1979 Ford F-150 4×4 Gets the Special Treatment
Nut and bolt restorations are cool and all. But this old Ford F-150 is being rebuilt as a daily driver and work truck.
Unlike most of the rest of the automotive enthusiast world, the folks here at Ford Truck Enthusiasts actually drive their trucks. Which is, you know, kind of the point. This holds true even with the many restorations and builds that take place here in the forums. Just because we’re fixing up an old truck doesn’t mean it’s going to be babied when it’s finished. That mantra holds especially true with the case of gfburke and his 1979 Ford F-150 4×4.
“My ’79 baby is coming together. I’m building this as a daily driver/work truck. I don’t want to worry about my paint or getting a scratch!”
Before the OP even posts, he’s already gotten a pretty good start toward that goal. With a fresh engine, brakes, alignment, lighting, and weatherstripping, this Ford F-150 is well on its way to driver status. Regardless, future plans at this point do call for some cosmetic work, because who wants to drive an ugly truck?
The next step is to rip out the old ratty interior and replace it with fresh threads. And of course, deal with the requisite floor pan rust. An a couple of days later, things were looking much better.
“New floor pans. New weather stripping. Sound deadening stuff. ‘Newer’ junkyard seat from an ’89, still need to shampoo it but WAY better than what I had. Same carpet, just cleaned good (who cares, you put your feet on it). Removed its old backing material.
New light lenses from a ’91 junkyard van. New gaskets for light lenses. Deleted that dumb wire harness to tell me I’m not wearing my seat belt when I already know that. Still need to install the new runner boards we have. Replaced a bad side marker bulb. Will fill in some higher placed holes with rivets soon.”
Next up was a junkyard grille to replace the old dented one. Along with some new trim pieces. And then, the fun part. A Skyjacker lift kit arrived in the mail, which goes quite nicely with a newly purchased set of 33-inch BF Goodrich rubber.
Since then, the OP’s been working hard and fixing all sorts of little things on his Ford F-150. So be sure and head over here to catch up on this truck’s amazing progress. And stay tuned, because this build is far from over yet!
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