Woa thats really rusty good luck! looks like you got a good start at teardown

 

Ya know.....it is rusted, but these pictures make it look absolutely awful. In reality, it does not seem that bad. Go back and look at the pics of the truck outside with the bed off of it. I think a combination of the paint flaking off and a extreme zoom of the area with surface rust makes it look worse than it is. Not a whole lot different than many others I have seen. Even though it’s rotted in places it is still very solid around those areas and I think simply cutting out around the bad sections to then infill them with solid framing will do the job. I can cut everything out in a way that still leaves the integrity of the frame structure intact. I would never even attempt this if I had to literally cut the frame in half and then weld it back together. And the worst of what you are seeing, is at the rear cross members and those are being replaced entirely.

If I get the time this weekend (I’m going to focus on getting the engine out) I want to chalk outline on the frame itself where I need to remove and replace. Not only to show you guys, but I need to find someone with a 77-79 F250 4x4 frame that wants to cut it up and this will help identify what I need. Finding a good frame around here is not likely, and if I can get small frame parts that are easy to handle, they could be shipped UPS easy enough.

 

I want to see the repair on the rear frame sections, especially the upper rear shock mount area. The bump stops are no big deal, but the area where the spring hangers mount is, make sure you zoom right in there ok?

Cross members are easy, its the area they attach to that's important, I am interested to see how you approach it. And what is your "better than just ol POR-15" remedy?

I am with you all way down this hard riding road.....

 

I love the truck but do not envy the amount of work that puppy needs. I will be following your progress and trying to learn a thing or two. I have been looking for my own restore project and have simular trucks to pick from here in MN.

As a carpenter by trade I would love to see you snap some shot of the barn or shop you are working in, looks pretty new.

 

wow you have a real job there.. you have more guts and ambition than i do...but i am naturally lazy anyway.. i like the way you are labeling and taking lots of pics.. that really helps since you dont do this sort of thing for a living and already have it all burned into your brain . i see why for you it may be eaiser to repair the frame rather than replace, there are lots of good frames around but shipping something that size is usually out of the question...i am really interested in what you find after the carpet is out...... well good luck and i'll be watching.

 

BDawg,

I just saw this thread and I gotta tell 'ya when I saw the first photo on page one I literally said Wow! No kidding. My absolute favorite dentside is a 1977.5 F-250 4x4 black on black Ranger XLT.

I believe your truck is missing the "race track" mouldings, but I'm not positive.

I sincerely look forward to your build.

I am however, really concerned about the frame. I don't mean to sound rude or harsh, but honestly I think it's junk and you would be far better off to find a nice one without any rust issues. Please give this some consideration...

Yes I know frames are stamped with the VIN and it's illegal to swap them... One of my other pursuits is Corvettes, the original Sting Rays: 1963-1969. Those are also infamous for frame rust, and there are companies that make replacement frame sections and another firm even makes complete frames from the original tooling.

Those cars originally had their frames stamped with the VIN too. Many a car has had the frame replaced and the original VIN was "massaged" with a grinder and a new VIN stamped in its place. It's not legal but it does happen...

 

Very ambitious project and it will be a great truck when you are done. Just remember to have fun with it and keep a steady pace while you work at it.

As far as paint (Although you are quite a ways from that stage) I would paint it the original Black and Silver, I think you truck would look fantastic!

 

Looks like a sharp truck. Love the air horns but you gotta get some real wheel well chrome. Always loved black dents so looking good.

 

That’s it! I’m done with this truck! Someone just come and tow this heap way from me!

Geeezzzz guy’s….. now you all have me not sleeping at night. Pleeeeeze no more posts about how bad this thing is. It just has some issues to deal with like all the other trucks on this forum do or did at one time. This truck is in very decent condition still. Despite the frame issues you see in the rear, that rear is still VERY solid back there as a whole. Just need to cut out and replace a few areas. What is the big deal with that?

The frame behind the one spring hanger I admit is pretty bad, and I have not figured how best to replace that area. Until I have it off (after the first of the year) I really won’t be able to assess it. I purchased a pneumatic needle scaler last night and I am anxious to run it over the frame back there. This should do pretty good job knocking off the old flaking coating and surface rust, which I think is making the frame look worse than it is. I hope that’s the case anyhow…….

This isn’t work for me! This has already been the most fun I have had in a long time. Seriously. And so long as it remains fun, I’ll be good. I don’t NEED this truck. I WANT this truck. And maybe that’s the difference in committing to a project like this.

 

Now to go back and answer some questions that people asked… (I don’t like to leave people hanging.)

I don’t KNOW if the gearing will be too low. I only hear that combo (4:11’s and 1:1 drive) would be. I’m pretty much driving this truck around town on the weekends so maybe it is ok??? But I do want to jump on the highway every now and then and don’t want to get myself killed doing 50 MPH.

Por15….what can I say? The condition of my frame (exception of the rot) is close to those that I see people slather that stuff on their frames and walk away. Thinking that they have done themselves good. Huh? IMO if you are concerned enough to strip your truck down to its frame, then you should be concerned enough to make it the absolute best that it can be. That requires several things: bare metal, repaired rot, proper preparation throughout, and professional coatings. Not to mention hard work. The stuff has its place I guess…..just not on this truck.

A couple guys mentioned the race track and paint. Yes, this Ranger XLT had full trim around the truck when new. The PO took it off and filled the holes. All these holes had bubbling under them when I got it. Personally, I dislike all that chrome trim and it won’t be going back on. I’m pretty certain the dent trim is not even going back on. Once done, this truck is to look very aggressive. And jewelry in my opinion is not very aggressive. So I won’t really be able to do the two tone Black/Silver though I like that look very much and someone on here posted one recently and it looked great. But I am thinking the truck will remain black and will need to have silver in there again somehow.

 

Just take the concern for the frame condition as people looking out for you. I have read all the posts and that is what I get out of it. And there are posts that are nothing but well wishes for you and this project.

Ok so no POR-15, what kind of "professional coating" are you planning on using on the frame. Brand, type or mix is what I am interested in. There is so much on the market these days its hard to make the call without hearing first hand FTE experiance.

And I'm ok with no chrome, its a rust magnet anyway, the race track stuff on my sig pic truck is coming off some day. And as a idea for the silver in there somewhere, you could simply paint the dent where the chrome was, silver or gunmetal in a custom way.

Not a big ol silver stripe but a blended thinner stripe, with the top and bottom dent edge being the breaking point with some over spray to tone down the silver. I am not a painter so I hope you understand my explanation.

You will see this thread shine when it comes to repairing ideas, locating those really hard to find parts and getting this thing all back together. I'm subscribed, and here for the long haul, so stay motivated!

 

I really liked those silver flames. Maybe just bring those back for your silver?

 

Gawd that lifted black truck is gorgeous! Is it yours? That's exactly the aggressiveness look I was talking about. Yeah I know everyone here at FTE are great people and just helping to assist. Perhaps my personality is not coming through this keyboard. Im just busting chops with everyone. I appreciate those of you coming along for the ride!

So all I can say is if you don’t own a needle scaler, GET ONE. This is the type of tool that you will be walking all over your house trying to find stuff to needle scale. Instant gratification. Even if you are planning on sandblasting something, hitting it first with this will save you a ton of sand and time.

I really don’t have time to work on this today, but could not resist going out just to see what this thing does. I had only heard about them till this point.



Here is the spring hanger before and after. This is the worst thing I have to deal with on this truck. Everything else seems like it should go as planned. I still won’t know until I have the bracket off and have it all cleaned up until I can figure out what to do. But in the meantime, I need all you experienced FTE’rs thinking about this so we can come up with a good plan. Like surgeons having a briefing before a big surgery!







And the bump-stop. This isn’t near as bad as I thought it would be. You can see the half-moon divot above. There is still PLENTY of metal behind that and I am wondering if I won’t be able to just build that up with weld and grind it flat instead of cutting it out and piecing it in. Again, until the bracket is off…..







And the frame at the rear upper shock mount...

 

I love those things!! My welding class has one and everyone uses it to clean slag of the stick welds.

 

Well, that was one of the “surprises” I had planned for the truck. In fact it is the biggest surprise! But I didn’t really want to get into that yet as I wanted to prove first that I am not all talk. I know how it is when someone starts a project like this. Everything is gang busters until the days, then weeks, then months pass and progress just dwindles away. Or people on here all the time saying they are going to build this or do that and it never happens. Usually it is a motivation issue. It could possibly happen (and likely will happen) to me at times as well. But as I have stated, this is a want, not need thing for me. But don’t have any dillusions that I plan to knock this out in 6 months or even a year. I don’t care how long it takes. As long as the end result is what I envision.

So I guess I will share with you at this time what the paln for that is.

Galvanizing a chassis - YouTube

But here is the thing with this. Once done, you can’t do ANYTHING to modify this frame. No cutting, drilling, etc. So whatever I am going to do to this truck, it needs to be done before this process. Motor mount changed (as in I want a differnt motor in it), tranny relocation (as in I want a 5 speed), etc. all need to be figured out.

So what I was going to also wait until this weekend to share with you all is that I WILL in fact be putting this truck back together to “see what I got” before then changing things. That will also give me a chance to put the frame repairs through their paces.

Now I don’t plan to have a raw looking silver frame in the end, and the outfit that does this that is close to me claims to have some sort of primer coat that they can apply over this. Don’t know if it is a dip or a spray or a powder. I don’t know the details yet. Then I could spray black automotive paint over it. Right now I am considering a 2 part epoxy chassis black, and actually I’m waiting to hear results from Impalaslayer on here with his build as he is planning to use that product.