the rust wars are over.
the rattletrap fought a long and scrappy battle, but it is time to admit defeat, and throw in the towel.

my beloved big white monster finally told me today that it is done, and cant take it any more.
i went to get in it, and almost fell back out after stepping on the rocker panel.

the rust is now so bad, that the driver side lower "A" pillar, rocker panel, lower "B" pillar, and cab corner are ready to fall off.


now before you all start bashing me for giving up,
i have to say i was going to try to squeeze a few more years out of the cab. i was at my ex partners place discussing what we could do for it this afternoon when the cell phone rang.

a friend i have not seen or heard from in over a year called to tell me i needed to stop over right away cause he had something for me.
i told Roger to hop in, and took a ride over to his dads place on the other side of town, and there sitting in the garage was another old friends 87 F150. this truck has been sitting in a garage, not used for the past 16 years.

he said he was cutting it up, and asked me if i needed any parts.

then to top it off, he said he would give me the cab and nose for $350, cause he still owed me for something i did for him years ago.

so now, the 88 is getting a complete new cab and nose, with perfect 22 year old black over red paint to go with the dump body.



so the moral to this story is, every once in a while, something good DOES happen to the common folk while they are standing neck deep in doo-doo with no ladder to climb out.

 

so rattletrap is not getting canned ! it is not defeat!!! rattletrap the rebirth!! coming to an FTE gathering near you!! sounds like an epic in the making!

 

it is just like the pheonix rising from the ashes after a fire.
Rattletrap will be reborn and live for many more years.


Will the name need to be changes after its rebirth??????

 

i ain't figured that one out yet Neil.

 

While your story started to read in a rather sad manner, the truck will be whole again so it's all worked out well in the end after all!

What other parts on the 87 are left and available?

Oh, BTW, I managed to accumulate enough nickels to buy two front tires for the old girl, so she's no longer sitting on the rims. As I mentioned on another thread I got the spring perches and shackles in as well, so for me this is really good news.

All that's left is to buzz the new grade 8 metric bolts in to attach the two shocks to the rear axle, and replaced the fuse that popped when I borrowed your trailer

Also, hope the pins work out to your liking. I imagine you haven't tested them yet. If you need the holes for the pins let me know, I have a self-centering vice that will make aligning those holes "spot on". Can also bore with the mill which is by far more rigid then a drill press regardless of where it's made.

I was going to do that before giving them to you, but I couldn't remember what diameter you wanted them to be.

 

no problem on the pins Fred. the holes are already in, but they don't fit due to so gate "irregularity's" (the gate is bent)

i have to take the tailgate off and park the truck on top of the center of it for a bit to take the "U" shape out of it.

the only thing left of the 87 is the bed. everything else has been claimed.

i also just found out i will have to swap the in-cab wiring harness, cause the 87 gas is different than the 88 diesel.
this stinks, cause the 88 wiring is shot.