Big W's Econo 66

Well here we go....starded a thread on the old Ford to see where I am at, where I have been and hopefully where I want to be. 2 weeks off, let's see what we can get done. Starting with the removal of the PO interior.........

......

I now have 2 coffee cups full of screws (3 different kinds with cup washers) a broken drill bit and a really kool DEAD spider collection.
..

hOW ABOUT SOME FOTOS OF THE sPIDER COLLECTION??

I wasn't impressed to see this though......

WOW!!..wasn't that fun? I suppose it could have been worse....PO could have fastened it all from the outside in...lmao... .. Oh and did I mention the more then 70 rivets that had to be drilled out. Man I hope I don't here them rattleing around later. Oh well...on to Dog House removal.

Big W, that actually looks like a great way to insulate the roof (and walls for that matter), and provide a lot of surface for trim screws and the sort... I would encourage you to keep all those strips for reinstallation... maybe not all on the roof, but for some on the walls. Except for that one spot at the roof rib, your van looks very good!!!

What are your plans for the interior???

For the interior we were thinking of a small C-shape couch and table that would make down into a bed. Little beer fridge behind driver seat. For the head liner I was thinking of trying to custom fit an already built liner out of a newer van maybe a Winstar which I have or one from a Chevy venture which I have as well. I would weld in all the roof supports from whatever van I decide on, depending on length and width, and also trimming down the liner and so on. Now the liner is just a thought right now. I haven't even measured anything or researched it as of yet what make and model of liner might fit, but this would give us a lot of creacher comforts of a newer roof (map lights, over head consoles, rear air and heater controls, 47" wide screen LCD that folds down from the roof...lol). Carpet on the floor and some kind of fuzzy stuff on the walls. Might even put in a power sun roof and some LED Mood lights up and some windows on the sides. We have been taking notes on all the interiors we have seen in the members gallery and what we liked and didn't like and it should look pretty good when done. And let's not forget the tunes. Definitely a stereo.

Dog house removal...not really anything special that we already haven't seen before but here are some pics anyway.....

Well that's it for one day. Radiator, rad support and auxsilery heater will come out tomorow and then it's off to the neighbors garage to pull the motor.

If you wanted to borrow my hoist, no problem... just gotta come get it.

Thanx for the offer on the Hoist!! My C-130 will be there this afternoon to pick it up.

Thanks for the offer Sasktrini. My brother has one and i will be picking it up tonight. But on that same note... I had a thought......from 66 to 67, do the engine cross members bolt up the same way on the frame? As in bolt hole pattern and width between rails? I will no soon enough, and I am thinking they should, I just don't feel like crawling under the vans (mosquito Haven) until I am in the garage.

hehe twinpilot... Saskatoon is enjoying a nice sunny summer right now, but certainly you could buy three of these hoists for what you would spend in gas just to get here! lol

I just realized that I have no idea what a C-130 is lol

BigW, Engine crossmember is the same... I believe late crossmember bolts right in on the 61-64 models too. Oh yeah... April and May Showers bring June and July mosquitos, and they are hungry little vampires now!!!

Oh... I only knew them as Hercules! Those planes amaze me!!!

Next time there is an air show here, you will have to bring it and then we can all put our vans inside, fly back to Texas - DO LUNCH - and then we will drive our vans home....Hell we'll even throw in $10.00 each for gas...lmao....OK WHO'S IN????

IM IN!! you can do stuff with those herky birds thet no other airplane can do . Ever Hear of="Puff-The Magic Dragon" HeHE - well see how many of is old guys can answer that one ??

roflmao you mean it's not just a folk song?

I built plastic models of it but remember it being a twin engine C-47 (mil version of the DC-3)...
...that was a Vietnam era orbiting gunship like no other. AC-47 was called "spooky" but also called
"Puff, the magic dragon"

The follow on was the AC-130 which had a 105mm howitzer style cannon
sticking out the side, amongst other weaponry. It was called spectre, but
maybe also "Puff, the magic dragon" but I don't think it was.

The later versions got pretty crazy, some run by the CIA, using high speed
gattling guns that fired spent uranium rounds (denser than lead, more kinetic
impact energy,) and ultra bright spot lights to pinpoint enemy locations at night.

I built some other models of the in-between aircraft like the C-119 "flying boxcar"
and some other one used in the same gunship role but cannot recall at the moment...

Great & your info is exactly correct!! The c47 was the 1st, "PUFF" followed by the C130's kept the name- I had a buddy that was in Nam & saw the 130=puff several times. He said when they went into the same area that was hit by Puff - there wasnt a blade of grass left standing in a 40 acre area after 1 pass with the mini guns - whan the cannon was fired- it would actually move the aircraft sideways in flight. Geeze- maybe thats what we need @ our border?? What a concept!!

Got a problem with illegal Idahoans in Spokane? lol

I admit, I was imagining something a little more "Woodstock" and hallucinigenic! We got a little off topic though. Big W, you have to let me know if you are doing repairs that might require two of us... like we talked about. I would try to come help, now that you are getting your hands dirty on your project.

Getting her in the shop was fun. Ended up just pushing by hand, seemed like the best way with the least amount of casualty's. c00028.jpg[/img][/url] ...

And of course I have to say thanks to my good neighbor Dean for the use of his shop. And for allways haveing a cold beer on hand for anyone who needs one. ..
...And of cource every body wnats to sit in it and it's not even done yet...Another good farmer friend, John.

Ah yes...God bless the Farmers and the Shop owners...