1965 Ford F100 Aero cap? Photoshop inside...

[Sven7]

Thanks guys. I'm not going to be doing any permanent body mods, electric fans, etc. Just leaving it stock. Jay Leno often says in his videos- the reason so many people have car trouble with classics is that they mod them. And, it's expensive! So I'm going to do removable aero stuff when I can. I would love to have a Halibrand quickchange rear axle to be able to run a higher gear ratio on a whim, but they are worth more than my soul.

The topper is a longer term project, because it would take a lot of space to store. It does look cool, but will have to wait until I have a two car garage. I've got some WIP pop up camper plans in Alias, too...

It's just an old run of the mill drill press, but I am also bringing bikes with me, which Amtrak won't take, and planes and UPS will charge a fortune for. It irritates me that everything in this country is so bike-unfriendly.

Anyway, picked up some extra coolant and oil, a gallon gas can and ALL the lead substitute AutoZone had in stock- two measly bottles. Buying that stuff is like asking a Lowe's employee where the kumquats are.

[Sven7]

Got started on the tonneau, since I don't have any time to lose here. (It took two 4x8's of OSB, at $10/piece)



I've got four boards screwed to the underside to prevent it from sliding more than 10-15mm. Later added a couple 1-1/2" holes on the rear edge to help me slide it on/off, although it is extremely unwieldy.

I have been wondering how to secure it down. I have two stake pockets at the front top corners of the bed, and two die-down hooks at the rear lower corners. I think I will drill a few more 1-1/2" holes, and then a few in a line horizontally between them. Then I can throw a good, thick bungee cord through each hole, hook it on the stake pocket/tie-down, pull it taut and stretch it to the furthest possible hole. This should pull the (already heavy) tonneau to the bed enough to keep it from moving or making noise.

[aerohead]

On the T-100,Gilkison (AeroStealth) put 2X3 pieces down the stake holes,flush with the rail tops,then used carriage bolts through existing holes on the bed sides to secure those.Then the bedcover was through-drilled,and screws/fender washers were attached down into the 2X3 attach points.They're still in there,20-years later!
Eye-bolts mounted upside-down at the rear could anchor turn-buckles at the top,and into existing loops below.

[Sven7]

My friend suggested something today that I ended up doing.

Used 1/2x6" eye hooks, all-thread and fender washers to hold it down on all corners! I can tighten it down and remove it with a 3/4" wrench, and in the video below you can barely see the studs sticking up. Will try to get a picture when I take it off for painting.

Tuft testting with my GoPro!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckwsc...ature=youtu.be

I think the cab is throwing up some huge longitudinal vortices which are holding the tufts down. I don't know if there is any good way to stop these except building an entire aero topper. Either way, this tonneau should give me a bit of a mileage boost, and for about $26 in new materials, the ROI should be short.

[aerohead]

There's the locked-vortex rotating behind the cab which is lifting the forward portion of the bedcover.
Behind that,the flow is slamming down against the cover.That's all normal.
Adding some sort of blister is about all you could do to improve things,and it would actually do better with the forward half open.

But not easy to fabricate.

[Sven7]

Oh, yes. That makes sense. I wonder if a widened upside down fiberglass wheelbarrow would work for that part.

Just to be clear, do you think this tonneau will help? I'm hoping the extension will increase the gains I saw with the hodgepodge tonneau from a couple years ago.

[Sven7]

Well, I wrote about it a bit. Turns out it was running rich on the way out, so I didn't get an opportunity to really see what it could do, MPG wise.

Read the story here:
Road Trippin' in a '65 Ford Pickup

And an article I wrote about pickup truck aero:
A Practical Guide to a Pickup Truck Aero-mods

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by Sven7

Oh, yes. That makes sense. I wonder if a widened upside down fiberglass wheelbarrow would work for that part.

Just to be clear, do you think this tonneau will help? I'm hoping the extension will increase the gains I saw with the hodgepodge tonneau from a couple years ago.

Sorry for the late response,but,yeah,the wheelbarrow has some great form.Even if you sectioned one down the center to create the two sides,and then joined in something in the center to complete.
Aerostealth may be doing this to create a fairing for the Coleman rooftop AC unit on his travel trailer.
The plastic wheelbarrow bodies could be used as a mold to layup a composite skin leaving the wheelbarrow unmolested.

[aerohead]

Ah yes,the trials and tribulations of the 'unclean' aerodynamicists !
Glad you were able to get that vintage iron home.
Perhaps they'll be other opportunities to test the cover.

[Sven7]

Gotcha. Makes sense! Too bad no one makes cheap plastic teardrop forms. Seems like it would be pretty simple to vacuum form a few batches of different sizes.

And, yeah. I'm sure it saved me some money over just having the bed open. But it also seems to have been running lean for years, so that probably artificially boosted the MPG numbers. I have a lot to fix on the truck, though. That's for sure. 700 mile journeys tend to unearth the issues hiding below the surface.