that truck looks fairly clean. I've had my 55 for close to 10 years now and I'm about 80% done. Job, family playtime etc however, when done the satifaction alone will overide everything else.

 

Welcome, Im about ready to log out for the night but I noticed your introduction. I didnt want to go B4 I gave you a warm FTE welcome. New people, new trucks, and new projects are always welcome. Enjoy your project wich ever Ford you get. Ill see ya around. Good night.

 

Welcome to FTE! That is a great looking truck. Looks like you could get in it, fire it up and drive it home. Good luck on Friday. Hope it comes together for you. Let us know how it turns out.

 

What do you do in your spare time, welcome to the best little truck house in the world.

 

Welcome to the madness! You can't go wrong with a 53. Just sure you check for hidden rust in the cab corners, floor boards, etc. Don't want any surprises there. I love my 54 but when I got it the previous owner covered a lot of sins with paint and bondo. Keep us informed.

 

Welcome to fte,lot of good people here & a whole lot of information here
that is a nice looking truck good luck friday

 

Welcome!

Looks like a great truck! Be sure to keep us posted. If it doesn't work out for some reason with as many members as we have someone should be able to help you find one that will.

When you look at it, crawl under it, look at all the bottom corners and underside and any sort of lip. Rust isn't a huge problem, but it's work to fix, best to know what all it has before committing. (Though it looks pretty good from here, old white paint hides no rust). Don't forget to make sure it has a title, getting one is a hassle.

Good luck on Friday!

 

Welcome and congrats! Cool folks and great info here without any BS.

Enjoy your ride!

 

I don't know about AZ, but if you haven't researched what it takes to obtain one, I would recommend doing so before putting any $$ into it. A lot of people have built their rigs only to find out they can't title them.

 

Amen to that! Each state is different but I seem to recall Arizona may be one of the tougher states to get a title. Check it out BEFORE you buy. If all looks okay, good luck with the truck!

 

AZ

If you have no title you are required to get a bonded title and send certified mailings to the last registered owner informing them that you are titling the truck in your name and requesting permission. a bill of sale just doesnt help. If the certified mail comes back undeliverable or unanswered after a certain amount of time you can go ahead and get it titled without a document supporting it from the last registered owner.

They go by the number on the frame and you will have to get the truck level 1 inspected by the MVD or an authorized rep of the MVD for that VIN number on the frame. You may have to do a level 3 because the pencil pusher at the MVD doesnt always know how or where to look on these trucks. The also wont let you just bring by a frame it has to be a complete truck...

You have to go the the MVD first and get forms for all this. try to get it inspected at the same time. You will need to have it bonded through your insurance company before they will title it.

 

Also Welcome to the forum! Its nice to have another phoenix area FTE person! I'd like to see your rig some time.

 

Just depends on what your expectations are, coupled with your abilities - both financial and skill wise).

Be realistic as to what you can do and are willing to do. It is a major project, and you can generally make your estimate and then plan on it taking 3 times as long and cost 4 times as much. Many recommend buying the best condition truck you can afford, as it will save alot in the end. However, not all of us can spend $7k on a project, so we do what we can when we can.

I am not trying to discourage you - mine was in worse shape when I got it but I just try to get something accomplished each week and don't have to have it done by any timeline (but planning on next summer hopefully having it on the road).

Either way, enjoy the experience.

 

Congrats! Nothing like an early Christmas.

Regarding priorities, the best way (although not the path I took) is to get it running/driving/safe, meaning engine,trans, brakes, and electrical (lights) all in running condition. Enjoy driving it and then tackle one project at at time. Again, you can drive it and enjoy it at the completion of each project.

Many people have grand ideas of a frame off resto, get it blown apart, get overwhelmed, and just stop.

As far as the frame goes, I can't tell by the pics. Pics of he front suspension would probably help narrow it down. Looks like dual saddle tanks from one of the pics. There should be a frame VIN stamp. On mine (1950) it is near the front crossmember on the passenger side. Hard to see but there.

Make sure you get a title that matches the VINs.

 

Looks like a pretty darn good starting point for $850. I picked up my 53 F250 on the 3rd of this month and have been having fun with putting her back on the road. Mine looks great from 5-10ft but a closer look reveals the true nature of the beast. Only thing is, all I want to do is get her running good (check), driving easy (power steering...in the works), then stopping. Then I am going to drive the **** out of her. I'll pretty to a full resto later 5-10 years.

As for your truck, the first thing to do?? Well I would go one of two ways. Either get her blasted and primed all the while working on the chassis and engine, or put it back together, get er running and stopping, then work on beautification. Of course in the end it depends on how long you want to wait until you are driving it.