Hot Rod Garage Presented by Lincoln Tech
Category
🚗
MotorTranscript
00:00 Welcome back to Hot Rod Garage presented by Lincoln Tech. It's a whole new season
00:04 and we're thinking bigger, badder, and more awesome projects. We got to do some
00:08 really fun stuff last year. We built the Bone Marrow low buck drag project, the
00:13 Fury big block wagon was awesome, and I got to build my dream car, a drift Cuda.
00:17 And we started thinking about stuff for this year we realized we're missing
00:20 something extremely important to every shop. We need a shop truck.
00:25 [Music]
00:44 Every shop needs a truck to haul parts and motors and engines and stuff like
00:48 that around. We don't have one. We've been borrowing a Toyota Tacoma from Motor
00:51 Trend that has since exploded. We used my Roll Smoky project here and there, but I
00:56 sold that thing to make room for the Cuda, so we need to go out and we bought
00:59 this big hulking beast. Not lucky, the truck. We bought a '66 Ford F100. It's
01:07 clean, it's straight, it's got a nice patina on it, but it's not quite... we're
01:11 not gonna leave it alone, right? No power, no brakes. We want the ultimate shop truck.
01:15 That's what we're gonna do. We're gonna go crazy with upgrades. Fuel injected V8,
01:18 modern suspension, disc brakes, air conditioning, right?
01:23 Gotta have it. We've got to do all sorts of stuff to this thing. Now that sounds
01:27 like a lot of work, a lot of time, and a lot of money, but there's an easier way
01:30 and I'm gonna show you what it is. You have an easier way. Come on.
01:35 [Laughter]
01:37 I always wanted to do that. So this is our shortcut. We went out and we bought a 2007
01:43 Crown Victoria cop car and this has all of those modern upgrades that we want
01:48 for that truck. Modern suspension, four-wheel disc brakes, a beefy drivetrain,
01:54 overhead cams. Nice. Crazy. You know you can't do that when this isn't the truck.
01:59 Yeah, it'll probably be harder to jump across the hood, but then that truck is
02:02 finally gonna drive awesome. So we're gonna do something we've never done
02:05 before and instead of trying to piecemeal this stuff into that truck,
02:08 we're going to do a complete body swap. So we're gonna take the body of that
02:11 truck, put it on the frame of this cop car. So that took all the easy out of the
02:15 program, but it's gonna be awesome. It's gonna be awesome though, yeah. Alright, let's do it.
02:18 Let's do it. Go. Do the hood thing again.
02:23 Whoa. Oops-a-daisy. Here we go.
02:36 [Music]
02:45 Buying an old cop car is an awesome way to get a lot of bang for your buck.
02:49 These things are seriously outfitted with performance parts and you can get
02:53 them extremely cheap. We picked up this thing from Brad at CruiserConnections.com
02:57 in Le Havre, California. So what we have here is a 1966 F100. We were lucky
03:05 enough to find this one. It belonged to a guy named Augie and his son Max. He was
03:10 gonna give it to his son Max, so he was a little bit sad to see it go, but we told
03:14 him we were gonna give it a good home. And by a good home, we mean use it every
03:18 day. And by use, we mean abuse. It's a 2007 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor.
03:25 It's a 4.6 liter, 250 horsepower, modular V8, fuel injected. It's got a four-speed
03:32 overdrive automatic, computer-controlled transmission. Since this is one of the
03:37 last body-on-frame cars, it's one of the most advanced. In 2003, Ford revamped the
03:42 entire underpinnings of this car, from the frame to the suspension, everything.
03:48 It's got a new hydro-formed steel frame. The front has an aluminum removable
03:53 subframe with rack and pinion steering. This thing has four-wheel disc brakes, a
03:58 four link in the back with a watts link, so it handles awesome. So what this thing
04:05 came with originally was a six-cylinder. I think actually some of them came with V8s,
04:08 but they were the smaller V8s. This has a 460 in it, which is a bit of a monster.
04:13 And then there's the horsepower. You can smell the gas pouring out the side
04:16 right now. It has a twin I-beam front suspension. It has leaf springs in the
04:21 rear. So this thing is a boat. It's also fun to drive around and maybe pretend
04:31 you're a cop a little bit. I feel like people are probably a little bit afraid
04:34 of this thing. Now I'm not saying I'm impersonating a cop, but like it's
04:37 intimidating, let's say that.
04:40 [Music]
05:06 Nice car, buddy. Yeah, if this thing had a bed it would be perfect. Yeah, and if that
05:11 thing drove all right, it'd be sweet. Let's go make that happen. Let's do it.
05:15 Hey, you drive like a girl. Me? Yeah.
05:20 [Music]
05:33 Okay, so before we start this giant undertaking, we have to figure out in
05:36 what order we're gonna do this stuff. And we pick the easy stuff first. Yeah.
05:40 First thing we're gonna do is get the body off of this '66 F100, separate it.
05:44 Just so you know, I already took the bolts out of the hood and this thing's heavy. I see
05:47 that. So let's get... You want to take it off? I'm gonna take the hood off first.
05:50 I'll just put it down. So what we have to do is separate the steering column, the
05:55 brakes, the chassis wiring to the body, the radiator hoses, stuff like that. A lot of
05:59 it can actually stay. The exhaust, the fuel system, all that stuff will stay with the
06:03 frame. Master cylinder, we'll just unbolt it and just let it hang here. Yeah.
06:07 Steering, shift linkage, and a bunch of wires. And that's it. And what's cool is
06:11 since it's a truck, we can just take the cab off. So that's what we'll be focused on now.
06:15 [Music]
06:21 If you use the air ratchet just right, it blows rust in your mouth. That's nice.
06:24 Delicious. Nice. [Music]
06:29 So this has a twin I-beam front suspension. It works like this. Most cars have upper and lower
06:38 control arms on one side that do this. This has a big long one that goes from
06:43 this side to that side. The downside is, you see how the wheels are? Yeah. So it goes
06:48 through tires like crazy. The upside is if you make these longer and those longer
06:52 and bend that, you can get like 30 inches of travel and jump anything with it.
06:56 [Music]
07:02 The fenders have nut certs which are like stamped into the fender. And then
07:05 there's a hidden bolt inside the kick panel that goes into the nut cert. Worst
07:09 thing that could possibly happen is a nut cert spin in the fender when you're
07:15 trying to take the bolt out. Because there's no way in there without cutting a hole.
07:17 Yeah, there's probably a picture of this with a big circle and a line through it
07:21 somewhere like, "Don't ever pry on a fender cover pressed against a door." But
07:26 we're not really tearing up the truck. We're giving it more patina. The
07:29 difference between patina and rust? $40,000. That was the one.
07:37 [Music]
07:42 Cool. Let's go home, man. That was it. That's a wrap.
07:45 Should we have to do all this just to change the oil?
07:47 [Music]
07:53 Okay, so we've got the whole front clip off. That gave us better access to all the
07:57 things we need to disconnect. And we're pretty close. All we have to do now is
08:00 take off the body mounts for the cab, disconnect the steering column and the
08:03 shifter. That thing should lift right off of there. Right? Right?
08:07 "Lift right off," he says.
08:09 [Loud noise]
08:11 Came right off, dude. Nice.
08:13 Glass packs? Yeah.
08:15 Cherry bombs, buddy. Cherry bombs.
08:17 That's the good stuff.
08:19 [Loud noise]
08:21 Dude. Another frame horn.
08:23 [Loud noise]
08:25 So the biggest bit of fabrication we're going to have to get this cab and F100 body onto the Crown Victoria frame is we're
08:31 gonna have to make body mounts to mount the thing on there. Here you can see
08:34 these are just these big giant tabs that are originally riveted to the frame.
08:37 We're probably gonna have to fabricate something up and weld it to that Crown
08:40 Victoria frame. That will accept all these different mounting points. It's
08:44 gonna be a little bit of work.
08:46 [Music]
08:48 Now that we've removed everything connecting the cab to the frame, we
08:52 remove the body bolts and we can lift the cab up off the frame.
08:56 [Music]
08:58 That was the sound I like to hear.
09:00 [Music]
09:10 Okay, so we're here digging into the Crown Victoria. We want to pull the
09:13 body off of the frame of this thing but leave the engine and all the wiring
09:17 intact because we need to probably use all that stuff when we put this F100
09:22 body onto this chassis. Now there are tons of wiring in modern cars that are
09:27 fuel injected with electronic transcontrollers, all that sort of stuff
09:30 and this is a cop car which means they added a whole bunch of extra wiring on
09:34 top of that. So there's lots and lots of wiring we're gonna have to deal with.
09:37 It's probably gonna take us twice the time at least to get this thing off just
09:41 because again we want to save as much of this stuff as we can because we're going
09:44 to use it in that new truck configuration.
09:47 [Music]
10:10 Trying to pull off this siren bracket and speaker thing so we can maybe put it
10:16 in that truck and make a lot of noise with it. Seems like a fun idea.
10:19 [Music]
10:29 For right now we're going to take all this wiring with us, power distribution
10:35 system, the engine controller, all that stuff. We are on the lookout for either a
10:39 standalone harness for the 4.6 or possibly an aftermarket ECU that would
10:44 work well with this but as of right now our plan is to run it stock.
10:47 [Music]
10:51 Okay so we've spent the entire afternoon tearing apart this Crown Victoria. The
10:55 front end is off. We disconnected a million wires, lots and lots of body
11:00 mounts and I think we're about ready to tear it off. It's the same principles as
11:03 the old truck but with just lots more stuff. Times 50. This car is more complex
11:07 for sure. If we unhook them. A million wires are still a million and eight.
11:11 Put it up, let's see what we forgot. Come on, come on.
11:16 [Music]
11:20 So far so good. Like magic. It's beautiful.
11:25 [Music]
11:33 Now that we've got the Crown Victoria body off of the frame you can see why
11:37 this is such a potent performance package. There is a steel hydroform
11:41 fully boxed frame, an aluminum subframe that houses that rack and pinion power
11:45 steering system. There is an aluminum headed overhead cam v8. It makes about
11:50 250 horsepower. A four-speed overdrive transmission, aluminum drive shaft,
11:55 four-link rear end with watts link and four-wheel disc brakes. That is a whole
12:00 lot of car for the money.
12:01 [Music]
12:04 Welcome back to another Lincoln Tech Tip. This episode is all about body swaps.
12:08 That's where you take the body off one car, put it on the frame of another car.
12:12 That's only possible with body on frame construction. There's a few different
12:16 ways to do it and you should be familiar with each one. The first type of car
12:20 construction is body on frame. That's where there is a separate frame that
12:24 houses all of the mechanical components including engine, drivetrain and
12:28 suspension with a separate body bolted on top. This is good for high load
12:32 capacity but overall rigidity and handling are not the best. The second
12:36 design type is unibody construction. Most modern cars are made with a unibody
12:40 design. That's where the body and frame are integrated together and there's
12:44 usually removable subframes front and rear that house the drivetrain and
12:48 suspension components. Unibody advantages are high rigidity and lightweight
12:52 which deliver good performance, handling and refinement.
12:56 The third design type we're going to talk about are half frame cars.
13:00 That's cars like the early Camaros, early Unovas and even our '65 Fury
13:04 Wagon. These cars have the rear suspension bolted into the body but the
13:08 front has a subframe that starts about midway throughout the car and that
13:12 supports the front end, the front suspension and the engine. They're
13:16 basically half unibody and half frame cars. Let's get back to the
13:20 Hot Rod Garage where we're doing our F100 Crown Victoria swap which are
13:24 two body on frame cars. Lincoln Tech can teach you how to have a career
13:28 working with cars. See lincolntech.edu.
13:32 I think there was an issue with these go jacks not
13:40 fitting in between the lift. I think we'll be alright.
13:44 Is it just me or is this cool? It's pretty cool.
13:52 Was that close? Maybe two.
13:56 There. Back. There.
14:00 That's beautiful. This is all totally
14:04 in the ballpark. It's pretty close. Let's cut it up.
14:08 I love it. Mark it. Cut it. So after we set the cab on the frame it's obvious
14:12 that the frame hangs down below the cab. That's unacceptable. So we're going to notch
14:16 the back of the cab back here all the way up into this. Take out
14:20 this reinforcement. We'll cut out a good amount of this reinforcement and then box
14:24 it in and then cut into the floor so that it's basically a
14:28 body drop on a Crown Vic chassis. Everybody does it.
14:32 So I cut the reinforcement out under the chassis. We're going to box that in
14:48 and trim it up and make it look good. For right now our target is to get the body
14:52 close to where it's going to be on the frame. The other thing that's in the way is this. Normally
14:56 this is between the cab and the bed. It's not visible. It's really just a
15:00 heavy duty mud flap. Another spot for rust to grow.
15:04 So we're going to get rid of it.
15:16 I'm surgical with this thing.
15:20 I noticed you just cut
15:24 a big hole.
15:28 And you, like I said,
15:32 how's your front left to right? Yeah, that's it. It looks pretty
15:36 good. I like the overall height. We kind of now have it low
15:40 enough you can't see the frame of the car anymore. I think that's close to where
15:44 we want it. Oh yeah, that's perfect. So now that we have
15:48 the cab sitting on the frame and sort of just mocked up, we grab the front
15:52 end, started trimming a few things. And the idea is that we want to sort of
15:56 rough everything into place. There's going to be lots of trimming and massaging to fit
16:00 these things. And once we're happy with how everything sits, we will lay down
16:04 a precise measuring grid on the ground with some tape and some rulers, stuff like that.
16:08 Design the mount, start fabricating. But for now it's going to be just kind of
16:12 massaging and general cutting. Ballparking. Yeah, it's a big ballpark. We're trying to work in the ballpark.
16:16 Ready? Yeah.
16:20 I'll call this the quick and dirty way to do this.
16:36 [Music]
16:40 Okay, so after lots of crawling around, lots of measuring and using a sharpie,
16:54 we have our frame of reference on the ground that we're going to use to basically
16:58 we will set the chassis up exactly where we want it and we'll leave it there.
17:02 And as we lift the body up and down, we'll be able to get an exact measurement
17:06 and make sure everything is centered and forward enough exactly where we want it before we start welding.
17:10 Because we'll be making these pedestals and things, but once they're welded in, they're in for good and then
17:14 all adjustment stops. Alright, so we realize
17:18 that the body mount for the truck lines right up with this center hole that's between the two
17:22 front body mounts off the Crown Victoria. So I'm using just a piece of
17:26 manila paper. I'm going to make a template for a plate
17:30 that I'll weld in here. I'll weld a nut to the back side. We'll open this hole up a little bit more
17:34 and then we'll be able to bolt that body right to this frame. It is very straightforward.
17:38 [Music]
17:42 (drilling)
17:45 (drilling)
17:47 (upbeat music)
17:51 (drilling)
18:12 (drilling)
18:15 (drilling)
18:24 - Okay, so we've got the two main body mounts done
18:36 on the cab here.
18:37 We've got four other ones to make.
18:39 But I'm really thinking, I wanna drive something.
18:41 - Yeah, cabin fever here.
18:42 - Yeah.
18:43 We are way off from having this thing
18:44 move under its own power.
18:46 And I am getting stir crazy.
18:48 - We gonna recycle?
18:49 - Yeah, you think what I'm thinking?
18:50 - I've been thinking that.
18:51 - All right, let's do it.
18:52 (upbeat music)
18:54 So we've got this F100 truck frame.
19:04 We ditched the cab, we lost a bunch of weight.
19:06 But it's still pretty complete.
19:07 And I think we can make this thing run, right?
19:10 We'll call it maybe, "Carticus."
19:12 What do you think?
19:13 - Ben Hurton?
19:13 - Ben Hurton is good.
19:15 That's right.
19:15 We're gonna build a truck chariot.
19:17 (upbeat music)
19:20 Oh yeah.
19:32 (upbeat music)
19:35 This is so very nice.
19:43 Okay, so the main things you need for a moving vehicle
19:47 are steering, some sort of throttle,
19:50 and brakes we have been liberal about
19:53 really not taking seriously.
19:54 Plan is to only use the emergency brake cable.
19:58 So hopefully this thing stops.
20:00 Safety third.
20:01 - I'll probably do sweet tricks.
20:03 - Yeah, let me know so I can get out.
20:04 (laughing)
20:07 All right.
20:08 Feel pretty good about those brakes?
20:17 (laughing)
20:18 They're pretty good going forward.
20:20 - Yeah, yeah, they were good going forward.
20:21 Stand in the front, I'll show you.
20:23 Go.
20:24 (engine revving)
20:26 There you go.
20:29 Easy on the throttle.
20:30 - Easy on the throttle.
20:32 - All right, hit it.
20:32 - I'm not hitting anything.
20:33 - Hit it.
20:34 - No, I refuse.
20:35 - Oh boy.
20:37 (upbeat music)
20:40 - It's the news, dude.
20:42 - We're gonna be on the news.
20:44 You got your blinker on, dude?
20:48 (engine revving)
20:51 Hang up and drive, bro.
20:54 (laughing)
20:56 - Trying.
20:57 Trying to hold on.
20:59 All right, go.
21:00 I am Spartacus.
21:02 This is sweet.
21:05 - This is sketchy as, no, no.
21:07 (laughing)
21:09 - That was intense.
21:11 All right, let's look regal as we drive by.
21:17 - I'm looking as regal as I can.
21:18 - Hello.
21:22 It's most of a truck.
21:24 It's most of a truck.
21:25 (upbeat music)
21:28 - We're moving now.
21:31 - Oh, they work.
21:36 What was that?
21:37 - I don't know.
21:38 Something's giving up the ghost.
21:40 Bye bye.
21:43 - What?
21:45 I'm not driving it.
21:46 That's it for this episode of Hot Rod Garage
21:49 presented by Lincoln Tech.
21:51 We're done with this thing.
21:51 That was fun.
21:52 - Done for now.
21:53 I think there might still be some choppers looking for us.
21:56 Next episode, we're going to dig back into this F100
21:58 and get it working on that Crown Victoria frame and chassis.
22:01 It's going to be an awesome truck.
22:02 - It already is.
22:04 - Don't forget to check us out between episodes
22:05 on social media.
22:06 The show is Hot Rod Garage Show on Facebook and Instagram.
22:09 I'm Tangelo96.
22:10 He's...
22:11 - Mobile Tech Lucky.
22:13 - And we will see you next time.
22:14 - Bye bye.
22:15 - We realized, I said we realized like nine times.
22:19 - A couple of times.
22:20 You realized a few things.
22:21 - I'm realizing I'm self-righteous.
22:23 I'm self-realizing at this point.
22:25 Okay.
22:26 - Magnus, good job, buddy.
22:27 Good job.
22:28 Everybody, Magnus.
22:31 (laughing)
22:33 (car engine roaring)