive between fill ups when your truck is complete?

One thing that I've never understood is what fuel cells are. What's the difference between a fuel cell and a gas tank?

When I look in Wikipedia a fuel cell is describing as something that gets electricity out of chemicals, but I don't think that's the same thing.

Thanks!
Robroy

[1971ford]

yup.
i just scheduled my permit test to be in exactly one month from now. then i can drive them with a parent (like my mom would want to ride in it... so with my dad basically ). my dad says he is going to really miss driving the truck once i get my permit, because its a blast to drive.

This truck should be race legal and probably even long travel suspension by the time i get my liscense and my 69 should be done. good timing

[rjewkes]

cool stuff ryan, please please please build atleast one new cross member in front or behind ore even both of that fuel cell gas tank. that cross member served a cvery important service of keeping the frame from twisting/collapsing at that point.

You was/is already probably planning that but i feel better mentioning it.

[1971ford]

yes it will actually have a new crossmember in front and in the rear of the tank, which will support the tank. ive actually already got all the materials today and ive started constucting the cage

[aramil]

cool fuel cell, what material are you using for your cage? any more info on the newish tranny?

[rjewkes]

Cool sorry if it sounds like i freaked out just wanted to be sure you was going to be as safe as possable.

[1971ford]

no problem man, i appreciate it. Thats a part of the reason why i post these things, so i can get second opinions on things i do.

The cage is going to be 2" .120 DOM. I allready have 60 feet of it laying next to the truck, you can see in some of the pictures.
The fuel cell's "bucket" is made out of 1.5" .120, and the two crossmembers that support it all are 2" .120.

THe tranny i wish i could tell you more about but all i have been told is it has thousands of dollars up into it, It is built to be industructable behind a trophy truck and its got a reverse shift pattern and most likely a full manual valve body. They are giving me their art-carr shifter with it. Its also got a fancy torque converter, and the tranny looks brand new. Ill try and get more info

[1971ford]

heres a teaser.


this is the first time i have welded on anything besides the truck's body so they're OK, they should be plenty to hold the fuel cell in also considering its weight.

also i heard from a few reliable sources (me myself and i) that my cage will be bent up this weekend.. and i should have a fuel pump/regulator/filters very shortly. And I am getting my fully built race tranny tomorrow so ive got to get that swapped in. its going together fast now!

[67mann]

Good work Ryan won't be long before your out there every wknd tearing that truck up

[1971ford]

yep whats really cool is to be race legal, basically i need the fuel cell and cage (and little things like window nets). So i should be race-legal fairly shortly. my dad and i are thinking about running one of the 300 mile Nevada races later in this season with stock suspension