[Jailbar]

These Trucks are commonly called "jailbar Fords" after the seemingly plain, boring grilles. 1942,46, and 47 are very much the same. I found this truck cab and doghouse in Colorado, and brought it back to Indiana. There is no known history of the truck, I am guessing that it was either a Snowplow, or Wrecker at one time. Originally, it was a deep Green color. (There was NO chassis)

 

[Jailbar]

I bought a 2001 F450 and stripped it for the chassis (former service truck, LONG WB) with a 7.3 and ZF 6 speed.
Next, I set the jailbar cab on the frame to start and line things up.

 

[Jailbar]

Fast forward, I have cleaned and painted the frame, and got the cab set in place. Sadly I had to cut the rust free, Virgin firewall for the 'Up pipes' and exhaust to fit. I was going to be a TON of work to reposition the turbo, and come up with different manifolds, or build headers, etc.

 

[Jailbar]

I am going to lose about 4 inches in the 'Toeboard' area. This seems OK, and I will fab up a dropped back firewall plate.
More to come.

 

[comvet42]

That’s awesome, what are you going to do for the bed ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jailbar]

I am going to build this into a "Ramp truck", hoping to haul my old car AND pull my camper to different shows/events

 

[Jailbar]

Inside the Cab where the Up pipes and exhaust is going.
I am going to make the new piece of firewall removable to service/access this area, and of course, LOTS of heat insulation!

 

[comvet42]

That’s cool I’m a fan of ramp trucks. Finnegan just super charged this one, would have been cooler if it was a diesel though. The bed is pretty sweet on it though. How wides the cab on yours are you going to have to hang the bed sides out past the cab a lot to fit the car on it?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jailbar]

Yes, my bed it going to be much wider than the cab. The bed is 84" wide and the cab, IIRC is 58" wide. These old trucks are really small compared to modern ones. My 2001 F250 is 85" wide. I will do my best to get it to look nice (transition) though.
The engine did run, I drove the donor vehicle onto the trailer when we hauled it home. I am cleaning, painting, replacing what I think it needs before I put it all back together. having the dog house off makes this ALL so much easier! and it takes 5-8 minutes to remove it right now.
I like the Finnegan truck, Did they ever get a working front suspension ?
Thanks for your interest.

 

[comvet42]

Ya if you check out his YouTube channel they fixed the front suspension and put a supercharger on it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[regian91]

Awesome development. I can't wait to see more of its build progress. Great work though.

 

[Jailbar]

Ok, the bumper might be a bit 'too big' for the truck, but bear with me for a bit...

 

[Jailbar]

I am wanting to run as many stock components as possible. Especially the Radiator. "BUT", you can see that it is much too large for the front of this 70 year old truck

 

[Jailbar]

another shot of just how narrow the hood is on the truck

 

[Jailbar]

This is where the stock F 450 Radiator does/can/will fit
(I am not going to run the stock fan)

 

[Jailbar]

New brace allows for stock radiator to slip in from the top

 

[Jailbar]

Pic from before the brace, but shows the placement of the Radiator and intercooler on the chassis

 

[Jailbar]

Back to the Bumper, the bottom edge goes back about 9" . This is 3/16" plate and acts as a skid plate to protect the bottom of the radiator. It is actually the same height from the ground as the axle tube, so I really didn't lose any ground clearance. with the fenders and bumper on, you would not even notice it. I am also going to incorporate the factory tow rings thru the bumper, but have not got that far yet.
going to use an electric fan (or 2) for engine cooling

 

[rickvm]

Great project!!! Will you be replacing the up pipes with a set of bellowed? The stock up pies will eventually become a headache? I might have spoken too soon, Are you modding the engine any?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jailbar]

Hi Rick,
Yes, I have added bellow type up pipes, I have also changed the turbo pedestal (EBP ?) and done an oil crossover.
Probably no real 'hop up' engine mods yet, I'm mostly concentrating on the big 3 (Start, stop, steer) for right now.