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Really appreciate everyone's contributions to this forum....such a wealth of knowledge.
35 years ago (at the age of 13) I bought a wrecked 1954 Ford F100 with no engine or transmission for $50, put some rollers on it and towed it home. I worked on it day & night. Sourced an original 239 V8 and a 3 speed (three on the tree) tranny, it still had the original 4.11 rearend. I bought a new 12v wiring harness and set out on my restoration project. I had the engine rebuilt by a local shop and brought it home and started my build. In a short time...probably 12 months of hard labor I had it running and driving it up and down the dirt roads. Well, funds were tight, girls became really interesting, and high school was ON! I drove the truck through high school and then college came. At that time I wanted something different in life, so I moved to Southern California. I had Dad sell it when I needed money for college - got $1,000 for it....when I visited over the holidays, there sat my old truck in the same spot.
Well I graduated from college and my Dad gave me the title to my old truck. Life was still to crazy so the truck has remained parked since high school for nearly 35 years.
Now, my youngest son (Blake) @ 11 years old want to rebuild it.
So we are off to the races. Just ordered cab corners to repair some rust & a new bed from Dan Carpenters.
Posted some pictures in my photo gallery and I'm hoping this is how/where I start our build page. I put pics in a photo album on my profile & will insert a few hear as well.
I had Dad sell my truck while I was in college for $1,000 b/c I needed the cash for school....After I graduated he gave me it back to me (sneeky old fart:-)
My youngest son, Blake, claimed the truck early on. He's now almost 12 and we are going to start our rebuild
Blake just pulled the rotten tires off and the local Big 0 shop installed some junk tires my dad had so we could get the truck rolling
Pushing it into the shop b/c even though the old 239 V8 started up (using an electric fuel pump & 1 gallon gas can) after being parked for 30+ yrs it had no brakes. Pushed it onto ramps & started teaching the boys how to rebuild & bleed brakes:-)
30+ years ago - My mom (Rosemary) & I saddled up some milk crates & took the truck for a spin.....This time we did it again with my boys:-)
So excited.
Truck is going in to get two rusted corners replaced in December & the front sheet metal all straightened out. Just ordered a complete new sheet metal bed from Dan Carpenters (3" wider with the 4" tubs built in so that we can put some fatties on the rear)
Blake has 4 years before he's 16, so that is our build clock.
Here's the general plan:
Big Brakes
Bear Claw door latches
302 moderate street
4R70W Trans (with Compushift II controller for the easy "A" & "B" shift profiles)
3.55 or maybe 3.73 9" Rear
Boxed frame (Anyone have input on TCI or No Limit's "Big 10" chassis?)
IFS
GM bucket seats with the built in shoulder harness (from a 2001 Yukon)
I want to turn this "tractor with doors" into a great daily driver for a teen that has spare performance that can be tuned after he's 18 -without having to tear it completely apart.
Suggestions, thoughts, and input welcomed
My only input is........ think the build thru REALLY GOOD. It took me 7 years and I hade the plans and a lot of parts up for a street rod build and when I started taking it appart after a 7 year wait (running it during summers) I sold all the street rod parts and went for a stock restore and it feels great.
The truck was close to stock and iy just "felt" wrong to cut it up......
Just saying you dont need to jump the gun, Enjoy the moment and dont rush the descisions, you might regreat it later
Hey JimCar-9
What I failed to mention is that I now live in a coastal beach community in Southern California south of Los Angeles. Unlike the wide open country I grew up in Colorado, my family lives in a highly populated, tourist destination, neighborhood we parallel park on the street & sometimes the parking spots aren't much larger than the vehicle.
So what I realized is that if we kept it stock then I would quite possibly end up buying a car behind my son, or in front of him....as he struggled to squeeze that three on the tree tractor, with 4.11 rearend, into a parking spot.
Then I started considering the population of L.A. is about 30 million plus and our freeways are often bumper to bumper at 70 mph.....having the best of intentions, the odds of the truck surviving quickly start to diminish.
So, new disc brakes were a no brainer....then I realized we really need to have power steering to park it in those tight spots....and probably an automatic transmission to deal with traffic & making parking easier....Well, finding a reliable automatic that would bolt up to the 239 V8 becomes really challenging....so it's like pulling a thread on a sweater.
Must have it stop.
Must have it safe.
Must have it reliable.
As much as I do love the stock ones....my son doesn't have the privileged of steering off into corn fields like I did
I'm going to set him up with big brakes, big tires to grip the road, suspension keep those tires on the ground and seat belts to hold him in
It's going to start looking like a pile of yarn and hopefully by the time we are done with it he will have something that doesn't get parked on the back of my property for the next 30 years....plus I hope he needs college money so I can buy it back on the cheap
Great story! I love the pictures. Plan out the build and expenses carefully. Then double the expenses.
Be sure to take lots of pictures and share them with us as you progress.
This sounds like a great start. It's awesome that you are going to share this with your son and add to the history already made with this truck. Very cool.
Sounds like your '54 and mine are on the same schedule. I just dragged mine home after it's been sitting for 30 years, too!
I bought my 54 the summer before my last year in college. It has been used and running since except the year it took to do body work and paint it (1998-99) and from Sept 2012 to Sept 2014 when it did not run good and then didn't run at all until my brother in law got it running this fall.
I love the 'trick' your Dad did by buying your truck. That is cool.
Hey JimCar-9
What I failed to mention is that I now live in a coastal beach community in Southern California south of Los Angeles. Unlike the wide open country I grew up in Colorado, my family lives in a highly populated, tourist destination, neighborhood we parallel park on the street & sometimes the parking spots aren't much larger than the vehicle.
So what I realized is that if we kept it stock then I would quite possibly end up buying a car behind my son, or in front of him....as he struggled to squeeze that three on the tree tractor, with 4.11 rearend, into a parking spot.
Then I started considering the population of L.A. is about 30 million plus and our freeways are often bumper to bumper at 70 mph.....having the best of intentions, the odds of the truck surviving quickly start to diminish.
So, new disc brakes were a no brainer....then I realized we really need to have power steering to park it in those tight spots....and probably an automatic transmission to deal with traffic & making parking easier....Well, finding a reliable automatic that would bolt up to the 239 V8 becomes really challenging....so it's like pulling a thread on a sweater.
Must have it stop.
Must have it safe.
Must have it reliable.
As much as I do love the stock ones....my son doesn't have the privileged of steering off into corn fields like I did
I'm going to set him up with big brakes, big tires to grip the road, suspension keep those tires on the ground and seat belts to hold him in
It's going to start looking like a pile of yarn and hopefully by the time we are done with it he will have something that doesn't get parked on the back of my property for the next 30 years....plus I hope he needs college money so I can buy it back on the cheap
Lol I totally agree with you. It sound like you have done some thinking,
Safety first always.
I am doing a stockish restore I might add. Power steering, dual master, but keeping the drums for now, they have been working just fine.
But then I live in the forest at a small town of 12000 people,
Good luck with the build, I am looking forward to the updates
I know most people just post pics of their trucks....but to me it's as much about the people as it is the trucks. So, often most of my pics are going to have somebody in them
So, I just had a birthday and for my present I ordered a new bed from DanCarpenters It is 3" wider than the stock bed and 4" tubs installed. I grew up raising cattle, so being able to put some beefy tread out back makes me happy.
I also ordered some new sheet metal corners for cab from Mid-Fifties & the truck will be going to see the bodyman in late December to start getting it straightened out, primed and sealed.
Here's some pics of my boys learning how to change the oil, bleeding the brakes & driving it down the road (feeding gas to the carb with a electric fuel pump & 1 gallon of gas in a prestone bottle) - They couldn't be more proud of their accomplishments than when we got it started and they got to drive it.
Grant is helping bleed the brakes. **Notice the license plate? No it's not custom - my dad dug through the stake of plates at the Colorado DMV in the early '80's and found this one for my truck :-)
Blake is pulling the plug on the oil pan
Blake is working on taking of the master cylinder as it was frozen.
In with some fresh oil
Blake gets some drive time behind the wheel
Grant turn to drive it around. (While I pray that those old door latches hold out as I am squeezed to the side :-)
Next purchase: Bear claw door latches from Mid Fifties. Their set allows us to keep the outside door handles.
11-21-2014, 11:36 AM
