My Hot Rod Project (1946 Ford Pickup).

[clr0gers]

I'm putting these photos of my hot rod in the forum at the request of a member, that thought some of you that build your own car might be interested. I won't include all the photos since I have 2 large 3 ring binders of them & I'm not done yet. My back ground is in auto mechanics as I've worked as a line mechanic for years & then into service writer. I do not have any body shop knowledge, interest or skills so the body work is not the best (it's kind of crappy but it's all I can afford). I'll include a couple of photos of the beginning & come up to date as it sets now. I'm using a 351W that I built, a T-5 from a 1988 Mustang GT, 1980 Bronco 9" rear end, it has suicide doors & a tilt front end for real easy access to the engine, rack & pinion steering from a Mustang II with a Thunderbird manual rack. If any body is really interested or bored I can email them more photos or answer questions.
Thanks

chuck

 

[95BlueStallion]

Very cool project! Your 351 looks nicely done. That original grill looks like a yard gate or something, and you really should have left that wooden bumper too, haha! Im sure you know the stock T5 tranny wont hold a lot of power, but if its just going to be a cruiser then you have no worries. Thanks for posting!

 

[clr0gers]

I realize the T-5 won't hold a ton of power but I didn't build the 351W up all that much. Since it had to be bored I did have the machine shop get me 9 to 1 compression ratio pistons & it was bored .0040 over in order to clean up the bore. Other than that I only freed up some HP by using 1.6 roller rockers, gears instead of a timing chain, electric fan to suck cool air thru my all aluminum 1970 Mustang radiator & I did find a windage tray from a GT40 Mirage & I'm using a high volume oil pump. The cam is just a step or so from stock to deliver more torque than HP but I don't think it will be over 300HP & I do intend to use it as more of a daily driver. There's not much left of the wooden bumper anymore & the "grill" is actually an old grill guard that I heard they had either a kit or plans where you could make a grill guard out of a front steps railing, they were unique back then. I haven't figured out what to do with the actual "jail bar grill" but will probably just make a tube grill for it.
My brother has the original cab, hood & fenders since the cab was real rusty from setting in a field from 1989 to 2004 so when he heard I had bought another 46 Ford pickup he asked for the old cab & since he owns a body shop I figured he could fix it better than I could. Now we both have part of dad's old truck. The "new" cab needed front & rear cab corners & the fenders had been cut bigger so it could be lowered but I have it closer to stock height & ended up using the bottom of dad's fenders to make the fenderwell back to original. I have parts from so many other vehicles it looks like a Frankenstein until I finish the body work & finally paint it.
Thanks

chuck

 

[NIKwoaC]

Haha that thing is badass, I love it.

 

[foxna6]

I love it looks great really cool truck to drive around town I'm I would love to build something like that as my next project as the Fox is close to where I want it to be I'm allready think of the next build but don't tell my wife she hates all project cars at this point I guess 13 years of dealing with me building these dumb cars as she calls them has turned her off but oh well she can leave and ill have more money for building cars lol

 

[clr0gers]

I love it looks great really cool truck to drive around town I'm I would love to build something like that as my next project as the Fox is close to where I want it to be I'm allready think of the next build but don't tell my wife she hates all project cars at this point I guess 13 years of dealing with me building these dumb cars as she calls them has turned her off but oh well she can leave and ill have more money for building cars lol

Wives can be a handful but mine has realized the importance of getting this hot rod done. It's one that my dad drove for about 25 to 30 years & in 1989 he got a 1977 F150 4X4 & parked the 46 in my brother's field where it rusted until he died in 2004. There was always talk about rebuilding it but 2 weeks after he died my 3 sons went up home & brought it back on a flat bed wrecker. The next 2 years they would come by when they could to help get it down to the frame but after that was done they didn't seem to have any interest so I have been doing the project by myself. I've had to make a lot of parts that I either couldn't buy or just couldn't afford. A bead roller & a supply of sheet metal from a body shop dumpster has kept me going on the body work. I still need to run brake & fuel lines & rebuild the rear end & really want to get it on the road & then start finishing the body work & finishing touches before trying to paint it mid-night blue with a light purple or lavender design down the side using some sort of lace pattern & then highlight that with a contrasting pin stripe.
I'll put up some more photos later in the week.
I just tried to add more photos but the program said 10 was the limit & I don't know where else to add them. Sorry.

chuck

 

[95BlueStallion]

I download my photos to photobucket, and then paste the image link in the thread. If you every delete them from photobucket though, they will be erased from the thread automatically. Anyway, Im sorry to hear about your dad, especially with yesterday being Father's Day. That makes this even more of a cool build, and I wish you luck finishing it.

 

[clr0gers]

I download my photos to photobucket, and then paste the image link in the thread. If you every delete them from photobucket though, they will be erased from the thread automatically. Anyway, Im sorry to hear about your dad, especially with yesterday being Father's Day. That makes this even more of a cool build, and I wish you luck finishing it.

I do miss him on days like that but I look around at some of the things my brother & my sons have done down thru the years & I can see a little of dad in them. Dad was able to make most anything he wanted out of junk because we never had much money. I still have a trailer that he built in the 50s from scrap metal he found here & there & then arc welded it together without a welder. He worked at a Ford dealer & would take the batteries that had been scrapped under warranty, cut out the bad cells & replace them with good cells from another warrantied battery. Then he would hook them up in a series, I think, & weld with them. We have used & abused the trailer but it has never given us a problem. I've looked back on some of the things I've done with the truck & I didn't know how to do some of the things I did but we did inherit a lot of his mechanical ability so while it may take one of us a little time to sort thru a problem we usually prevail.
I was able to create an photo album of the same name as my thread & have a few more photos & may put more in there later.

 

[NIKwoaC]

Haha, the battery welding is pretty wild.

 

[95BlueStallion]

That is crazy, I could never do that.

 

[clr0gers]

Thanks I hadn't either & didn't think I could but I'm told I'm a stubborn old German. As I went along I found the internet to be a great resource for info & went to some car shows more for know how rather than ideas, I already had to many ideas. It has been real hard at times when I didn't know how to do something & either had to muddle thru it or ask someone else but some day it will run & drive, some day.