My grandfather decided it wasn't worth the time and hassle to find a new cab, and he'd just pay to fix the old one.

We were down at the body shop, and he wanted to run to the local junk yard to se if we could find a good top (was going to replace our roof)

He ended up taking us to Budget Auto Wrecking and we couldn't find a straight roof. However, we found a rust-free roof with some damage and on further inspection found solid floors and almost everything else. Minor damage to cowl from accident, but he's going to graft our cowl bits onto this cab.

Couldn't believe our ears when the guy at the counter said $250 for the cab if I stripped it and got it ready to pull. When asked how much more if they did all the work, I about fell over when he said "$50"

So for $300 they pulled the cab and delivered it to the body shop.


And the best part! It's a Ranger! Wood grain door panels, instrument cluster, etc. And we got two new doors, all the switches and wiring, good heaterbox/controls it just goes on and on.

This truck is going to come together FAST boys and girls. I need to get the frame stripped/painted and the brake lines run, then I'll mount the motor. After that, we trailer it down to the body shop, fit the painted cab, pull it home and install the fenders/grill/hood/etc and we're ready to build a flatbed and drive!

 

Wow sounds like a deal! Any idea when you should be getting the body parts back from the shop?

 

That pretty much sums up why I love that place so much! I can't tell you how many times I've walked out of there with $100 worth of parts for $30 or $45! If your looking for car parts, the same guys run a yard in Kent that is just as good!

You wouldn't happen to have any pictures of the new cab would you?

Sam

 

nothing like a good junkyard, I look for excuses to make laps at my favorites, last time i ended up having to pull doubles (they have little wagons to carry your parts and tools around)

can't wait to see what the body shop rolls out!

 

Long time no update.

I'll get some pics gathered and update you all.

There has been progress!

We bought a cab that was rust free, had it delivered to the body shop, who cut out part of our cowl to repair the other, and is currently waiting on rear lower corners and a door skin to be delivered from LMC Truck.

Rear of the cab was damaged by the forklift, not even rust

We've chosen a new color! Instead of Rangoon Red, we'll be going with the color in the attached photo. It's also what grandpa plans to make his look like. I've already started ordering chrome parts for him on ebay....

I ordered a new windshield and rubber kit, We're going to put a slider in the rear as well. Still need to find seals for the roll-up windows (already got them for the wing windows)

We've been wire wheeling the whole frame, and today we removed the transmission and cleaned it up a bit.

Bearings showed up yesterday, so tomorrow I'll re-assemble my longblock and we may even get it painted.

Trying to track down a steel grille in good shape and a pair of bumper brackets for the front bumper (the 159" wheelbase F350 from doesn't mount directly to the bumper, it has a bracket that isn't used on F100-350s from what I understand)

 

Nice! I am patiently waiting. I love builds like this one.

 

Parts showed up today, and I dropped them off for the body guy. No rust, but the junk yard guys damaged the cab on removal :/



Some prep work has been done....



You ay be able to see a big hole in the red cab, thats where there was more damage to the blue cab. Can't tell anything has been done, this guy is good at body patching....



Rust free firewall...



Old color


I'm going to have all sorts of spare parts now!

 

All freshly balanced...



This was the crack we had welded...



Who loves grandpas hat



I flex some muscle...



Shiny bits!



Done!

 

Ohhh!!! Someday, I will build an engine to MY specs. I'm jealous.

 

+1!! Great work. i can't wait to see the end result.

Dan

 

The cab will be ready by Wedensday, I'm going to try to have the cab on the frame by Friday.

 

This thing is moving along quick! I'm going to need to do some work to my engine sometime in the future, you mind telling me where you had the work done and how much it cost?

Sam

 

I do all my own engine work, unless you mean machine work. I drive past a couple machine shops to bring my stuff to Phil at Highlands East Auto Parts in Renton. I've been going to him for years, so I still bring him everything I can. I'm trying to get in there once a week with a head

 

Highlands East? I used to go there all the time when I was in Renton! I've never had them do any machine work for me, but I bought a lot of parts there. It's settled then, that's where it'll go! Its been a while since I was there, I forgot they had a machine shop!

Sam

 

Phil knows what he's doing. My '85 F250s 466 was built by him (before I built my own motors) as was my Probes 2.2L. When I have a question about an engine I'm building, I call him.

My shop is in Redmond, and I drive 40 miles round trip to drop heads off for him, and I've been doing it a couple times a month. I can't wait to be big enough to hire someone to do that crap for me!

Tell him Chris from Freelance Auto sent you