Getting started on the choptop truck...

[customcrewcab]

i have some rear disc brakes and some mustang II parts you can have. just pay for shipping. let me know if your interested. the mustang II parts are to put the bigger brakes on the front using granada rotors.

[FORDification]

i have some rear disc brakes and some mustang II parts you can have. just pay for shipping. let me know if your interested. the mustang II parts are to put the bigger brakes on the front using granada rotors.

Hey, I appreciate the offer, but I don't think I'd need them for this project. I'm planning on just doing a junkyard swap of front discs and keeping the drums on the back, and then installing a Hydroboost setup.

Some plans HAVE changed a bit though....as far as the engine/transmission goes. I was thinking I'd just drop in the complete 390 I have until it's needed for my '67 project, and then swapping in the 460. But the 460 needs rebuilt, and I think I'd really like to keep the engine swapping to a minimum, so...

...I think I'm just going to use the 302/3-spd setup I have, until the 460 is rebuilt and ready to drop in. It's 100% complete from air cleaner to oil pan, fan to driveshaft, and the SWB chassis I'd be pulling this from even has a full dual exhaust with chrome tips, so everything would be a true bolt-in. That'll definitely help me with the springtime deadline I've set for myself. Here's a shot of what will now be the drivetrain donor for the choptop:



I WAS planning on installing another Camper Special in-frame fuel tank instead of the in-cab version, but since I'm going to need to use the dual exhaust setup that won't fit if I do, I've decided to install the Super Camper Special aft-axle fuel tank I have. It'll require my relocating the rearmost frame crossmember back several inches. (There are several pictures of it HERE, down at the bottom of the page.)

On a side note, I found an unopened quart of POR-15 in the shop I forgot I had, as well as an unopened can of Eastwoods's Rust Encapsulator. A couple nights ago I went ahead and ordered one more quart of POR-15 and a couple tubes of POR-Patch, so I should be set to have everything I need to slap this back together. I was planning on ordering some radiator support bushings, but just for fun, and in keeping with the 'lo-buck' theme here, I think I'm going to try cutting my own support bushings from a tire sidewall.

[layedout72]

what are your plans for ride height? I really think it needs to be dropped.....a lot. The chop top doesn't match the ride height as it sits now. Just my opinion, lately people have been finding clips that weld up to the stock frame easily.

[FORDification]

what are your plans for ride height? I really think it needs to be dropped.....a lot. The chop top doesn't match the ride height as it sits now. Just my opinion, lately people have been finding clips that weld up to the stock frame easily.

Well, there's no drivetrain in it right now, so it's sitting quite a bit higer in the front than it will with a full engine/transmission setup in it.

I didn't look extremely close at them, but it almost appears as if the front springs aren't stock. They don't look like they have the same number of coils as my '67 F100, and they feel a lot softer, so it's entirely possible that the front end is going to drop quite a bit once the engine/tranny is installed. So I'll just be playing this by year for now, waiting to see how it looks when everything's reassembled. Since this'll be a driver, I don't want it slammed (we have a very steep entry into our driveway). I've been talking with a local shop who says they can bend the I-beams if needed, but obviously they'll need the assembled package. So I'm going to get everything put back together and see how it looks, and if needed I'll probably trim one coil off the springs and then see if they can bend the I-beams to compensate.

In the rear, the front spring mounts have already been relocated farther up on the frame, which will lower that a bit...but it did mess up the pinion angle. I'm considering trying some drop shackles too, to see how much of that I can correct before going to angled shims or relocating the spring perches.

[spartman]

Hey keith,
Does it really look that green and nice at home?

[FORDification]

I WISH! It's very....um....WHITE here right now.

[FORDification]

Well, I got to spend another day in the shop today, coating the outer floorpans with POR-15 and then top-coating that with some rattlecan Semi-Flat Black. Got the cab sitting back upright so that I had access to the rear of the frame area, so I could get started mounting the '73-up aft-axle Super Camper Special auxiliary fuel tank.



I've always understood that since the Super Camper Special shared the same framerail spacing as our trucks, that the fuel tank would therefore fit. However, I found out differently today....the darned tank is TOO TALL! It doesn't appear as if it will fit a bumpside truck...unless you want to drop it so low that it's only 6"-8" off the ground.

I was about ready to scrap the idea of using this tank, until I convinced myself that since this choptop truck is a custom, some otherwise frowned-upon surgery would be the answer...so I'm going to be cutting an access hole in the bed of the truck, and the tank will have to stick up through the floor. Since the whole idea of this particular project is for me to 'use what I got', and since this truck is a cruiser that'll never haul anything, and since the bed will be covered with a hard tonneau cover anyway, this is acceptable for this project. The battery will be mounted back there as well, BTW.

Anyway, I posted a bunch of pictures of the day's findings at the following URL:

http://www.fordification.com/mychoptop-p06.htm

[layedout72]

Keith, it may not be an option for you, but if you want to keep a more smooth look to the truck, you could cut the whole bed floor out (with some steel bracing of course) and raise it. You would need to extend your bed mounts the same amount, but it would make for a very clean bed. Like I said, may not be an option for you, but it would work quite well.

[71 LONG BED]

Are you going to letter the doors "FORDification"? You know, the old faded look. FORDification in a semi circle on the door to make it look like an old shop truck.

[FORDification]

Keith, it may not be an option for you, but if you want to keep a more smooth look to the truck, you could cut the whole bed floor out (with some steel bracing of course) and raise it. You would need to extend your bed mounts the same amount, but it would make for a very clean bed. Like I said, may not be an option for you, but it would work quite well.

Well, I don't know if I want to get that involved with this project...but it's an interesting idea I hadn't considered. I'll have to give it some thought.

Are you going to letter the doors "FORDification"? You know, the old faded look. FORDification in a semi circle on the door to make it look like an old shop truck.

As a matter of fact I am! Except that I'm kinda set on using a logo I found back years ago in a nitrous advertisement, which will also incorporate the FORDification logo. Here's something I just whipped up in Photoshop in about 60 seconds...it'll look something like this, though the site logo will be slightly different:



...and like you said, I'll have to experiment and see if I can find a way of painting it so that it looks like it's been there for years and is faded out.

[71 LONG BED]

That will be awesome. The thought crossed my mind about painting my name on my '67. Making it look as weathered as the rest of the body and paint. I'll probably never actually do it but it was a thought.

[FORDification]

Well, I was finally able to get in some shop time this past weekend and got a little more work done to the choptop.

I was able to mostly finish up the fuel tank installation, and then got the firewall, radiator support and inner fenders cleaned up and painted. Here's a shot of the finished firewall, after a coat of POR-15 and then several coats of Krylon Semi-Flat rattlecan paint:



I then got started getting the interior floorpans cleaned up in preparation for paint. I'll have at least one more day getting the cab interior cleaned up before it'll be ready for paint. If it's still cold outside when I get to the shop next, then I'll concentrate on the cab interior. If it's warm outside, then I'll be getting the motor/tranny pulled from the donor and getting them cleaned up and readied for installation.

I posted a project update page here with more pics.

[dablack00]

I had kinda been keeping this idea in my back pocket (not that I'm the only one that has ever had this idea I'm sure), but why not delete the front bumper. With the truck so low its useless anyway. Cut off the front frame stubs so that they are behind the gravel guard. Then fill the gap of the lower gravel guard. I'm willing to bet that it has the same contour as the side of the bed (top and bottom). Would make for a clean look.

Austin

[FORDification]

Yeah, I've been giving that some thought. I know for a fact I'll be doing a roll pan in the back at least, 'cause I don't want any chrome on this truck and the only rear bumper I have is chrome. So I'll be using a bedside top to fabricate a roll pan. As for the front, I've been trying to come up with some idea like that too. I've got an extra bedside to use so I'm sure I could whip something up that would look cool...I'll have to keep running this around in my mind.

[layedout72]

why not use a dropped axle while your at it, and a flat head 8 super charged, and channel the body, and...........damn keith..........my fault hahaha.


I want an old traditional 34 pick up