We built a very nice 48 several years ago that has just been sold because it was no fun to drive. The problem---mega horsepower engine. The engine was built for a World of Outlaws sprint car so it had no business being in a street driven vehicle. It was designed for alcohol fuel so the owner had to buy high dollar C-14 racing fuel just to run it. Idled at 1800rpm, little vacuum till 4000 and just miserable to get underway. It's been driven a whopping 390 miles in ten years. Even worse is the new buyer paid 40k for something he will never be able to drive. I snapped some photos when it was here to get a few things fixed (brake hose, solenoid) before the new owner picks it up. What I thought might be of interest is the big (2 1/2") exhaust routing around the factory under bed gas tank, the Ford Expedition trailer hitch that fits the AD frame well, the home made bear claw latches from before there were kits, the safety belt latches for the tailgate, the no bolt showing bed strips and bed mounts, the flip up bed board for fuel filling, and the hidden cable tailgate supports. Body wise it has the roll pan blended into the stake pockets, two lower grill bars--one right side up and the other upside down welded together to finish out the front, filled hood, 1954 Ford headlight buckets, and a one piece "V" windshield to name a few. I won't clutter up by posting pictures unless someone wants to see something and then I'll post that photo for all to see.
just how many Horses are needed anyway? I can't imagine something idling at 1,800 RPM's is ANY fun on the street. And while the peak HP number is probably quite attractive, it is the driveability, not the peak HP number that determines the fun quotient. Evan, of the many increased-horsepower rides that have rolled out of your shop over the years, where is the sweet spot of power output? I am thinking it is somewhere around 10-14lbs of curb weight for every horsepower ("modern-rating" horsepower, not the gross-hp numbers of the 60's). Something "Mom can drive to the grocery store", but is also capable of passing on the highway without having to make an appointment...
Why throw the baby out with the bath water? Seems they could have simply swapped in a crate motor if they thought the engine was to rowdy? I'd like to see some photos too Evan. Thanks ______ John
A Sad Thing THIS , specifically is why I'm always wary of Hot Rods ~ the simple facts are that this rig will be broken for parts sooner than later . If you can't drive it , why bother ?.
Mike, I'll take a stab at your question first but I think you've already answered it. Let's call an AD as weighing 3000#'s so 10#'s per horsepower would be a 300hp engine and 14#'s/hp would be about 225hp. 300hp can be used and still get groceries with it but I'd draw the line at not much more for longevity and somewhat decent mileage. By far the most popular swap we do anymore is the LS engine. It's an ugly to look at engine but who can argue with 300+hp AND 25 or more mpg. It is rapidly becoming the cookie cutter replacement for the 350/350 combo. First set of pics:
A shot of the trailer hitch, exhaust, and factory tank mounting--note how close it is to the driveshaft. Was same distance from torque tube. Also a shot of looking through the one piece windshield and of the stake pockets extended to blend in with the rear roll pan.
Evan, Those LS engines are just great. Do you have a few pics of the engine sitting in the AD? I do love the sound of the LS1. Maybe its just me, but I kinda like the looks too. But then again, I drive the GMC
Thanks for posting the photos Evan. How is the ride with the rear coil over shocks... harsh? Seems like since the rear uses a panhard bar to locate side to side movement that it would want to bind the shocks, since the orientation of the shock mounting bolts don't allow the shocks to pivot side to side? What say ye? ______ John
I had the same problem 20 yrs ago. I traded for a 49 Chevy truck that had Oldsmobile suspension front and rear. My buddy built a 350 up to about 400 hp 350 turbo 411 posi. Thing would lift the wheels off the ground. It also got 3mpg. It cost me $10 to drive through town then back home. MONEY PIT,,, the expression fighting past a gas station was a understatement. It sounded awesome, but when driving something with tons of power you can't keep your foot out of it. When I found every cop in town was looking for my truck I decided to sell it before I got in a lot of trouble. This is one of the reasons my 54 has stock 350/700r4 with 300 gears. Learned my lesson
The truck drives and rides very well if you discount the overdone engine. When we put any suspension in something we support the vehicle by the frame and use a floor jack to run the suspension through the full length of it's travel. With coil overs one just leaves the springs off for the test and with leaf springs one just uses the main leaf to hold position during the max up to max down test. There was no shock end bind but if there is, one shock mount can be turned 90 degrees or use a Watts link. I prefer the latter if space allows because the rear end travels exactly straight up and down and you can run tires with 1/16" clearance inside or outside. You can have any ride you want with coil overs from living room couch soft to ore wagon stiff, just pick the rate you want. The really harsh rides are the air bag equipped ones.
Due to the weight of the rear axle and the lifting capacity of a floor jack, you could have some pretty significant binding and it would never be detectable. From a mechanical standpoint, in the configuration shown, with the pan hard bar moving the axle left and right over time either the top or the bottom shock mount will fail. Probably the lower, the top mount looks to be the stronger of the two. Or it might just eat up the shock bushings. That is assuming the truck is actually driven much... which it sounds like it hasn't been. _____ John
