How to - build a shop truck

Haven't done a "how to" for a long time.

Here's a quickee...

A buddy has a bitchin '56 F-100,

a cammed 350 chevy engine (cough), 

turbo 400 automatic transmission,

9" rearend,

and a Volare independent front end.

The ingredients of a fun to drive street rod.

It was time to make it a work truck.

A plan was set,

a materials list was scribbled out,

and Mario must have lost it.

He found the thickest angle iron in the remnant pile.

While it doubled the whittling time,

in the long run this will last forever,

protect the rear fuel tank,

and should be strong enough to pull any trailer.

The slip-in receiver saved some hassle,

as it's already prepped for the hitch.

Typically there's a 5' minimum for steel,

and another route would have been acquiring the square tube,

make the receiver part and the crossbar from the same stuff.

The concession to this style,

was ruining the smooth bumper.

A more traditional approach 

would have been to have a permanent ball,

on a tongue that jutted out from the bumper.

Perfect for scraping shins.

I had one on the 40 for a couple years,

still have a couple scars...

A friend allowed me to mooch off his facilities.

Good to use the old MIG again,

although this project was made for stick welding.

Thanks Jason!

This thing was so heavy!

A holey chit is in order.

Here's a better shot of that rear fuel tank.

Man that was f-ugly.

Stoked that it fit in after all the welding!

There were some trade secrets used,

other than the magic flat black rattlecan.

Now Mario's got a real shop truck,

not some overpowered girlie car...

The hitch was christened with a friends project,

a 1957 Glasspar Del Mar cabin cruiser.

More on that later.

Hopefully Mario will send a pic of the canned ham trailer the hitch was made for.

I'll admit that driving his truck made me want to hot rod the 40's V-8...

Hmmm

TP