The mutilation of my '91 thus far. :-D

Howdy everybody. It's been a while since I've posted here but thought I'd stop by to show what I've been doing.

Last year I rear ended a chevy and pretty much totaled my truck. here's the thread with pictures

Now, I love this ford. And hence, was not nearly ready to part with it... So, the transformation begins.

Fist thing was to get rid of all that pesky body stuffs in front of the fire wall. I have pictures of this on a different hard drive and will post them if anyone is interested.

Luckily the frame was still straight and I only fragged the ac condenser and radiator. In my mind, it just meant I get to have on-board air and slap on a bigger radiator.

After that I needed to reevaluate the intake and battery location.

The intake is just a blue rubber couple to link the MAF to the TB. Then I cannibalized the stock air box to mount the cone filter to the MAF with the assistance of a PVC drainage pipe reducer.

For the battery I used two lengths of square tubing and notched both ends to accept a piece of flat bar with a hole and a nut welded inside. I welded these pieces into the notches and used pre-existing holes in the frame for the bolts.

More cannibalism was in store as I reused the stock battery tray sans a little material I cut away to clear the harmonic balancer and to lay flat against the frame.

Also, I had to relocate the clutch reservoir as it was in the way of the frame for the new fenders. A simple bracket was fabed up for this.

So here is where I'm at thus far. [WARNING, NAKED EXPLORER PICTURES]

Ultimately it will look a bit like a big rig with a doghouse covering the engine and a couple trailer style fenders (I want to go fenderless, but I guess there's a weight limit which is how hot rods get away with it).

The whole doghouse frame is designed to be easily removed to make it easier to work on the engine.

I still have to bend up some flat bar as a sort of indexing crossmember to keep the frame mounting bits from rotating independently.

Tomorrow I hope to mount up all the electricals and weld up the rest of the doghouse frame. It should be finished and skinned up in sheet this weekend.

~Rev

 

[Keeper0311]

I think for the time being, I'm just gonna cap it as is. I plan on installing a plug for jumper cables (something like this, hopefully I can find the plugs and make it myself, this kit is pretty pricey) in this piece so I need to get that and see how big it is. If I change my mind, I can always just cut an angle and re-cap.

~Rev

Edit, found where to get the plugs for cheap. =] google is my friend.

Sorta reminds me of the slave cables we use in the military.

 

[Corrupt_Reverend]

Sorta reminds me of the slave cables we use in the military.

Excuse the ignorance, but what are those used for? I searched around and all I could find out is that they cost a lot.

~Rev

 

[Keeper0311]

Excuse the ignorance, but what are those used for? I searched around and all I could find out is that they cost a lot.

~Rev

They're NATO standard slave cables. Basically giant jumper cables. Just plug each end into a vehicle and jump away. By the way, sucks being shocked by one, always communicate with the guy on the other end.

 

[Corrupt_Reverend]

Mini Picture Update

Figured that I'd make a mini update while I let my dinner settle before going back out to work.

I got both body mount covers made and welded in sans the caps. I'm going to wait until I have the power plug and onboard air stuff so I can cut the required holes before welding the caps on.

Tonight I am working on getting the hood finished up. First thing that needed to be done is to make some hood bumper things. I started with a piece of 1 in flat bar 3 inches long and drilled two holes. One for the hood pin and one for the rubber bumper.

It's hard to see but I stopped the step bit a little before going through on the 3rd step. This was done so that the barb on the bumper could catch.

All mounted up.

SInce they're just sandwiched between two nuts, they are fully adjustable.

And rinse and repeat for the other side.

The reason I made them this way was to make them adjustable to make fitting/finish shaping the hood easier. It would have been easier to just use stock type ones, but I didn't have any and to be honest, just didn't feel like going to the parts store. :

So there's the mini update. Now I'm off to try fitting the hood.

~Rev

 

[Corrupt_Reverend]

One more for the night

Gotta run up to Stockton so I'm going to save the hood straightening for tomorrow. The hood bumpers work perfectly though.

~Rev

 

[Corrupt_Reverend]

Mini update

This past weekend my friend came over to re weld some of my shoddy work. Something happened in the process and things aren't quite fitting right. Been busy with some home improvement stuff but I'm thinking that something just needs to be ground down for clearance. Still haven't got more sheet for the left fender but I did get the hood just about dialed in. Should have a picture update with some progress up this weekend.

~Rev

 

[Corrupt_Reverend]

I can has metalz?

Picked this up today!!

I'll finally be able to finish this weekend when I get back from the mountains! Plus, my parents kept asking what to get me for xmas so I just told them a couple gallons of OD paint. All things considered, I should be finished and prepping for paint before the new year!

This has been a fun project and I've learned a lot, but I'm beyond ready to put down the welder and get behind the wheel.

So close...

~Rev

 

[BigRondo]

Picked this up today!!

I'll finally be able to finish this weekend when I get back from the mountains! Plus, my parents kept asking what to get me for xmas so I just told them a couple gallons of OD paint. All things considered, I should be finished and prepping for paint before the new year!

This has been a fun project and I've learned a lot, but I'm beyond ready to put down the welder and get behind the wheel.

So close...

~Rev

Thanks for the update. I hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday season and a very merry new year.

 

[Keeper0311]

Can't go wrong with OD.

 

[Corrupt_Reverend]

Delayed Update

Unforeseen happenings have put me a bit behind schedule. I haven't been able to get as much done as I had hoped I would, but I have made some progress.

Since my last update I've done some reinfocing on the doghouse. The bottom edge of the grille has always been pretty wobbly which kind of bothered be so I welded on some little angle iron.

In the above picture you can see the main bottom piece. Also featured is my new grinder (part of my delay has been my grinder taking a dive).

I made smaller pieces to wrap around the bottom corners as well.

With all the pieces welded in, the whole doghouse seems a lot more structurally sound.

Also, I finally got around to capping the body mount covers. To do this, I pretty much did the exact same process as with my bumper. I made a template and cut out the shape with a tab on the inside edge.

The tab goes inside of the doghouse sheet metal where I welded it before laying a bead all the way around on the inside.

After it was welded in, I used the grinder to remove the excess metal that I had hanging over the edge.

Once the body mount covers were capped and trimmed, I finished tacking the expanded steel in place and began priming.

The above picture shows how I went about it. I just used a couple rope ratchet thingies and hung it from a rafter.

I'm just using rattle cans for the priming.

It's pretty cold in my area so I've just been going one section at a time; hit with sanding disk, prime, and let dry with heater/halogens. Lather, rinse, repeat, heh.

This next picture shows a finished body mount cover.

And that's where I'm at right now. I'm exactly half way finished with priming the doghouse. I'll finish that up tomorrow... er, today I guess. I should also be able to hammer out the other fender/turn signal bezel as well. Then, if all goes as planned, on Monday I'll make my fender flares.

 

[BigRondo]

Looking good. Thanks for the update.

 

[bcbid]

Looking good!!!! All that "hanging & banging" is coming together. That is going to be one sa-weet ride when your finished. You must be getting excitied to get finished. Thanks for the update..

 

[Corrupt_Reverend]

Mini update

Well, since my last update, I've been keeping an average temperature of 102. I started feeling ill after finishing priming and was initially concerned that I may have given myself chemical pneumonia from lack of ventilation because the day after painting, my face looked like I was having a mean food allergy. I seem to be getting better though, so I'm thinking that wasn't the case. Though, I doubt it helped that I didn't have adequate ventilation. So take it from me, keep a door or window open when painting without a respirator, even if it means slower dry times. I have certainly learned my lesson. (I actually dug through some boxes and found a respirator which I'll be using anytime I paint from here on out)

So after priming the doghouse, I hit the right fender.

I did the same schpiel with hanging from the rafters etc.

And today I went out to storage and retrieved a couple cans of undercoating that were left over from our Mach 1 build.

This will be applied to the underside of the fenders and the inside of the doghouse.

Also, I think I've figured out the design for my fender flares. The degree of difficulty I've had in laying these patterns out is almost humiliating. For any high school folks looking at this; pay attention in algebra and geometry. What you learn there is of extreme value, especially in fabrication.

So there it is, my anti-progress report, heh. hopefully I'll be well enough to get back to work tomorrow.

~Rev

 

[GRNMACHINE]

Nice-hope your feeling better-the updates are addicting.

 

[BigRondo]

Looking good. Get better soon. Because, like GRNMACHINE said, the updates are addicting.

 

[Corrupt_Reverend]

Mini Picture Update

Been busy with family stuffs, but got a little done today.

I pulled the electrics bracket off and clean up and undercoat.

Before coating, I hit it with the sanding disk to remove rust and round off all the corners that I have been bruising myself on since I installed this part months ago.

I put the bolts in so that I'll retain my grounds after coating.

I also masked and sprayed the turn signal to help it blend in and hopefully make it a little more resistant to cracking.

I didn't coat the inside of the doghouse or under side of the fender as I want to to those outside and it was dark by the time I got out to the garage this evening.

The to-do is now:

• undercoat everything I decide to undercoat (specific, ey? )
• Make left fender/turn signal bezel (this has been on my lis for waaay too long)
• finish hood (just gotta get it to lay flat)
• Paint
• find a set of street legal headlights

~Rev

 

[Corrupt_Reverend]

Mini Picture Update

It's been on my list for months. I've kept putting it off and putting it off... Tonight, I finally got to work on the left fender!

The above picture shows the left fender, turn signal bezel, and turn signal.

Unfortunately, that's where I had to stop. Just a tip; No matter how bad your back hurts, don't take prescription painkillers before using power tools. I came way too close to running the speedy-cut across a finger. Decided to call it a night right there.

I'm happy I got the bulk of the part done though. Just have to shape the bezel to the light contour, weld it up, and bolt it on.

I also think I figured out how to straighten out the side edges of my hood and I've got my finder flare template.

Got my mind set on making some real progress tomorrow, so hopefully I'll have a real picture update before the weekend is up.

~Rev

 

[bcbid]

Smart move to quit with the close call!! Tomorrow is another day.

 

[Corrupt_Reverend]

micro picture update

Got the bezel mostly formed, ready to weld on to the fender. I'll post pictures of the whole schpiel on Sunday or Monday.

Also laid out my lines for the fender flares.

It's all gonna be one piece with bends.

 

[rhauf]

Just saw this thread now, i like it!!

I'm always a fan of fix/repair vs replace, and your doing it with style.
looks sick!