My new project. Here's the back story, my dad has had this truck for the last 30 years. It has been sold and bought back, traded off and saved from a garage fire. Recently my dad had to sell of some rigs and put his business on hold for financial reasons. And when the scrape man came around the truck was half way on the tow truck. I have loved this truck and wanted it all my life. I had 2 78 f150's that I was in the process of working on and he opportunity arouse to trade them to my dad. It sucks that they other trucks got scraped but I save a relic in my mind. It is a 54 F-something but it has been placed on a 74 F250 hi-boy frame and running gear. It runs and drives but need some love and minor work (ok major work)



I hope to get to work on it a little here and there and have it in road worthly this winter.

 

Sweet truck! Awesome story with it too!

What are you plans for it? Not a whole lot of us 4x4 guys around (mine is in the process of swapping over).

Looks like you have a '55 Grille on it fyi.

Does it still have the VIN plate? Make it easier telling what it originally was, the other option was to look for the stamp on the frame so that ways out.

Slick truck, glad you could save it. Looks like the people who worked on it earlier did a decent job on the chassis swap too, those can be tricky to get everything to sit right.

 

Good eye it is in fact a 54 but has 55 front end it was a parts truck originally that came with a ton of parts. My plan is to finish it. Lol but I don't know really. My dad had a lot of plans for it and was worki g on it steadily but came across a 51 1 1/2 ton chicken farm truck that is on a 79 3/4 ton frame that is his project now. I am open to suggestions.

 

My dad did all the swap work used to be on the original frame with Cheby running gear. So that had to change.

 

Well, your dad does great work. Most people who swap the frame always get the bed and stance funny, always nice to see it done that nice.

As far as ideas for it, what where you looking to use the truck for mainly? It looks like all your mechanicals have been updated, so it should make for a pretty good daily driver, especially in this area of the country (granite I'm almost 900 miles away, but this norther section is a lot like weather wise). Looks like it could just use some paint and be called done.

 

I plan on using it for... I will drive it now and then. It needs the wiring for the lights and such. We stretched the bed to fit the frame, so it's an 8 foot bed now it has to have a bed floor installed and some interior finished like all of it. As far as paint I have no clue what to do. Don't know the color or what.




I think that it was a large heavy duty truck before. Cause this plaque has not be removed from anything and added.

 

Cool project!

 

Thanks for the complements. I hope to start working on it soon but I will have to wait I have surgery on my wrist in the morning ( broke it while I was over seas ) so the parts gathering begins I scored 2 original heater from a 55 from an older farmer that is a customer from work. So I am going to go through them and I am going to pull the carb apart and rebuild it. Since it starts a little fire when I fire it up, from leaking on the headers.

 

It's Been a while, but I have been researching some ideas and parts. I took the 2 heaters and pulled them apart and went through them. I got one working really good and I sold the other one to a friend, who installed it in a bobcat only to find out that the it is a 6 volt system. I am glad that I didn't install it in my truck yet. Got it to work in th bobcat with a reducer? ( I can't remember what it is called, but is necked down the 12v to 6 volts at the heater and is still working). The one rebid issue I am researching is converting the truck to 12 volts. Must of it seems straight forward ie lights and such but I have read that the gauges and heater will have issues or catch on fire. I read that the wires will handle 12 volts but I want to replace or make a harness since this is my long term resto project. I haven't found a gauge cluster I like. The original look is coolest but I don't really like the digital versions. Dad and I went through the body mounts and such so the next project is 12 volt wiring system.