Project F150
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This truck started with a rollover 2005 Ford F150 SuperCrew. As you can see, it was in a terrible shape of disrepair. The first order of business was to replace the frame. There were no used frames available, since the trucks were so new at that time, so we bought a brand new frame and started tearing the truck apart and putting pieces on the new frame. We nearly had the drivetrain together when we noticed the transmission was cracked. Front axle differential, CV shafts, rear axle assembly, transfer case, rear leaf springs, complete lift kit, both drivelines and transmission all had to be replaced. No two items came from the same vehicle either. So, basically we had an engine, fuel tank, and a bunch of bolts from the original truck. One wheel had a hole in it, which we had repaired, and one wheel/tire were just plain missing. During this process an employee James Brooks, who helped us quite a bit, became one of very few people in the world to remove a front driveline THROUGH the transfer case. Yes, the driveline punched a hole clear through the transfer case. First six pictures pretty much cover the beginning of the truck to the finished rolling chassis. The gold cab is a cab we had purchased from another wrecking yard that went out of business. It was a brand new takeoff, but they dropped it when putting it on their rack, so it had some damage to repair as well.
And so, with the chassis altogether, we sat back to recoup the funds that we had spent and to get some work done. After much ado, work began on the body, starting with a pair of box sides. We had a used box side for the left, bought a new for the right, and reskinned the box. I started stripping down the tan cab for preliminary prep work to get the body work and paint done properly.
Well, a couple weeks ago (January '06) fate threw a monkey wrench into our plans, but a very cool shiny black monkey wrench it was. I found a black F150 at an auction with black interior. It was nailed in the front as well as rolled, though not nearly as bad as the original red truck. So, the bidding began, and the black truck was ours for a much lower amount than we expected. The cab wasn't really sellable, it had a major crush on the passenger side front, right about where your feet go. Since we don't sell parts that are damaged too badly, we just figured we'd fix it ourselves. That section of course is 4 sheets of 1/16" hardened galvanized steel, which translates into about 1/4" of really strong metal. Yikes. Well, we have at our disposal an old school body man who would rather fix something than cut a new one off of something else and weld it on and plaster the whole thing with bondo. So, enticed by the sheer black beauty, and drooling over the black leather, we abandon the tan cab and put it back up for sale at a much lower price, since we took a few pieces off of it. Then, the box on the black truck is smeared along the whole right side, but the inner sheet of metal is 100% untouched. Call up Ford and order another box side, and so we have now reskinned three box sides for this truck. So, without much trouble we pull the cab off of the damaged truck and set it on the rolling chassis we completed. Now begins the repair of probably the strongest consumer pickup on the planet. I kid you not, when they say Built Ford Tough, they mean it.
Well, we're just cooking right along. The pull pictured above of the passenger side front took a couple of days, pretty tough section to fix, but once that was done, we hung the doors, put fenders and a hood on just to check alignment, and began fixing the little dents here and there. There was a huge dent behind the passenger rear door, which took about two days to fix as well. The body man had to cut a large slice in the cab to gain access to the metal, but after a while it was close enough to weld back up and call it done. So, we've pretty much reached the present day (March '06) and we're probably 5-6 hours of work from starting the paint process.
There she is! The most together it's ever been! Unfortunately, every panel has to come back off for painting, so it'll be right back where it was a couple weeks ago as soon as the body work is finished.
Well, we plugged in every single wire we could find, connected all the hoses, double and triple checked everything, and lo and behold; it fired right up the first try! We drove it out of the shop and readied it for transport to the paint facility. Here's a movie clip of it's maiden voyage courtesy of Youtube.
Sometimes Youtube stuff is low quality, the original can be downloaded here (right click and press "save target as". It's about 7mb so if you have dialup internet, it'll take a little while, but most high-speed connections will be done in a matter of seconds.
I've been at the paint shop every chance I get, helping with the door jambs, wiring, hanging doors, lining up panels, and all that good stuff. The jambs have been painted, all the panels are lined up, and the box is on! Next step will be the full outside paint, reassemble the interior, and this monster is ready to go.
There it is! The paint is complete, it's back in our shop, and there' been plenty of sanding and buffing. Assembly is taking a little longer than we thought, so it doesn't look a lot different yet, but we are definately closer. We may have hit a hiccup or two, in that the front tires rub when turning... Maybe they're too big? Ha! Never! Sadly, we had to put the factory "tiny" eighteen inch wheels back on it to go get aligned.
Are you ready for your surprise?? Click here, and on the two thumbnails below to find out what it is!
After much fiddling around with the wiring, we've gotten this bad boy on the road. Yes, mark your calendar's: another hair-brained Walt & Vern's project is finished! As soon as it stops raining, snowing, etc etc for long enough to get any good pictures, you'll see them.
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