An Arkansas Rescue Mission

[rattlecan]

Great story! lovin how fast you are workin! lookin forward to the paint / body

[crazyhorse]

Looking good.

Good luck with it.

[cold-steel22]

Thanks for the encouraging replies. Time and money have not allowed things to go as quickly as I would like for them to. My wife went back to school for a certification, so it was tight for a bit. She has since graduated and promised to be understanding as I kick back into gear on this project. Some progress has been made with what was already procured, however.
I finally got both floor pans and cab mounts replaced as well as the repair to the rust damage on the kick panels. Prior to replacing the crossmember sections underneath the cab, i had to address some rust through areas in the rocker panels.




For the rocker panel repair I used pieces of 18 ga sheet metal scrap I had acquired. I would measure or make a template and cut a new piece as needed. a vise and ball peen hammer worked remarkably well for shaping the corner pieces. A little bit more sanding and smoothing and it should be good to go for body prep.
After fixing the rust on the topside, I was able to weld in the crossmember replacements.

[cold-steel22]

When I haven't been working on the cab, I have tried to take care of some other smaller projects to keep things creeping toward a finish. I recently tore the steering column apart and discovered that my shifter arm was trashed. The ball fitting that connects inside the shifter tube was marred to a state of disrepair. This was probably a result of a worn out shift collar. Closer inspection of that part revealed that the holes holding the shifter on were wallowed out, allowing significant play on that piece. I am ordering new parts for the column, and the column housing is currently at a shop waiting for a fresh gloss black powder coat.

Does anybody know where to get a new chrome column shifter?

[sargentrs]

I was faced with a similar dilemma back when I moved my shifter down to the floor. I was "never" going to need that column shifter again so I tossed it. Weeeellllll.....never say never. 3 years later I decided to rebuild it and put her back to column shift and guess what? Nobody makes a repro on that shifter. I lucked out though. I called Carolina Classics (http://www.carolina-classics.com), whom I bought all my rebuild parts from, and they just happened to have one laying around. It was actually quite funny. I asked and I heard the guy holler to the back "Hey Joe(?), got a column shifter laying around back there somewhere!?" Then I heard a faraway voice say "Hell, I don't know, let me look." Then I heard a bunch of clanging and banging and I heard "Found one!" I got it for $25! About your only course is to locate one here (Parts for Sale/Trade) or evilbay or craigslist or somewhere.

[motzingg]

so what ended up killing the engine? out of oil? something more nefarious and unpredictable?

I wake up at night in a cold sweat fearing that this will happen to me once i start daily driving mine.

[cold-steel22]

Thanks sargentrs. I'll probably try to find a junk yard and see if I can find a shifter, or call Carolina classics. Have to order the other parts anyway. On a positive note, the shift tube appeared to be in remarkably good shape.

so what ended up killing the engine? out of oil? something more nefarious and unpredictable?
I wake up at night in a cold sweat fearing that this will happen to me once i start daily driving mine.

After pulling the engine and performing a short autopsy on it, I discovered that the inner cylinders had seized. I had checked the radiator and oil levels before driving off and when stopping for gas. The oil was noticeably old, but the bottom end wasn't affected. After getting the truck home I noticed that the radiator had a strong burnt oil smell inside. There was no sign of oil/water mix, however most of the water was gone. So I know that the engine overheated and probably blew a head gasket.. But why I'm not sure. I have no idea about the history of the engine prior to purchase, so there was a certain amount of unknown. I would think that if you know more about your setup, you shouldn't have much to worry about as long as you take care of it.

I got the steering column tube back from the powder coater. Spent a little bit more than anticipated, but at least it looks good.

[sargentrs]

Column housing looks great!

[tbone6]

Thanks sargentrs. I'll probably try to find a junk yard and see if I can find a shifter, or call Carolina classics. Have to order the other parts anyway. On a positive note, the shift tube appeared to be in remarkably good shape.

I think I have a shifter, but it is not in the best of shape. I would be willing to part with it if you want it. I tested my homemade soda blaster on a small section and it came out looking pretty good. I won't have access to it till the weekend of 9/28, I can take a couple pictures if you want to see what shape it's in...

The tube looks real good.

[cold-steel22]

Tbone6, that would be awesome if you don't need it. I definitely appreciate it. Whenever you can get to it is fine.

This is the end of the shifter that I currently have. I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to look like that. But I may be wrong?

[jimmy828]

Good job on truck Great story. What a man would do to fulfill his dreams!

[cold-steel22]

Overdue for an update. Things have been slow going with the project. I haven't posted anything in awhile, but the project has continued slowly. Since I last posted I've purchased a 302 long block from a local mechanic/performance enthusiast. It was in a 94 mustang, and I got to test ride and inspect the motor. Trick flow stage 1 kit with GT40 heads ought to wake this truck up a bit.

I finished cleaning up and painting the undercarriage, including the bed and cab with KBS chassis black paint. Replaced the brake lines with Inline Tube stainless lines, resealed the transmission and replaced the flywheel/clutch.

[cold-steel22]

Made it to the F100 Supernationals this summer and picked up a new radiator support. The original was a rustbucket and had apparently suffered minor wreck damage. I purchased a Champion aluminum radiator, which will go in as soon as I decide whether to run v-belt or serpentine, mechanical or electric fan..

[sargentrs]

Glad to see you're still at it. Looking good! Btw, about that shift lever, C&G Ford parts now sells both the 3 spd and auto shift levers. http://cgfordparts.com/ufolder/fordpart ... 2DZ-7210-B

[ultraranger]

Slow progress is still progress.

GT40 (3 bar) cylinder heads were installed on the 5.0L Explorers from 1996-1997.5.

GT40P (4 bar) heads were installed on the Explorer 5.0L engines from 1997.5-2001. The heads on your engine are the 4 bar GT40P heads, as denoted by the 4 "bars" that are cast into the ends of the heads.

This is a set of 4 bar GT40P cylinder heads I have.






http://www.fiveohinfo.com/performance/gt40-gt40p.html