Discussion
Thought I would start a build thread for my 43 Ford Pickup, or "Lumpy" as my wife has christened her, been wanting to have something built for years and after missing out on a 34 Coupe a couple of years back (still kicking myself) I finally settled on this 43 Pickup. Initially it was sold but I kept in touch with the owner over a couple of weeks and sure enough the original buyer dropped out and I stepped in.
When I collected her it was a scorching hot day and the drive back from the South coast through Salisbury traffic was a little nerve wracking, temp gauge was off the scale and I thought my feet were going to melt but managed to make it home in one piece.
Had to wait a few months for a build slot at Valley Gas in Andover but eventually she went in just before Christmas and work started in earnest in the New Year.
Plan is for something a bit like "Old Smokey" which is a full tube chassis at the rear with roll cage etc tied into the original front rails.
Collection day:
Couple of outings to scare the wife, she didn't like it.
Truck had already been modified with the suspension chopped and a small block Chevy added.
The tear down begins.
Bert cutting the floor out.
New suspension going in.
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/SFJ14QHR.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/pPJjVn4g" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/pPJjVn4g.jpg)
Top shock mounts and roll cage mounting points.
In good company.
And then this turned up. Small block Ford stroked to 427 CI with Throttle bodies, approx 600BHP.
Trial fitting for engine mounts and headers.
[url]
New floor going in.
New firewall, all hand rolled and beaded.
Trial fitting of the front end after dropping the Cab by 2 inches.
Some seats have rocked up.
Next, bend lots of pipe for the rollcage and chop the chassis off behind the cab.
When I collected her it was a scorching hot day and the drive back from the South coast through Salisbury traffic was a little nerve wracking, temp gauge was off the scale and I thought my feet were going to melt but managed to make it home in one piece.
Had to wait a few months for a build slot at Valley Gas in Andover but eventually she went in just before Christmas and work started in earnest in the New Year.
Plan is for something a bit like "Old Smokey" which is a full tube chassis at the rear with roll cage etc tied into the original front rails.
Collection day:
Couple of outings to scare the wife, she didn't like it.
Truck had already been modified with the suspension chopped and a small block Chevy added.
The tear down begins.
Bert cutting the floor out.
New suspension going in.
Top shock mounts and roll cage mounting points.
In good company.
And then this turned up. Small block Ford stroked to 427 CI with Throttle bodies, approx 600BHP.
Trial fitting for engine mounts and headers.
[url]New floor going in.
New firewall, all hand rolled and beaded.
Trial fitting of the front end after dropping the Cab by 2 inches.
Some seats have rocked up.
Next, bend lots of pipe for the rollcage and chop the chassis off behind the cab.
cati said:
you should have sold the porker to me... have an itch for a 911 that wont go away....
anyway so truckasurous versus hell raiser track test is definitely on, when we finish it
We are not a million miles away from you on the other side of the a3 - well to be correct - badhand is there and i am probably in-between you.
we should PM and have a pint - i guess we are both going to have IVA stuff to deal with and might be worth pulling our collective knowledge
In your inbox.anyway so truckasurous versus hell raiser track test is definitely on, when we finish it
We are not a million miles away from you on the other side of the a3 - well to be correct - badhand is there and i am probably in-between you.
we should PM and have a pint - i guess we are both going to have IVA stuff to deal with and might be worth pulling our collective knowledge
Max_Torque said:
Given that it's not exactly going to go round corners, the only thing i don't like is the silly seats! I'd have put an old skool bench seat in there for just cruising along, making the truck much more useable day to day.......
It will go round corners just fine thanks Old SmokeyYou can put a bench seat in yours.
Greg_D said:
i'm in, looks great.
the only thing that jumps out at me is the shock mount towers, are they going to be braced laterally? surely the natural 'push' on one side of them will push them towards the engine!
please keep the paint as it is, the patina looks superb...
Yep, the roll cage will come down and meet at the top of those hoops and there will also be a cross brace across the front of the engine, it will be strong the only thing that jumps out at me is the shock mount towers, are they going to be braced laterally? surely the natural 'push' on one side of them will push them towards the engine!
please keep the paint as it is, the patina looks superb...
Ambleton said:
lots of nice fabrication work going on here!
I'm naturally more drawn towards the "make it lighter and you don't need as much power" ethos, but I can see the appeal of this.
Its probably just me, but I think some lighter, more delicate seats would suit the truck better. You have lots of flowing curves on the outside and nice large rads on the inside with lots of swages, and to me those very hard, angular seats don't sit right.
Cheers, good reason for the seats:I'm naturally more drawn towards the "make it lighter and you don't need as much power" ethos, but I can see the appeal of this.
Its probably just me, but I think some lighter, more delicate seats would suit the truck better. You have lots of flowing curves on the outside and nice large rads on the inside with lots of swages, and to me those very hard, angular seats don't sit right.
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