Project Furwagon - bout to cross the finish line

[Nightstick]

Well, I'm sure some of you read that thread called "close to being an epic failure body removal thread", which entails how we got the body off my rig. Here's a link to it if you need a good laugh

So Izzy came over again yesterday evening and we got to work dismantling the chassis. First we pulled the engine/tranny/TC as a combo then took off pretty much everything else except the front and rear ends. Reason we left those on is so I can wheel it out of the shop to pressure wash it. Only hangup is that we had a pretty bad storm move through this morning and the ground is wet in front of the shop already, which means it might be muddy. I haven't been outside yet to check. Taking that other stuff off didn't take very long at all, especially for a couple guys who have never done it before. We pondered on whether our method of pulling the motor was safe for a while but it turned out we found almost a perfect balance point, and it worked out great. Six of the body mounts came out relatively easy but I had to take a sawzall to two of them. That's a stinky job!!!

Izzy left around 11pm and a few minutes later he called me saying there was an accident a few miles away from the house and I should probably come over there. So I swing over and find a partially mangled Porsche that some idiot ran off the road into a brick entry-way of a ranch and left it there. More than likely because they were drunk. Although I can't blame them much for being drunk after the cowboys and rangers both losing yesterday, the asshole still didn't need to be driving drunk. Turns out they live down the street from me.

Thanks again for all your help Izzy!!!

 

[Nightstick]

I pressure washed everything then took a wire wheel to the frame this morning. Works fairly well but you can't get in those nook and cranny places with that wheel. I'm gonna look at trying to get a sandblaster this week so I can strip it all the way down and blast it this weekend. I read somewhere that it has to be warmer than 60 degrees to apply POR-15 so I need to get moving on it.

I think it was "let the intern weld day" at Ford when they built my frame, check out these nasty welds!! has anyone grinded down and re-welded the crossmembers or other mounts on the frame? Structurally I think they're fine, but they're just ugly to look at.

 

[samamarshall]

I know people have cleaned up welds like that when they've prepped their frame for sandblasting/painting. I don't see the point really unless your building a show truck. If it's on the top of the frame, you'll never see if again unless you take the body off.

 

[greenbereto2]

Explorer fuel rail

Nightstick,

I'm building a bronco with the same hardware with the exception of the dana 44 and 9". I'm going one ton's. I'm sorry to say I did get Kade's body rotisserie. I built a copy of the lightning 351 .040 (roller) motor and the explorer front dress. It looks sweet. I have the Cage SAS arms up front and the leafs in the rear. Still need to get the suspension set up though. I had a big problem. The HP dana 60 that I got was cracked. I go the a new case and had it machined to install the tubes from the cracked case. PITA!!!! It's all put together to tack weld the brackets.

Anyway I bought a spare explorer fuel rail that I will let go for 20 bucks. It's the one I used for my build. I have the lightning upper and lower. I have a proflow MASS air and a BBK 90mm TB. Let me know if you need it and let us know any updates on the build.

LG

 

[Nightstick]

Thanks for the offer... I actually have three rails sitting in my shop at the moment, a lighting, explorer, and some other one I haven't ID'd yet. I got the TFS 75mm TB but I haven't got the MAF sensor yet. If it's a 75mm I'd be interested. I read somewhere that the MAF should match the TB but I've read other places where mustang guys are running significant differences in the two so who knows.

As far as the build goes I haven't got anything done in a while. I bought a few EFI parts and painted the upper and elbow this week. I'm gonna take the water pump and alt to the parts store tomorrow and get reman parts for those. Hopefully I'll be ordering the parts to rebuild my rear end this weekend. I have some cash set aside for the build but for some reason I don't wanna spend it all right now. I've had issues making extra cash here recently. Once some extra cash comes in I'll order the suspension/body lift and the front end parts. Once those are rebuilt I'll have the frame sandblasted and start reassembly. Might be a while though.

 

[greenbereto2]

build

I have the matching FORD RACING injectors, PROFLOW MAF and BBK TB. I have used 90mm lightning MAF and an explorer elbow and TB. Not sure if you need those. Not really trying to sell but if anyone wants give me a ring.

I'm in the same boat. Cash has been getting tight. I'm also rebuilding a 64 C10 Custom Cab Chevy. This is almost finished so I want to direct most of the cash to that truck. It's been painted and it has the body and bed back on the frame. I'm currently redo-ing the wood bed in oak. This is pricy! I am doing it myself. The motor has been rebuilt and needs a little details to get it running good. I hope to get this running for my shop truck.

Good luck with your build. It takes so much money to make these things. I plan on holding on to it till the end. I will try to get my sons involved as they grow older. One is 6 and the other is 12. The 6 year old seems to really enjoy the building part. He may get the joy of driving it. Can't wait to fire this thing up.

PS If you have the explorer front dress and the 351W rotating assembly then take it to the balance shop and they can balance the assembly with the explorer balancer. I think they need the original 351 balancer for reference but they got it done.

 

[Nightstick]

I had the assembly balanced when the engine shop bored the block. Problem is the balancers don't match 28oz vs 50oz. I'm gonna get an adapter pulley from drivenautoparts and call it good since my balancer has already been balanced to the rest of the motor. I have pretty much all I need EFI-wise with the exception of the MAF sensor.

I've figured out everything about my rear end, so if I have time later today I'm gonna order all the parts I need for it. Thankfully I already have the locker, so that's $500+ I don't have to spend at the moment. I priced everything else a few weeks ago and I think it's only about $700. I'm getting the third member rebuild kit, 31 spline WH extreme duty axles, 4.56 gears.

I'm also trying to get rid of some of the crap piling up in the corner of the shop. I put the old 302 on CL Thursday and already sold it. The guy is gonna pick it up tuesday along with the 3spd tranny. I told him he just have the tranny since it ain't worth much anyway. I'm gonna take the rest of the pile-o-crap to the scrapyard wednesday.

I have my engine rebuild going on another thread, which has taken a day short of forever. It's almost done now though, I just have to get my pushrod length measured and throw some little things on. Not gonna be started anytime soon though.

 

[Nightstick]

Well I've made a little progress in the last month or so... Izzy and I rebuilt the rear end, which we finished up today. Only thing left to do on it is the brakes. We installed 4.56 gears, detroit locker, new pinion yoke, and of course the rest of the third member rebuild parts. I got the WH extreme duty axles to stick in too but I have to weld on a few things first. Wrap trap should be here either monday, or at the end of the month. (some parts I ordered are on backorder).

We also got the front end off the frame, so at this point I have a bare frame to work with. I'm going to cut off the front shock towers tomorrow and hopefully I can get my hands on a sandblaster soon so I can get that done. When that's done I'll weld on the new towers and start assembly.

Here's the parts I have on hand, or on the way.
-3 1/2 inch suspension lift minus the shocks and track bar riser or drop bracket.
-Wrap trap
-Warflares

The motor is assembled, and I have most of the EFI parts. After the frame is done I'm going to knock out the D44, then start on the fuel system.

 

[Nightstick]

I cut the front shock towers off this morning. No matter how hard ya try I guess you take a little frame with it. I put a few welds on it to fill in the cuts and used a flap disc to finish it off so I'd get a nice rounded edge like the original frame was. I should have the new towers tomorrow, but I'm gonna sandblast it before I put them on.

 

[Stutsmo]

I burned a few holes in my frame too. I just welded them up and kept on going. You did a good job repairing yours. Nice build keep it going!

 

[Nightstick]

Thanks... Actually that hole was a factory weld blow through. Easy to repair though.

I have a ton of parts sitting in the shop, but I have to get the frame sandblasted before I do anything else. I ordered the currie 9" drain plug today as well.

 

[broncoitis]

Night,

Don't currently live in DFW anymore but if you are looking for a good sandblaster in the area, I would highly recommend ABLE Sandblasting. They are the best around the DFW area in my mind and do a pretty thorough job. They can even blast the body and not damage it like some do. Check them out you won't be disappointed. There is also a company that does Soda blasting in the area that do a nice job as well. Can't go wrong with either one depending on what you blasting needs are. Hopefully this gets you pointed in the right direction for your blasting needs if you don't know who to use yet.

Rob

 

[mavereq]

that frame looks like it's in good shape. i've been welding on mine for about a year and have went through 3 ten pound spools fabbing crap up on it. i could move the thing myself before i started. now, not so much.

 

[broncoitis]

By the way, nice looking truck you have to build up there! ;D Should be NICE when you are done just take your time.

 

[Nightstick]

I'll check them out. A local guy said the guy he uses could probably get it done for $200-250. I gotta wait for some holiday pay to come in before I get it done though.

 

[BlazinCopper]

gotta love looking at a bare frame -- great project name

 

[Nightstick]

I actually thought about renaming it "trick pony build" since I have the TFS heads, but I just saw that you had a project named tricked pony, oh well.

The frame is in outstanding shape as it sits. Btw I decided to go with the rancho 9000xl shocks. They got good reviews on here and they're about half the price of the bilsteins and I don't plan on doing any serious off roading.

 

[BlazinCopper]

Vanilla Gorilla is way better ;D

 

[Nightstick]

Just a little progress report of sorts...

I'm dropping the frame off in the morning to get sandblasted. I was going to do it myself, but I don't have the equipment and I found a guy that will do it for $150. Only issue is he has an outside shop and can't use his equipment when it's this cold. Warmer weather is approaching, so maybe it'll be done in the next few weeks. I bought Valspar primer and implement paint to throw on it when I get it back.

I picked up an NP205 last week after months of searching CL for one. Got it for $200 which ain't a great deal but not bad either. I got the rebuild kit today, and the twin stick kit should be here shortly. I'll work on rebuilding the TC this weekend and I have those handy instructions that Bax provided a link to that I'll use.

I got a SWEET deal on some '04 Tundra seats today as well. I can't use the back seat, but the set only cost me $250. The driver's was originally powered, but the PO swapped that out and made it a manual. No tears in the leather, and they cleaned up nice. After I get the paint done, which isn't high on the priority list, I'm thinking about getting "Nightstick" sewn into the headrests.

 

[Nightstick]

Just after Shamu left the guy sandbasting the frame called and told me I could come pick it up. Me and Izzy ran over and picked it up. Got it home and laid a coat of primer on it. Nothing like 72 degree weather in January ;D

If it warms up enough tomorrow I'll put the first coat of paint on it.