Craigslist Pick of the Week: Perfect Muscle Truck Starter Material

[cjforumadmin]

http://www.bangshift.com/blog/Craigslist-Pick-of-the-Week-Perfect-Muscle-Truck-Starter-Material.html

[Matt Cramer]

Re: Craigslist Pick of the Week: Perfect Muscle Truck Starter Material

Nice... and in Georgia, I could probably get it titled with no trouble, too!

[BangShift McT]

Re: Craigslist Pick of the Week: Perfect Muscle Truck Starter Material

I'm seeing Ansens or cleaner wagon-spokes, a snotty 390, and the four-gear to back it up.

[squirrel]

Re: Craigslist Pick of the Week: Perfect Muscle Truck Starter Material

you could do something like this, although the paint is unnecessary

[JRoberts]

Re: Craigslist Pick of the Week: Perfect Muscle Truck Starter Material

That generation of Ford pickups is my favorite. I have always really liked the lines of those trucks. $800 and it runs? Wow, seems like a deal to me.

Like Remy-Z I'd go for the four speed. I like the big engine idea as well as the less audacious tire size.

[hauen]

Re: Craigslist Pick of the Week: Perfect Muscle Truck Starter Material

Hey now! Don't go getting ahead of me and my Mark 8 powered (and hopefully suspended) '61 unibody slick. :P

$450 '61 slick... check

$500 '93 Mk 8...check

Cobra T-56 6 speed...check

time...what the hell is that? Still working on that one. >

[38P]

Re: Craigslist Pick of the Week: Perfect Muscle Truck Starter Material

Good thing it's a '65 instead of an '85, or some freeloader would probably be trying to trade it in on a Hyundai in the Cash for Clunkers welfare stampede.

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As for the build . . .

FE? Check!

8-71? Not sure. 50% efficiency, no charge cooling, and no bypass valve are big turnoffs.

If it's Roots you need, maybe a brace of air-water charge-cooled Eatons like Ed Martinez's PSE twin-supercharged '94 Lightning. See http://videos.streetfire.net/video/PSE-Superchargers-Twin_181548.htm (It would make more power and get better mileage because of the part-throttle bypasses . . . and it could all sleep beneath the stock hood). Of course a couple of turbos would be better . . . .

AOD? Overdrive is a must, but a TKO-600 for a T-56 would be more interesting and fun.

No tubs? Check!

No paint? Maybe. I like the vintage "shop truck" idea.

Or maybe a SHELBY AMERICAN SHOP TRUCK from back in the day (that'd require twin Paxtons instead of the Eatons for the period look)

Or I can see a customized salt-flats look (slammed, red/white "diner' style tuck and roll, two-toning with a tonneau cover, moon disks . . . maybe even skirts and wide whites! (Now he's lost it . . .))

Or gasser style (the 8-71 or some crazy injector stacks would fit that style better).

Wheels? That's a tough one. It depends on the style of the build.

Freiburger says slot mags are coming back, so maybe an early adoption of that trend is in order. American Racing Salt Flat Specials might look good. Cragar S/S wheels would be period correct. Chromed steelies would be a throwback choice, too. Or maybe just tough-looking, wide painted steel and poverty caps . . . . I wonder if anybody makes Magnum 500s that would fit . . . .

Just no "dubs" or billet or anything bigger than 18" unless the build is going to be "faux touring."

[hauen]

Re: Craigslist Pick of the Week: Perfect Muscle Truck Starter Material

The last thing I'd ever consider is some "faux street/ faux touring/ flavor of the week" build. Though I do like a vehicle with modern brakes and handling (FI is a must anymore too with the crappy gas we have to live with). I used to have a '55 Customline, bone stock (272 2-v, 3 spd w/od, manual everything), and my friend had a '60 DeSoto Adventurer, and let me tell you, spending an hour driving either one in city traffic and you'll never EVER pine for the old days (well at least not in the handling or braking departments anyway) just have some kid zoom across 3 lanes of traffic to get to the left turn lane and you'll understand! But I digress. I've always liked the slotted steel "GT" wheels like on the ~'67 Mustang/Cougar/Fairlane. It's too bad they don't make a repop in 16" or 17" so they'll clear big brakes...unless you guys know someone who does. Otherwise it's probably gonna be Crown Vic steelies or maybe torque-thrust d's.

I've never been a big fan of power adders myself, just more stuff to leak, maintain, or otherwise go wrong. Diesels being the exception, without them most of the old rigs couldn't pull the plug out of pig's ass n/a.

Auto transmissions, same reason, especially (and I hate to admit this) with Fords, I don't know why they can't build an overdrive auto transmission that makes it more than 75k when it decides to grenade itself. And sadly the (especially the factory) rebuilds aren't much better.

The rig I have is some kind of canary yellow color from the factory, it's too bad I hate yellow, I feel like I should be on the lookout for Sylvester the Cat when I'm around it. Might make a fun license plate if I kept the color though TWTYBRD or maybe ITITAPT (I Tawt I Taw A Puddy Tat), though no one under 30 would probably get it...sadly. "...Hope I die before I get old..." too late!

I'm getting way ahead of myself though, I've just got parts taking up space until I can get my garage rebuilt.

A man's gotta have a dream, it's the only thing that gets him out of bed some mornings.

I like the idea of Shelby American shop truck, I seem to recall from photos they used slicks to tow and service so that would be pure vintage/retro goodness.

[squirrel]

Re: Craigslist Pick of the Week: Perfect Muscle Truck Starter Material

8-71? Not sure. 50% efficiency, no charge cooling, and no bypass valve are big turnoffs.

AOD? Overdrive is a must, but a TKO-600 for a T-56 would be more interesting and fun.

With an 8-71 you have so much torque you can run 3.0 gears with no overdrive and it'll do fine. And build the motor with enough inches that it'll make gobs of power with only 8-10 lbs boost. Easy...affordable...and the tech level fits the rest of the truck...

[mustang13]

Re: Craigslist Pick of the Week: Perfect Muscle Truck Starter Material

My 66 F-100 is started but , not far along. Wife says I have to finish her Dads 66 F-100 before I can play with mine more. He when the shiny paint, billet wheel, 460/C-6 route. The truck runs 12.90 on street rubber but, will look like just about every black 61-66 shortbox you see at a car show. I want to go with the old shop truck look, lowered, keep it rusty, my Grandfathers old business name on the door, etc. I was thinking hopped up 4BT Cummins, NV4500, but, the price of those used have gone through the roof. Lots of room for a SBF with a home brew single or twin turbo though. Must keep this kind of truck a stick for sure. Top Loader, T-5 ,T-56, New Venture 5-6 spd. would all work. I would like to see more 61 to 79 shortbox done up like a first Gen. Lighting. A true Muscle Truck.

[38P]

Re: Craigslist Pick of the Week: Perfect Muscle Truck Starter Material

I'm not saying that an 8-71 wouldn't fit the vibe of the truck. But even with 3.0 gears, it would suck down an ocean of fuel just beating the air at part-throttle.

A couple of modern Eatons in the M112 size could easily boost an FE in excess of 800 h.p. PSE claims their twin-Eaton MODULAR Lightning's mill is good for 900. And that's with a lot fewer cubes than an FE. And you'd be virtually guaranteed to have the only one like it at any event you attend (which probably cannot be said about an 8-71 Jimmy lung --unless the show/cruise is really small)

Also, by the time you get a water-air charge cooler under an 8-71, the engine is a skyscraper. And why only 8-10 psi when you could 12 or more intercooled on pump gas, with much higher density ratios? As much weight on the nose as a supercharged big block brings, why scrimp on the power?

Now here's a wild idea: I recall seeing some Offy cross-ram 4bbl adaptors (Offy claimed they'd turn your 4bbl intake into a "ram" manifold. R-I-G-H-T. http://www.show-cars.com/cgi-bin/com...ction&key=6126). Score a dual quad intake and a pair of the adaptors. Then fab up a plate to bolt on the Eatons. (not sure exactly how to do the charge coolers) Run some Thunderbolt-style zip tubes to the grille (mostly to emphasize the crazy wide symmetery of the set-up). Polish everything. It would be challenging to tune, but that'd be a 'plant that everybody would remember . . . . It would be perfect for a truck because of the width of the engine bay.

I like the option of being able to run a decent rear gear and have a gas-sipping highway cog. That means overdrive of some sort. I've tried the B-ville gear/no overdrive thing and it's just not as satisfactory. You end up giving up both dig and m.p.g.

[squirrel]

Re: Craigslist Pick of the Week: Perfect Muscle Truck Starter Material

I guess I've been doing it wrong all these years....but it seems to work for me. To each his own.

[trukluvr]

Re: Craigslist Pick of the Week: Perfect Muscle Truck Starter Material

I'm thinking maybe "borrowing" the engine from the BluLightning and put a stick behind it. Leave the patina and add red steelies with moonies. Then drive it like ya stole it.

[mustang13]

Re: Craigslist Pick of the Week: Perfect Muscle Truck Starter Material

I'm thinking maybe "borrowing" the engine from the BluLightning and put a stick behind it. Leave the patina and add red steelies with moonies. Then drive it like ya stole it.

ME LIKES!!!!!!!!

[JRoberts]

Re: Craigslist Pick of the Week: Perfect Muscle Truck Starter Material

I'm thinking maybe "borrowing" the engine from the BluLightning and put a stick behind it. Leave the patina and add red steelies with moonies. Then drive it like ya stole it.

That sounds like the way to go to me. The patina and red steelies just sound right.