My 1954 F100/F250 4x4

[woodbutcher]

My little "get together"with those little buggers was when I was about 13 yrs old.Have been stung many times since then.Keep some Benydril(R) around,it will help the hurt and swelling.
Over the years,I have found all sorts of surprises in old cars.From gators to rattlesnakes
and one time some body parts(human type)that had been in the vehicle ever since it was towed into a friends dads salvage yard back in the `40`s.It was an old Packard.
Loved those old time yards.My friends dads yard covered about 100 acres.LOTS of play room.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[bubba22349]

discovered there was a wasp

Sorry about that they sure can be painful

Though I might have some pictures of a 56 F350 that was built into a 4 door crew cab was a racecar transport but can’t find them right now. It look quite good on proportions they cut the 56 doors down straight at what would have been next to the windshield line at 29 inches the top half of the doors were stock and had the still had the wind wings. I did find this 57 F100 built from a 60 F350 Crew cab. These were built by the coach builders for the railroads, forest service etc. it’s only a 3 door cab driver side being stationary I think they did this because many areas had laws that you were only supposed to enter on the curb side of city streets back then. Good luck it's a great project

http://imageshack.us/g/225/1296e.jpg/

[Fordman75]

:) My little "get together"with those little buggers was when I was about 13 yrs old.Have been stung many times since then.Keep some Benydril(R) around,it will help the hurt and swelling.
Over the years,I have found all sorts of surprises in old cars.From gators to rattlesnakes
and one time some body parts(human type)that had been in the vehicle ever since it was towed into a friends dads salvage yard back in the `40`s.It was an old Packard.
Loved those old time yards.My friends dads yard covered about 100 acres.LOTS of play room.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

I haven't found any human body parts in any vehicles ( And hopefully never will! ) . But found just about everything else. Rodents, spiders, plenty of different insects, squirrels, Some coon poo, chicken crap and lots of other stuff.

Luckily there aren't too many rattle snakes around my area! But I did buy a 71 Mustang parts car when I was 16 that was sitting in the weeds on a farm that was nest to a lake. That thing had a crap load of garter snakes. I originally was going to try and restore the car but after finding all my little buddies in there I just parted it out and scrapped it.

discovered there was a wasp

Sorry about that they sure can be painful

Though I might have some pictures of a 56 F350 that was built into a 4 door crew cab was a racecar transport but can’t find them right now. It look quite good on proportions they cut the 56 doors down straight at what would have been next to the windshield line at 29 inches the top half of the doors were stock and had the still had the wind wings. I did find this 57 F100 built from a 60 F350 Crew cab. These were built by the coach builders for the railroads, forest service etc. it’s only a 3 door cab driver side being stationary I think they did this because many areas had laws that you were only supposed to enter on the curb side of city streets back then. Good luck it's a great project

http://imageshack.us/g/225/1296e.jpg/

I've been stung plenty of times it just annoyed me that it got me right on the lip! The worse was a couple years ago I was mowing the grass and went over a hive that was in the ground. Not sure if they were bees or hornets. But by the time I realized what was going on I got stung about ten times in my back.


I've seen some nice crew cab conversions. Most of the coach built jobs I've seen have had the 3rd door on the driver side. That 57/60 isn't what I'm shooting for but it does look pretty good.

I don't want this to look like a crew cab. I just want an extended cab. The rear doors are just so I can get to the stuff in the back of the cab. My rear doors look like they are going to be right around 20" wide. I figure that will also give me some good proportions to the rear door windows. I'm kind of shooting for the rear door windows to be around 75% of the front door glass width.

[woodbutcher]

Hi Fordman75.To find the REALLY cool stuff like my friend and I found,you would have to
have access to a salvage yard that was still virgin from the 30`s or 40`s.
We even found some gold coins in one old car.Late 30`s Caddy. IIRC,had Chicago plates.Found guns,clothes,saddles,tack,just about anything you could imagine.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[Fordman75]

Well it's been a while but I've got a small update. No I haven't changed my mind again!!!

Everything is packed away for the winter but I've been trying to get some parts. I ordered both cab corners and the lower front driver side door post( with hinge pocket ) .




I wasn't sure my plan for using the front door post with the hinge pockets, from the spare cab, on the opposite sides in the back would work. I was concerned the contours of the front and rear would be different enough to cause a problem. But I checked it out with the new parts and it looks like it's going to work out great. There are just a couple minor adjustments needed and it should be good to go.




I scored this stuff for Xmas . This is some of of fittings and misc. I need for my brake system. Just a few more parts checked off the list.






I'm going to try and get some more parts and supplies over the winter. Then I'll start working on the cab next spring ( I hope ) .

[Fordman75]

Well a today I went on a little trip to pick up some more parts.

I found a guy that had an almost rust free South Dakota 55 F500 front clip ( No hood and he wanted to keep the grille ) . The fenders are in really nice shape. They each have a small crack by where the running boards mount and the one has a small dent in an area that's going to be simple to fix. It was a 300 mile round trip to get the front clip. But I got the front clip for $100! That's less then what a single fender was selling for.

I figure I can sell the rest of the front clip parts, since I don't need them. I should be able to get a little more then I paid for the front clip out of the rest of the parts. Which means free fenders!!


I've also been looking for a 240 inline 6 for a while. I found a complete 69 240 and it was on the way to where I had to go for the front clip.


Well here's my van full of used parts.

[bubba22349]

Nice Score!

[woodbutcher]

Hi Ted.Do yourself a BIG favor.DON`T get rid of any of the front clip parts until the front clip work is complete.You never know what might be needed if you make a BOO BOO.Ask me how I know.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[Fordman75]

:) Hi Ted.Do yourself a BIG favor.DON`T get rid of any of the front clip parts until the front clip work is complete.You never know what might be needed if you make a BOO BOO.Ask me how I know.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

Oh believe me if there was any chance of me needing any of it I wouldn't sell it!

The front valance/gravel pan is a 55 which is different then the 54 one. And luckily my 54 one is in great shape.

The air deflectors( parts behind the grille ) won't be needed. Because I'm going to make a single piece one out of either 11 gauge cold rolled steel or 10 hot rolled steel. This will also replace the stock radiator mount. I'm doing this to stiffen up the front clip for the one piece tilt front clip. The stock panels would of worked but the front clip would be a little wobbly. And there is a possibility of the stress, around where the hinges are going to mount, cracking the sheet metal on the stock panels. I've already got two pairs of air deflectors and 2 radiator mounts to use for making patterns/templates for the one piece part.

And Partially for the above reason I'm also going to build some custom inner fenders. That and I need to make them fit the newer chassis. The front section of the inner fenders ( where the hinges are going to bolt ) will be 10 gauge steel. The rest is going to be 18 gauge steel.

And last but not least is the hood latch panel. I'm still not 100% sure I'm going to use it. I might just design the new one piece air deflector to work without it. But if I do I already have a really nice one. And if I do use it I will not be modifying it!

Finding these fenders is going to save me a LOT of headaches trying to repair my old beat up and rusty ones!!

Now the only body panels left on my wish list are a better pair of rear fenders and a 53-54 hood. The rear fenders are the same as F100's so they aren't too bad to find. My current 56 hood is useable but the side hood emblems are different and so are the mounting locations/holes. So I'd prefer to find a correct hood. But if I don't I'll make the 56 hood work.

[Fordman75]

Pulled some of the stuff out to get some better pictures.


The 240, I pulled the fan, spacer and pulley off before I took the pictures. I'm beginning to think about a supercharged 240 instead of a supercharged 300. Only time will tell.





Yes I broke the distributor cap hauling it home.






I pulled the fenders out to give them a thorough inspection.








The mounting flange is one spot they like to rust out and it's perfect.




Here's the dent in the passenger fender. But it's open on the back side. So a little hammer and dolly time it will be good as new.



Here's the crack I was talking about yesterday. It will be easy to weld up.




And I was wrong this fender isn't rust free. I found a rust bubble about the size of a quarter.





The driver side looks good.






No rust just another crack like the other fender.





The guy I got them from appeared to like a cutting torch better then a wrench and ratchet.



Luckily here it just took some paint off the fender.





The inner fenders weren't as lucky. That's going to cut into the cash I can get for them.

[Fordman75]

Got a couple more parts today. I ordered them last week.

I ordered the outer lower door skin patches for the rear doors from Midfifty F100 parts.





They showed up in good shape. The one patch has one little spot were there is a minor wrinkle/ding. But overall they look good.



This will probably be it for buying parts for a while until I get some more cash.

[Fordman75]

Well it's been a while since I posted any updates. But that's because I still haven't done any work on the 54!

I did order 4 braided stainless steel StopFlex brakes hoses from Classic Tube. They are nice quality, good price and DOT approved. I only need to pick up 5 more and I'll have all the hoses for the brake and clutch systems.




And I also ordered something I've been needing for quite a while. I got a nice Lincoln Viking 3550 welding helmet with a couple magnifying cheater lenses. The quality is much better then my old cheapo northern tool one! I'm hoping my welding skills might improve if I can actually see what I'm doing!





And I plan to finally start pulling the body off the 78 F150 next week. Then I'll need to pick up some more metal and dig out the cab. Then I can get going on that. It will most likely be the end of this month beginning of May before I get to the cab.

[bubba22349]

Looks like a nice helmet

[Fordman75]

I just couldn't help myself. I found another parts truck and decided to get it.

After some measuring and more figuring I found out I was going to be a little short on the roof material for my cab extension. Now the actually roof sheet metal isn't a big deal that would be easy enough to make out of flat sheet metal. The problem was going to be the rain gutter area.

So I've been watching for another cheap cab. Well this 54 F100 popped up for sale. I didn't really want another whole truck so I skipped over the ad. Well over the next couple weeks I kept going back and forth on whether I should go check it out. Finally I called him and set up a time to look at it last Saturday.

I got to the guys shop and wasn't expecting a whole lot. The truck looked pretty horrible in the picture in the ad. It looked pretty rough and had four flat tires. One of the previous owners had heated up the leaf springs with a torch to lower the truck. So there is a bend on each end of each spring. But the more I looked at the truck the better it looked. First off this truck is solid!! This wasn't a Minnesota truck. It came from Texas. The only rust thru on the whole truck are the cab corners ( both front and rear ) and the usual spot on the rear fenders where the running boards meet them. There is damage on a few panels but over all there is more good then bad.

There was no engine, transmission, instrument cluster, tailgate, hood and no title ( bill of sale only ) . He was asking $700.00 but I got it for $600.00. I gave him a down payment last Saturday and picked it up today. And I should be able to make most of that back by selling the parts I'm not going to use.

So I'm going to strip it down and part it out. I plan to keep the cab shell, rear fenders ( maybe the whole box ) , and the bare frame ( if I can find room for it ) . I'm thinking I might just use the whole box sides on my 54 instead of making new ones. They are solid and mostly straight. I'll need to make a wider front panel and tailgate. But using these box sides will save me a few hundred dollars.

But to keep the city off my case I rented a storage spot to keep it at until I can get the 78 stripped down.


Here's a pic of it while it was still at his shop. It has a tiny rear bumper.




I changed all 4 tires and got it loaded up in the rain. Here's some pics of it in all it's glory.

[Fordman75]

[bubba22349]

that's really a nice truck for the price

[Nashtooth]

You are an inspiration. I have a crazy project in mind that only someone like you could support. Thanks for this thread.

[Fordman75]

that's really a nice truck for the price

I thought so too. Finding solid sheet metal as old as this truck in Minnesota is nearly impossible.

You are an inspiration. I have a crazy project in mind that only someone like you could support. Thanks for this thread.

Hey I'm all about the crazy projects!! Hey your project can't be much crazier then a 1954 Ford F100 supercab short box 4x4 with a one piece tilt front clip and powered by a supercharged 300 inline that runs on E85. I say go for it!

[Fordman75]

Well it only took a year but I finally got the body off the 78 F150.

I took it from this:



To this:




This engine and transmission is going to take some scrubbing.





Here's the section of floor out of the 78 that will be going into the extended part of the cab. I will be cutting the transmission tunnel off it. I just wanted to hang onto it in case the 87 F350 inspection plate didn't work out for some reason.




Here's about where it will sit on the frame. You can see the 78's original rear cab mounts on the left side of the picture.





I think I found the reason the guy sold this truck. Here's what's left of the driver side rear spring pack.:-X04






I'm going to go pick up the 54 parts truck out of storage next Tuesday. Then I'm hoping to get that tore down in a week. And then I can dig out my 54 cab and start working on that.

[MPGmustang]

Hey, it looks like your having too much fun... I'm jealous awesome, keep them pics coming.

[Fordman75]

Hey, it looks like your having too much fun... I'm jealous awesome, keep them pics coming.

Thanks,

I'm having a blast when I can actually work on it.

You are jealous of a pile of rusty parts? I'll post more pics when I get a chance to do something on it. I've got 4 vehicles in storage I need to get stripped and scrapped before winter.

[Fordman75]

Well today I picked up the metal order I placed for my birthday. This is the metal I need for my front clip, cab, frame and some of the pieces for my intake and header.

It doesn't look like a lot but there is almost 700 pounds there.





And after many delays I'm finally going to pick up my 54 F100 parts truck out of storage this week end. Then I can get that tore down.

[Fordman75]

I finally picked up the 54 parts truck out of storage. I'll unload it tomorrow.

[Fordman75]

I finally got the 54 parts truck tore down.

I need to take care of one other vehicle then I'm going to start stretching the cab.

Here's what's left of the 54 parts truck cab. I also kept the front door jambs with hinge pockets, the dash and the cowl vent area.






The cab had more rust then I thought it did. Luckily, like this area at the front of the roof, most of it is/was in areas I don't need.



And I now also have another pair of doors to mess with. I think I've got 8 doors now.

[Cool23]

I am watching with interest to see some more progress.

[Fordman75]

Believe me I'm wanting to make a lot more progress then I have been. But life has just seemed to keep getting in the way this year.

[Cool23]

Slow progress is better than none at all.

[Fordman75]

I didn't get any work done on the 54 this past year. But I did pick up some more parts for it.



I picked up three Autolite 2100 1.02 2V carbs for the 300. I'm going to run these while the engine is in it's naturally aspirated form. I'm going to switch over to Holley 350 cfm 2V's when I set it up with the supercharger & E85.











I picked up a pair of new Explorer rear calipers.






I got a Boost/Vacuum gauge to replace the straight vacuum gauge. I knew I should of got this one to begin with. But I'll use the vacuum gauge in my E350.









I picked up three covers for my master cylinders.








I got some jam nuts for my brake fittings and a couple caliper adapter fittings.









For some reason I also ordered some of the front clip hardware and trim parts I need. Good thing I'm getting the parts I need in the correct order!!











I ordered some fittings and hardware for my hydraulic clutch system.










And I scored big time for Christmas. I got all the remaining fittings I needed for my brake system. I also got some stainless steel line clamps. I still need a lot of parts for the brake system ( $1300 worth! ) but this helped a lot.

[bubba22349]

That's still progress towards the build

[Fordman75]

Well a couple of the parts I bought showed up!

The first is something I'm a long ways from needing but I've been wanting to pick up for over a year now.

What I've got here is an Eaton H122 supercharger out of a 2008 Shelby GT500 Mustang. This should add a little more go to the old 300!!}>






I'm going to have to remove these vacuum nipples and tap and plug the holes. But it should be too big of a problem.








The second part is a set of Aero-Catch locking hood pins. These will be a little less noticeable then standard hood pins and they will let me lock the tilt front clip. So my engine parts don't grow legs and walk away.

[woodbutcher]

Hi Ted.Thats a 10-4 on the parts "growing legs".BTDT.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[Fordman75]

I bought a Zoom performance Kevlar clutch set from Summit Racing. It was back ordered which wasn't a big deal. But it showed up today and I wasn't very happy. This wasn't a cheap clutch set. It showed up and the shipping box looked fine. So I opened it up and see the Zoom box with it's side tore out. So I open it up, Everything is there but it's all loose! There is a small bag with an assortment of pilot bearings & Bushings, a bag with the throw out bearing, a zip lock bag with the clutch disc and then the alignment tool and pressure plate. But it was all just thrown in the box! I've bought a few clutch sets and even the cheapest of them came with all the parts vacuum packed onto a piece of card board. But not the one I spend almost $400 on! I don't think I'll be buying any more Zoom clutches.

[nightwatchman59]

Thank you for your documentation. I will be referring to it often. I wned and enjoyed a slammed '54 for several years, and it turned heads constantly. Looking forward to pics of your truck on the road.....

[Fordman75]

Glad you are enjoying it. I should have it on the road in a decade or two!

[chessterd5]

That truck is gonna be awesome!

[Fordman75]

That truck is gonna be awesome!

Thanks, I really hope so!! For what I'll have invested I could have went out and bought a really nice almost new Super Duty.

I found a guy that built a very similar truck to my plans. Only his is a higher quality build with a fancier interior and a V8. But it gives me an idea about what mine could look like.

So much for mine being a one of a kind!