Project 1977 F100 - New radiator + electric fan!

[Ang84Indy]

bobo, make sure that your new 8ga cable run to your cab is fused within 18 inches from your battery.

[pete c]

You really should find a 5 speed. I had a similar vintage ford with that tranny. It is essentially a 3 speed with a stump puller gear that I never used in normal driving. If you go to a higher rear end, starting off in 2nd might get tricky. The stump puller gear would still be too low for normal use. So, I think your best bet, by far, is to first toss a proper 5 speed in there. It ought to bolt right up. Then consider a higher rear end, if you think it still warrants it.

[pete c]

If you are really interested in better mileage, you might also look into finding an old 302. You might find someone with a 302 who wants to go fast, that might want to do a swap. A newer one with FI, out of a mustang, would be ideal.

[bobo333]

Hi guys,

bobo, make sure that your new 8ga cable run to your cab is fused within 18 inches from your battery.

there are fuses inside this distro block i put next to the battery:


a very good point though, i have seen far too many cars with un-fused or incorrectly fused wires coming from the battery.

You really should find a 5 speed. I had a similar vintage ford with that tranny. It is essentially a 3 speed with a stump puller gear that I never used in normal driving.

Yeah the more I drive the more Im beginning to think this would be my best option, I have now done 350km in it and I haven't used 1st once...

Tomorrow Im going to have a look at my mates F100 and see what gearbox he has and how much he wants for it, hopefully its in good order and he doesn't want too much for it

Today i pulled apart the intake and gas mixer and cleaned it all out and fixed a couple of the hoses that were cracked. I also replaced all of the spade terminals on the ends of the wiring to the solenoids and redid the earths which seems to have fixed the hard starting issue. It was warmer this afternoon than it has been lately though so il find out for sure tomorrow morning.

Thanks for looking

[Flakbadger]

Loving the progress, keep it up! Thanks for all the pictures.
Too bad you're several thousand miles away, I'd love to help out.

~Matt

[Sporty Modder]

Originally Posted by Flakbadger

Loving the progress, keep it up! Thanks for all the pictures.
Too bad you're several thousand miles away, I'd love to help out.

~Matt

X2

[bobo333]

Thanks guys!

There will never be a shortage of pics in my threads lol, I love them just as much as you guys

Having said that im slacking off a bit, only one pic on this page so far , looks like il have to do more work

Just went for a quick drive and it didnt start as good as it was yesterday afternoon, still much better than it was though, 10-15 sec cranking time instead of >1 min till it fired lol

[bobo333]

Hey guys,

i did more work :P

now that ive driven around with the dash in for a while i have found a few things that need to be changed around when i remake the prototype into the final version, so here it goes...

first i traced the prototype onto some 9mm mdf, then cleaned up the wobbly edges and fixed a few dimentional errors (i didnt cut it very carefully on the proto)


then i started cutting out the appropriate holes, im adding a pocket under the head unit for various bits and bobs and also moved the volt gauges to make more room for the switches i need to run everything:


and here it is (obviously i still need to redo the guage cluster):


then i gave it a quick coat of black paint so it doesnt look too bad till i get the material to trim it:


here is the radio/switch section in the car, fits much better now:


and here is the design for the switch panel that goes above the radio, it will be cnc cut out of 6mm perspex and edge lit with LEDs so i can still tell what the switches are for at night:


Ive also been thinking about aero for a while and people seem to have a bit of luck with air dams on pickups, so i am thinking about making a new front bumper similar to this:


The bottom of it will be level with the bottom of the suspension arms so as to not increase FA and will probably house the fog lights that are currently on top of the bumper, then il add my spot lights where the fogs currently are. Thoughts?

Thanks for looking

[Flakbadger]

Your dash looks like it's going to be f***'in amazing. I enjoy the simplicity and functionality, and how you're bringing modern tech to this older vehicle.

I think the front bumper will look good, but you might consider making it more like the visor on the truck you pictured, IE more wedge-shaped. A wedge will direct air to the sides better than a perfectly flat piece of metal.

That being said I don't know that anything you do will necessarily hurt the mpg's on this thing.

Keep it up, it's looking good!

[Christ]

Lovin the Dash. I want to do something similar to my '74 F150 with Al plate, since I don't intend to keep the truck original at all, and plan on mounting various work bits to it, including winches and a hoist.

Same deal w/ my '89 F250, really. My '82 GMC dumptruck currently has a nice dash in it already, so I'll let that alone until things start wearing out. It's bound to happen sooner or later.