78 Ford & 72 Ford mashup

[Vette_lover2004]

So, I have a thing for pickup trucks. Full-size, compact, monster truck, trophy truck…doesn’t matter.  
 

I recently discovered the Moebius Ford Truck series. The 72 XLT plow truck was just the ticket for me…I could see all the possibilities with that kit. And being a Highboy, and a Bigfoot fan, I just had to do something with it. 
 

So, I decided why not do a 73-77.5 highboy? This is my take on one, with a twist. And not something common.

In the frame rails sits a 300ci straight six, in front of a C6 transmission. This was an available option on these trucks, and a fairly rare one from all the research material I can get my hands on. Most were 360’s. Some were 300’s, but usually paired with the manual transmission, as that would’ve been standard equipment for the base truck. Everyone seems to do V8’s. I wanted something more utilitarian, and the 300 is a torque monster. Perfect for a ranch truck, riding the long flat prairies in search of cattle. On top of that, the 300 is known to be bulletproof.
 

Now, I had to take a small liberty with the engine mount, and use the standard 4x4 crossmember to get things lined up. I’m in the works getting the proper crossmembers from Fireball. Email has been sent. I’ve never built an actual kit so I haven’t any idea if this is the normal position. I did compare the frames and mark out the expected crossmember location. If I have to cut it out to move it forward, I will. That’s the least of my worries, going this deep down the rabbit hole.
 

The bed is going to be a MAD resin Ford longbed by Kris, when it gets here (I ordered four). So the wheelbase should be fairly correct, if everything lines up. If you can see in the pictures below, the cab is as far forward as I can get it, and the engine is touching the firewall. This also appears to have the wheels off center of the arch. This is mostly a preliminary mock up. So, it could change down the road as the proper heights and frame pieces are set in place.

I must admit, I’m a GM guy, but the Bigfoots and highboys have a place reserved from my youth, so I want to do them justice. 

Edited December 17, 2023 by Vette_lover2004

[Vette_lover2004]

Update…

Second inner fender and support structure is fitted to the front end. Hood appears to sit level on the body, so no weird forced fitment issues to contend with. The hood was borrowed from Bigfoot 1, as it fit the best…no warpage.

C6 transmission barely fits through firewall opening. May have to massage this area a tad, to get everything to nestle into place. I read that the C6 had a different snout depending on if used in passenger cars or light trucks. If anyone has any photos documenting this, that would be much appreciated. Especially in the Highboy trucks. I’m actually duplicating a 1974 model, even though the 78 cab is being used and called out in the title.

With the hood on and cab forward, the wheels appear closer to the center of the arches. 

Hopefully this helps someone out, that may be considering doing this. My research shows the inner fenders and firewall were nearly the same for 67-72 and 73-79 trucks. And, it adds more interesting detail to the cab portion. Since the AMT truck is quite lacking.

Thats all for tonight

[charger74]

Cool project, i like it that you put an inline 6 in there 

[Vette_lover2004]

2 hours ago, charger74 said:

Cool project, i like it that you put an inline 6 in there 

Thanks. I like cool and interesting subject matter. The moebius kit firewall was a near perfect fit once I got the other one cut away. The AMT firewall slants forward, and doesn’t lend itself well to many options other than the FE engines they come with. The moebius firewall is actually inset and correct for this bodystyle as well. A happy coincidence is that the two trucks, once cut away, had nearly identical space between the cab and radiator support. I was actually measuring stuff with my verniers, and it all appeared to be a pretty easy swap over. So far it’s gone fairly well. The hardest part was getting the moebius inner fenders cut away from the cab and sanding the correct profile into them to make them fit the interior of the AMT cab. I’ve double checked all my front crossmember measurements, and somehow I’m still lacking the cab going forward a smidge. I have to temporarily install the belts and fan to check clearance, but from everything I’ve seen and measured, it says the straight six should fit. Keep your fingers crossed.

[Vette_lover2004]

Update…

I worked on the inner fenders tonight, to add some length to them to take up what was lost during their removal from the 72 ford cab…

I also puttied the hood cutout for the blower. I believe this is a remnant from the Bigfoot 1 release using this body. Since I’m building a stock truck, it needs to be filled in. There are also large ejector marks in this hood, and I’d rather use this hood on this build than take the one I borrowed from Bigfoot 1. It has a slight bow in the middle, but it’s the next best one I have. I may have to slowly heat the hood and splay it outwards in hopes of taking some of that out. If anyone has any suggestions, I’m all ears.

The other modification I made, was to the radiator core support. On the AMT kit, the fenders support this, and nothing else. By removing the entire engine bay, I was left with only thin strips of plastic holding the core support to the fenders. Now that the inner fenders are being lengthened, these will now tie into the core support and strengthen this area. From there I can work on removing the molded in radiator, in preparation for the moebius 6 cylinder radiator which is narrower. I believe this trend continued for the straight six into the 80’s. Not sure, but if someone knows, please let me know.

Edited December 19, 2023 by Vette_lover2004

[Vette_lover2004]

Decided last night that I didn’t like the radiator support and cut it out. I also made the decision to move the engine forward slightly. Doing both of these things, I feel, netted me a better result. The cab now sits exactly where I need it, and the engine is just off the firewall. This also allows me to fit the moebius core support with hood latch, and the radiator of my choosing. I now have plenty of room forward the cooling fan. This has also centered up my wheel to wheelwell position. Amazing what a scale 3” can do in terms of looks

Edited December 19, 2023 by Vette_lover2004

[Vette_lover2004]

Update…

As with Bigfoot 3, I worked on this truck today, because I had the day off and it’s cold and windy outside.

I decided to work the floor down into place. It had been rubbing the top of the transmission bellhousing. It only missed settling into place by a couple millimeters. I sanded the underside of the transmission tunnel until I got the floor to settle into its home. The floor gets thin in this area, but it’s just enough that the floor drops down where needed.

As you can see, the interior tub lines up with its firewall in its correct location. And everything is lined up properly. I mocked the bed into place to be certain I had enough room there as well. It sits perfectly against the cab without binding to nestle into place. I think the major hurdles to getting the two kits to work in harmony are largely out of the way. Now it’s fitting the interior and dash, and then everything will be figured out, it’s time for paint and detailing.

If anyone can lead me to a 1974 Ford F series grille, I’d be very appreciative. 

[Vette_lover2004]

Small update…

worked on getting the engine ready for wiring. I drilled out the spark plugs in the moebius engine, and tried to do the same for the distributor. Didn’t go well for the distributor. I’m now using Detail Master kit DM-3205. I subbed out the red wires, for blue. And I used the black larger gauge wire to make boots for the distributor side. This took quite some time, because the blue wire I clipped has a sharp edge that would catch the insulator boot. Once I got that finished I moved on to fitting the distributor.

The distributor has a fairly large diameter base, and a long tube for the drive housing. I was able to trim the tube down, and drill into the engine side to get the proper angle I needed. But, the distributor is large enough that it keeps it from sitting like it should compared to the real engine. I’ve made do with the detail master part, as I’m not going to gouge the engine to make it fit. It will have to suffice at the angle it’s at. Most probably wouldn’t notice initially anyway…

For anyone needing to know the Ford 240/300 firing order, it’s down below…

Edited December 22, 2023 by Vette_lover2004