kirklandkie

Hey everyone, so I've got a 97 f150, 4.2L, short bed, reg cab, xlt. Bought the truck about 3 years ago and though you all might enjoy seeing (some) of the work i've done on her. I don't have pics of the early stuff but i'm in the middle of a big project I'll be replacing the bed and fixing a ton of rust issues. I intend to bring her back from the brink. Later down the road (year? couple months? not sure) i'll be swapping in a cummins 4bt.
First pic is theday i bought her, between then and now i had the bed patched twice, new rocker panels, new cab corner, fender patch, blend door replacement (pulled dash/airbag etc, i hate cutting holes in plastic), transmission dipstick tube, front calipers, rear drum springs/pads, both front hubs, muffler, tail pipe, intermediate pipe, transmission filter/fluid, other fluids..., front bumper, fog lights, passenger door, parking brake indicator switch, all lock cylinders/ignition switch, transfer case mode switch, maybe more but i cant remember.
The remaining pics are the project i'm involved in right now, if you have any questions just ask. I'll be skipping over some of my pics in the interest in keeping this thread somewhat tame (I took a lot of pictures along the way). Enjoy.

-Kirk

kirklandkie

More pics:

Manuellabour247

What project are you doing to the truck? And how's the 4.2 holding up?

kirklandkie

More pics:
-Painted crossmember
-Frame is tapered (Who knew???). Had to use a jackscrew to open the frame up 3" at the aft most point to slide the new crossmember in
-grade 8 bolts to hold everything together in this build. Hitch and crossmember (Overkill is nice).
-new OEM spare tire carrier
-made some 3/8" thick mega-washers for my hitch. I dislike the originals and my frame could use some help.

kirklandkie

Right, project is new bed/parts from Savannah GA with rust removal and any repairs i find. 4.2 is solid, i'll be doing a 4bt swap soonish. Nabbing a cummins/ford tranny adapter off craigslist tomorrow! can't wait.

kirklandkie

Sorry for the rapid fire pic posts, I've been at it for a month or so (with two weekends off for vacation in there).
-Grade 8 bolts, hitch and spare tire installed.
-Made the heat shield from an old stainless grill lid, beveled it to match the grill cover side because why not.
-cheapo ford exhaust hanger... welded up a new one out of 2" wide channel iron, welded in 2 bolts as studs, bar stock for the rubber hangers, washers as stops for the hangers, and finished it off with a stainless washer and cotter pins to hold it all together (not shown)

kirklandkie

This should be near the end of my rapid fire posts. Just catching up to where i'm at.
-Got the filler neck on the bed from savannah GA, problem is it's off an 02 which apparently has a 1/2" vent tube as opposed to my 3/4" tube. Some new vent tube, copper fittings, and some improvising fixed this issue. Painted the new filler with POR 15 as did i everything in this build.
-wire wheeled and painted the underside of my forward crossmember. Once it dried i attached my heat shield and hanger.
-Now to where i'm at. Last night i got in my new leaf springs. They're 2200 LBS springs, part number 43-1199HD. I prepped and painted these with POR15. They're beefier than expected, might need new hangers so my truck doesnt gain a couple inches.

kirklandkie

Inside cooling off for lunch, thought i might post this mornings work so far. 2200 LBS leaf springs going on later today with new blistein shocks.

kirklandkie

Well, the new leaf springs are too thick for the OEM u-bolts. Ordered a set of 4 new u-bolts plus washers/nuts for 33 bucks shipped on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/121594703212?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AITThey're exactly 1" longer than original so they should correct the issue.
I estimate the new leaf springs should give me a 2-3" lift.

kirklandkie

Probably should have been posting this on the 97 forums since this isn't a "Build" persay, more of a restoration. When i do get to the cummins conversion though this thread might get more interesting. On that note, anyone ever trick a 4r70w into talking with a foreign engine?
More pics:
Got all outer frame rails stripped, prepped, and painted. New Blistein shocks installed, new 2200 LBS leaf springs installed, new 1" longer U-bolts to match installed.
Replaced left aft shackle hanger on the frame, it was cracking at two spots and i had one laying around from Georgia so i figured why not? That damn grade 8 hardware can be expensive.... 1.90 each for 7/16" nyloc nuts... oh well it's done right. Squished some mastic in there for good measure.
Found a sweet spare tire at the landfill. It's about 10x better than my old one and was mounted on a ford aluminum rim! re-seated the bead and put a new valve stem in it plus power-washed for good effect.
Last is a teaser, the 4BT to ford transmission adapter plate. More to come on this front later.