Ford Louisville Refurb

[Casey429]

Hey everyone, I'm (finally) back for some more. I haven't started any new builds recently, I've been doing alot of shelf damage repair instead. First up, my old LNT-8000 plow truck. This thing is at least 10 years old now, and it was showing. I was just going to glue it back together (i've discovered the virtues of 5 minute epoxy since then) and I got a little carried away. So far, I've foiled the grille surround to update it a little, and flattened and repainted the grille. I fixed some glue damage from a previously installed air conditioner, and since I have no idea what paint I used I repainted the roof white. I also repainted the engine Ford blue. It was all Caterpillar yellow, and I mean ALL of it, in its previous life. Trans, air compressor, and alternator are Testors steel, manifolds are rust, belts and pulleys are flat and gloss black. Plans call for the plow and spreader to get some fresh paint, as well as some reworking of the cab overhang on the dump bed, and some new paint on it as well. I'm also stripping the chrome off the fuel tanks, and they'll get painted black. I'm leaving the chassis and interior alone, I figure I need to leave at least some of it original.

The only digital photo I have of the thing, less plow. I know I have more around, but I have to scan and load them the old fashioned way.

And here's where we are as of now:

Thanks for looking, and there's more to come!

Edited March 26, 2013 by Casey429

[mackinac359]

Nice upgrades.

[Chris guthro]

Very cool! Looks identical to some trucks around here!

[cappy625]

after 10 years of haul'in rocksalt and pushing snow it'll need an overhaul,that ol'ten wheel dump is look'in good!

[Jim B]

Looking good! What blue did you use on the engine? That's almost perfect for the 1973 Ford I'm doing.

[Brinx]

Paint looks great...I especially like the white top on the cab.

[Casey429]

Thanks guys! To answer your question, Jim, the engine is Plasti-Kote Old Ford Engine Blue I had laying around. Shouldn't be hard to find, even in a Duplicolor equivalent at you local parts store. I used Duplicolor light grey primer underneath it, to keep the Cat yellow from leeching through. And Tim, I got the idea for the grill from your Super Value Ford LT tractor, so I must give credit where credit is due. That one also has me wanting to build a matching tractor with the larger L hood, or as an even larger LTL. A quick bit of research turned up this:

L=Standard Hood.

LT=Tandem Axle.

LN=Short Hood.

LNT=Short Hood Tandem Axle.

LS=Set Back Front Axle.

LTS=Setback Front Axle with Tandem Axle.

LL=Long Hood

LTL=Long Hood with Tandem Axle

The hood size and model designation (800 and 900 were gas engines, 8000 and 9000 were diesels) dictated engine choices.

I'm also brewing up some decals for this one. The signs that were previously on the doors didn't come off very cleanly, so I'll need something to cover that up. I still might swap out the cab lights for the ones in AMT's series of '90s Ford F-150s to update it a little more still. And, when I originally built this, I used the spare rear axle that's incuded (left in from the short hauler maybe?) for the front axle. So, I have myself a 6x6 Louisville. I don't know where the other axle is, I might have used it in another project. I don't know that it's totally accurate, but a friend of mine used to have a 4x4 LN-8000 dump/plow so a 6x6 doesn't seem so farfetched. Ironically it also had a 3208 Cat in it, but it was backed by a manual trans. It seems from research that Ford labeled this as their own V-225 in the early L series trucks.

Edited March 27, 2013 by Casey429

[Jim B]

Thanks, Casey. I'll have to see if I can track that down.

You're correct about the V225, it was the 3208 built bay Caterpiller for Ford. I wonder if anyone makes that red & yellow logo for the valve covers?

[Truck parts]

Very nice looking rebuild.

[Casey429]

Here's a quick update. The truck part of the equation is done, now I need to turn my attention to the bed, plow, and spreader. This one's going on the back burner for a bit. I have a special build that has a deadline. Stay tuned in the other On thw Workbench for that one, coming soon!

At first, I wasn't too sure about the grille treatment. But now that the bumper's on, it looks 10x better.

Here's that front pumpkin I was talking about. It does interfere with the oil pan a bit, but I fanangled it in there.

The heart, now in Ford Blue. I redid the intake as well, but it's still crooked from the first time 'round.

Thanks for lookin!

[Truck parts]

Very nice,and will be waiting to seeing it done.

[kilrathy10]

Nice work, already....Looks good....

[Jim B]

Looks good, Casey.