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OBS Shortbox

34K views 88 replies 46 participants last post by  JohnKBrown 
#1 ·
I have this thread at the "other place" :hehe:
Figured I'd put it up here for suggestions, comments, hand gestures.

Project Shortbox.
The building of an OBS regular cab/shortbox 2WD truck
An as-I-can-afford-it build, taking vehicles destined (or should have been destined) for the scrapyard. I expect it will take me a year and a half to complete.

The back story:
Earlier this year, I picked up a wrecked OBS for $1200 (including renting a trailer and fuel to haul it home.) PSD with a 5 speed 4X4, so I thought it would be great to have an extra transmission and t-case for the white truck. The truck t-boned a car, so the frame was a mess. The truck was essentially a supply of parts. The box was gone, as well as most of the front sheetmetal. The driver’s door window was broken in the collision, so the interior was at the mercy of the weather, so it’s pretty rough. I noticed that it had the Ford APCM idle controller, and a LS rear differential.


I figured it would be a shame to just pull the drivetrain and scrap the rest, there was some potential in the pile of ruin. An idea came to mind, build a OBS that is as light as possible. I began to hunt for a 92-96 F150 Regular cab, shortbox. Dredging through the local kijiji and craigslist, I found a few cheap shorties. I settled on a $750 ‘92 that had never been in a collision, had mediocre sheetmetal, and actually ran/drove. The ungodly topper was part of the deal, which I figured I can set the topper/bed aside and use it as a storage container for project parts.



Getting to work:
This thing has no options whatsoever. WTF was Ford thinking badging a bare-bones truck “custom?” :hehe: I drove this thing out to the shop and started working on it. I think I did the community a service by taking this truck off the road. Upon closer inspection, it had leaking fuel tanks, a hole rusted in the floor, a broken rear spring, inoperative parking brake (bad thing with a 5 speed :doh:,) and the engine probably didn’t have a tune-up in years, this thing wouldn’t be able to get out of it’s own way.
Okay, the bed is off. Pulling the topper and bed off took four guys, Damn topper was heavy.

Proceeded to pull off the rest of the sheetmetal, and strip down the frame.






I decided to lower the truck, for looks, as well as to lower the center of gravity for improved handling. I purchased a DJM 4” lowering kit. Of course, all the F150 leaf spring hangers had to be removed, both for the lowering kit, and wider F250/350/SD springs. I cleaned away lousy undercoating and wire wheeled/blasted the frame. Using the appropriate chemicals, I prepped the frame, pained it with POR-15, and POR-15 Chassis Coat Black.


I temporarily re-mounted the F150 rear end and rolled the frame outside.


Another vehicle, more parts:
I stumbled upon a 96 E350 for sale, this one with a blown engine. The engine was removed and scrapped. The E4OD was still there, as well as four Alcoa OBS rims. I paid $500 for this thing and stripped it to the bone.


Unfortunately, the Econolines use a different spindle and I-beam than the trucks do, so they wouldn’t work with the DJM lowering beams. I went to the local u-pull wrecker and found the 2WD F250 front end parts I needed. Cleaned and painted everything.

Assembled front end with DJM beams
 
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#2 ·
I was now at the point where I needed the rear differential from the F250
Wheeling it into the shop

Cab off

Pulling transfer case and transmission


Yanking the engine

As I dismantled the truck, I found some interesting points in it’s history. New starter, very clean oil, New clutch (just another DMF) and a rebuilt transmission. :happydance:
Here you can see the extent of the frame damage

Later, a sawzall party ensued, leaving a frame in pieces, and a pile of useable parts.
A friend had a set of Superduty springs laying around. I removed the overload and slapper bar from them and painted them up.
The F250 rear spring hangers were cleaned up, and painted along with the DJM spring hanger.
Installing the rear suspension

Cleaning up and installing rear differential




Installing rear

The replacement spring center bolts had a taller button than the originals, so I had to pull the differential back out and drill the holes in the pads a shade deeper.

Detailing brake parts


Alcoa OBS 8 lug rims all around
 
#3 ·
This weekend, I tackled the steering. Installed new tie rods and a re-manufactured steering box. I dug through the parts pile for the pump return line.

F250 4x4 on the left, F150 4x2 on the right. I didn't want to re-use the wimpy F150 POS, and the F250 one didn't seem to fit. After a little creative (re)bending, the return line/cooler lined up with the box fitting and the crossmember holes. A little blast of paint to dress it up and it was installed.


Painted and installed the rear drums


Painted and installed the stabilizer bars

Rear bar is going to make shocks a tight fit.

Aside from shocks, the suspension is pretty much a wrap. Next on the to-do list will be brake/fuel plumbing, and electrical.
 
#4 ·
New fuel tank valves and lines, old brake lines cleaned up/painted/re-installed


Tubing bending sucks when you're not a pro at it :doh:

Fuel line comparison, OEM supply line on left, new supply line on right


The fuel tanks had a couple small leaks from dirt/moisture being trapped under the straps and rusting the tank from the outside. Inside, the tanks are rust free. I opted to patch and re-seal the outside of the tank, rather than attempt to get the sealer to cling to a smooth surface.
Patching the fuel tanks in the thin/pinholed areas

Tanks coated in sealer


Inside of tanks

I guess I'll have to blow that leaf out of there.
 
#5 ·
Aside from the tanks, the fuel system is complete. I copied the filter set-up from Marty's fuel system. I made a mounting bracket from a piece of 2x2" angle. It mounts to existing frame holes.

I then mounted the fuel pump. Fuel return is visible above pump.

Mounted the filters, and ran the plumbing. From the filter outlet a hose will feed the engine.
 
#12 ·
awsome! great work man, cant wait to see more.
 
#18 ·
Thanks for the comments guys. It looks quick on here, but I've really started this in July.



Believe it or not, everything bolts right up to the frame with no screwing around. The only modding was the F250 forward leaf hanger has 6 rivets, and the F150 has 4. So I bolted it in place and drilled the 2 remaining holes in each side of the frame.
 
#17 ·
Time for another update

Modded fuel pickup/sending units
5/16" return line is capped off. 3/8" supply will now be the return. New 1/2" supply line installed.


I pressurized the lines and checked for leaks, fixed a couple leaky pipe threads.

Reworked wiring harness and fuel lines connected.





The frame is essentially complete, so I rolled it outside, covered it in poly film and a tarp to keep crap off it for it's winter hibernation.


I spent a couple hours cleaning the shop up, then started ripping the accessories off the engine.
 
#21 ·
Dimensionally and in shape, the frames are the same. The only difference I noticed is the rails are stamped from a thicker gauge of steel. The crossmembers seemed the same.
 
#23 ·
That is going to look badass when its done.
 
#24 ·
I haven't tried the E4OD crossmember I got yet (it's stamped 4x4, but the 4x4 ZF member lined right up with the frame holes,) so I'll have to test fit that later on. The engine mount bases bolted to the front crossmember with no issues, here you can see them bolted in.
 
#25 ·
Good deal man! I am deffinantly going to keep my eye on this thread. Now that i have gone back to college i need something smaller than my CC LB to drive around campus(not selling the CC), and have been getting the itch for a single cab short bed something. I might just have to pick up an older flareside truck to do a swap with.

GREAT WORK!!!!
 
#27 ·
Nice project here!

Couple of questions:

Is that front swaybar from the 1/2 ton or what? My F350 2wd had a front mounted swaybar but I had to remove it because my intercooler interfered with it. I'd like to put one back on though.

Also, what is the brand/model # is that fuel tank selector valve? I want one!

GREAT JOB!!!
 
#28 ·
I used 2 plantdrive selector valves, one for supply, one for return. They have 1/2" NPT fittings. Unfortunately, if you add these, you will need to re-wire the fuel senders to the dash switch, or leave the OEM selector connected, since the OEM selector has a set of contacts to connect the relevant tank to the gauge. Myself, I am running 2 sender wires to the cab just like a gasser application. PlantDrive™#Vegetable#Oil...

Strangely, Plantdrive.ca sells them $30 cheaper to Canadians.
PlantDrive™ International NPT ports, aluminum body, Viton seal


As far as the stabilizer bar, I bought it from National Parts Depot. It is made by Addco and it's friggin beefy (about 1" dia.) It's application is for 2WD PSD's. Installation uses existing holes in the radius arms, and requires 2 holes to be drilled in each frame rail.
 
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