Projects 1947 Ford 1.5 Ton 'Heavy' Turbo Diesel

[47Ford - 1.5Ton]

Here's my story and my build thread.... enjoy!

~Mike
Green Bay, WI
24 yr old
Mechanical & Jet Turbine Engineering graduate of the University of Minnesota

Alright guys..... figured I would transfer over some stuff and start my build thread to keep up progress and for reference/ideas for others.... so to no further avail...... ENJOY!


How it all started..... a love of big old UGLY's and Duallys n' Diesel.... a love of old cars and trucks, and a love to ACTUALLY DRIVE THEM......... thus this pictorial story.....


Picking it up off the farm in Rochester, MN.....




Taking the bed off




Getting it to fit in the garage....




Dissassembly of the 1947 Ford 1.5 Ton 'Heavy' DRW



The old 1947 Chassis



The old Chassis being pulled out and away, the new 1987 GM 2 Ton chassis on the way in. Hello disc brakes, independent front suspension, readily available parts, and the safety of being HIGHWAY capable.



The new GM chassis and the non-rebuilt Cummins 4BT 4 cylinder Turbo Diesel




So how is this 1947 Ford cab going to look on the new GM chassis????







Now onto the motor........ BEFORE::::





ENGINE AFTER REBUILD AND PAINT:::::






Now it was time to hunt for a new manual transmission with overdrive.... now what???? Junk Yard Diving!

My F250 Transmission and crossmember donor after I was done with it...


Tranny when I get it home...



And tranny after i was done with it.... (Along with motor)




Now.....onto the new chassis and frame....Freshened Up



Tranny Member installed and powertrain mounted




Now lets get rid of those pesky little coil springs so I can get this thing in and out of the garage without taking the air out of the tires.....

Enter Airbags (Slam Specialties HE-8's)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBsb8O989vo




How about we get that motor running too while were at it?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeUu_xGOy1Y





Now i really don't feel like sitting on a gastank of diesel... so now what...... SADDLE TANKS BABY!
(Driver side will be used for diesel, passenger side will be used for air compressors and battery box)











Sorry for the slow load time guys.... this is where it was at as of March 1st, 2009 and I have some more on the camera but have yet to upload it.... Enjoy and feel free to comment guys...


Mike

1947 Ford 1.5 Ton 'Heavy' (No F-series yet)
1987 GM Chassis
Ford ZF-S542 Manual 5 Speed OD Trans
Slam Specialties Air Suspension
Dual 33 Gallon Saddle tanks
Hydroboosted disc brakes in all 4 corners
Cummins 4BT 4 Cylinder Turbo Diesel

[47Ford - 1.5Ton]

Starting to do some 3D modeling for tubing power train options/PTO/air compressors etc..... (Im an engineer by trade so Solidworks it is)









Starting to sturdy up the body and get it ready for permanent mounting (So I can start on brake pedal and steering assemblies)

[J Man]

Are you putting a flatbed on it or some other type of bed? Any reason why you chase a small motor? (just curious)

[oldchevyseller]

4BTs only make about 130 hp in stock form and 420 ftlbs torque


but you can build them up to 80 hp per cylinder that is max hotrodding though 320 hp and 1200 ft lbs torque

they

will pull around the big frito lay trucks and other vans that size

it would be a nice combo for the 47

[oldblu65]

Mike , I'd say your college tuition was money well spent ! Your project looks great ! Keep us updated !

[Pir8Darryl]

Cool!
I can tell by the smoke and the snap that you have already got the IP cranked up. What injectors?

Adding an inercooler will free up some HP. The Isuzu units are center inlet/outlet. I think a Ford powerstroke unit is top inlet/outlet.

The rotory IP will be the limiting factor on that motor. Nothing wrong with them, but they cant make as much power as the Bosch inline unit. Unfortunately, the Bosch seems to be rare, so good luck finding one.

You can also upgrade the turbo to one from a 6BT. I cant recall the exact one, but I believe the one from an automatic [12valve] is the one you want. It'll bolt on and is about 30% bigger. A little searching on the net will give you the answers. Lots of good info on the 4BT swap boards.

Looks awesome. Gonna be a load of fun, and should return respectable MPG's! Keep us posted.

[bobwop]

glad to see this on the main board. keep up the good work and keep us all posted

[T-Bone]

Nice build, but please tell us the old chassis wasn't sent for scrap.....

[AnimalAin]

Very nice work so far. Please keep us advised as your project goes together.

As a note, your dash looks very nice. The one in my '41 pickup was improved substantially by adding a narrow (maybe about an inch wide) 90 degree break at the top of the flat panel to lean it back a touch. Makes a world of difference when you are reading the gauges.

[TexasHardcore]

When I read the title to this thread, I figured I'd be bitching about repowering an old truck with some modern diesel bullshit. But after seeing what you did, I dig it. The 4BT is too cool. We had a Landcruiser FJ60 with a 4BT at the shop a few weeks ago and I loved it. I drive a 12 Valve Cummins Dodge that has been bombed and I guess I'm kind of a snob when it comes to Cummins diesels as I only prefer the 12-Valve, and could care less about the 24 Valves and Common Rails. I don't care much for "hot rods" with modern diesel engines either, but yours is retaining a somewhat factory appearance, and has a bulletproof motor to boot! Good job.

[Pir8Darryl]

Hey TexasHardcore,
Did you know there's a kit out there to mount the P-7100 IP onto a 24 valve?

I'm a 12V guy myself, but only because the 24V has the crappy CP-3... Oh, and also because the 24V's are still out of my price range. But if I had the extra coin laying around for it, I'd be all over a '24 with a good "dragon flow" P-pump, fire hose injectors, and about 30 pounds of boost!

I'll agree with your comment about modern diesels in a classic rod, but only to a point. I'v seen the goofy rat rod creations your refering to, and I dont like those either, but a clean diesel that's hidden under a hood in an otherwise traditional rod is cool IMHO.

I'm currently working on a home built woodie project that'll be powered by a [non turbo] 6.2 chevy diesel. I chose this engine bacause I'm going to disguise it to look like a gas burner. Chrome open element air cleaner on top so it'll look like a carb. Traditional V8 layout, and I'm gonna encase the injector lines in blue silicone vacuum line so they will look like plug wires. Add some chrome headers, and the illusion will be complete.

[Probesport]

Nice work so far, I'm digging it - I will be following this one...

[47Ford - 1.5Ton]

Guys.... I think I've succeeded in the first step of my project... well at least everyone confirms it.......... to answer a few questions....

Guys from 10 feet away I wanted anyone not knowing the history to beleive that yup... this is an original 1947 Ford HEAVY....... a 'Hey Grandpa, look at this old truck.... and grandpa responds yup...that looks just like the one on the farm I used to have." ALL WHILE.... not knowing that theres modern brakes, air suspension, a little turbo diesel etc under the metal.

My overall goal of the project was to have a highway capable daily driver...... and 1947 Ford 5,000 lb truck just didn't have that type of safety or capability.....period (I dont think I'll get any arguments)

Now that being said, I could have kept the chassis etc etc etc.... but remember I am 24... just graduated college, and still maxing out a 401k, saving for a house, just got a new truck (see the black F150 in pictures) etc so yes money is indeed tight..... but I'm trying to keep the overall appearance original.

Some asked.... why the 4BT...... my response...... 1947 simplicity. This little diesel monster requires a fuel line sitting in a bucket, and 12 V's to a fuel solenoid..... spin the starter and its running.... EVERYTHING is mechanical.......... And that type of mentality is being sought through the entire truck..... Simplicity, reliability, and daily driving sense....

Guys this motor was small enough to fit where the flathead V8 sat.... provided daily driving realiability, and have the 'UMMFF' to move such a large truck down the road (and get metter MPG then my F150 at that).



From an outward appearance.... there should be only 2 give aways.....

The saddle tanks..... up for argument yes..... but for my own personal reasons.... I love em.... nothing screams I'm big, ugly n' got a whole lotta torque then dual round saddle tanks. (That and its a GREAT place to use one saddle tank to hide my battery and air compressors... because god knows i dont have wallet to fill both of them up with diesel)

The other is a yet to be decided smoke stacks.... I love em... but havent given a 100% dedication to putting them on.... to be decided......


In final... it was also asked what happened to the chassis..... well a friend of mine with 2 Model A's, 1 model AA, and a 46 half ton took the motor, and the chassis was given to an older gentlement in the northern part of the state free of charge who was restoring a 47 2 ton and wanted a chassis with the smaller wheelbase (138 vs. the 158" WB) and 2 speed rear axle..... so that was a simple.... 'Old timer.... I dont wanna scrap it.... I'll give it to you.... just keep it living on.' And viola... free of charge I gave it to him (I get a few pictures from time to time on it)


As far as the motor.... I'll eventually put an intercooler on it... maybe... but I have my powertrain and chassis built right now that the moment I put new tires on this thing.... my powertrain and chassis will required ZERO worry for close to 200,000 miles... (Heck my OTR tires will get 100,000 miles then I'll ahve to retread them only)


I wanna drive this truck day in, day out, rain or shine.... so no it wont get some fancy paint job, no it won't be a HP monster....... but I would be willing to say...... any other vehicle from 1947 that wants to hook up and tie the bumpers together.... If I don't pull you around like a little toy... I'll still wont be the first one to break.


So.... I'd like to thank everyone for the warm welcome, a positive response on the project debut to the HAMB, and I look forward to asking more opinions, showing results, asking questions, and hopefully giving my own input, data, research and some knowledge back to the HAMB community.

Thanks guys!

Mike
Green Bay, WI

Sidenote.. enjoy some more pictures that relate to the responses I got from you guys....




The motor sitting in the mocked up engine bay.... Fits better then I could have ever wanted.....

Hood clearance...


General Fitment (Note master cylinder will be frame mounted... not in engine bay)







Just how big is this thing???
Pretty Big







And the goal of the project........
(I know where all-knowing grease monkey's... but it does look pretty original)




ORIGINAL



NEW CHASSIS



ENJOY

M

[kustomizingkid]

Wow!

What a cool project, I'm sure you will nail the goal perfectly and have a fun reliable truck to boot!

I'm a U of M student currently, going for ME...

[patrick2965]

One of my customers put a 4BT in a 78 Chevy 1/2 ton, Ford fw housing, Ford type New Process 435 tranny, stock 3.08 gear rearend. The little diesel chugs pretty nicely, and gets over 20 mpg without overdrive.
I think your engine choice is very good for the direction you're going. You'll enjoy it.

[Stevie G]

Looks good.
What did the frame come from?
Bread van?

[Rodhotz]

That ain't a 4bt, this is!!





Nice looking truck, keep up the good work and have fun with it.

by the way this one is a little more than 320hp!

Looks like a few of the guys think they know cummins but I am not thinkin so! If i remember right the cp 3 common rail is the hp leader well beyond what a 12v will do! with a set of 100hp injectors, small turbo and a bullydog tune in it, I did 750+ to the rear wheels with my 05. I had twice that amount of parts in my 12v and only went to 475hp and twice the work to get it there.

[Pir8Darryl]

Rodhotz,
It's crappy to me because I run all my diesels on veggie oil. I'v gone nearly 1/3 of a million miles on fuel that costs me abour .06 cents a gallon. The CP-3 is a fine enough pump on diesel, and yes, it can make major power.... But it simply is nowhere near as hearty as the P pump.

[Rodhotz]

Originally Posted by Pir8Darryl

Rodhotz,
It's crappy to me because I run all my diesels on veggie oil. I'v gone nearly 1/3 of a million miles on fuel that costs me abour .06 cents a gallon. The CP-3 is a fine enough pump on diesel, and yes, it can make major power.... But it simply is nowhere near as hearty as the P pump.

Ya got me on that one Darryl! Had a customer that had a 01 with a Vp and he kept running veggi and took out 3 pumps in 2 months! Kept telling him it won't work 100% veggi on a vp pumped truck but he knows better! oh well at 400 a pop for my labor to change them I think he learned this time. Gotta love it when they bring their own parts.

[Pir8Darryl]

Actually, the CP can run sucessfully on veg if it's done properly. There's only one company that's doing it right, and that's Frybrid [dot com]... Have your customer swing by the site [forum] and intro himself, and we can help him out. I'll bet I already know what he's doing wrong. Infact, I'm positive I know.

One guy over there just turned 100k miles on his veggie fed CP-3, and another one just turned 70k. If I'm not mistaken, we got about 20 guys vegin' on CP's, and I can only recall 2 failures.

The P pump on the other hand is simply indestructible. Sometimes I believe you could pump wet sand and raw sewage thru it without doing any damage!!! Well, not really , but they are a hell of a lot tougher than anything else out there. [except maybe the 79-84 mercedes 5 cylinder, and the 6HK-1 Kiki]

***EDIT***
Usually I would appologize to the original poster for the "hijack", but I wont because diesels get no love from the HAMB... I guess I'm doing him a little favor by keeping it up top.