390FE (406ci) for #50, built by Tom Lucas at FE Specialties.

[sport71]

Hey robroy, it is exciting just to be able to move your truck with its new motor, even if its just up the driveway I know it was for me. The transmission seems to be a charm the idle was very low and seemed to respond with just a tuch of the gas pedle. I bet it makes you want to finish #50 quicker.

[robroy]

Good afternoon Bobby, Frank and Ruben, thanks for your marvelous replies!

Gee whiz, that thing sounds good!!!!

Thanks Bobby! In the video it seems to have a more truck-like sound than in person. In person it sounds loud and potent, and you can really feel the sound waves while it runs.

Um.......at least I've got fenders on mine

Yes but I'm catching up to you! Insulation between inner and outer fenders: which type?

I do not have your restraint; I had to drive mine out on the street. I'm so lucky I did not run into the local heat

My restraint's based upon fear more than prudence!

Gonna have to make a trip to Salinas on one of these runs (actually turned down a load from there this week because I had a better offer on one from Eugene, OR).

That would be most excellent!

LOVIN IT!!!!

Thanks Frank! As you know, it took a lot of learning for me to get to this point.

Hey robroy, it is exciting just to be able to move your truck with its new motor, even if its just up the driveway I know it was for me.

It sure is!

The transmission seems to be a charm the idle was very low and seemed to respond with just a tuch of the gas pedle.

Thanks! The transmission seems perfect so far, although the only gears I've tried are granny, reverse, and first. This engine's response to the gas pedal's certainly unlike any engine I've yet driven! It has a fierce feeling to it.

I bet it makes you want to finish #50 quicker.

That it does! I'm down to the last few tasks before I can take #50 on a real drive.

This Afternoon's Update:

Today my long-time friend Dan came by to be #50's first ever passenger! I took him on a go-cart ride on the familiar, domestic race track and he really liked it. Dan joked that all the truck needed was some loud Lynyrd Skynyrd and a drive to the local Tastey-Freeze. Dan understands the innate and undeniable humor of an old souped-up pickup truck.

I wouldn't dream of taking #50 on a test drive, no matter how brief, without posting a video here! Since Dan and I were talking in the cab for a while I made a short edition of the video for y'all to skip to for the main action. I'd recommend viewing the short version unless you cannot miss a moment of #50's life!

High Quality H.264 (Short; 22MB) Medium Quality WMV (Short; 12MB)
High Quality H.264 (Long; 42MB) Medium Quality WMV (Long; 30MB)


Bobby, Frank and Ruben, thanks for your most excellent replies!
Robroy

[basketcase0302]

Robroy,

Congrats again on the FE! It sounds awesome.
I thought you were gonna' drive through the garage wall!

[robroy]

Good evening Jeff, thanks for replying!

Congrats again on the FE! It sounds awesome.

Thanks very much!

I thought you were gonna' drive through the garage wall!

For an instant I wondered about that myself! Thank goodness for reflexes. At least it would have been caught on video if I'd done it, right?

Robroy

[BobbyFord]

Um............

[robroy]

Good afternoon Bobby!

Thanks for checking up on #50! Just in the past few days I've begun to make some progress again, after getting wrapped up in work for most of July.

I dug out the old grille (left), installed it (right), and got the lights mostly working. The only remaining problem is a turn signal fuse that blows every time I signal right, which means my next test drive must be composed wholly of left turns!




In a few more weekends I'll have it street-legal enough for a trip around the block!

Thanks for posting Bobby,
Robroy

[BobbyFord]

Thanks Robroy, I was worried about you
Sounds like you've got a grounded circuit on the right side

[robroy]

Good afternoon Bobby, thanks for replying!

You were right about the grounded circuit--I snooped around and found a smashed turn signal switch wire! That was the cause; now that it's insulated, the turn signals work perfectly. One step closer to having a street-legal test drive!

Here's the smashed wire I found:



And here are a few photos I took today of #50:




Thanks for replying Bobby, and I'll keep y'all updated!
Robroy

[BobbyFord]

WooHoo, getting close!

[70_F100]

The only remaining problem is a turn signal fuse that blows every time I signal right, which means my next test drive must be composed wholly of left turns!
Robroy

Well, you've got the engine for one of those roads where you only turn left...

[robroy]

Good evening Bobby and 70_F100, thanks for replying!

WooHoo, getting close!

Indeed! The next video I'll post will be #50's first true test-drive.

The only remaining problem is a turn signal fuse that blows every time I signal right, which means my next test drive must be composed wholly of left turns!

Well, you've got the engine for one of those roads where you only turn left...

HA! You're right!!! The turn signal issue was probably #50's expressing its new disposition.

Since #50 will become a registered vehicle on Halloween (that's when its non-operation registration can be economically converted to a regular registration), y'all can expect to see its actual test drive videos shortly thereafter! In the meanwhile, I'm still taking care of small things each weekend, as time allows.

This afternoon #50 woke up for the first time in a few weeks and ran very nicely!

High Quality H.264 (4 MB) Medium Quality WMV (3 MB)


Bobby and 70_F100, thanks again for your great replies!
Robroy

[Alvin in AZ]

You've got two of 'em just alike? 8-O

Sounded cool as anything and especially got a kick out of the label on the driveshaft twisting by! :)

Butthead in AZ

[robroy]

Good day Alvin, thanks for replying!!!

You've got two of 'em just alike? 8-O

Yeah!

I actually rolled over the camera twice and thought I'd splice the main action scenes together (instead of showing lots of unchanging scenery in between)!

Sounded cool as anything and especially got a kick out of the label on the driveshaft twisting by!

Thanks!!! Yes it does appear that my label-removing negligence has paid off!

Today's Update:

On Monday, November 1st I finally insured and tagged #50! I came home early, determined to go for a small test drive before it got too dark outside.

I rolled #50 out of the garage by hand, fired it up, and gave it a few minutes to warm up. By this time it was around 6:30PM so I'm sure all the neighbor's were just as excited to hear its big voice as I was!

I took #50 up the street about a quarter mile and back! I would have gone further, but without a working temperature gauge I didn't want to risk the engine getting too warm (even though so far, all signs indicate that it's distinctly cold-blooded). That, and I'd foolishly neglected to clean the windshield, so I couldn't see all that well! Minor details, right?

Kasie wanted to come along, and other than the exhaust fumes (still need real pipes), she later said that it was a lot more fun than she'd expected, and was like an amusement park ride!

As I already shared with 70_F100 in a PM, the best way to summarize #50's new attitude is that it feels comically powerful and heavy-duty. Driving it around the block was like riding an Arabian race horse from the living room to the [censored] for a bologna sandwich! Cruising in this thing--even at twenty miles per hour--definitely excites my boyish preference for extremes. I can only imagine what it will be like to let it really get up and go, once it's broken in!

High Quality H.264 (22MB) Medium Quality WMV (51MB)


Alvin, thanks again for your excellent reply!
Robroy

[BobbyFord]

Awesome!! I know how you must feel. The engine sounds GREAT! I'll bet you can't wait to take it out for a real mashing. Looks like mine (I don't have my hood on yet either).
Um...........your right headlight is pointing at the front license plate

[robroy]

Good evening Bobby, thanks for replying!

Awesome!! I know how you must feel.

Yes, it's certainly exciting to test out over two years worth of effort, all at once! Shortly after the test began, and I'd glanced down at the instruments (which were looking fabulous all lit up), I was struck by an odd psychological condition: I realized that at that moment, I was focused on keeping the truck on the road (not crashing), and wasn't able to keep track of much else. Yet it was all working, and I was trusting it. Being aware of that gave me a truly novel feeling. I was actually amazed that everything worked so beautifully (or even at all)!

The engine sounds GREAT!

Thanks! It certainly sounds different from anything else I've ever driven, and I'm sure its sound will be refined a lot when real pipes are welded in.

I'll bet you can't wait to take it out for a real mashing.

Yes I'm definitely looking forward to that! I will have to work up to it though. Not only does the engine need to get broken in (I'll be super careful with it for at least the first 500 miles), but I've never driven anything like this before and I need to get comfortable with it. A wide-open-throttle experience is certainly in order, but may not happen for a while! So far, I haven't even really nudged it.

Looks like mine (I don't have my hood on yet either).

I noticed that too (that our trucks look identical from that view point)!

Um...........your right headlight is pointing at the front license plate

You are absolutely right!!! The dusk test drive wasn't entirely expected so I hadn't given any thought to getting the beams straightened out. The funny part is that I hadn't changed them at all since the way the truck used to be (when I drove it years ago), so that's a nostalgic sign of how cross-eyed the entire truck was back then.

Thanks for your fantastic reply Bobby!!!
Robroy