New shop finished, time to stuff a project in it.

With the shop done(ish) my attention has turned to my next project.  This time I didnt really start out with a particular type of vehicle or build in mind I just have the itch to start building something.  I'd waivered from 60s luxobarges, to Model As to well dang near everything.   So with a wide open search it seems appropriate I ended up with something not even on my radar.   A friend up in MD posted about a project he wasnt going to have time to get to anytime soon so he was thining the herd.  At first I was only casually interested but when I really looked at everything included for the price it seemed a good deal and would give me an opportunity to do some things which have always been on my "to do" list.

A deal was made about a month ago and while waiting for some time off to go retreive it I've been gathering some parts and making plans.  I hinted at this in my post a few weeks ago about my great score on some 17x9 and 17x10.5 wheels which are just what I needed to start the suspension build up.

(sorry for the links, image uploads seem to be borked on the forum again)

IMG_1722.jpg (2016×1512) (misfittoysracing.com)

So yesterday I hitched up the trailer and made the 5 hour trip to MD.  A week or so ago I had set the date and time with the seller so imagine my surprise to show up to an empty house.  A quick call later and he had his dates mixed up and was at the Doctors.  This meant all the parts (did I mention this is a fully dissassembled project car?) were spread in different areas and not ready to go.   I had a few hours to wait for him so I started finding things and eventually started moving things out of the way in the box truck where the body panels were stored.  Around that time a helper who works on vehicles at the sellers house showed up and offered to help me dig things out and get them loaded.   We were able to get fully loaded right about the time the seller showed up so it all worked out in the end.

IMG_1807.jpg (2016×1512) (misfittoysracing.com)

First thoughts, it takes a lot more space to load up a fully disassembled vehicle, it was a bit of a struggle.  

What you are looking at here is a very clean straight and rust free 1949 Ford F1.  All body panels are there along with the frame.

IMG_1811.jpg (2016×1512) (misfittoysracing.com)

But wait there's more....

The package also included a 5.0 Ford (old style) with AOD  Probably not my first choice for engines but also no reason not to use it.

IMG_1812.jpg (2016×1512) (misfittoysracing.com)

And a nice Ford 9" (gear ratio yet to be determined) and the front suspension from a Mercury Marauder

IMG_1813.jpg (2016×1512) (misfittoysracing.com)

A good look at some of the body bits

IMG_1815.jpg (2016×1512) (misfittoysracing.com)

IMG_1814.jpg (2016×1512) (misfittoysracing.com)

Overall the body is excellent.  PO (before the seller I got it from had shaved the drip rails which I'd have rather not but what's done is done.  There is some filler on some of the panels but its just smoothing out what appears to be some very well done metal work.   I will be stripping all the filler out, getting as good as I can with a hammer and dolly and epoxy priming the body before any filler goes back in.

This project will start with the chassis though, and my much slower than usual goal is just to have the rolling chassis completed by the end of the year with the drivetrain installed for mock up.  Parts have already been ordered for that.  The Marauder/CV cradle is too wide for a '49 but luckily there's a place making a narrowed crossmember that all the CV parts bolt onto so that's on order.  I will be doing a triangulated 4 link in the rear for the 9" and its all going on airbags.  Not aiming for ground scrapingly low and Im hoping to avoid notching the frame but we'll see when we get there. Moving to an underbed fuel tank.

Well thats the initial assessment.  Im completely beat after all the driving, loading and unloading so that will be enough for now.

Ooooh, looks cool. 

Yeah, I tried to bring an image over, but no dice.  If I remember correctly, you are quite the painter, so this should be fun to watch.

Inspirational photo, because we idiots love pictures.

wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) said:

Ooooh, looks cool. 

Yeah, I tried to bring an image over, but no dice.  If I remember correctly, you are quite the painter, so this should be fun to watch.

Yeah, its weird, the photos show up on my phone but not on the PC.

Paint probably wont be as radical as some of my past ones but I hope to have some fun with it.  The current basic plan (very subject to change as I keep changing my mind) is an off while pearl body with fenders in a tuquoisish pearl blue.  No matter what the final plan I will 2 tone it but the color pallette is still wide open.

I really had planned on just pushing this lump aside until much later but I got rained out of mowing today and since the the frame is also still outdoors and I want to strip all the soon to be unused bits off it before bringing it in that got put off as well. Didn't want to waste a day and honestly the most anxiety I have about this project is sorting out the motor. I want to keep it fuel injected but me and the electrical stuff aren't friends so I thought if I dug into it and laid hands on what was there I'd feel better about it. For the most part that turned out to be true, getting the harness stripped out I could mostly figure out what most functions did. I had really planned to get this up on the engine stand first but I just started poking at it and didn't stop. For those familiar with these engines this is an older speed density EFI not MAF so I'm limited on upgrades but that's ok, not really trying to build a speed demon here and looking at the cost of upgrades its really easy to understand why people just jam an LSx into everything.

A little progress report, things don't move as fast these days as they used to mostly because I have a bunch of other things going on and the new homestead takes up a lot of my weekend time for maintenace.   But an unexpected tractor failure left me with a free day since I need to wait on tractor parts.

Backing up a bit, I had to take a run to Ohio to pick up a vending trailer for my wife's new business.  By a stroke of luck the night before the trip someone posted this intake in a SBF parts group I follow to look for cheap parts for the motor build.  At sub $200 it was a great deal and right on my way to Ohio so I stopped to get it for future use.

As for today's activities my narrowed CV crossmember showed up a while back so time to start on that.  Really nice piece, well designed and well built.   This mounts in the 49s frame rails and allows the bolt up of Crown Vic front suspension.  The truck came with the front suspension from a Maruader so perfect.

After removing some factory bracing and trimming the lower frame rail a bit it just drops right in.  Its pre drilled with a hole on each side which aligns with an existing hole in the frame rail.  So jam a big punch in there to align it then drill out the holes to either side to bolt it in.  It is not meant to be a bolt up installation, the bolt in is just to get it place while mocking up the rest of the components then everything will be welded solid.

It comes with new upper control arms and reuses the lowers spindles and brakes from the CV.  A narrowed swaybar is also included and a Lincolin Mk8 steering rack bolts up (narrower than the CV)   Its designed to use either QA1 coil overs or Airride shockwaves.  My plan from the start was to bag it so it will get the shockwaves.

While I was trimming away supports and test fitting things I also mocked up the underbed fuel tank.

Things are slow going with other obligations and southern heat but I still think Im on course to meet my goal of completing the rolling chassis this year.  Having been with my company forever now I have more vaca time than I know what to do with so I've got a week or 2 set aside for the fall when its cooler in the shop to do some marathon days.   Next up will be disassembling the marauder front suspension and bolting it up in mock up.  Once that's done I can start the triangulated 4 link in the rear.  All the parts are here on the shelf so its just a matter of finding time and motivation.

cool project man. love early ford trucks

Put this one together in my shop last year. Same but different theme.

In theory the 302 and AOD should work fine if the AOD works. I have not had much luck with them myself. As you mention, the EFI should work just fine as long as the wiring loom is not hacked up and you don't try to modify the engine with a lot of cam. If you want it to be quick, I would go straight to the LS with a turbo 400 or 350 box.

This is a GREAT start. Looks like the frame and body are REALLY nice.

In my opinion, the 302 and AOD are perfect for a basic fun driver. 

Reliable. Cheap parts. Simple.

The panther suspension will go a long ways to making it feel like a modern truck.

Great project, for sure.

NOHOME said:

Put this one together in my shop last year. Same but different theme.

In theory the 302 and AOD should work fine if the AOD works. I have not had much luck with them myself. As you mention, the EFI should work just fine as long as the wiring loom is not hacked up and you don't try to modify the engine with a lot of cam. If you want it to be quick, I would go straight to the LS with a turbo 400 or 350 box.

Drivetrain came from a running driving car so all should be well.  I have an uncut wire loom but not being able to leave well enough alone I will mess with the motor a bit (see above for intake and below for new heads)

Yours looks awsome!  Any details or build thread that I missed? 

a_florida_man said:

This is a GREAT start. Looks like the frame and body are REALLY nice.

In my opinion, the 302 and AOD are perfect for a basic fun driver. 

Reliable. Cheap parts. Simple.

The panther suspension will go a long ways to making it feel like a modern truck.

Great project, for sure.

 

Not sure about that cheap parts bit, if you want to get even moderate performance gains they gets pricey quick, at least in comparison to just giving in to the LS swap but Im slowly gathering cheap parts and just enjoying playing with it a bit.

Goal is to make it a great driver.  Something that I'd enjoy driving as much as my F150.   So many modern updates and focus more on comfort and control rather than speed and performance.

So on the cheap parts note I managed another score today with a set of aluminum Holley heads for less than the cost of some used iron heads.  Couldn't say no.

Nice truck! I'm making zero progress on my F1... jealous of your clean start. Even more jealous of the Holley systemax heads. I've been seaching for bargain aluminum heads for almost 2 years, but way outside my budget so I am porting the E7s and throwing a valve job at it.

 Mine is titled as a 50 bc of the cab, but has 52 front, bed and frame with a 289/3 spd top loader from a falcon or mustang. It was a shop truck that I found out in PA randomly searching FB marketplace while on an anniversary getaway. My wife was in so we brought it home!

Can't make any progress until I unload this ss camaro I took on as a donor car. I was going to swap in the LS1/4L60 and rear but I actually acquired a 5.0 roller core in exchange for some labor and felt it was just easier to freshen up the 5.0 and keep moving. The SS is up for sale in the F/S section.. 

In reply to JThw8 :

Build thread.

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/spuds-the-1950-ford-pick-up/176748/page1/

Productive morning in the shop, got the Maruader front end disassembled and moved the necessary bits onto the truck in mock up (everything has to come apart to weld at some point.   

On that note if any of the panther fans are interested I have leftover parts.  Full aluminum suspension crossmember, good struts and swaybar.  I'd prefer not to ship but if you're headed through NC or want to set up a GRM relay something could be worked out.

Started mocking up the rear today.  I tried for awhile with just the bare axle but realized needed to see where the wheels and tires sat to get a good feel for packaging.   I forgot just how beefy those rear tires are.

Much time was spent fiddling the axle to be centered and aligned properly then I welded it to the frame to keep it where it needed to be while I mocked up the rest.

Then I started mocking up the 4-link bars.  I still need to get some plate to box in the frame so everything is just lightly tacked to get a feel for where it will sit and start to noodle on geometry a bit.

Having everything mocked up allowed me to measure to answer one burning question.  Yep, Im gonna need to tub it, just a little, need about 2" per side.

In reply to JThw8 :

Hey. 
  I joined this forum with a GrandMa-quois question ... hence the handle! Never got an answer to that one, but have stuck with the forum. 
  Haven't posted in a bit, due to life changes making a very bad time of things worse. Those same changes had me through your part of the world about a month  ago, for a day or two. Not sure when I can afford the fuel to get back, but with no job  I at least have the time! I am interested in the leftover Panther parts, and I have a mate in Fuquay that is a first class enabler, so we are good the go, in that aspect!

Right after joining, I went to KS to pick up Charley (49 F5) from John-in-Kansas... and have a 48 COE I'll prolly not live long enough to put back together. So I'm loving this build!

I am digging this but I need to know what the VW T1 motor is for...please and thank you.

Looking great. Even a mild 302 should be a great fit for this truck. You're almost doing a vintage build at this point. 

So, tubbing the rear: the fenders need to come into the bed a bit? That should be way easier than widening it. 

Do carry on.

03Panther said:

In reply to JThw8 :

Hey. 
  I joined this forum with a GrandMa-quois question ... hence the handle! Never got an answer to that one, but have stuck with the forum. 
  Haven't posted in a bit, due to life changes making a very bad time of things worse. Those same changes had me through your part of the world about a month  ago, for a day or two. Not sure when I can afford the fuel to get back, but with no job  I at least have the time! I am interested in the leftover Panther parts, and I have a mate in Fuquay that is a first class enabler, so we are good the go, in that aspect!

Right after joining, I went to KS to pick up Charley (49 F5) from John-in-Kansas... and have a 48 COE I'll prolly not live long enough to put back together. So I'm loving this build!

Fuquay is definitely not that far, up near my office.   Shoot me a message at jim at misfittoysracing dot com and we can discuss and I'll shoot you pics of what I have.

preach (dudeist priest) said:

I am digging this but I need to know what the VW T1 motor is for...please and thank you.

Somewhere deep in the archives there is a build thread on this one   

wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) said:

Looking great. Even a mild 302 should be a great fit for this truck. You're almost doing a vintage build at this point. 

So, tubbing the rear: the fenders need to come into the bed a bit? That should be way easier than widening it. 

Do carry on.

yes, creating a small inner fender rather than the flat bed side, really very simple especially since I only need 2 inches on each side.   The rest of the tire should tuck under the fenders so no widening thankfully.

Its kinda a resto-mod I guess.  Updating the suspension and brakes to a modern standard.  Interior will have modern comforts with better seats, AC system and a decent touch screen radio (still working on the plan for that but Im hoping to conceal it behind a vintage speaker grille which can flip up and back into the dash when the radio is in use), power windows and door locks, probably shaved doors with poppers.

lots of parts deliveries this week, time to let the budget recover. But for the most part I have what I need to finish the front suspension. Shockwaves arrived today, they bolt right in place, I like easy solutions. Steering rack arrived too, I need to slightly modify the tie rod length and then that can go in. Also go new swaybar end links so I can get the swaybar mocked into place and determine where the mounts need to be.

It's often been said you are either a good welder or a good grinder. Today my grinder got a workout. I'm woefully out of practice. Things did improve through the day but it was slow going. However I did at least get the front frame boxing plates fitted and welded in along with the rear lower control arm mounts. Still a little more clean up to do on these but welding in a metal building on a 90 degree day takes a bit out of ya so its a good start.

The shop and the project are looking good. 

Happy Bday!

Ok, there havent been many updates on this for awhile. What can I say, it's been a busy summer. But I got a few days. So first thoughts will be that it looks just like the last update. But what has happened since I last posted is I tore everything back apart, boxed the frame where the suspension points would mount and welded all the suspension in place permanently. The link mounts on the axle are still tacked since it will be easier to fully weld them once its out from under the frame. Up front new end links were installed for the modified swaybar. I still need to add the swaybar mounts on the frame. New tie rod ends are on the way then I can modify the new rack (requires shortening the arms by a bit over an inch) and then they will be done. Still noodling on how I want to do the airbag mounts out back. The mounts that came with the universal kit will need some serious modification. I also had to modify and/or make new mounts for the upper links on the axle, the supplied mounts were designed to mount on the axle not the center chunk. So a lot of progress but not much visual progress. I'm hoping to take a week or 2 off work at the end of September and camp out in there until the air system is fully plumbed in and hopefully brake lines as well.

Long time no update.  So lets play catch up.

Shortly after my last post I finalzed the front end by modifying the Lincoln MkVIII steering rack and installing that.  At the same time I got the swaybar mounts installed.

Then I was forced into 8 weeks of inactivity by a little surgery  :(

Trying to keep motivated I used the downtime to keep hunting cheap hop up parts for the motor.  I got lucky and scored a BBK MAF and 70mm throttle body along with new fuel rails with 30# injectors and an aeromotive fuel pressure regulator. All together now with the Holley Aluminum heads, and Edlebrock intake Im still well under $1000 into this motor. Sooner or later I'll have to figure out a camshaft for this setup and of course engine management will be an issue but keep reading.

When I allowed to start light work again I took some time off work and started finalizing the rear, first up was to fit the disk brake kit.  

First issue (there are always issues aren't there?) The hub was 6 1/2 inches and the brake rotors have a 6 1/8 inside diameter. The kit did warn this could be an issue and said to machine the hub. I hope by machine they meant hit it with a grinder while spinning it. In the end it worked out. Got the brackets installed in mock up

I also took the front off jack stands (mostly because I needed the stands out back) and got a good first look at how low it will sit fully aired down.  It actually goes even lower with some weight so it would definitely scrape crossmember once the engine is installed.

Once I got all the mounts and bag plates tacked in where needed so I pulled the rear end out of the truck for finish welding and a little clean and paint. A bit of a long and tedious process. There was also a lot of garbage inside the housing so I'm glad I tore it down fully.

I had set aside a whole day to try and sort out engine mounting. I got a late start due to other obligations but an hour later and here we are. I have to give a huge shout out to Team321 for one of the best "really works right out of the box" kits I've ever worked with. I had some confusion about how the motor mounts worked but Dave at 321 was quick to set me straight and everything just went in like it was meant to be there.

Transmission mount day. Took a bit longer than expected as I discovered I didnt quite have the engine in straight, there was a bit of an angle which when translated to the end of the transmission made it almost 2 inches off center. I was able to correct that and fab up the trans mount. I just have it tacked in for now as I need to order a new transmission side mount to make sure it works right with this. The old one came apart on me. Once I confirm that I can pull everything back out and make it look nice.

As previously mentioned you can't go down this road with the stock computer, damn scope creep. I've been looking at options (cheap) and again biding my time and today was a great score. This is MUCH more than I'd hoped to find, a bit more money than I wanted to spend but almost half the price of new and it is still new in the boxes. The ProM system is really nice and "self tuning" after initial setup. It comes with its own harness so I don't need to spend weeks modifying the stock harness as I'd have had to do with other systems. It also has much more capability than I need for now so should I switch to something more modern than the AOD trans it can do trans control. It will also be very flexible should I decide all of this wasn't enough and some forced induction is needed down the road. Just gotta figure out a good cam for the setup then Im going to take the short block to a local machine shop for clean up.

And now you're caught up.  Next up is to pull the drivetrain and make the trans mount blend into the old crossmember its welded to.  Then I'll strip off everything that's not welded on and clean up the frame for paint.  I hope to get the short block off to a machine shop for cleaning and inspection and go from there.   Meanwhile reassembly enough to start to put body parts in place to figure out modifications.   I havent put the rear axle back together yet, kinda holding out hope of finding a deal on a posi unit for a 9" ford.  28 spline axles if anyone comes across something.