MoPowa

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The original post started for this build was started nearly 5 years ago, and has recently been brought back to life after a long hiatus and many life changes, but some of the plans have changed and the general scattered nature of the other thread bugs me. So this will be the build thread from now on, and the other one can either be deleted, or left to wither away into the archives.
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The general theme of this build is to put together a highly capable, high GVW light/medium duty work truck with the heart and face of a 1st gen. Have chosen to call it a W550 because a 2009 F550 4x4 will be lending it’s running gear and chassis to a W350, so seems appropriate to call it a W550.

The build list:

-2009 F550 Frame and Suspension
-Dana S130 4.88
-Dana Super60 4.88
-ZF6
-NP271
-1989 VE Cummins
-1989 W350 Regular Cab
-Hiab 550-1 Knuckle Crane
-Tilting Flat Deck
-Wheel/Tire -to be decided-
-Giles Tuned VE/30% Over Extrude Honed Sticks
-HE351cw/HX55 Compounds

Happened upon a good deal on a beat up 2009 F550 that had been used hard and put away wet. 450,000km’s on the ticker and the 6.4 was toast.





The frame in the back half where the mechanics service body had been sitting for 12 years, was rusted pretty bad. Luckily these F550 frames are incredibly thick, and everything was salvageable.
The rear axle had recently been rebuilt, and a new transmission was installed 10,000km’s previous. The front axle was in pretty rough shape, since all the seals were gone and had not kept an appropriate level of oil in it for who knows how long, by the smell of the oil it was much too long. Along side the u-joints being toast the ball joints where also near the end of their life.
Aside from all that most everything else was in good shape and not needing replacement, so basically just the steering and suspension.

Also found a low km Cummins from a 1989 that had been sitting for many years.



Also found the Knuckle Crane that will be sitting behind the cab.



And so it begins….



Tearing out the junk 6.4 using methods that only a redneck could appreciate.



Apparently there is a special engine lifting tool that you have to buy from ford to bolt to the back of the engine, in combination with the front picking point, to lift these engines. I couldn’t be bothered and instead wrapped a thick strap around the rear of the exhaust manifolds and pick the back up from there instead.



I am amazed and disgusted by the level of engineering required to shoehorn these engines into these trucks, so much so that it makes it incredibly annoying to work on. If you want to do anything with these trucks you are almost always condemned to lifting the body off. Luckily for me the engine and body were junk, so everything was treated as such.



The next redneck method involved using a chain hoist and a series of ratchet straps to lift the body off the frame. Should really have built the one mounting point a heck of a lot stronger, because shortly after I had the chassis rolled out from underneath the body and far away, the mount broke and the rear of the body dropped 4’ to the ground. Usually I overbuild things, but was in a bit of excited rush this time around ……so that’s a lesson I am humbled by.



At this point I was not entirely aware of just how far I was going to have to dig into this project, but once I saw just how bad the rust was after I spent a half day with a 5000psi pressure washer, I realized the only proper way to do this project was to do a complete restoration.

MoPowa

So I started taking everything apart and getting ready for my friend to bring his commercial sand blaster out and get this frame rust free again. Almost every bolt was a bear to get out, and most of them had to be cut out. A couple of the crossmembers were an incredibly poor design that provided no real way to clean dirt out, so I had to pop the rivets and take them out to be properly prepared for paint.





Have acquired quite the parts collection



Not much of a helper, but a welcome distraction.



Received the rebuilt and performance tuned pump and nozzles back from Giles. You can tell this man does incredible work just by the attention to detail he puts into the finish. Am really looking forward to seeing the results of his work.

MoPowa

The conversion engine mounts, steel engine adapter and 450hp clutch finally came in the mail. Was a bit of a chore with the boarder being the way it is, usually I would just drive across and pick up my parts from a receiving warehouse, but this time I had to pay a brokerage company to bring the engine adapter across for me.



Ordered a reman HE351cw off of eBay from America, and found a hx55w on eBay out of Europe. The reason why I was willing to look all the way across the ocean to Europe for the hx55w is because finding the smaller 19cm waste gated turbine housing in North America is next to impossible, and I wanted this size turbine specifically to keep a low rpm spool up to match the VE’s fuelling curve. Is also why I opted for the HE351cw with its 9cm turbine. This should make for a nice VE towing application, and with dual waste gates the turbos will be able to always stay within their map. Though the waste gate for the hx55 is likely unnecessary, but I could not find the 19cm turbine housing without it. Better to have it and not need it I suppose.



New brakes all around.







My friend came out with his sand blaster and spent about 4 hours taking the chassis and axles down to bare ‘white’ metal.




Immediately sprayed some rust enamel primer before the metal even had a thought to start rusting again.

MoPowa

Made a shelter to spray epoxy and keep the elements out while it cured.






The epoxy turned out to be a real hassle with the weather getting colder at this point, that and I probably sprayed it on a little too thick to have it cure properly. After 3 days I was starting to get a little concerned and was fearing the worst….I don’t even want to think of the job it would be to remove uncured epoxy and re sandblast….My friend who came with his sandblaster has a lot of experience with these things and recommended I go get a 500,000 btu frost fighter and get it cooking inside. So I took down the spray booth and made a small insulated tarp oven..... After two days of cooking at high temps the epoxy went hard as a rock, and I began sleeping at night again.....

MoPowa

Took the rest of the small parts that we didn’t have time for when doing the frame and axles, down to my friends place and he lent me his spare sandblaster so I could get them ready for paint. Got them down to ‘white’ metal (and me down to 'red' skin) and finished with the rust enamel, then ran out of temperature and day light. Had to bring them back up to my place and finish the last coat of black speed enamel. After the epoxy ordeal, I decided to do these parts in simple enamel, and will finish them with a urethane coat once my shop is ready for painting projects.

You may also notice in the pictures I have a couple L-Reinforcements shortened, painted and ready for install. Spent a couple hours chiseling rivets by hand at the local Pick n Pull, no cutting tools are allowed there, so my wrists took a bit of abuse that day while I pulled these off of a frame there. With the Hiab 550-1 going on this truck, I opted to reinforce the frame, it is a shorter frame and likely didn’t need it, but I rather have it on and not need it.




Pressed in some new joints for the front end along side new stub shafts, and also resealed the front axle with new inners and outers. Didn't remember to take pictures of the inner seals being put in.






Got my head back from the machine shop with a nice resurfacing, cut valve seats and fitted with o-rings and tophat seals, valves were also cut. This was a bit of an ordeal as well and ended up getting a different head back than what was sent in. My original head ended up moving while he was cutting one of the o-rings, and was scrapped. Luckily he had a spare 12 valve head sitting around, only problem was it was a later head with the 7mm injectors, so he had to ream out the holes for my 9mm injectors. This had to be done, since I already spent a few cents having my stock injectors re-popped and extrude honed. Also got some new 60lb exhaust and intake springs in the mail to help keep the valves where they should be under high boost and exhaust brake conditions.




Happened upon a lucky warm day and sprayed some Urethane onto the frame. Then it got cold at night and the curing process was halted. Urethane is a little more forgiving than Epoxy, but then it started raining and I didn’t want to risk anything. So I covered it in some insulated winter sleeping bags and a couple layers of tarps, and put a little space heater under it. Couple days later it was hard as a rock and I could finally be done messing around with the fame.

MoPowa

I ran out of decent weather to finish my chassis parts in Urethane so that I could bolt the rolling chassis back together, and my shop at the time was unheated, so I was at a bit of a stand still for a while since all my funds went towards getting the rolling chassis finished before winter. After a month or so of saving and unfortunately a little credit used I began taking apart the engine to do a reseal.




Than this/I happened…

I did what most would only call me crazy for doing, and put a hole in my block. Well, the hole was technically already there in the form of the casting for the turbo’s oil drain, but I decided it was in my way and cut it flush with the engine mount casting beside it. The reason for doing this is so that I can mount the engine 6” back, and the reason for mounting the engine 6” back is to balance a bit more of the weight of the front bumper, engine, transmission/transfer case and hiab in the centre of the vehicle. The frame and rear axle are designed to take a great deal of weight, but the front axle is the weak link, if there were one. So by pushing everything back, I am essentially taking some stress off the front end.



Also, it allows me to push the front tires further forward in relation to the body, which means when I go to trim the front fenders and modify some rear fiberglass dually fenders to fit the front, the task will be made much easier without having to touch the cab side fender wells. I have trimmed these fenders before on my last build, and the cab side fender well is by far the hardest to modify with the design of the inner fender. The picture above is to show how much the tires will be sticking out in the front, these are flat faced 22.5 semi wheels with adapters on an f550 which sit at almost exactly 8' side wall to side wall, which is why I will be modifying rear dually fenders to go up front.




Anyways back to the hole in the block. I was going to have it welded by a shop who has a great deal of experience welding cast iron, but after a lot of research I decided against the practice of welding dissimilar metals together. The block sees a lot of temperature variances and I am pretty sure I was asking for trouble welding a mild steel patch in place of what should be cast iron. Cast iron dissipates heat faster than mild steel, and the different thermal expansion of two metals would likely see me plagued with cracks, or worse.
So I decided to make a patch out of cast iron, a cast iron skillet made the donation, and do some metal stitching. The patch is currently epoxied in just to hold it in place while I stitch. Threaded and tapered cast iron plugs should be here next week, so will show you all what stitching looks like. Basically though, metal stitching is a mechanical bonding that was used a great deal back in the old days when it wasn’t common practice to just go out and buy new parts, and not everyone had a welder. The greatest benefit in my situation is everything will be the same type of metal, and this method is actually quite strong so my blocks integrity will remain. It is in fact still used quite often today as well, but quite a specialized practice now.

MoPowa

So because I made the decision to mess with my engine block, I was left with no choice but to completely disassemble my engine to bare block. Thankfully I did, because this engine had shown signs of sitting for a long time, and would be thankful for a rebuild. New bearings, rings and seals will be here next week as well, and I deglazed the cylinder walls while I am waiting. I will begin putting everything back together once the metal stitching is complete sometime next week/end.

And now that is where I sit, waiting on mail.

KRB

I've quit my job and told the dogs, kids and cows they are on their own now so I can sit here by the computer and wait for the next post...

Glad you started a new thread! Love the pallet saw horses. Are you going with twin turbos?

Just keep referring to the ford frame in lowercase and everything will be ok...

MoPowa

Well that was a genuine laugh out loud!

You will surely notice a lot of cheap methods of doing things in my build, the pallet horses being one. Have gotten pretty good at trimming the fat so that I can focus on the important details. This project has already cost me 25k in tools and parts, and still needs another 15k to finish, so wherever I can save money, I do. By the end I will have a reliable tool that will cost me very little to operate and maintain that I can service myself, and can pay me back some of the money it owes me. With any luck in a couple years it will pay itself off.

Yes, a he351cw/hx55w twin(compound) set up. Am just aiming for a reliable power output of what comes stock in most modern diesels.

oliver foster

Great progress is being made.

thrashingcows

Looking good and great work so far...I look forward to seeing the stitching of the block!

MoPowa

Parts finally came in to do the metal stitching, so went to work this morning and got the majority finished.



Earlier this week I made a better patch, was never really happy with the last one, so this time around I got some thick cast iron and shaped it to match perfectly all the varying thicknesses. The epoxy that fills some of the gaps will be replaced by the stitching.









First round of plugs drilled, tapped and tighten in with thread lock.





First round cut near flush and second round of holes drilled.

MoPowa

Second round drilled, tapped and tightened. Then cut flush and drilled for the final ‘stitching’ which interlocks everything together.






Some close ups to show the inner workings.

MoPowa

And about three hours of drilling and tapping the stitch is complete. Time to clean it up.







Turned out pretty good I’d say. Just have to peen and clean up the inside a bit than I’ll do a layer of epoxy on both sides to seal and finish the process. With a good peening, to squeeze all the threads together, one can make the stitch completely tight and sealed from leaking, but I will take the extra precaution and do a light layer of epoxy as well.

KRB

Wow. You sir, have my respect. That is some old school engineering. Like a modern blacksmith. That's cool.