Hi all. Started talking about my new truck in this thread but thought I'd start a project thread for photos and so forth.

The truck is a 1995 Crew Cab with the 7.3 PSD. 260K miles but a ton of new parts. Transmission, ball joints, water pump, steering box, power steering pump, and many more. Body and interior are pretty bad so that will be the focus of my "restoration" work.

This is the only exteror shot I have right now and it's from the ad online that I bought it from. Will post more later.



The first project was cleaning out the interior. It was fillthy and with a wife and 4 daughters it was pretty clear to me what the priority should be.

I also picked up a 40/20/40 seat with the built-in console at a local junkyard as it just had a bench up front.

I didn't take any shots before removing the seats so these photos are all in process.

Filthy carpets. Seats are removed but no cleaning done yet.











Fortunately I have a hard working cleaning crew.









What a difference 6 hours of shampooing and scrubbing can make









Taking a break on the redneck patio furniture after a hard days work

 

Planned projects:

Body

• Running boards or steps. Not too easy for the girls to get in right now.
• Replace the bed and rear bumper. Both sides are dented up pretty bad and the tailgate is really bad. Barely opens.
• Miscellaneous rust spots on the cab and some of the chrome parts (front bumper, mirrors and mounts, etc.) If it will rub off with steel wool, great, if not I'll hit the boneyards for replacements.
• Depending on the above (mainly the color of the replacement bed) I may have to paint it. My thought on this is to do the prep work myself and get the Maaco to spray it. But we'll see. I don't want to spend a ton of money on a paint job for sure.

Mechanical

• Truck seems to need new shocks. Probably do them when I have the bed off for a replacement.
• Need two new rear tires before winter. Might try to find some used that match the wear on the fronts fairly closely so I can go a different size when all 4 are ready.
• Beyond that, who knows? Will be asking a lot of questions on the forum for sure. I'm certainly open to suggestions.

 

I can't see your pics right now (work computer), but sounds like you have good plans for it. I know what you mean about the girls not able to get into it.

Good luck with the project and I'll check the pics later!

 

You got a good start going there! Keep the cleaning crew going!

 

Looking good so far. I bought mine from a dealership in Oklahoma, it was a work truck for a rancher and the funnest part so far was removing all that red soil from inside. I filled half a 5 gallon bucket up. A good thing to have done maybe would have been to go ahead and pull the carpet out so you could inspect the floor pans for rust but also to clean under the carpet too. Good luck and keep us updated.

 

The carpet is pretty worn in places anyway. It's a ton better now that it's clean but I'm thinking at some point I'll want to replace it at which point the floor pan inspection is a great idea. Although the undercarriage looks pretty good considering it's a Utah truck (salt).

 

LMC truck has carpet kits that are moded for our trucks. I have never used one but heard there nice. I found more crap under my black mat then on top!

 

Here is my project thread! https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...w-96-f250.html

 

Looks great! Mine will need some body and paint like that but sadly I don't have a Dad to teach me. You're lucky. I'll either stumble through it or break down and hire it out.

 

The body work is easy! It painting that hard! I tough myself how to paint auto body! He is awesome at what he does and I look up to him alot. I'm the mechaince now and he a carpenter! We teach each other new tricks now and then! You have kids to help where I don't! Got me there!

 

Finally got some good up close shots of the "before" on the exterior. Plenty of opportunity for making it look better. At a minimum I need to kill off some rust before it spreads even more.





















Also installed some truck steps tonight so the girls have an easier time getting in. Can't say I hate the extra step either.



Got a great deal on the steps BTW. PM me for details if you're interested as I'm not sure if links are kosher on this site.

 

Lookin good.

 

Ok it been a few day! How she coming along? Got her running good? On the road yet?