Thread: 1949 IHC KB-3 Project

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Over the summer I picked this ol 49 International KB-3 1 ton complete for $700....the body and chassis is solid, and its got a rebuilt flat head GD-214 inline 6 under its skirt.... but with 73 HP @3200rpm.....Im not going anywhere fast




So in October I bought a 72 Lincoln Mark IV in excellent condition with very low mileage for $700 for the drivetrain. Its got the 460 rated@365HP married to the C-6 tranny and hooked up to a 9 inch at the back with 3:00 to 1 ratio. (thats gonna have to change)



Seeing that my budget to build this HotRod is less than desirable at $6000.....I was lucky to find the Lincoln with low mileage....that alone saved me tons of money.

Here is the beast.....Tranny is off, torque converter, flexplate, starter, fan and fan clutch, alternator, w/p pully and belts.

you did good my friend.

Yep, that's going to be cool, and you can reap a ton of parts & pieces from the Lincoln, I expect. Nice score on both!

I think you'll find the rear is a 9 3/8", not a 9". I ran into the same thing with the entire drivetrain from a Lincoln Mark V. I don't think anyone makes aftermarket gears for it, but there were supposedly 4 different ratios available from Ford. Good luck finding any of them. I think there is a Traction-Loc available from Ford.
9.375 ford rear question - THE H.A.M.B.
Kevinstang's Ford Nine Inch Differential Page +
Actually, you may like the 3.00 rear gear if you build the motor for torque with 9.0:1 SCR and a short cam (204-212 degrees intake duration @0.050"). My rear had 2.80:1 gears.

Use an Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, 750 carb and long-tube headers to let the motor breathe. Don't be put off by the "RPM" in the name of the intake manifold. That manifold will make more power on that motor than any other manifold from idle to 6000.

You know....You got me thinking.....Im sure its a 9 inch...but I may be wrong.....havent worked on the axle yet....its put aside for now.....Dang it.....LOL....now im gonna have to go and check this....its gonna bother me till I do.....LMAO

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Looking forward to the build. Looks like a nice truck.

Pugsy

Got a plan wrote down for the build yet? Curious what your plans are for the frame, supension, body mods, etc.......?

Originally I was going to build a fenderless Ol'Skool Rod...had found a place in California that makes 3 inch Drop I beams for Ford pickups. the company had offered to custom build the 2 I-beams to suit my needs.

I will convert this....

Into this......

This way I could of used Ford F-250 or F-350 spindle, bearings, rotor, caliper, brake pads, and ball joints and Tie rods. Those are all parts that i can get from the wreckers and then all the replacement parts I could get at parts stores anywhere.
Its gonna have some good weight in the front and power....might as well use beafier parts and have great stopping power too.

But because of Department of Transportation laws in most provinces in Canada....fenders sre manditory. So the custom solid axle front end will have to be scratched and i will have to find independent front suspension from a full size newer Ford pickup to incorporate onto the old chassis that I will box up and add bracing to stiffen it up, to be able to clear the front sump oil pan on the BB460.

As for the body.....chop top about 3-4 inches, thinking about the body section of 3-4 inches and 4 link rear. Im hoping to get the truck to about something like this but not dually........painted electric blue with a dull coat finish. I modified the original pic by sectioning and shortening the box to get to the look Im after

That'll work!!! going to be a seriously heavy duty front end, for sure. In the pic you posted, I could do without the duallie rear, too... Last duallie I had I got rid of the duals and did the one big wheel on each side, liked it a lot better!

Many years back, friend of mine smoothed out an old 'binder truck by adding 3" to the bottom of the doors and doing away with 3" of the rocker, then dropped the floor over the frame rails to match. He also custom built a pair of running boards that blended into the front fenders, bottom of the doors, and the rear fenders! Really changed the look of the truck!!!

Nice project. I don't suppose you'd like to sell one of the KB-3's rear axles?

We are missing the right rear axle on our project (which we'd like to get running this summer).

John

if you want the rear axle.....make me an offer that is fair for the both of us and its yours, you can have the the whole axle with the leaf springs too if you want......I will have lots of parts that I will be getting rid of as time goes.

PM me with the offer

Dan

Great start and a good deal. Looking forward to watching this build.
Don Jr.

Was down at the parents house where the truck is over the weekend and got all the running boards off, the rear fenders off, the front header with grill, hood, inner fender supports......in July, I will be pulling the motor and tranny out of the truck and then haul it back to my place where all the fabrication work will get done.....mean while I will be working on the rear axle getting it ready for the truck.....have to cut off all the original mounting brackets to make way for the new stuff.

Thanks for the comments guys

Well....I looked up the rear axle tag and I do not have a ford 9 inch as thought.....Instead I have the beafier 9 3/8 with 31 splines with a 2.80 ratio.....GOOOOOOOOOOOD for highway mileage.....LOL