Knowledge is power, but understanding is art.

"Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard." - Guy Kawasaki

As before mentioned, the Brother Composites team made their mark on the carbon fiber industry with the debut of their Ford Bumpside in 2022. Since it was a build they were doing in company 'downtime', and downtime quickly became non-existent for the team, their truck went to simmer on the back burner.

However, the flames of intrigue had been fanned for these 50 year old bodies.

Cole, our youngest son, was 19 when he found himself a 1969 Ford F250, Cordova Orange. Camper Special. She came from New Mexico and didn't have an ounce of rust. She wasn't perfect, but she was pretty and Cole was smitten. And she came with a name - Mariah.

Cole's 1969 Ford F250, Camper Special, the day she came home.

Kurt has forever pictured himself restoring a car with his boys by his side. Cole's interest sparked Kurt's interest and the next thing I knew, we had a second Bumpside in the family.

Old Blue sat for a few months, only for Kurt to start the engine once a week. He was deep diving into the reality of what he needed to know and what he needed to purchase before he went down the rabbit hole of striping the truck.

And more importantly, learn what the hell to do first.

The initial 'to purchase' list looked something like this:

• motor

• suspension

• gas tank

• gas lines

• brakes

• drive shaft

• wheels

• tires

• updated wiring kit

• seats & seatbelts

• mirrors

• glass

• door seals

• dashboard

• interior

• exhaust

• 1,012 other little bits and pieces it takes to built a truck

Since their company already had the molds for the body panels for this particular generation of truck, that was the least of his concerns, but also way down the pipeline.

The laundry list of things that he needed to do grew by the moment. Kurt's a handy and intelligent guy, but most of this was going to be like building a house. Having never built a house...

Kurt spent hours upon hours on forums absorbing information and asking questions.

He used his contacts in the business world to gather advise.

He bought and read manuals.

Some of it was just going to be trial by fire.

The Ford 360 from old blue.

Gen 3 Coyote out of 2020 Mustang.

Overwhelmed, but excited, Kurt started with the motor. Insert Tim, the tool man, grunts here.

He decided upon the Gen 3 Coyote.

6 speed manual transmission, 460hp.

This particular motor already had 30k miles on it.

It came out of a 2020 Mustang that had been totaled but the block was solid and had not sustained any damage. It was purchased from a reputable dealer, who goes through each engine carefully before reselling.

By now, Kurt had begun to strip the truck. The floor was shot beyond repair, so add that to the "to purchase" list.

What was quickly learned is that so many of the pieces of this puzzle worked intimately with each other. The engine needed the control pack. In order to finish the frame, he needed to know where the suspension would be mounted. In order to order wheels, he needed choose a brake package. Basically, 80% of everything needed to be bought upfront, in order for progress to continue.

Ouch....

This information isn't new to those of you have have tackled these types of projects. I am sure you are nodding along with sympathy as you read.

For those who have a curious desire to build a vehicle from the ground up, this is reality.

For the wives, we should have a support group. I will say this - I have less guilt about buying myself new shoes.

More to come soon!

#trialsandtribulations #beginatthebeginning #fordbumpside #carbonfiber #fordtruck #truckbuild #coyotemotor