This photo was taken behind the warehouse the day we pulled her out. |
In the years leading up to 2008, Rose was SLOWLY undergoing her transformation. From a COMPLETELY stock all original truck to the gorgeous vehicle you see developing here. 'Rose' , first named 'Bruce', entered our lives in the summer of 2002 We found her parked in a warehouse, offered to buy her, and drove her home. She was in amazing original condition. |
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So first order of business was to lose the 6 volt system and rewire the whole truck to 12 volt negative ground. We then added a dual Offenhauser intake and twin 94's, new Fenton headers with dual exhaust huffing through 22 inch Smitty mufflers. This setup brought the first electronic ignition. | 
Here is the beginnings of redoing the Flathead |
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Removing the sheetmetal |
In 2005 we moved Rose into our new garage, and began removing the sheetmetal and tearing her completely down. The process of bagging and tagging every nut and bolt is quite tedious. | |
Front fenders and hood removed. Trying on the new custom made wheels |
Originally, we had outfitted Rose with ECI front disc brakes on her original 5 on 5 1/2 bolt pattern. So that required us to have her new front wheels custom made due to the bolt pattern. |
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To help get Rose's new stance the way we wanted, we opted for a 4" drop axle and Posie super slide reverse eye spring up front. New Stainless steel king pins, and splitting the original wishbone. The new rear end is out of a 1979 Ford Granada, giving us a good reliable Ford 8" rearend for comfortable highway cruising. | 
Rust proofing the drop axle and other front suspension pieces. |
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Little more than mild surface rust |
All the way through the tear down process, we were continuously amazed at the superb overall condition of this truck. It is safe to say we didn't break a single bolt during the entire teardown process. | |
Pay NO attention to that open can of Por-15 on the frame rail ! |
While we planned to keep the original Flathead, we are using a Ford C-4 automatic transmission, that along with removing the old torque tube driveline in favor of the Ford 8" required we remove the original webbing in the frames X-member and replace it with proper mounts for the new transmission. |
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We had new wheels made for the rear to match the fronts, we're keeping one of the originals to mount on the spare tire position. Early on there was concern that we went a little too big when we ordered the Widewhite tires that there might be problems getting them stuffed under the fenders, but we managed all that. | 
Just back from the Powder Coaters ! WOW ! |
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All four tires firmly planted ! |
We spent a lot of time working the front end with the Drop axle and reverse eye transverse spring. Then splitting the wishbone and heating and bending the spring perches, replacing the webbing in the frames X-member, and then mounting everything and adjusting it just right ! | |