Tweet
So on january 2nd 2014 I decided that I wanted to start a new kind of project. something that I had never done and had no expertise in. I had always wanted to build an old classic pickup. my two favorites were a 53-56 F100 and a 55-56 chevy c10. I had been looking for one for months but no luck so I almost gave up the search and was about to start looking for other build ideas. One day I was bored at work and decided to go on Craigslist but to broaden my search to the whole western united states because I was getting desperate and was now willing to drive the distance to make my dream build a reality. What do you know, the first ad I found was a clean title 56 F100 all primer, in rough shape but no rust and it was said to be running "decent". So I decided to take a leap of faith and go for it. Me, my brother, and my buddy mark saddled up with a ton of snacks and a case of red bull for the 8 hour journey to apache junction, Arizona. Which sits right near New Mexico in the middle of Egypt. checked out the truck and everything seemed to be "ok" but there was a few things that were in beat up shape. So I ended up buying it and trusting it for the drive back home followed by my brother in the car we drove out there. Truck drove great and made it home with no issues whatsoever.
So now the build begins. I knew a few things about what I wanted to do with it. The most important being get it on the floor. So thats where my wallet began to get raped. Within two days of owning the truck I had already ordered the Full air ride kit, 4 link setup, and I was going to look at a engine that night because I didnt want to stick with the 289 v8 (with a fat misfire) that it was equipped with. So I found a ford 351 bored .030 over with a mild cam with all new everything that I couldnt pass up. I picked it up and stored it my garage while I started to acquire all the rest of the parts to install the engine.
I didnt like the boring tanks that came with the air ride kit I ordered. So first thing was to order seamless tanks from Specialty Suspension. I figured 1 wouldn't be big enough so I decided to go with two 5 gallon tanks
What the bed setup looked like when I got it. It looked like one of the previous owners tried building his own tubs. I plan to get rid of the and raise the wood inside the bed so that I don't have to run tubs.
Shaved the 3rd brake light that wasn't original and also cut off the front bumper/front section of the frame and filled the gaps in the bumper.
Next was to start pulling apart the whole rear end to we can get ready to C-notch the frame to make clearance.
Since I have no fabrication skills/abilities, all the fabrication will be done at my buddy brians shop called Mackey's Hotrods in huntington beach, CA that I would highly recommend to anyone looking on getting any work done on their hot rods.
Here Is Mr. Lee welding in the C-notch and upper bag mounts
UPDATE 3/15
now its time to make the mounts for the upper portion of the 4 link. We were going to build the rear mounts directly to the pumpkin but instead we decided to box the pumpkin and build the mounts off of that for extra strength. and for the front portion need to fab 8" tall mounts for the front of the 4 link to bolt to that will be reinforced with a crossmember.
And here is the final product of the upper half of the rear, im pretty pleased with the way it came out. now to build the lower mounts for the lower section of the 4 link.
So now the build begins. I knew a few things about what I wanted to do with it. The most important being get it on the floor. So thats where my wallet began to get raped. Within two days of owning the truck I had already ordered the Full air ride kit, 4 link setup, and I was going to look at a engine that night because I didnt want to stick with the 289 v8 (with a fat misfire) that it was equipped with. So I found a ford 351 bored .030 over with a mild cam with all new everything that I couldnt pass up. I picked it up and stored it my garage while I started to acquire all the rest of the parts to install the engine.
I didnt like the boring tanks that came with the air ride kit I ordered. So first thing was to order seamless tanks from Specialty Suspension. I figured 1 wouldn't be big enough so I decided to go with two 5 gallon tanks
What the bed setup looked like when I got it. It looked like one of the previous owners tried building his own tubs. I plan to get rid of the and raise the wood inside the bed so that I don't have to run tubs.
Shaved the 3rd brake light that wasn't original and also cut off the front bumper/front section of the frame and filled the gaps in the bumper.
Next was to start pulling apart the whole rear end to we can get ready to C-notch the frame to make clearance.
Since I have no fabrication skills/abilities, all the fabrication will be done at my buddy brians shop called Mackey's Hotrods in huntington beach, CA that I would highly recommend to anyone looking on getting any work done on their hot rods.
Here Is Mr. Lee welding in the C-notch and upper bag mounts
UPDATE 3/15
now its time to make the mounts for the upper portion of the 4 link. We were going to build the rear mounts directly to the pumpkin but instead we decided to box the pumpkin and build the mounts off of that for extra strength. and for the front portion need to fab 8" tall mounts for the front of the 4 link to bolt to that will be reinforced with a crossmember.
And here is the final product of the upper half of the rear, im pretty pleased with the way it came out. now to build the lower mounts for the lower section of the 4 link.
Comment