albolton Posted September 6, 2011 Author Report Posted September 6, 2011 Coming together nicely. Looks like the engine will fit nicely (especially with the recessed firewall. I didn't have the skills or the guts to do that on my truck. It will payoff with the handling improvements. Have you done anything about the rear setup or are you leaving it stock? cherokee for now...already done...easy swap, eventually it will be a ford 9" with 4 link and coil overs...but i need to top up the piggy bank first Quote
buds54dodge Posted September 6, 2011 Report Posted September 6, 2011 Wow, That looks good, I bet you can't wait to get it together. Thanks for the pics, and again ,you do nice quality work, Bud Quote
48Dodger Posted September 8, 2011 Report Posted September 8, 2011 I never thought about it before, but the front leaf spring hangers you left in place on the frame.....great place/part to modify as a tie down location. lol. just thinking out loud. 48D Quote
albolton Posted September 8, 2011 Author Report Posted September 8, 2011 yes that is trhe plan.....the truck is pretty low, and there is no uses scratching up the frame if you ever need to tie it down ( I hope its not a common practice to trailer it home ) Quote
4msfamly Posted September 9, 2011 Report Posted September 9, 2011 Boy, you've done a LOT of fab work! What brake booster setup did you end up using? Looks like you almost rebuilt the cab floor. . Thanks for all the pics. I can't wait to see more as you continue. Marc Quote
albolton Posted September 9, 2011 Author Report Posted September 9, 2011 the booster and master are from Rightstuff...picked it up at the Syracuse Nationals for about $250, and it comes with a proportioning valve, i havent heard anything bad about their products, and you see alot of them, the pedal and mount, and the engine mount tabs came from Paul Horton Welder Series here in Ontario, they do alot of mail order stuff, and make very good parts, the original tunnel was just a bit low for the 727 transmission and the height I mounted the engine, if you where still running the I beam you could mount the engine a bit lower in the frame and clear the floor, but the IFS crossmember pretty well dictates where the engine is going, I work for an industrial contractor, and we have a large sheetmetal shop, so that helped alot with the firewall and tunnel fab. Quote
albolton Posted October 14, 2011 Author Report Posted October 14, 2011 Well.... still waiting for my truck to return home from the body shop...added a few things to his list..like painting the interior panels and dash ...might take a bit more time, So to make myself feel better about not spending any money...i have ordered a new set of gauges, from Marshall, made in california and they seem to be pretty cool, I picked up another uncut right side dash cover on ebay, and will have it laser cut to hold the new guages, then have both sides chrome plated, should look pretty cool. The guages have programmable built in high and low alarms, and a 12V output on each guage when it is in alarm mode, to control a light, or a relay to start a cooling fan, or whatever, I think these gguages will give the dash a little extra something without leaving the classic look Quote
Dan Babb Posted October 14, 2011 Report Posted October 14, 2011 Not sure if the dash on a 54 is like the 52, but the 5" gauges fit perfectly in the stock trim covers. Not sure what you'd do with the smaller ones though. Can't wait to hear how everything handles when you're all done. Quote
Dave72dt Posted October 15, 2011 Report Posted October 15, 2011 Well.... still waiting for my truck to return home from the body shop...added a few things to his list..like painting the interior panels and dash ...might take a bit more time, I know for a fact it'll take more time. Interiors are a real pain. There's no good way to get at a lot of it. Nooks, crannies, bad angles, no comfortable position to work on it. I spend most of my time on the exposed parts that are visible to the public and do what I can with the rest. You could spend a couple hundred hours getting the interior perfect, as intricate as it is, but that's not economically feasible for most of us. Quote
albolton Posted October 17, 2011 Author Report Posted October 17, 2011 Not sure if the dash on a 54 is like the 52, but the 5" gauges fit perfectly in the stock trim covers.Not sure what you'd do with the smaller ones though. Can't wait to hear how everything handles when you're all done. my dash is quite a bit different than yours...cool how they made everything so they could be RH or LH drive though..mine even has the master cyl mount on both sides of the floor...not sure if the older ones had that or not. I attached a photo of the inside of mine (Prior to cutting it up ) Quote
Dan Babb Posted October 17, 2011 Report Posted October 17, 2011 That's a cool dash. You can make it look really nice with that type of setup. Quote
albolton Posted February 21, 2012 Author Report Posted February 21, 2012 been a while since i updated this, finally starting final assembly...hopefully will see the road in the spring Quote
Dave72dt Posted February 21, 2012 Report Posted February 21, 2012 You've been seriously busy. Wow, that looks sharp, nice detailing. Whose headers are those? How much clearance for the starter and steering shaft? Do they tuck as tight on the other side? Quote
albolton Posted February 21, 2012 Author Report Posted February 21, 2012 Headman tight tube...ya they clear everywhere...running the small starter from a mid 80s fifth ave..fits nice Quote
albolton Posted February 21, 2012 Author Report Posted February 21, 2012 here is a few more..I had to cut my column down a bit in lenght so it was tight to the firewall...otherwise i would have needed a third joint and support bearing, and there is not much room for that, this way i keep my joint angle with only two joints Quote
4msfamly Posted February 22, 2012 Report Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) That's some serious work you've done there! What kind of tubing bender did you use for the brakes / fuel lines? They look better than factory! For the interior... did you chrome the metal "gauze" where the gauges mount too? I don't think mine is that shiny! When's the engine going in? Marc Edited February 22, 2012 by 4msfamly Quote
Dave72dt Posted February 22, 2012 Report Posted February 22, 2012 The more I look at those headers, the more I think you have them mounted on the wrong side of the engine. Are they marked left and right? Looks like they're going to dump right on top of the crossmember. Quote
albolton Posted February 22, 2012 Author Report Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) they are on the wrong side....just hanging there for the photo op on the stand..., good eye though, i dont think you get much performance out of the shortys...but they fit just about anything and the price is right on them. and yes I did have the guage bezel chromed...I picked up and uncut right side on ebay..laser cut for the new gauges, and then had it chromed...i like that it still kinda looks factory, and the bender is just a rigid hand bender...they are pricey...about $70.00 but work really well Edited February 22, 2012 by albolton Quote
Dave72dt Posted February 22, 2012 Report Posted February 22, 2012 Next question, is the engine mounted in the center or offset to the right? How much clearance is there between the header and the frame rail? Part nmber for the header? Quote
albolton Posted February 22, 2012 Author Report Posted February 22, 2012 I have a 1" offset to the right, The part # is HED-78500, $300.00 at Summit , ill take a pic of the right side clearence for you and post it ...but there is plenty of room Quote
Dave72dt Posted February 22, 2012 Report Posted February 22, 2012 Thanks. I've got a 2" offset on mine which is the reason I asked about clearance. Quote
albolton Posted February 22, 2012 Author Report Posted February 22, 2012 I have the 55-58 coke bottle frame, and it is very narrow..and it fits fine, ill measure clearence and post it for you Quote
albolton Posted February 24, 2012 Author Report Posted February 24, 2012 Dave, here is a pic from each side...Im off on holidays for a week and wont get the engine installed until i get back,,,but you can see the dimension from the block and the header ends at approx the top flange of the oil pan...hope this helps Quote
Dave72dt Posted February 24, 2012 Report Posted February 24, 2012 Thanks. I can measure from the block over with those measurements and check clearance. Quote
albolton Posted March 20, 2012 Author Report Posted March 20, 2012 Here are some pics of exhaust clearence with engine installed, I do have to run a mini starter from a 2000 durango for clearence, you can see from the head on shot..if you use the wiper motor mounting bolts as a reference, how far the engine is offset to the right Quote
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