All that truck for $300......

 

Since some of you guy seem to enjoy this blathering, and I can't seem to get to sleep, here is a little action shot for you! This is the 'ol lady and brother-in-law with the paint stripper and sander, trying to rid the 'ol girl of countless PO's ideas of what a paint job should be. Seems like each layer was worse than the one below it - proof that different isn't always better.

Original paint colors present seem to be yellow, orange, brown, white, and powder blue. Most of it seems to have been properly primed and repainted blue at one point. After that, it pretty much goes to ****! Luckily aircraft paint remover makes quick work of the top layers of ****tier paint.

At this point, I'm back on the road (I drive a truck over the road) so they are pretty much on their own for a while! I have a line on a rear end to follow up on when I get back (maybe an 8.8" under there now?) and a few leads to follow for a bed. Other big ticket items include a steering column, bumpers, weatherstrip kit, at least one cab corner, and a wiring harness.

Seems between a PO's tuning, the POS Edlebrock carbuetor, and one of those "kewl" Edelbrock foamy triangle air filters, a pretty nasty engine fire developed! (This was before my custody of this fine piece of...whatever it is.) Amazingly, it still runs, but I would like to replace the entire harness. I haven't bothered to look behind the dash yet, but what remains behind the cab doesn't look too promising. Centech seems to be the leading contender at this point.

I first looked at painless, but after seeing the price, and seeing that it doesn't have all the connectors to plug-n-play, I decided to look elsewhere. I have looked at Ron Frances, EZ, Centech, and maybe a few more I can't think of. Centech seems to have the best bang for the buck with all the right connectors to plug it in and go.

If any of you have had any luck with any of these, I'd welcome your feedback! If anybody has a truck with a good donor harness, I might be interested if it's complete and in real good shape. I don't want to be chasing electrical gremlins once this thing is together!

 

These are my last progress shots! Brother-in-law has gone back to the rig, and the 'ol lady don't run the spray rig! No more work till one of us fellers gets back to the homestead. Looks a lot better IMHO. Still have to choose a color for final paint, but lots of body work to do before we get there. May go ahead and splurge for a Marti Report and see what the original color was!

Don't know exactly when I'll be home, but hopefully it will be the beginning of next week. Until then, stay tuned for more mayhem and misadventures! Hopefully your projects are going better than mine!

 

Looking good so far !!!! and love the rims and tires.

 

Looks like fun. As far as color goes, I chose AN original color, but not THE original color. I had a tan truck with the dark brown dash, so I painted my truck the "dark brown poly" that came on the dash. I figured there were too many red and blue trucks, so I went another way. One word of caution, when choosing an exterior color, keep in mind the interior will be black, grey, light tan, or pale blue. Bold colors are literally IMPOSSIBLE to get in aftermarket cloth. Leather is easier, but NOBODY has dark colored cloth for automotive interiors. I went with vinyl to get an interior color dark enough for me.

The project is moving along nicely. One more thing to consider. Masking tape is cheap. It's easier to cover things like the grill with tape, then try to scrub over spray off after you're done.

Here's some inspiration for you. This was a rusty 2WD farm truck when I bought it a year ago. (I like your wheels, too)

 

Thanks! They're probably why I bought the truck in the first place. I found the rims a year ago and have been looking for an excuse to snag them ever since! I usually wouldn't run white letters out on mud tires, but my brother-in-law suggested it when the guy was about to mount them up, and I said "what the hell!" Turned out looking pretty boss IMHO!

Thank you guys for the interest and support!

 

Surprisingly, the interior parts are all one color! It has tan door panels, a tan cloth 80's seat, and a brown dash pad. All the inside paint is on the list to be stripped and sanded. I'll probably stick with the existing interior stuff until she's on the road. If it looks too bad then. I may start hunting replacements!

I think they did mask the grill, but it was covered with paint anyway. Notice the brown "racing stripes" on the first picture. Once the glass comes out, I'll pop off the grille to for stripping after final paint.

I hope you guys haven't gotten your hopes up for a show quality paint job! Us poor rednecks have never actually painted a truck before (other than rattle can!). We're gonna do what we can, but I'm pretty sure it can't be worse than it was!

Again, thanks for the compliments, interest, and support!

P.S.: 5-slots rule!

 

OH My what a funny story, I will be watching this progress closely for fun and laughs as you are one hell of a story teller!!

 

At first it looked like you made a alcohol fueled big mistake (don't worry about it , we all have made mistakes in our life's). But those rims and tires and a little primer set you going in a great detection.

Since those are 33's seems you already have a lift on it, win, win.

 

I have assembled lots of "squarebody" Chevys from parts and junkyard scrounging, the number is up there in the teens. I've even swapped roofs twice on runners that trees fell on! I can put one of those together in my sleep. I've had a few of these old fords in the past, including a '74 LWB 4x4 that will be donating a few key components to this build. I don't think I'm in over my head on this one (yet!).

The truck does have a lift for sure, how much I couldn't say. It sits up about the same as my other one did, but does not have the track bar drop bracket. It does have some 70's looking Rancho shocks on it though!

A lot of the work that follows will be bread and butter brakes and bearing work, rebuilding the drive shafts, etc. Unless there is a marked interest in how this stuff is done, I probably won't bother with that stuff here. Besides, I don't know anybody brave enough to stand by while I'm wrenching! The steady stream of obscenities doesn't bother them much, but when I start slinging beers, parts and tools everybody clears out!

 

ahh.. friends and family that can and will turn a wrench. I think your project will just go fine. Those things desperately missing from my project. Just diagnosing a no start condition is taking me days by myself.

 

Invest in a starter button if you don't have one already. Worth its weight in gold when working alone! Don't overlook the basics. With the quality of parts store crap these days, if you recently replaced something, suspect that first! You gotta have air, spark, fuel, and compression to run. Air is almost always a given, you gotta verify the others. Good luck!

Maybe you can find somebody close to you on here to lend you a helping hand. Having a supportive family does make a world of difference, but like dad says "if you don't quit, they'll never beat you!"

 

I love the old school aluminun slots, best looking wheel for a dentside IMO

 

Thanks for all the compliments on my wheels!

 

Why would you want to change that beautiful artistic paint job the PO had done??? It looks seriously better in primer! Go with the vin code for original paint or choose what you like. I saw a solid black dent today that turned my head. Keep up the truck **** for us!
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