During inspection we realized that the cab had a lot of rot. Not anything that is uncommon to these old trucks and they are all parts that are available. However, the rear window frame was rotten and in our search for a new window frame we found a cab that was more solid than ours. Cab swap!
Now this "new" cab has surface rust, but is very solid with minimal rot. So we think it is a stronger candidate. We won't know for sure until if comes back from media blasting, but initial inspection makes it seem the right choice.
So, we picked it up in a trailer and will be stripping the old cab for all its parts before it goes off to the scrap yard (unless someone ends up buying it).
So to move it around for now, get it to the media blaster, and work on it when we are ready - we needed to build a cab dolly.
Our plans were pretty straight forward. It is built entirely of 2x10" board (two) and one 4x4 pressure treated post.
The cab is about 5 feet high and we want to roll it on its back. So the length is 5 feet. For width we measured the gap at the back of the cab as just over 40". So the width is 40".
Then we attached 5" casters - with two swivel locking casters on one side and fixed casters on the other.
The frame width on the '57 Ford is 34", so we cut two piece of 4x4 at 40" and placed them at 34" outside width and attached them with two screws to keep them in place.
We only used a couple screws on the 4x4s because when we roll the cab on its back we will just put carpet on top of the 2x10s and won't need the frame bracing.
Next we had to pull the cab out of the trailer. I was working along on this one, so I used an engine hoist and some lifting straps from the floor mounts for the body to the frame.
That's it! On a dolly and easily moved around now or transported on a flat deck to the media blaster.
Hope you enjoyed!
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This will include welding in a new Mustang II front suspension and doing a c-notch kit with the parabolic spring kit. We will also be installing a 1969 Mustang gas tank into the rear of the frame so we don't have the gas tank inside the truck cab anymore.
When we rebuild the original Ford 9" posi rear-end, we will also be doing a set of disc brakes on it - leaving us at the end with four-wheel disc brakes.
Anyways, before we get to installing all those goodies... we have to get the cab off!
This is a 1957 Ford F100, so the same process will work for any truck cab. However, your measurements will vary and we will show you how we measured everything so you can adjust for your needs.
First, the cab width from door to door inside is 54 1/2" wide. We want an over hang of 6" on each side as we will install eye hooks on the overhang.
The reason for the eye hooks is so you can use a strap to hold it to the top of the cab so it stays in place. Also, if you need to lift the cab from the top with a chain lift or other contraption, you can use some lift straps from these eye hooks. Basically more options and safety when working yourself.
We are running two 2x4s with a gap in the middle then bridging these together with a 1 foot 2x4 that will run inside the seam of the door edge. The gap for the door frame is 2 3/8"
We also ran two 1 foot 2x4 1" on each side of the centre.
After this, we want to run some 2x4s inside of the cab to support the roof so the 2x4s don't bend and instead the entire top of the cab is supported as one piece. We will also be running the engine hoist in the middle of the wood brace, so we need to build an area for the engine hoist to sit and stay stable as we lift the cab.
These 2x4 were cut to a length of 2 feet.
This is optional, but we also added a 6" u-bracket in the middle as a place to add further support to the engine hoist arm and we also put the hook around it to stop it from slipping off. This was installed in a way to support it going through the front windshield like we are, but if you are going through the door instead you could do the same thing - it would just be installed 90 degrees the other way.
With everything disconnected and the body mounts removed (some of them required cutting more than loosening bolts) we lifted the cab off with ease. Then we pulled the chassis out and put it to the side.
We found another cab that was in better shape than this one, so we will be stripping all the parts and accessories and selling it or having it removed as scrap.
With that it is time to remove the drive shaft, transmission, suspension, and all the other bits to get us down to just the frame and rails to start getting all the old paint, grime, and rust off for welding and eventually painting!
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]]>This post is about how to build your own wooden dolly to put the truck box on to move around and work on.
For this project you will need the following:
The 1957 Ford F100 has a consistent frame width of 34". It was decided to do that width so the box could fit on the dolly just as it does the frame. The length of the dolly was decided on 5' to give full support and the overall height was decided on 30" to give some height to work on the box.
The Caster we purchased are 6" in height and the 2x4 are 1 1/2" inches in depth, so that meant we needed to cut four (4) posts from the 4x4 at 21" to total an overall height of 30".
Next we cut the 2x4x10 in half to get two five foot pieces. These were used on the top and bottom of the 4x4 posts that were cut to create the sides.
Then we mounted the casters using the hex bolts to secure them to the bottom.
NOTE: When you put the two sides together, make sure the swivel casters are on the same side.
Next we cut four (4) lengths at 34" to create the desired width to match the frame width. These were mounted inside the 4x4 posts and screwed to the posts and from the top and bottom 2x4 to create a solid frame.
We also ran another 34" 24 in the bottom centre to provide extra support and rigidity to the dolly.
To make a flat top, you will need to cut two (2) 27" 2x4s to go inside the frame. To hold these, you will use the scrap that you have left to screw to the 4x4 and support these 2x4s.
That's it! Total build time as about an hour and a half as I was engineering while building. I'm sure it can be done much sooner using the above plans.
One thing you could also do to add support is run a 2x4 from the middle support up to the top 2x4s. To be honest, we won't. I sat on it and it hardly even moved - I'm 200 lbs. However, if it starts to look like it needs more support I'll put the 2x4 in there.
Coming Soon
Now we're going to get the box off and onto our dolly so we can store it and the front hood for now.
Next we will be building a Truck Cab Dolly using 2x10 and so it allows us to be able to roll the cab onto its back for paint and metal work. So stay tuned as that project will be posted soon!
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]]>About a week ago now I was searching Craigslist as I usually do and I came across an add that caught my attention. It was for a 1966 Sunbeam Alpine V.
Now, I don’t mind British sports cars so I thought I would check out this project. It ended up that a lot of money was already invested. Body, paint, chrome, engine, and a new wiring harness were all new or rebuilt. The rest, well it was in boxes. It also came with a factory steel hardtop.
It seemed to be something worth checking out…
Upon meeting the current owner, I found out he was a total car guy with a 1967 Camaro SS being currently built beside the Sunbeam. The story was that he bought it off the son of the past owner. The past owner wanted to do a perfect restoration and spent a lot of time and money on it. However, he began to get dementia and was unable to finish the build. The son thought about continuing on, but after paying for the engine build he decided not to continue and instead sold the car.
So the car is mostly in boxes and with painted parts I have to be careful that everything makes it here without damage. I will be making few trips out to the previous owner’s place and taking various parts, engine, transmission, wheels/tires, windshield, hardtop, and eventually the hood (that is painted and needs to be transported in a super safe way).
As it gets here, we will organize all the parts and put them into parts racks to sort them out. Last, but not least, we will flat deck the car here so we can get started.
Once here I will take a bunch of pictures and share it on this build diary — as well as our social media channels. The idea is to show everyone the entire progress to first drive.
The plan is that we will likely sell the car once it is complete. It is a very well documented car including the entire build process to where it is today. I have a photo album of every part coming off the car and when it was stripped to the bare metal — where it had no rust and a super straight body. Both rare attributes in a British car.
Now, sometimes you end up falling in love with the things when you build them and drive them — so who knows! But we are addicted to building cars and will likely sell it then use the profits to find another project!
So, if you love Sunbeam Alpines, stay tuned to this build diary! You may get a chance to buy one after a totally fresh rebuild.
In Dr. No, the Sunbeam Alpine was a Bond car? How awesome is that – our first Bond car! First this and then move on up to the Aston Martin by chance?…
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