WELCOME TO RIVER DAVES PLACE

My Last Rail

Flyinbowtie

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2007
Messages
11,927
Reaction score
10,198
Okay, RD, per your request for stuff...

In 1998, after building 4 other sand rails over a 10 year period, my friend Jim and I started on the one that ultimately netted me my screen name.
This is it.
Jim owns a Transmission Shop here locally and we have been best of friends for over 30 years. We started building buggies to run in a local gravel river bed and run hill climbs at the site of an old hydraulic mine, "diggins" in the area. We built most of our own frames, including this one.
Then, around 1981, we found Sand Mountain, and never looked back
We started with VW powered cars, then I tried a 2300cc Pinto engine, then Jim did a real hot 2000 Pinto, then I did a Buick V-6.
Then the VW trannys started going. No matter what we did they wouldn't hold the torque we were starting to make against the tires we were begining to run.
One day, we were coming home form a trip to Glamis with two scattered VW bus boxes and we stopped at Johnny's Speed and Chrome. There was a frame hanging from the rafters, and Jim was staring at it. He looked at me and said,"Why couldn't we adapt a small-block to one of those Cadillac FWD trannies, and stuff it in the back of that chassis?"
"I dunno, why not?"
Six months later, we had a chassis and the prototype was born. We ran those cars for a couple of years, and I sold mine to pay for the engine in this car.
Then, I bought two seats from Beard, a set of A-arms from Prowlers, and off we went with the tubing bender again. About a year later, this car made its debut at Sand Mountain. I was happy with it from the start.
These pics were taken in late 2003, when my back was so trashed that the car had to go. This was right before I loaded it the trailer and hauled it to it's new home. A very sad day, indeed.

15259My_favorite_angle_resized.JPG



15259Rail_engine_shot.JPG

The Engine:
Built by RPM Racing Engines of Grass Valley, Ca.
Chevrolet 4-bolt 350 Block, .030 over Crower 5/8 stroker Crank, Crower 6-inch Rods, Diamond Racing Pistons, 12.88 to 1 compresssion ratio. Dart 220 spread-port Aluminum heads, 2.08/1.64 SS Valves, Crower Springs, Stud girdle, Rev-kit, Roller rockers, Diamond Racing Pushrods etc, etc. Crower Sprint car style roller cam. Crower Double roller chain, etc. Brodix HVH Intake, Braswell 926 CFM custom built carb. Vertex/Hunt Magneto.
It made right a 626 HP @ 7440, and around 545 lb.ft.of TQ at 5900-6000.
I never had the sack to hit the Nitrous either on the pump or in the car.
We hand-built the water log you see at the front of the engine, taking advantage of the water outlets on the intake and the large air gap under the carb to bring the hot water forward from all four corners of the heads. We machined a pad on one end of the log for a thermostat housing, and on the other end we tapped 1/8 pipe for a direct-reading temp gauge.
15259Business_end.JPG


This is the view that always brought the questions. You could only get this close to the car when it was parked, it threw a huge roost when on the throttle, and the 16.50's were not forgiving to those that got too close.
The trans was a Turbohydramatic 325, available only for 3 years from GM in 1979-1981 Cad Eldos, Buick Rivieras, and Olds Toronados. The stoutest ones from the factory were in the Olds that had that diesel in it.
I polished every bit of aluminum on this machine myself, including that damn trans case. Looking back, I musta been nuts.
Jim modded the hell out of them, and we had good luck making them live in the 600 HP range. We made our own adapter plates, and modded the engine oil pans so the drive axle could pass undder them. 930 CVs held up well with a loose converter, all the shock load was negated.
These trans have long since dried up, and this would no longer be a viable option. I let all my spare stuff go with the car when it went away.
The car was a helluva hillshooter, considering it weighed about 1520 lbs. with those power numbers it was like getting fired out of a cannon if you launched it hard. This machine would dune well too, all things considered it went wherever you pointed it. The bowtie tail light at night looked to be flyin', and there ya go, "Flyinbowtie"
All the newfangled long travel stuff out there is obviously far and away better at big dune running and flying. Point this thing at a long steep hill, tho, and it was an absolute e-ticket ride.

I have more pics I can scan if there is an interest in seeing them.
The '56 Ford you see in the shop is my new focus, that and the '40 you can't see. I've had the '56 since I was 17, and it has been waiting for me to get over the buggy illness for a long time. Since I can't play in the sand anymore, me and my old truck are gonna get reaquanited.:D
 

RiverDave

In it to win it
Joined
Sep 13, 2007
Messages
123,238
Reaction score
150,650
That is beautiful.. I wish I knew how to fabricate, but machining is the only thing I know. It sucks too becuase I have the bar benders, a bitchen welder and the whole 9 yds, but nobody here knows how to use it. We bought all the top of the line shit about 2 - 3 years ago becuase my brother took an interest in welding and we expensed it through the shop / biz expense. But he only welded a few things and never looked back. I went outback once just to try my luck (no experience) and what in reality was probably a spark, to me looked like an explosion on the work peace.. I jumped back and decided I'd best wait for someone to show me how to set all the settings, etc.. etc.. before I kill myself. :D

Knowing how to machine is a great thing, but ultimately I can only make "parts" and parts will make something function better, or dress something up, or do something trick on something.. But ultimately I can't build the main thing they are dressing up, making better etc.. My brother is coming up here to work / live though so I expect we'll be spending some more time together at the shop late night, so I might get some welding in towards the end of this year.. If I learn how to weld, hold onto your hat becuase I want to build all kinds of shit, that lack of knowledge has been holding me back on. ;)

I'd love to see the other pictures! Do you have any pictures from the build itself? Keep in mind I'm no engine builder.. The water log tell me more about this. Are you pulling water from the hottest ports, and pushing them into that water log 1st and then into the radiator? Water log being a kinda mixing chamber for hot / cooler water and true thermostat readings on hot spots?

RD
 

Flyinbowtie

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2007
Messages
11,927
Reaction score
10,198
Thanks Dave.
It was my baby.
FWIW, most community colleges have a decent basic welding class; usually they are night programs aimed at the adult who just wants to learn for their own interests. Might be worth looking in to, if I had those new tools in the shop I wouldn't be able to keep my paws off of them.
I will dig out some 35mm pics of the build when I get a minute, and scan them so they can be posted.

The water log we worked up is an old racers trick. Think about an SBC intake manifold, the water crosses over the rear of the heads on the route, then comes up both sides of the front of the heads to the exit at the standard thermo housing enroute to the radiator.
Again, ths was a ported Brodix HVH intake for an SBC. It had no water runners in the rear, but did have a crossover and thermo housing in the front, which we blocked. It had a huge gap under the carb. This gap was tall enough that you could almost put your fist under it. The purpose of this is to isloate the fuel mixture from the heat of the coolant, keeping the charge in the manifold cooler & denser. The intake is pretty much race-only, designed for heads with a 1207 intake port, about 5/8 inch taller than standard Chevy heads.
You have the idea on the water flow.
The manifold had pipe threaded outlets in all four corners. We put lines to those outlets, and brought the hot water out of all four corners of the engine up to the water log, where it waited behind the thermostat to get to the radiator.
This set-up tends to cool more efficently, and keeps the aluminum heads happier in high comp. applications. It also helps keep air pockets/hot spots from forming in the cooling system. Richard Farmer suggested I do it since cooling might be an issue int he sand. Richard built the engine;he founded RPM and ran it until he went to work on Bub Performance's LSR Motorcycle full time. He is/was a regular wizard when it came to Sprint Car-style SBC's, I saw more than one SBC style alky injected Sprint car engine on the dyno pushing well into the 850 HP range. Not bad from 415 inches...
I'll fish out some other pics this weekend, and try to post some more for you to see.
It was my idea to put the temp gauge in the log; I ran electric gauges in the little "dash" and I've never really trusted them, so the mechanical gauge was a back up deal. It paid for itself one weekend at the mountain when the sending unit for the gauge died. :)
 

Flyinbowtie

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2007
Messages
11,927
Reaction score
10,198
Hey I appreciate the compliements guys, but I had lots of help, too.
We had a fairly large pile of pieces that didn't fit by the time the chassis was welded up. Practicemakes perfect, and adds to the recycle pile...
Anyway, RD, your request for pics sent me hunting, and I can't find some of the good ones, but we'll start at the start, I guess.
15259first_rail_resize.jpg


The orange car on the right was my first, "Store bought" chassis, if you look close you can see the primer over the rattle can orange where we hacked the Pinto motor mounts out to stuff the 225 odd-fire V-6 Buick (jeep ) engine into it. Third trip out I scattered the type 1 IRS box, and bought a bus IRS box at a yard sale. It lasted, but the horsepower wars were on.
The yellow car was a Turbo 1835, a big money deal for circa 1980, and my boneyard $300.00 V-6 smoked it. The guy was not happy.
This picture was taken on the backside of Sand Mountain, Nevada, back when nobody knew about the damn place. Wish we could have kept it that way.

So, I sold the orange car, and Jim and I bought a couple of the old JSC chassis in L.A. and hauled them home. This is the first mock-up pic of the first of the purpose-built V-8 cars we did with the automatics. This was, I believe, about 1987.
1525989__2__resize.jpg


The chassis was supposed to have a swing-axle setup in it, mid engine VW power.
We cut the frame, welded in a bus torsion housing, and started with a empty block and tranny case. A stock bus axle on the right side, and, believe it or not, a boneyard Fiat X1/9 axle on the left. The fiat even had the CV bolt pattern as the Bus CV, just different splines. We machined all the GM stuff off of the pumpkin side pickup, and the 18 inch long extension axle that runs under the oil pan and is supported by a carrier bearing on the other side.
Then, we welded on adapters we made for the VW stuff.

The car wound up with a 105 inch wheelbase.
15259Side_view_r.jpg


Sorry for the pic quality boys, these are old sumbitches...

In this car I used a radiator out of a Gen 3 Camaro. We picked up the motor mounts at the front of the block, and a plate in the back. I managed to get a engine driven fan in there, and the little mild cam 350 ran just fine.
Here it is on the beach in Oregon in 89ish.

15259on_the_beach_done-med.JPG


The tunnel ram and two 500 Holley 2 bbls was just me wanting to be different, the 2 bbls. work great on a mild small block, much better than 2 4's if you are looking for drivabilty. Think of a 800 DP cut in half and the hafls centered over the intake runners, you get the idea.
However, the horsepower wars were on again, and by late 1995 ish, I already had plans, and just needed a buyer for this one.:D
 

Flyinbowtie

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2007
Messages
11,927
Reaction score
10,198
Well. we found a buyer in 1998 and I was off to the machine shop. Mucho dinero later, we had this on the dyno. Richard, bless his pea-pickin' heart tried to talk me out of running the T-ram on this engine, but I was stubborn and wanted to try it.
15259dyno_resize.jpg

After spending big $ raising the top of the intake ports on the manifold to match the hogged out Dart 220's, we found out theat the combo sucked, or rather it didn't. No power til big RPM, so I stepped up, and called Braswell and had them build the carb you see in the first photos, and bought the Brodix HVH. Back on the pump, and the little stroker cam to life in a big way. I pulled the Intake to send it off and have it powdercoated, and stuck the T-ram back on fer effect and wowo facotr in the garage. The coater loast my damn manifold, and it was several months before I could get the good intake back on the car.
I was a happy camper when I loaded it in the truck for the short trip home.
And onto the engine hoist:D
15259Going_in__2__resize-med.jpg


This chassis incorporated what we had learned from the last one. The bus style torsion was the way to go, but the stock bus trailing arms were junk, they didn't take the weight worth a damn and limited our brake options. So, we used the bus torsion and type 1 IRS arms, which we boxed and plated. We got the option to run the good CNC brakes, and I never bent another arm. Here you can see the pick-up points on the torsion where the front of the engine bolted in. The 6-3/4" Fluidamper on the engine cleared the torsion by about 1/2 inch, and brought the pulleys jsut forward of the torsion. With this engine/trans combo, the centerline of the rear "axle", or pivot point for purposes of weight transfer, was just forward of the midpoint of the gap bbetween the center main bearing caps. A decent CG for the day. This time I went with an AFCO aluminum raceing radiator, still managed to run an engine driven fan. As you can see, the rear support for the engine unbolts and drops away, as does the lower support and truss for the trans mounts, the trans mount stuff can be seen in place in the lower part of this shot.

Rolled out in the sun with an engine in it, for the first time.
15259rear_view_no_engine_resize.jpg

Cin shot this while Jim and I were in it making, "Vroom, Vroom" sounds.:rolleyes:
Now the rear engine support is in place, the plate bolted to it did double duty as the Chevrolet to BOP engine to trans adapter we needed.
Oh, and no, your not seeing things. The engne was offset a bit to the right to gain clearance for the axle that came out of the third member on the left side of the trans and went down to the left rear stub axle.
We built the headers from a kit, and spaced them out evenly so that once the exhaust was on, we created an optical illusion that things were even up... since I drove alone most of the time, the counterbalance of the engine offset actually never created any handling problems.

About this point in time, I was starting to get a little excited, and probably real difficult to live with.
15259in_the_sun_for_the_first_time_resize.jpg
 

RiverDave

In it to win it
Joined
Sep 13, 2007
Messages
123,238
Reaction score
150,650
Thanks, riverbound...is there a side shot in the last post at the bottom, I'm starting to get a little rumdumb, never posted this many pics anywhere before..

Too answer your question yes there is a side shot in the last post. :)

I just kinda skimmed the build(s) right now becuase of a lack of time, but I plan on reading it in detail tomorrow AM.

This is right up there in the top 5 coolest threads I think I've ever read on the internet. JohnMillers Wood Flat Bottom (on HB) is the latest thread that made my list. Thank you for that! You have no idea the amount of enjoyment I get out of reading stuff like this!

RD
 

Flyinbowtie

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2007
Messages
11,927
Reaction score
10,198
Hey, Thanks Dave. I really do appreciate the comments. I had good times building and driving those things, and I do miss it. Alot.
Cindy thought I'd lost it with 35mm picture envelopes all over her sewing room floor.:D
I have the ones of the floor to scan tomorrow, but I can't find the pics of it on the "table" up in Jim's shop, which is where we bent/welded/mocked up the frame itself. I have a freakin' box the size of a suitcase full of pictures, I guess this winter when I need something to do I should go through them.
The first V-8 car was the subject of a write up in a now-defunct magazine called "Sandsation". We built three cars like it and all three were the centerspread.
The last car was on TV with the skier Picabo Street. She had a TV show for awhile called "Danger Zone" on OLN. She showed up at Sand Mountain one weekend when we were there with her crew, and spent the weekend with us, riding in my rail with on-board video going. I'll post a couple of pics with her later. It is nightnight time..
 

Her454

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2007
Messages
551
Reaction score
161
Jeff, EXCELLENT THREAD. Great pics. Is that Chris & Justin? Wow, how time flies.

I'm gonna go take some pics of our rail. When Mike see's these he's gonna wanna hit the dunes now............

Are we doing Sand Mountain this year for your Bday? Tick tock.....:beer I'm ready to go load the Toyhauler now................. :)
 

Flyinbowtie

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2007
Messages
11,927
Reaction score
10,198
Jeff, EXCELLENT THREAD. Great pics. Is that Chris & Justin? Wow, how time flies.

I'm gonna go take some pics of our rail. When Mike see's these he's gonna wanna hit the dunes now............

Are we doing Sand Mountain this year for your Bday? Tick tock.....:beer I'm ready to go load the Toyhauler now................. :)

Yeah, Traci, that is the boys. It is hard to believe. I dated one of the pics based on how old Justin looked, LOL
Probably not doin' the mountain for my B-Day, the way the weather is looking on the long range forecasts has me thinkin' that things are gonna be cold up there, and I am not up for that. but if something changes we'll letcha know. Next year I am hoping to have a Rhino or some such device to chug around, that would make it a lot more fun for me.
Chris is talking about Dumont for New Years with John and Mel.
 

Her454

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2007
Messages
551
Reaction score
161
Yeah, Traci, that is the boys. It is hard to believe. I dated one of the pics based on how old Justin looked, LOL
Probably not doin' the mountain for my B-Day, the way the weather is looking on the long range forecasts has me thinkin' that things are gonna be cold up there, and I am not up for that. but if something changes we'll letcha know. Next year I am hoping to have a Rhino or some such device to chug around, that would make it a lot more fun for me.
Chris is talking about Dumont for New Years with John and Mel.

Understand, hate the cold myself. Anything under 65 and I have to get my fuzzy socks and flannels out. :)
 

RiverDave

In it to win it
Joined
Sep 13, 2007
Messages
123,238
Reaction score
150,650
FBT, I've been slammed with work lately so I haven't had a chance to really read this in detail yet. I did notice that one picture where the engine was offset, and briefly read the reasoning behind it.

With the off balance weight did the car have any handling issues?

RD
 

Flyinbowtie

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2007
Messages
11,927
Reaction score
10,198
Thanks guys.:D
We mounted the battery behind the passenger seat, helping to offest the weight. I never, in ether of the cars, noticed any problem with handling due to weight.
The last car had a 124 inch wheel base. The first had a 105. In the second, the seats were mounted farther forward than the first car, trying to use my own weight to push the loaded CG further forward and keep the front end down. It worked quite well, but the car would still lift the front end a touch when on the throttle hard and if the sand was tight. i got to where I could watch the front coilovers unload and know when the car was going to lift, which gave me a bit of time to feather the throttle and keep the car under control. Wheelies are fun; going fast and being able to steer is even more fun, IMHO.
Also, I used brushed 18 ga. stainless steel sheet for the floor, which is heavier than aluminum. Having done the polished aluminum floor deal more than once, I was tired of polishing out the damn scratches from feet, the stainless was a lot more durable and not that much tougher to work with until I got the bright idea to do a pattern of holes and make a palm tree design.:hmm
With my battery drill.:rolleyes:
In stainless.:eek:
On both sides of the floor.:(
'Bout 350 holes.:fsakes
A coffee can full of drill bits later, it looked cool, but I'll try not to be that stupid again.
Pictures forthcoming.
 

Flyinbowtie

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2007
Messages
11,927
Reaction score
10,198
Here is an overhead shot from the rear of the floors after we installed them, and a few runs to the Mountain.
15259Floors__both_resize.jpg

to make them, we made a cardboard pattern, then got out the jigsaw, a bucketful of metal cutting blades, and went to work. It took me about two hours per side to cut out the raw floors. Kicked my ass.
The folowing weekend, with the help of an artisic friend, we just kinda penciled out a pattern on the floorboards. Then, I got out the drill motor and went to work. About halfway through the first half, I wished I'd never started.
When all done, I went back and coutersunk the holes to give them a little "pop" in the sunshin,e it worked. Here you can also see the trim I did around the floors. I used 3/16 aluminum strip, which I cut to go around the outside of the floor area, then polished the strips, then bought some stainless button head bolts and polished them.
Nuts, I know. I was regularly accused of trying to "Street Rod" my sand rail. I always plead guilty. I just enjoyed the work, and since it was my "last Rail" I am glad I did it.

Shot of the passenger side
15259Passenger_floor__2__resize.jpg


If you look close, up against the center tube you can see the stainless hard brake line I ran from the brake master cylinder back to the stereing brake handle. We glued strips of Velcro to the floors and placed the small pieces of carpet up there to get folsk to put their darn feet where I wanted them..it worked.I also got tired of dragging my butt over the side rails, so I found some material that matched the seats and had a local upholstery guy makes me some pads. I had a bikini top madde for it as well, out af a sunbrella canvas that matched pretty well, too. It was lined underneath with the leather like stuff to finish it off.

The lady you see here is Olympic Gold medalist skier Picabo Street, after an 80 MPH blast up the hill. Not the stunned lok on her face.
15259Picabo_returning_resize.jpg

This was shot during the making of her TV show on OLN.
The lady is a total adrenaline junkie, and a sweetie to boot.
Here you can see how we mounted the two gauges, Oil Pressure and water Temp, on the main crossbar. We just expanded a length of tubing until the gauge slid in, and when all wired and done, I slid the gague in with a little clear RTV on it. Worked just fine. All the wiring ran through the tubing, another 3-week project...I backed up the electric OP gauge with the giant idiot light on top of the steering column. It had a 30 PSI sender hooked to it, this way I had back up for both electric gauges.
 

Flyinbowtie

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2007
Messages
11,927
Reaction score
10,198
When the sun was just right, this was the view under the car. Always attracted attention...
15259View_of_the_shadow_resize.jpg


Here is the last shot
15259Making_a_run_resize.jpg


This was my favorite run at Sand Mountain. I am turning about 7700 RPM in second, which was my "pulling gear". When cresting that little rise dead ahead, the car would get light under my behind, and after that it was time to lift, and start getting on the brakes to get it whoa'd down to turn around at the top. The car was radared on this hill during the Picabo deal at 88 MPH, that was about 8k on the tach, all motor, no squeeze.
The engine would pull 8500. Never tried the squeeze, never even thought about high gear. Even I ain't that nuts.


Post-Mortem:
I know that the gent I sold the car to sold it soon after he bought it, I suspect it was more than he was looking for, and it required regular maint. to be happy (valves, trans service, etc.) that was more than he wanted to do. I provided damn near a novel on how to do what needed to be done on the car.
The last I heard, it was over in the north bay area somewhere. My son saw it once at The Mountain, and he told me he, "didn't want to talk about it" beyond the statment that "It doesn't look or sound like it used to, Dad. Forget it."
I am trying.


Thats all folks, hope ya'll enjoyed my little trip down memory lane.:D
 

Sherpa

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2007
Messages
1,490
Reaction score
1,905
awesome build and story to go with it...........

Have you gotten anything done on the 56-?


I've been building a "boat trailer" for my little dive boat now for about

1 1/2 years....... it compares in complexity to your sand rail... for a

trailer anyway.......

most guys would cut and weld some tube together, shoot some rustoleum

on it and call it good.... oh nooo, not for sherpa.... he's made this little

darling out of nothing but aluminum and stainless.... my initial wanting

was to have the entire frame polished... by myself. I even made a fixture/
roller stands for polishing 2 peices of 4" alum I beam each one 17 feet long.

oh yeah, I'm a glutten for punishment and a very sick bastard with extreme

OCD for fabricating...... at last count, the total count of peices I had
powder coated was over 75 alone........

I'll be doing a write up on it soon, as I'm in the final stretch having only
to complete the trailer-tongue dolly wheel for it..... most guys would buy
a 20 dollar trailer tongue jack at harbor freight, or west marine for 20 bucks.

oh nooo, not Sherpa....... he has to make one from a 6" Azusa go kart
wheel, with a kart tire, and all alloy "dolly wheel" bracketry.......

--Addicted to aluminum chips, powder coat, metal polishing, and my

stainless hardware bill alone for this porject could have paid for a new
Zeiman trailer alone.....

--Sherpa
--Sherpa
 

Flyinbowtie

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2007
Messages
11,927
Reaction score
10,198
Thanks Sherpa...
Done lots of research etc on the '56, completely cleaned out the shop and I am gathering info for the build plan. Really would like to step up to a new TCI chassis.
In other words, I ain't got no $ to get going on it yet. Doing some winter stuff on the '40, I want to put some miles on it next season. The truck is gonna get done, sooner rather than later.
 

Sherpa

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2007
Messages
1,490
Reaction score
1,905
Glad to hear the 56 is still ongoing.... half the fun is building. I think...(I tell
myself that about my 13 year jeep project anyway)

my brotherinlaw took his 56 down to the frame for a cordoba front end,
and thus began the 460 motor mounts, a different trans, wheels, tires,
and you can guess the rest. the frame is a roller now, but the cab is
sitting on a pallet looking very pathetic from 3 years of almond-orchard
dust sitting on it..... I bet the dust is more than 3/16 deep now......

he's another with more projects than time it seems.... and time is slowing
him down a bit. I really hate seeing him slow down myself.

--Glad to hear all is ongoing.... how's your back doing now? mine is still
the same. about 1/2 a .750vic every morn, sometimes the other half
if I've been "bad"....... life thru pharmaceuticals.....
getting old sucks, and mine 46th is on the 28th of Dec.. woohoo.

--Sherpa
 

Flyinbowtie

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2007
Messages
11,927
Reaction score
10,198
Yeah, I sandblasted the frame on mine, stripped the body down to metal, put a smoothed firewall in the cab, did the 460/C-6 mounts, and put a front IFS in it, then got the sandrail bug and it ground to a halt.
Sacramento Vintage Ford has a TCI chassis for a '56 on display, fully boxed 8 inch, tube, front air IFS and rear 9 inch on a 4-bar w/IFS.
It is very,very nice, and would really get things moving again in a hurry.
The back is trashed, I have 2 more going and a couple in line after those.
Can't take vicodin, tears up my guts so I got other crap.:rolleyes: for just getting by.
The doc wants me to go on a fentanyl patch. I may have to give in, because I am NOT getting cut on again, and I'd like to maximize the quality of life as much as posssible, and work on my toys a bit too.
I was 49 last October....
 

PRO53

Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2007
Messages
18
Reaction score
0
Got to love the 53-56 fords.Looks like a nice project:) My buddy is 56 f100 guru, tons of 56 stuff, and panel stuff. Going through the second rebuild of my old 53 f100.1st pick 1st build now second build.Went to an all glass front end now and a 468 tunnel ram motor in it.Camaro sub frame.The fenders are just sitting on there but are at height when bags are let down.All work done buy me. You rail looks awsome.
dsc_013.jpg

630200633449PM46901.jpg

630200633526PM35581.jpg

100_1217.jpg

630200633604PM41261.jpg

2212005114620AM9071.jpg
 

Flyinbowtie

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2007
Messages
11,927
Reaction score
10,198
Thanks Matt and Atomick

It is one helluva hill, 650ish ft. vertical climb in about 1200 ft.
Blasting up it is more fun than a hat full of assholes:D
Pro53 your truck is gonna be badass. I almost did the full prostreet deal, but I don't want to have to megatub the bed, and actually harbor fantasys of taking it on a Power Tour, so I need the thing to ride nicely.
I only have about a dozen or so other cas I dream about building, so I'll get to the hot rod in due time.:rolleyes:
 

PRO53

Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2007
Messages
18
Reaction score
0
Thanks Matt and Atomick

It is one helluva hill, 650ish ft. vertical climb in about 1200 ft.
Blasting up it is more fun than a hat full of assholes:D
Pro53 your truck is gonna be badass. I almost did the full prostreet deal, but I don't want to have to megatub the bed, and actually harbor fantasys of taking it on a Power Tour, so I need the thing to ride nicely.
I only have about a dozen or so other cas I dream about building, so I'll get to the hot rod in due time.:rolleyes:
My buddy did the power tour thing last year in an open top 32 ford. He got rained on for awhile:eek: Said it was cool though:) I finished up a 56 f-100 last year for a bud,put a dakota front crossmember and made a custom bed for him. Like your project and the rail. Love the f-100s:D
I took the steel tilt off and bought a glass on. A fairlane got around 1600.00 in it and needs alot of work. Wasnt pleased with it. Here is a current pick.
f100-2.jpg
 
Top