Project looks good! Keep the pics and posts coming.

 

Most likely going out to work on the truck today - the goal is to remove the running boards and have the cab pretty much sitting on the frame ready for lift off.

I will have a frame with a rear axle and four wheels left - and from there I will spray the frame and axle(s) and start working on redoing the brakes.

I am thinking about having my guy blast the fenders first to see what kind of job he does before I have him do the hood and the cab and misc parts.

There is gonna me several months of my banging metal, welding metal, and smoothing out metal.... all in the AZ heat!!

Will post more pics later.

 

".... all in the AZ heat!! "

Want to trade? I am getting ready to go out and do some fender rust removal/repair now that it is above freezing (36 degrees)!! At least the sun is shining.

 

Two words: MOVE! (What that's only one)...

I lived in Chicago for over 40 years and there is no reason to live in snow anymore... anyway...

Was able to pull the running boards off (quite possibly the toughest part of the demo - seeing the bolts fought me every step of the way) and the cab is pretty much ready to be lifted off.



The pile of parts keep growing.


I will have the fenders media blasted over the next week or two and the cab will be lifted off (hopefully next weekend).

Until then - gotta finish that model!!

 

Just picked up a 3-speed transmission from a guy for $50 (gotta love the guys who 'rat rod' their trucks - get parts cheaper this way!!).

It was in pieces but complete. Will have it sent out to be rebuilt and hopefully it is good enough to slap some paint on it and throw it in when the cab is off and the frame gets repainted...

 

Nice progress.

 

I know it has been a while since my last post...

I was able to get the truck down to frame. So I have a rolling frame which I will paint (black) and swap out a few things on it (stock of course) as it looks really good.

I should have the cab and doors media blasted in the next week or two.
I had to cut up the bed and toss it - it was rusted all around to the point where it would be cheaper to just buy another one!!

I am still debating on going with the Richfield Gas Station scheme now that I was not able to buy the gas station!! I think it would look a lot cooler than painting it a stock color for 1949...

I met a guy who sold me a BUNCH of parts at pennies on the dollar - so I can swap a few things out I wanted to get rid of...

Will get pics next time I am out working on the truck - thank God the weather is a little cooler!

 

You are kidding right?

 

F2-F3 beds are not reproduced and good ones are hard to find. I hope that bed that you cut up was so rusty that it would disintegrate with each touch.

 

Oh ILYA say he didn't do that!!!
I didn't think it looked bad at all!

 

It didn't look too bad in these two pictures but it could have been worse in person:

 

Looks like it may have had the usual rust at the floor seam up front, but solid otherwise.

 

The guy who I share the shop with restores old Fords (1903-1973) and even he said it was toast. To try to spend numerous (if not countless) hours on even trying to remove all the rust, repair all the damaged panels, and then weld and body work would actually probably take longer than the restoration of the rest of the truck...

I know it will be a stretch finding the bed in a long bed Ford truck - but I will keep searching. I have the bed slated for the last part of the restoration - unless we happen to find one in the meantime....

 

That's the whole point in restoring old vehicles. Sometimes you have to invest time in restoring parts that are no longer available or hard to find. I don't know the guy that you share the shop with, but I bet that he buys a lot of repro and aftermarket items for his restorations. He may not be familiar with every Ford model, especially what's available and what is hard to find.

If I were you, I'd start looking for the correct replacement bed now. It'll stall your project if you try to find it at the end.

 

As I mentioned - we both have 'one eye out for it' but it might take months to find one - and I was hoping to have the truck finished this May - but that seems to be a pipe dream...

It is slow season on Route 66 so I spend a lot of my weekends closer to home working on the truck - but come April / May - I am back on the route!!

So I will see what I can get done within the next few months...

Also, trying to drive that thing in the 'warm' Phoenix summer isn't my idea of paradise... I can wait until fall to get that thing rolling.