I am starting a tread with some of the trials and tribulations that come with building a 1936 truck. I started 15 years ago and got distracted for a number of reasons, but I'm back now! Attached are the photos of the disassembly back in 1996 - 1997.
I originally had a Jaguar rear end and stock stamped Mustang II frontend. I used a Fatman Fabrications Mustang II cross member. My father traded some work for a 350 drag motor so I installed it in the truck. Had trouble finding info on the Jag and the bushings needed rebuilding on the Mustang. Boxed in the frame but left 12" gaps to allow lines to be ran inside.
The last pics were taken around 2005. The truck sat for reasons beyond my control from 1997-2005. I had to move it to my garage in 2010 and it sat for a while.
I saw a restored 36' "see attached photo" at my clubs car show the "Bunny Run". It got me really motivated. I didn't have the money to finish the truck so I sold one of my other toys, a 1967 Oldsmobile 442. The car was my father's and my stepmother gave it to me after his death, so it was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made.The 442 was setup for drag and didn't have A/C so needless to say we couldn't take it out of town to shows and just wasn't practical as a daily driver. My father was a superior craftsman and I knew he would enjoy me building the truck and putting my heart and soul into it. The car was sweat and in mint condition but it was a wish my late fathers to finish the truck as he gave it to me when I was 15. So with a new budget I started to give it everything I had. I bought a welder and a bunch of tools that would be needed. My goal was to complete the truck in 6 months but, between work,school,a wonderful wife, and a 1 year old son I had to become more realistic. The local car show is in April and I hope to get it drivable by then. My father was a founding member of the club that holds the show so I would mean a lot to finish it.
After some research and hair pulling I decided to replace the Jaguar rear end with a 1997 Ford explorer. At the Junkyard I asked for them to cut the shock mounts and other components out for me. The guy said no but I could have the whole back half of the suv, frame and all for the same price. I plan to use stock explorer shocks to make life easier. I never liked the idea of the open frame rails so I started filling in the gaps. The rear end fit perfectly all I had to do was loosen the u-bolts and rotated the leaf springs to accommodate for the taper of the frame. My 14yr old nephew was close to my father and they always did projects together. I thought this would be a good chance for us to spend time together and teach him some new skills. He did great and learned how to weld instantly. My welder wouldn't burn in on the 3/16 plate like I wanted. I was lucky to be able to do all of the final welding at my Stepmothers machine shop. Their Mig wasn't working so I ended up using the Tig on the entire frame. It took a lot longer but I was very happy with the penetration I got. I recently found out that my welder was set to Flux core which requires a positive ground. After switching it I can now burn in twice the thickness material.
I got the frame back home and installed new Fatman fabrication upper and lower control arms. I was mainly sold on the fact that the strut rods were not required with them and made the undercarriage look cleaner. It uses the Chrysler ball joint and is a better ball joint in my opinion. The stock Mustang IFS had 9" rotors with a 4 bolt pattern. Speedway USA had a good deal on an upgrade kit that went up to 11" rotors on 5-4.75" this is exactly the size rotors and bolt pattern that is on the explorer. The kit also included GM METRIC brake calipers and everything to hook them up . I used a 1980's Thunderbird power rack that I got new from Advance Auto parts instead of a manual stock mustang.
Brand new crate motor came in! A buddy in the car club sold me a lot of parts for the 350. That's my dork cousin Jacob posing and my friend Josh putting on the new stainless steel headers I got off of Craigslist for $120. Another guy in the club gave me a 350 turbo that needed rebuilding. Had it rebuilt at a local tranny shop that I do specialty welding for.
I didn't like that the front wheels were not centered in the Fenders. I double checked my wheel base and it was right. I figure it was this way to add clearance where the spare tire/wheel goes, but my spare tire slot has been closed up. I moved everything forward an inch and it looked a lot better. Got the cab back on and removed the original firewall. Mocked everything up and made motor and trans mounts. Tacked in a new firewall and finalized all of my mounting locations for the cab. I got a radiator from PRC. It looks amazing!
Next we started on the floor pan next. The tunnel came out wider than I expected. The back of the cab was rusted out so bad that I cut out a large pannel and replaced it with 16 gauge sheet metal.
The fact your dad gave you this truck justifies having to sell the 442. Still, I can see that decision being hard to do. I think you are doing your dad proud on this build. I'll keep watching.
De-greased the rear end and painted it. I needed to take a leaf out so I figured I would knock it out.
I cut a hole for my distributor. The front pillars had lead holding it together so I welded it with the MIG. Also welded the new firewall. The driver side "Band or indention" had a big hole in it so I welded it up.
16 guage sheet metal on the firewall. Its right at 1/16" thick. It bowed on me a little bit. I probably should have used something thicker or framed some support behind it before final welding.