New to the forum, here goes.... Recently bought a 67 F 100 for 150.00. I know, I know, "uh oh" However, I made out pretty good, it runs *gasp* and runs HARD. It has a 390 2bbl, C 6 and a 9 inch, none of which is original. I've already discovered the fun of pinning down the FE origin ( fun fun) so short of pulling the starter to see the casting number I've yet to pin down the exact year, but I have it on pretty reliable authority that the drive train is a transplant from an early 70's car, we'll see soon enough. Onto the carnage. The truck has spent it's life in the midwest "rust belt" so suffice it to say after 209,000 miles it's a lil' on the brittle side. Problem number 1, the front right cab mount is g-o-n-e. Needless to say I was discouraged to see that fixing that is gonna be a chore and a half, considering I'm several years removed from any serious welding. ( any helpful hints there greatly appreciated) Next, the beloved steering column.... Power steering by armstrong, of course. That nightmarish rubber spacer is shredded, and the bushing further back up the column is gone. After combing all the local boneyards, the best result I got was "Well, we don't have a column for your application, but we did find one out of state, we can have it in 4 days for $150" ( insert shocked, deadpan expression here) I didn't bother to mention that I paid that amount for the ENTIRE truck. I can't believe that is acceptable for a column for a 67 F 100. No way. Any suggestions there? I'm still scanning the classifieds and on line sources, no luck so far. Same problem with the rear leafs, I could find a 0 mile mint T Bolt in less time than this has been taking. ( an exaggeration, yeah, but not a BIG one) Driving it home, 2 of the leafs literally fell out and hit the pavement they are so bad. Funny now, yes. At the time, not so much. The ol' girl has about reached her limit, but I'd like to nursemaid her through another winter and spring, which the column and springs are paramount for. The cab mount is more time and effort than anything else, I know. I live in Des Moines Iowa, so any suggestion of where to look in the midwest seeing as how I'm drawing donuts here would be great. ( we won't go into the nonexistant floor of the box that has since been replaced. It was literally holding on to the last 3 threads of the last bolt) If it sounds like I'm ungrateful, let me squash that, I know the drivetrain alone is worth 4-5 times what I paid for the whole truck. It's just my way of finding humor in it all. ( and how about the gaskets in those autolite tagged 2 bbls?? Heh heh the combination of sitting for awhile and ethanol turned those gaskets into swiss cheese. But, now that I've vented and worked off all that Turkey, I'm off to rebuild the mighty 2 bbl ( it's winter, gimme a break, I need a 2bbl right now. Not to mention I used less than a half tank each way from Des Moines to Omaha carrying two full snap on chests, an upright shop compressor and a 460 block, definitely nothing to sneeze at) But seriously, any tips, tricks and suggestions relating to the body and chassis issues would be mucho appreciated. Thanks in advance, guys, and it's great to have come across this forum. Happy Turkey Day all.

 

some of the vendors have replacement weld in cab mounts and jc whitney has the bolt ins. most parts stores can supply a new rag joint and the vendors again can supply the parts neccessary to rebuild the column. good luck and happy turkey day.

 

Welcome to FTE! I live just over an hour to your southwest. Having lived here all my life, I'm familiar with the rust belt. I visit northwest Arkansas/southwest Missouri every few years and the old iron down there is amazing. It's unreal to drive by salvage yards and to see cars and trucks 30 to 50 years old with no rust. My old '70 needs new body parts, and that's where I'll get them.

Get the chassis good and right, and then go for the body, in my opinion.

 

I recently bought a 68 F250 which I intend to use as my daily driver during the winter months. It's a 2wd, 360 V8, 4spd, manual steering and brakes, 92k miles. It runs pretty good, and seems to be sound mechaically. I live in the rustbelt too(about 1 hour south of Chicago), so the body isn't all that great. The bed isn't bad, but the cab corners, floor pans, lower doors, and lower front fenders are all pretty rusty. I'm not too concerned with the body rust on mine, I just hope it holds up mechanically thru the winter. It sounds like your truck is a little worse than mine as far as the rust, though. If I were you, I'd just take care of the mechanical problems with your truck( steering, carburetor, leaf springs) so that it will be a safe, dependable vehicle to drive. Then if it turns out to be a good truck for you, maybe look into repairing some of the body rust. Good luck!