My Jeep FC170 (Forward Control) "Patina Rod" project

[lumpskie]

Cool Truck! And good work!


...and those are some nice seats, especially for free!

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

Awesome looking truck man. Have done a few J series but now I'm going to have to find a FC...

:sombrero:

Cool Truck! And good work!


...and those are some nice seats, especially for free!

Thanks for the kind words. Well, the driver seat was free. I had to pay for the passenger one, but the price for that one was very reasonable.

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

You'll have to use some imagination since they're not assembled yet, but here are my Saddle Brown leather arm rest covers that my co-worker made for me (only $20 for the work!), and new arm rest foam from Walck's 4WD ($6.95 each). The teal one is a (brittle) original cover I gave my co-worker to use as a pattern. I'll get the metal arm rest frames blasted & powder coated soon, then mount up the leather covers.

I also located a reasonably-priced NP241 DHD transfer case with 144K miles, originally behind a 2001 Cummins automatic (includes the front driveshaft, too). This is exactly the case I've been looking for.

 

[96Delica]

Of all the threads I subscribe to, these are the updates I look forward to the most!

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

Of all the threads I subscribe to, these are the updates I look forward to the most!

Awesome. Glad you're enjoying it.


I dropped off my metal arm rest frames and front brake rotors to the sandblaster/powdercoater today. The arm rest frames will be powdercoated in charcoal gray (like the lower sides of the Commander seats), and will be wire-wheeling & painting the front Dana 60 knuckles this weekend.

Score! I also drove 4 1/2 hours round-trip this week to pick up this clean, relatively low-mileage (in Cummins terms, with 144K miles) Dodge 23-spline NP241 DHD from a female-driven 2001 Cummins automatic. It bolts right up to the '95 Dodge 47RH auto trans. I'll have to figure out cable shifters for both the trans & t-case...all in time. Since I'll eventually be using GPS gauges, the lack of a speedo port won't affect me.

The transfer case will be cleaned & painted with Eastwood Aluma Blast, and the transmission/flywheel housing will be powdercoated in the same charcoal gray being used on the arm rest frames.

 

[glockrocket17]

Looks like it's coming along nicely.

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

Looks like it's coming along nicely.

Thanks. Slow, but nicely.


While I didn't make it to Jeep Blessing this weekend, I did work on my FC today so that I might have a chance of bringing it to Jeep Blessing in 2018(ish). I got one of the knuckles prepped/primed, and also painted the axle shafts. Good thing I removed them, as I found a bad seal on the back side of the knuckle/unit bearing that is undoubtedly the reason the unit bearing failed on the previous owner (it actually had a 3/8" hole punched in it). I'll order new ones for both sides within the next couple weeks.

I also got Mira's '97 XJ coil springs cleaned up & painted today, which is the last thing we needed to do before reassembling her front end with new and/or low-mileage parts.

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

To quote Prince, circa 1992, "U sexy motherf#%&er."

Top coat is now done on the driver side knuckle (Eastwood Extreme Chassis Black). The passenger side will get done another weekend; for now, garage work is done, and it's movie time with my loving wife.

With surgical precision (not really), I started removing the engine crossmember from the donor 2005 F350 frame. I think I can use it mid-frame on the 2008 frame, along with some 12v conversion mounts from destroked.com to mount the Cummins. If my initial measurements are correct, I'll also be able to use the sides of the crossmember to support the front of the flatbed.

Stay tuned...

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

Removing (for re-use) a Ford Super Duty engine crossmember is not for the faint of heart. Several hours, several more Sawzall blades, and a few grinder discs later, I finally have it removed. An exercise in patience, it was. A plasma cutter sure would be nice, but is not in the budget (and won't be for the foreseeable future).

Here it is set temporarily in place on the 2008 F350 Chassis Cab frame (the stock transmission crossmember will be removed, of course). It'll have to be modified, obviously, but I think it'll put me light years ahead vs. starting from scratch.

Here are the destroked.com Cummins 12v motor mounts that I'll be ordering once I save up some more dollars.

My Warn hidden hitch brackets arrived in a beat-up box. The finish is beat to hell (and super thin powdercoat in some places), but the brackets look OK structurally. This was not UPS' fault; Warn's packaging was horrible. Nice job, Warn.

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

I set the Warn hidden winch brackets on the frame to see how they'd look. They're nicely-built pieces for only $40 each. I'll build a custom crossmember between them, which will be used to mount the front of the FC cab (2 body mounts up front).

I did go ahead and order a set of the Destroked motor mounts (for '99-'05 Super Duty). I guess I"m committed.

I also unbolted the original transmission crossmember after these pics were taken, and started removing misc. items/wiring from the Cummins 12v that I won't need (e.g. - A/C compressor, lines, etc.).


Much of the day Saturday was spent getting the new front suspension parts & axle reinstalled in my daughter Mira's Jeep.

 

[Topo.Ranger]

For some reason I am unable to see any pictures on this thread. Id love to see what you have done! I have a 1958 FC 150 and am looking to do something with it.

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

For some reason I am unable to see any pictures on this thread. Id love to see what you have done! I have a 1958 FC 150 and am looking to do something with it.

Firewall issue? Work computer? Photos are hosted (public setting) on Facebook. I'd love to hear about & see pics of your FC150.

 

[Topo.Ranger]

Right now the FC is sitting at my parents house under a tarp. I had it at my house but I guess the neighbor across the street didnt find it appealing to look at. The town came out and gave me a 30 day notice to insure it or move it. I have alot of work to do on it so I didnt see much point to insure a non cranking vehicle.

Yes I am on a work computer, Ill try my phone and home computer out today.

 

[K2ZJ]

You should insure it and put spot lights on it. I would throw in a $20! :shakin:

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

Big thanks to my friend Kyle Jfor letting me swing by yesterday morning and sandblast my engine crossmember. While I'm modifying this thing to fit mid-frame, it'll be much easier to deal with clean vs. rusty & greasy.

I also received my Destroked Cummins engine mounts yesterday...impressive-looking stuff.

I also picked up my arm rest brackets after being sandblasted & powdercoated. They looked nice, but the gray we picked (from an online color sample) was way too blue, and didn't match the gray accent pieces on the Commander seats. I'm way too picky to leave the mismatched color, so I scuffed them, and sprayed them with some Rustoleum Hammered charcoal gray, which looks great next to the seats.

In other not-so-exciting news, I also loaded up a trailer full of scrap steel (groveling the whole time because of the ridiculously-low scrap prices), and the place looks a little less rednecky now. It feels good to have things a little more organized around here.