1951 F16

[kb426]

O&S was greeted by rain this morning. I finished welding in the crossmembers on the bed frame. The front bed frame mounts are from 2 x 3 tubing. I put them in the mill and machined them to the dimensions that I wanted. They have a .125" plate across the open area of the tube and a crush sleeve for a 1/2" bolt. I have marks scribed on the chassis that were measuring points for the cab, crossmembers and the front axle centerline. I measured from these points for a couple of hours before tacking in the bed mounts. I'm going to put the cab back on before I finish welding them. I want to make sure. TB has set in.

[idrivejunk]

Good man. Being sure is essential.  

[kb426]

Another draggy day for O&S. I used the taller hoist to put the cab back on this morning. The down side of that is pushing the truck back up the sloping driveway. I spent hours moving the bed panels around to find what I thought was the best position. I was using a digital level working with fractions of degrees. I trust it more than my eyes with the optical illusions created by not being 20' back away from the truck to have a good line of sight. I have a few more holes to drill for the front panel left to do. I'm going to run it back outside and take a look before drilling the holes in the frame for the chassis mounts. The mufflers arrived this morning and I believe the offset outlet will make running tailpipes un-complex. The pics show a piece of 3/4" hardwood between the cab and bed. The last pic shows the wood laying next to the filler neck. I'm using a 3/4" thick floor so the filler will be below the top of the floor.

[kb426]

After an embarrassing amount of time, O&S has the bed mounted. There is some welding left after the bed is removed. I ended up cutting both mounts on the right side loose and moving them. I don't know if poor eyesight is the reason or something else but it appears that one of my scribe marks on the chassis was off. I will measure all the bolts needed to bolt the chassis together and get 12 point fasteners to bolt it all together.

[kb426]

O&S spent a lot of today with yard work. It's time to be thinking about other areas that need solutions. The steering column is on that list. I took a piece of exhaust tubing and laid it in a possible position in the cab and started looking at where I would have to do the least cutting on the motor mount bracket and still miss the header. I trimmed the original trans cover a bit and it will clear the trans. I didn't want to cut the main crossmember in the cab but it will be impossible to remove the trans without a lot of work. I will need to devise some bracing and make an area around 4" removable.

[Crosley.In.AZ]

that yard work will wear you out...

[kb426]

O&S has the bed removed from the chassis. There were 4 more fasteners that needed holes drilled on the front panel. It's now under a tarp on the hf trailer. I finished welding the bed mounts. I wasn't satisfied with the way the top tank mounts ended. A few cuts and a big whack with a sledge and I was able to weld them and make them look much better. I moved the cab back and pulled the engine and trans up so I could remove the engine mount crossmember. I cut and welded a brace in on the left side. Tomorrow I will work on angles to figure out where to trim for the steering shaft. TB has set it.

[kb426]

Tony, everything wears me out.

[kb426]

This was a very light day for O&S. I pulled the engine crossmember and machined it for the steering shaft to go through it. I have a piece of tubing to replicate a steering column. I put the original seat in the truck and used measurements from the white 51 for steering wheel location. I believe I'm in good shape. I ordered 12 point bolts for the chassis and I have been looking at aftermarket steering columns to see if any will do what I want.

[50 F1]

KB I think I said this on one of your last projects. You are incredible!! You have went from just  the front suspension from the Crown Vic on Jan. 12 2021 to this in 7 months. Wow great work.
Mike

[enjenjo]

KB I think I said this on one of your last projects. You are incredible!! You have went from just  the front suspension from the Crown Vic on Jan. 12 2021 to this in 7 months. Wow great work.
Mike

Yes, isn't he though. It's enough to make you puke.

[kb426]

Thank you for the comments. To the best of my knowledge, everyone who is active on this forum would qualify for an advanced user so the comments are coming from experienced people. That means a lot to me.

O&S fought the bear today. He didn't win but he sure wore me down. The aftermarket tilt columns get quite a bit of bad press. You can pay any price for them but most are made in the same area. I was ready to build a simple column like I had in the 32. I wanted cancelling turn signals. I wasn't finding anything that was making me believe I found a good solution. I went to the shed and pulled out the 88 F150 column again. I proceeded to strip it of the column shift and the ignition lock. The column shift part wasn't too bad. Some of the parts were rusty or gunky so it took a little effort. The key was stuck in the tumbler. That means the locking pin won't retract. I spent an embarrassing amount of time removing that assembly. I modified the original f150 u-joint shaft and started lining the parts up. I may have to trim the engine mount crossmember a little at an upper corner. I pulled the pedal assembly from the attic and the diameter of the column  will cause clearance problems. Tomorrow, I will address that. I painted the headers and pipes with high temp coating mostly to keep them from rusting. I've had good results on tail pipes but not so good on the headers.

[kb426]

O&S quit early in the shop. I hadn't made any mistakes yet and didn't want to risk it. I started out with cutting the ends of the f150 column off. I put them in the lathe and made cuts perpendicular to the shafts. I used some more on the 1.625" chrome moly tubing for the center. I put it in the lathe for accuracy of length and cuts. I cut 2 plates from 3'16" plate and machined them in the lathe for the adapters to go from the original column ends to the 1.625 tubing in the center. The plates have 1.5" holes in them. I used a piece  of 1.5" tubing for an alinement bar. I sanded off the welds on the 2 end pieces that will be visible and painted. The wheel spins with little effort. I just ordered a u-joint to go from 36 spline to double d. If the turn signal switch will pass current, that's all that I will need short of a steering wheel when I make a decision about which one to get. I have some other parts to get ordered so I'll try to do that still today.

[kb426]

O&S started the day with yard work. Most of the sheet metal except for the cab and hood went to the vat. There is enough sheen on some of it that I can see the dents better. I have some parts lined up to build a tail gate.

[kb426]

O&S had quite a day. I started off by getting the pedal assembly down from storage and putting 2 holes in the firewall in a similar location as the white 51. I looked at the new 2003 hydroboost unit and matched it to the pedal assembly. The hydroboost plunger is in the wrong location for the pedal. I was unaware that in 1999 they changed the pedal ratio. I have another pedal that I will cut apart and remove the pin from. Then I will bore a hole in the pedal I will use and weld in the pin. I messed with the column for a while and wasn't happy with how it was looking. I pulled the engine crossmember and trimmed it some. Same results. I pulled it again and cut the top on the tubing out. I started making some progress then. I roughed out some brackets to get close to where the column will end up. The pics show the approximate position. I can't believe how much time I have spent on this steering assembly. I seem to have developed some brain damage along the way. LOL. The new driveshaft arrived today. It took less than 10 minutes to put the yokes on and install it in the truck. It does appear to be what I ordered.