Hey everyone,

I’ve been following this forum for a few weeks now and am gathering some great ideas. I wanted to start a thread on here to document my progress but also get some additional ideas specific to my build.
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To start off I am very new to mechanical work. I’ve done a few smaller things here and there but nothing even close to what I am about to embark on. I consider myself pretty handy and pick up ‘hands-on-work’ pretty easily. I bought this truck for a few reasons but one was to learn. I really want to learn how a lot of this stuff works and how to rebuild and repair something like this. I know with this help of this forum I will be able to accomplish that.
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Ok, enough with the intro and on to the truck. I bought my 1978 F250 Custom from a co-worker. It’s a regular cab with a 460 and a C6 auto transmission. When I bought the truck it hadn’t run in a couple of years since the previous owner never managed to fully install the remanufactured transmission he purchased. We brought the truck home and noticed the torque converter bolts were not fully screwed in. After tightening them down we turned the truck over without an issue. We fixed a few other things to get it in running order such as replacing the freeze plugs, starter coil and master cylinder. The truck was running well but in the back of my mind I wanted to do more. I wanted to tear it down and build it back up. For the last few weeks the truck has been in my garage and I have been disassembling it. Right now I am to the point where I will be pulling the cab off in a day or two.
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Once I get it down to the frame I will start to clean it up and then paint it with POR-15, Rustoleum, ZeroRust or one of the other products recommended on this site. I’ve been doing some research on the products but haven’t decided on one yet.
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I’m looking for some next steps though. After I get the framed cleaned up and painted what next? What is the rebuild\restore order most people use? I know I’ll have a lot more questions as I go through process but I think the frame cleaning and painting I understand well and that seems like the first step. After that do you continue working on the frame by running new lines or do you jump to the body and get the body repaired and painted? When do you start working on the motor?
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Thanks for any help and direction. I look forward to participating in this forum and learning from so many of you.

Joe

 

If your really tearing it down that far, take EVERYTHING off the frame. That way you can put it together with fresh hardware. Then if you ever have to fix or change something, it will be alot easier to remove in the future.

 

It doesn't look to bad but it is only 2wd. Nothing wrong with that if thats what you want but unless you are in it for the long run I'd caution you against putting a lot of money in it. Resale value is never enough to justify a frame up restoration, even in a 4x4 model. They can be fun projects. They are basic enough that the average person can fix one up themselves and it looks like you already have a helper.. Good luck.

 

Whoah that's a job Haha. Hey if you got the funds and you are doing for your own pleasure why not? I'm jealous I can't rip mine down to the frame. Need mine on the road. Next week starts the Amish slabwood hauling season. I hope to get all next years wood in a month.
I still get my fix, to fix. Plenty of things wrong with these old trucks.

 

Good point SwOkcOffRoader. I'll keep that in mind.

Mark, I would have preferred a 4x4 but I couldn't pass up the deal on this truck. Plus, I wouldn't be taking a 4x4 off road after spending this much time and money to rebuild it so a 4x2 is going to be just fine.

MudDan, good luck with the wood hauling and I hope you won't have a fix to fix within the next month.

 

Looks like you have a pretty solid foundation from which to start, keep us updated on your progress.

 

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to update this thread with some more pictures. I pulled the cab off of the frame last night and although I still have some more components to remove I am getting closer to the point where I can start cleaning the frame up.

Just Getting Started
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A lot of work to do on this floor board
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Hello Everyone,

I just wanted to update this thread with the latest on my progress. So far I have everything stripped off of the frame and have begun to clean it up. I've pressure washed it a few times while using degreaser and oven cleaner to remove the greasy residue.



Right now, I'm in the process of getting the rust and leftover paint off of the frame. I have experimented with an 80 grit flap disc and a wire cup brush. The flap disc gets down to shiny metal but doesnt last as long. The wire cup brush leaves a dull grey finish but the brushes last much longer so I would prefer to use them. I posted this question on the painting forum but if anyone has any advice I'd love to hear it.

Do I need to get down to shiny metal or is the wire cup brush fine?

 

Hello everyone,

Just updating my build thread with the latest. I've done quite a bit since I last posted an update and as a matter of fact I've already begun to re-assemble the truck.

Once everything was stripped down and cleaned to the bare metal I brought the frame back into the garage and painted it. First with an epoxy primer and then a black topcoat and last just for good measure I coated it with the duraliner spray truck bed liner. This knocked down the shiny finish from the topcoat, added some texture and will hopefully add a little more protection to the frame.











As you can tell I have already assembled most of the suspension which included all new bushings and hardware as well as re-arc'd leaf springs and new coil springs.







All new brake hardware is going in at the moment along with stainless steel lines and new parking brake cables. I say all new but the only thing I couldn't find a replacement for was the parking brake lever. Since my existing lever was in good shape and it is a part no one will see I decided to clean it a bit and keep it.





Thanks for everyone's help on this build. I have spun quite a few new threads up seeking advice and asking questions and have always recieved just the answers I needed.

 

Looks good, do you have a manual to refer to for the complete tear down or are you taking pictures and logging information? there is no way I could remember where everything goes lol. I want to do this on my 75 but I have to save alot more money.

 

You don't mess around much. Keep up the work.

 

Good work so far, jtindale. I can't wait to see it finished.

 

Thanks bigjake. I'm taking a lot of pictures. I took over 1,000 pictures when I disassembled the truck. They have come quite in handy since. Also, a lot of the parts catalogs have good exploded views. That helps as well.

 

Thanks kelsey_kaye and KingBigJoe!

 

Looks great man...way to get after it and do it up right. It is a long,long looong haul but worth it all in the end.