bill lanfear Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 Hello everyone! I have been working on this one for months now and decided to share my progress. I started with an old "Bigfoot" glue bomb I built a LONG time ago! When disassembling I managed to break a piece of the lower windshield frame, upper interior tub side piece and part of the front fender removing the flares from the wheel well. I dug out one of my poorly casted regular wheelbase 8 ft bed and began work. I fixed the upper windshield trim area to raise it to proper height. I mocked it up with some of my 3d printed wheels and tested some kit tires. 73 had the gas tank behind the seat yet so I filled in the gas lid in the bed. I used a Moebius engine combined with a parts box bell housing. The transmission is one of my own 3d printed. I corrected the thermostat housing for FE engines by using some spru and filling the hole in the intake...it will be a heater hose inlet. The engine I am going with is a 360 instead of a 390 due to having more 360's. I assume this was used in the F250's in 73 ? I printed a tailgate for the Ranger minus the XLT trim and a more accurate Ford metal trim. The interior was cut to allow room for my door panels with the seat and the sides were sanded to remove what little detail was there. I picked up a Moebius snow plow kit and completed the plow and will decide later if it will go on this build. I used the tires and wheels from the Moebius kit along with the front differential and rear. I used my own transfer case and cross brace. The tool box is 3d printed and will be used. Time for the interior. One thing that always bugged me with this kit is how low the dashboard sits in the tub and how the steering wheel is way too low almost into the seat. I began by adding shims and rotating the dash to be more vertical. I scribed a line to remove enough material to allow the dash to tuck up into the windshield area. It required a LOT of material to remove! You can see that the dash is now more accurately placed when placing the tub into the cab. I made some pedals and printed them along with some shifters. I removed the AC vents on the dash and removed the "XLT" from the glove box. I used some card stock and tape to create the headliner then surrounded it with some solder. I made some sun visors (not very good) but they will work for this build. Got the trim work done and like mocking her up to check progress. It slows me down because I just sit and look at it for a while every time. Test fitting bumpers and dug out some International style cab lights. Not sure if the plow will be on this build, I think it will go on another truck. I sanded the firewall and placed a strip of plastic to make it a little more accurate. I know a lot of builders use the Moebius firewall but I didn't want to sacrifice a kit for it so I winged it. I built the motor and test fitted. I cut some material from the area where the battery goes to be able to place a correct size battery. Well this is where I am on it at this point. I put a hitch on it to hook up my trailer I have built. The trailer is under glass along with my 1953 Ford F100. More to come, stay tuned! Comments are always welcomed and thank you for looking! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stavanzer Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 Beautiful Build! I like all the work you put into the engine and drivetrain. Good Show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hct728(Bob) Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 Wow, you sure came a long way from a glue bomb! Neat work on the 3D printing, and the engine and snow plow show some real authentic detail and weathering! That headliner and dash, I just mighta learned a trick or two here, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
av405 Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 Great job! Can the tool box design be found/purchased anywhere? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Slapattack Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 Looking good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobss396 Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 Nice truck, very impressive. I went to college with a guy who bought a new one in light green. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leafsprings Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 Very impressive modifications that really bring the original kit to a much higher level of accuracy. Bravo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk11 Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 (edited) Great concept, Bill! Good to see you're still at it. Lots of good ideas there. The 360 and 390s were both offered across the board on these and were identical externally from '68-'74, with only aircleaner and valve cover stickers to identify them. Without that, you had to measure the piston stroke with a stick through the spark plug hole to confirm which one it was minor edit: 4x4 had the 360 only.... Edited May 9 by mk11 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill lanfear Posted May 8 Author Share Posted May 8 On 5/5/2024 at 9:49 PM, stavanzer said: Beautiful Build! I like all the work you put into the engine and drivetrain. Good Show. Thank you Alan! On 5/5/2024 at 10:07 PM, hct728(Bob) said: Wow, you sure came a long way from a glue bomb! Neat work on the 3D printing, and the engine and snow plow show some real authentic detail and weathering! That headliner and dash, I just mighta learned a trick or two here, thanks! Thanks Bob, I wish I had taken some before shots as it was a mess...the snow plow is going on a future build that will be a bit more beat up. I am glad you picked up some tips. On 5/5/2024 at 10:59 PM, av405 said: Great job! Can the tool box design be found/purchased anywhere? Thanks Alberto, the tool box is from my old store "Rookie Resin" that is no longer open and is currently unavailable, there is hopes that someday I reopen but not at this time. I am just trying to get back into the hobby at this time. On 5/5/2024 at 11:49 PM, Mike Slapattack said: Looking good! Thanks Michael! On 5/6/2024 at 5:40 AM, bobss396 said: Nice truck, very impressive. I went to college with a guy who bought a new one in light green. Thank you Bob, glad you like it! Wish we could go back and buy these old beauties at their original prices! On 5/6/2024 at 5:41 PM, leafsprings said: Very impressive modifications that really bring the original kit to a much higher level of accuracy. Bravo! Thank you Tom, always glad to hear from you! 22 hours ago, mk11 said: Great concept, Bill! Good to see you're still at it. Lots of good ideas there. The 360 and 390s were both offered across the board on these and were identical externally from '68-'74, with only aircleaner and valve cover stickers to identify them. Without that, you had to measure the piston stroke with a stick through the spark plug hole to confirm which one it was Thank you Mike and thanks for the info. I figured that was the case but wasn't sure for the 250's. I had a couple of 73's back in the day that were 360 auto's but they were both F100's (one 2wd and one 4x4) My last dent side was a 78 250 4x4 Ranger that I built and put in a 66 390 4 speed, best running truck to date and that thing would pull like no tomorrow with 410's but only got 8 mpg! Ha ha! wish I still had it! I am eventually gonna build a scale model of it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
av405 Posted May 9 Share Posted May 9 5 hours ago, bill lanfear said: Thanks Alberto, the tool box is from my old store "Rookie Resin" that is no longer open and is currently unavailable, there is hopes that someday I reopen but not at this time. I am just trying to get back into the hobby at this time. Ahh I should have known. I have a few of your products and am a big fan. Just know I'd buy more from you if you reopen for business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Repstock Posted May 9 Share Posted May 9 For this F-250, a gas tank in the cab is OK, but below F-250, the tanks were moved to under the bed. By mid year, most of the F-250 tanks had been moved as well. Heavy duty and chassis cab trucks kept the cab tank the longest. By 1974, all the tanks were out of the cab. Nothing wrong in this (very nice) build, just info for others who might build a model like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk11 Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 (edited) On 5/9/2024 at 4:03 AM, Repstock said: By 1974, all the tanks were out of the cab... just info for others who might build a model like this. Hmmmm... I'd always wondered when the Ford finally got rid of the cab tank; didn't notice the one on this truck til after I took the pic. It was usually deletable in favor of the frame tanks or could be kept in combination with them. Thought maybe the guy had restored this one with an older cab until I found that the '76 and '77 brochures still made mention of the fact that 'most models' had the tank moved out of the cab, indicating there was still a possibility of having one. I'd love to see the Marti report on this one... Edited May 11 by mk11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxwell48098 Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 The current May/June issue of Vintage Truck Magazine has a great article on a beautiful 1972 F250 360 CID 4X4 Highboy "Dentside" pickup. Like all Vintage Truck articles, the author goes into the background history of the truck line being featured before going into the specifics of the featured truck. The Featured truck is now owned by the son of the original owner who died in a vehicle accident in 1984. His son was 3 at the time and 2015 did a serious restoration of his dad's truck. Lots of great pics as well. I have had a Vintage Truck subscription since way back when the magazine was originally titled This Old Truck in 1993. It is my goto source for info on various light duty builds I do. You may want to pick up an issue if you see one somewhere, or you can subscribe at vintagetruck.com. A.J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlbertS Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 I like it, nice job. we had a 73 - light green metallic - and the gas tanks were not behind the seat but out in the frame. I really like the trans. I want to build a 73, tell me, where did you get the grill? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarheelRick Posted May 11 Share Posted May 11 Excellent work on this build, your attention to the details is commendable. Glad you decided to leave off the snowplow, to me that made the build too busy. Would be nice to see a name for some fictitious construction company on the sides and maybe a few pieces of lumber in the bed. Either way you go, this is a beautiful FORD truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted May 11 Share Posted May 11 Like the realistic looking finishes, especially on the engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoMoCo66 Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 This ford looks absolutely amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.