That sir... is an EXTREMELY COOL picture!!!!!

 

Sounds like my daily driver! those odor eaters come in packs of 2...Can you send me one?

 

Mine will look the way I bought it.
Mechanically A1 but body the way it retired from the farm fields of Alberta. After all, It earned this look from 60 + years of hard work.
I just brought it home to Ontario where it was born about 20 miles down the road!

 

I just read this whole thread and I loved it. I too have a pretty beater...but it has rust, bondo and old paint.

 

All my vehicles have those 3 things, but not necessarily in that order...... I agree this is a great thread. We watch those auto auctions on TV and I always want to see something unrestored. All those perfect muscle cars look the same to me. B-O-R-I-N-G..........

 

I used to have a beater... from 1977 when I bought it to July 1998 when I took it to the body shop. I had the engine rebuilt in 1979 and used it as an almost daily driver or second vehicle.
Before: as it was in 1977:


A before from 1983:


After in 1999 fresh from the body shop:



I do miss the beater days. Now I have to wash it and be careful with it. I put a rug and/or plywood in the bed before I haul stuff. But I had to fix the body as it was just rusting away. After a rainstorm there would be rustmarks on my concrete driveway. There was major cancer rot in the usual places. Although I do like the finished look now. I wish I could have both.... Maybe that is the role my 70 F350 will fill. Although when I was looking for a dump truck my wife says she wanted a pretty truck (meaning good paint), not a rust bucket...

 

Those pictures are awesome Abe. You have been in both places with a beater and then a show truck. I know it comes down to preference, but what would your advice be to guys here who are wondering whether to paint or not?

 

Good question! Beaters are more fun. As I said earlier you don't have to worry about keeping it clean, hauling things, little dings and scratches, etc...

It might depend where you live. Beaters in the rust belt have major rust hole issues. My headlight buckets looked like swiss cheese after they were blasted, I had major holes in both rear cab corners, both front cab corners, left front fender was not repairable, bed was beyond repair and on and on. SO if all that sheet metal was repaired it would look like crap, all primered and all different colors. SO some of us are forced to paint. Now today guys paint faux patina on their trucks at great expense...

My advice, do what you want or have to do and enjoy your truck!

 

Oh, and one more thing... I wouldn't call my truck a show truck as it is now 13 years after that last picture.... But thanks!

 

Plans for the 52 f3 are 12 volt alt and rewire,keep what seems to be a solid flat v8,spur gear tranny,(yes,for now anyway) ,possible disc brakes when i decide what rearend,repair rust,drive and use as a truck,preserving the body,but no extensive bodywork,then hand down to my now 11 year old son when he can appreciate it.i have a 64 c 10 that i have fixed up too far,afraid to drive or use it.I really believe the "useful " state is more fun,and gets as much attention,if thats what you are after.

 

I have an 'in between' scenario. Paint it with a good primer like rustoleum rusty metal primer for the protection we need, and get out the brush. Finish coat on this bed is Regal red rustoleum enamel mixed with flat white rustoleum to make it a dull faded red, then some flat black to dull it some more. It cost about 50 bucks. I did paint it black with a rattle can after the primer and then buffed through the finish coat with a hunk of burlap to match the original finish of the faded cab. As you saw in my earlier post hauling a trailer, this 38 tonner was a working truck. I just couldn't stand the rotten home made bed that was on it when I got it. I found the 8' express bed as a utility trailer beside a house down in Seattle.. It was a metalic blue when I hauled it home, so I did my not expensive 'fauxtina' to it. This was 20 years ago. Wire wheel it, sand it, prime it, paint it, then buff it out. If it gets a big ol scrape, go find the coffee can you mixed it in, break off the layer of scum and brush on another coat where it needs it.....

 

Yup, hard-earned patina was what I was looking for when I bought my '50 F3...and it'll stay that way.

Underneath= new bearings, seals, kingpins, tierod & ends, brakes, shocks, draglink, steering arm, tires, fuel system, wiring (6v), all window seals and felt, headliner, and lastly, a new wood bed (when I can afford it). The flathead V8 will remain as well.

It was born a work-truck and it'll keep its "work clothes" on.

 

Your guys' patina trucks look awesome. It's not something that a body shop should try to duplicate though....either it has patina or it doesn't. No fake jobs.

 

I love this thread! A lot of good honest trucks.

Ben in Austin
1950 F1

 

mines definitely a beater with plenty of patina, the bad news is that I've had it for 25yrs and its never seen the road, hope to get it there one day.

Craig