Where was I?: Project "Rat Rod Shop Truck" Days 3 & 4

The last 2 days of work on my F-100 have not been the most efficient and/or productive days of work but I have managed to make some progress towards the end goal of getting the “Rat Rod Shop Truck” back on the road.

Day 3 started out with only one goal in mind & that was to fix the fiasco of a snapped off rusty intake bolt in the engine block. At the end of Day 2 I sprayed the rusty bolt down with PB Blaster so it could soak overnight. When I snapped a pair of vise-grips onto the bolt on day 3 it still wouldn’t budge. Fortunately the bolt that snapped was on the front end of the block so I applied a little heat with my propane torch & the pesky little bolt decided it was time to vacate the premises.

With that obstacle overcome, it was time to put the intake back on the engine. I wanted to turn the upper intake around so that the brake master cylinder wouldn’t get in the way of the air box hose. After much trial and error, I discovered that the fuel rail got in the way so I had to leave it the way it was.

Next on my to do list for the day; get the freshly painted brake master cylinder installed. After getting it in place, I’m inclined to add a little color to it by painting the reservoir cap but I’ll make that decision after I get the engine back under the hood.

My final accomplishment for Day 3was to get the exhaust manifolds sandblasted & painted. They look a lot better now that all the rust is gone.

Day 4 was a bit of short day because I got a later start then normal. I started the day off by giving the engine a quick once over with some brake cleaner & a little elbow grease. The engine may not look spotless but it definitely looks a lot better without all that dirt & oil all over it. That will also make it easier to diagnose any leaks that may occur after I get the engine running again. Because this engine has been sitting for quite a few years, I also poured a little oil into the top of the pistons to hopefully get the piston rings lubed up again. I finished my engine work by installing the clean looking exhaust manifolds. Now this engine is almost ready to go back in the truck after I run the new fuel lines.

In order to determine where the new fuel lines will be installed, I needed to make a decision on the placement of the fuel tank. Originally I planned on putting it under the bed behind the rear axle but after taking a few measurements I decided against it. To make it fit I’d either have to chop down the fuel tank from the donor Lincoln Town Car too much (leaving me a 12 gallon tank) or have a custom tank built (which is out of my budget). Since neither of those options was ideal, I decided to adopt the strategy of the previous owner & mount it in the bed. The solution I’ve come up with to hide the tank is to find an old truck bed toolbox & cut the bottom out of it so I can mount it over the tank. Now I just need to get a new fuel pump so I can determine how far away from the cab to mount the tank while still leaving room for the fuel lines. Because this is a LWB F-100, I should still have enough room to load up my dirt bike while still being able to close the tailgate.

My final goal for the day was to begin fabricating the custom mounts for the radiator. I took a few measurements & determined that I needed to notch the front clip support braces to make room for the radiator. I also used a scrap bed frame to start building a bracket to mount the lower portion of the radiator.

While I’m still a long way away from having this truck back on the road, I’ve definitely been able to make some real progress this week while on vacation. I’m hoping I can get the rest of the radiator mounts fabricated & installed before I go back to work. Since tomorrow is the day we’re celebrating Thanksgiving (because our friends went to the Cowboys game today) & this weekend I have to install the wood flooring in our office (a promise I made to the wife when I bought my truck) I don’t think I’ll be able to get back to the shop to work on the truck until Sunday night. This is definitely going to be a long project but I’ve made some real significant progress in the first week of my build.