man... im 19 now. i have two dents. im workin on gettin a third. my trouble is, if i ever get in a bind, and need cash, im not gonna be able to sell em. it would just rip me apart. id honestly rather see them sit in my yard and rot than sell em. and id never let em just rot either. ill be in a coma before that happens.

 

when I was 19/20 in 2000, I had a '81 F150 in addition to the '79.....and my '93 Grand Cherokee. the 81 i bought from a friend, but we didn't know the 300 was bad in it. I think #2 or 3 had a cracked cyl when I tore it down years ago. now THAT thing was rusty. i'm talking like no rockers, or cab corners. when I got rid of the 81...I could push the clutch in and the whole cab would shift. I deemed it unsafe, so I junked it. I pulled the posi 3rd member out, 3 speed manual trans, cop motor, ignition box. it was a all go...no show type of truck. I blew up the 300 in my 79a couple years after I put a 4bbl offy, 3 on 3 headers, cam, shaved head, etc on the motor. i started transplanting the 302 in the '79 after september 11th happened, and got it done on NY eve 2001, just working on it on my free time collecting pieces here and there for the auto to manual swap. i ended up getting rear ended in my grand cherokee in the beginning of summer 2002 and daily drove the 79 for 3 months. they totalled my '93 and I got a nice settlement out of it, so I bought the 93 back, had the body pulled straight, and lifted it. that fall of 2002 I moved to AZ for 2 years, and left the 79 in MN at a friends (same one i bought the 81 from) for 5 years......5 years that truck sat off to the side in the grass. I eventually sold the '93 grand cherokee, and decided to get the old '79 going again (I was daily driving my '99 cherokee then). not joking...I dumped some gas down the carb, and tank....after some cranking...it fired right up. I was impressed. so the '79 got some tires, new axle seals and bearings, brakes, clutch, and all new tie rods. other than those parts....that 79 had the most dependable drivetrain ever.
I looked at it like this.....that 79 was part of my past, my younger years, like a chapter of my life (like the '93 that I drove EVERYWHERE). eventually things come to an end, and I couldn't let the truck sit forever when I move out west again....i just don't have the room. i decided to let it go and let someone else enjoy such a bitchin truck rather than rust away and sit.
what i gained from it all is experience, valuable experience & knowledge.

 

well you better hurry up and buy another one! lol. these trucks will take anything, i swear. ive froze the FE in my76 solid TWICE thanks to poor foresight about winter storage. runs like a top, no cracks leaks or other issues. (well, it uses oil like non other, but i think thats just bad seals). ive got water in the gas and it ran. ran like $#!+, but it ran. its turned over 5 grand on the tach for almost five minutes strait. yeah, its got major issues, but reliable, yes.

 

today i pulled the fan assembly from a '95 Nissan Altima to install in place of my dying electric fan. i also pulled the alternator & sold the rest of the car to a crusher for $100. 1978 F-150 has only a few minor rust bubbles, while the Altima, made 17 years later, was basically swiss cheese.

 

Showed it to someone new.... always love thier reactions

 

bought bolts to bolt the driverside mirror back on

 

I went to the "Pick a part " on Sunday with my son. I got a front side market light, cigarette lighter, the chrome trim that goes on the sides of the seat,all for the pricey sum of $5.10 . I painted the seat pieces black and put them on, and replace the all the other pieces.Then when for a cruise with the windows down. 73 and sunny great day!!!!

 

put 4 gallons of fuel in the tank and moved it out of the backyard

 

STARTED IT!!!! YAY ME!!!!! got it to idle in the driveway then moved it back into the garage. btw, my wife HATES my truck. says it's too loud. it has a foot of pipe off each manifold.......thats it. I told her i would but an exhaust on it later, and she told me i could keep it then. I looked at her with a questioning look and said "I didn't ask your permission" so i put my pillow on the couch.......lol

 

Got an e-mail today from a small town Texas newspaper that wants to take pictures of the truck and tell the story behind it. I'm excited

 

NIIICCE!!!!!!!

 

I'd be excited too.

I couldn't get the tailgate to open. Lubed the latches and handle, then it wouldn't stay closed. One latch was loose and a bolt was stripped. Got out the welder and a couple little tacks and all is good.

 

fixed my timein on my truck, tuned my carb only to find out the carb needs a rebuild the floats keep stickin and the at kickdown isnt workin right.... took the carb off and brought it to a guy i know to fix it now i gotta buy a rebuild kit... sometimes i wonder if it would be less painfull to unplug the coil wire on my distributor and shouve it in my eye socket then fire my truck up..

 

gave her a bath shined her up. then cruzed with my dog in the bed

 

Fixed the mirrors, replaced the door handles (Now I don't have to reach in through my spin window to grab the door handle from the inside) replaced the front reflective lenses with new bulbs.

Went to the junker, got a plow assembly for the truck and a steering column, next thing to do after replacing the column is get both my windshield and rear sliding window. steering wheel, finish paint, replace all the bulbs and install the KC lights on the brush guard, install my hooker headers and custom exhaust, Install stereo, speakers and amp.
pull off the wheels, buff them up, put them up for sale (Steel Mags 5x5.5 pattern if your interested) and put my Eagle rims and 33x12.50 R15 interco tires, although I feel it's time for replacement tires.