I bought this 1979 F-250 Ranger 4x4 back in 2004. Thought I'd restore eventually but that hasn't been the case. Recently we had decided to sell it until someone looked at it and I was sad to see it was going to go. Therefore, I pulled it off the market and I have decided it's time.

Here is the thing, I grew up around these things in the 70's and 80's in my fathers Ford garage. I am pretty novice to the automobile though. I can change oil, brakes, plugs, etc....all the maintenance stuff. To take on a rebuild though? I don't need to drive it while its getting restored. What is the best way to approch this....books, literature, mauals, etc.... I don't want to just jump in and start tearing things apart for no rhyme or reason.

How to I approch this project and manage it?

Michael

 

Buy a manual, Haynes or Chilton or something similar will go a long ways towards helping you through the tougher stuff.

Sections. That is the best advice i can give. Depending on comfort, knowledge, space, experience will dictate where you should start.

For instance. Body: diagnose any rust bad enough to require cutting out (cancer). Start there cut it out get your patch panels done. After that you can move on to body work. Start wiht one side or end and move on. For instance (if youre pulling it apart to do it good) pull the hood and get the body work done. Then fenders, doors, bed, tailgate etc. This saves space, keeps things organized, and helps keep you from feeling overwhelmed.

Same thing can be done with about anything, well except interior.. thats just kinda always a mess.

Keep things organized, if youre going to let it drag on a little bit LABEL LABEL LABEL. Putting all the bolts from the front clip into a coffee can is not the best way to stay organized.

 

Arm yourself with knowledge, the FACTORY manuals and parts catalogs are an excellent start.
Sit down and make a plan. Decide what you want to do. Is it going to be a daily driver, weekend cruiser, off-road king, trailer queen?
How far do you want to go? How much work can you do yourself, how much will need to be farmed out. What level of quality will be acceptable to you.
Make a list of what needs to be done. First, safety items, brakes, steering, suspension. Second, reliability, engine, driveline and electrical systems. Third, comfort and convenience items and last, appearance items.
Set a realistic budget and add a chunk for contingencies that always pop up.
Get a digital camera and TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES durring disassembly. No matter what you may think, you will not remember how it goes back together, period!
Like hairyboxnoogle said, keep organized. Bag and label everything as you take it apart.
And lastly, start a build thread here. You'll get lots of comments, suggestions and ideas. It'll help keep you on track and not lose interest.
Be sure to post lot's of pictures, we all LOVE truck ****.

 

As far as approach, there are a couple of basic ways to do it.
Full bottom up rebuild OR upgrade as you go.
Of course there are different levels of each of these strategies but basically, there are the two.
If you want to drive it as you upgrade then start with getting it safe and road worthy. I have taken this path. Then do what you can, when you can.
You stated that you don't need it to get around with so you might choose to do a full ground up rebuild or some level of that (check out Mike0o0o0's thread). If you choose this route you have to guard against being gung ho and getting a pile of parts in the driveway then getting overwhelmed and grinding to a halt.
That's where FTE comes in. The folks here will do much for your state of mind.
There's nothing we love more (sorry honey) than watching a good build. So take lots of great pictures. Starting now.
Good luck

 

It's taken me nearly fifteen years to reduce my "mountain of parts" to a "pile of parts".
The closet in the master bedroom has a "parts department" sign over the door, for good reason .
A little self-promotion, here's a link to my build thread.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...with-pics.html

 

In your case, perfection takes time.

 

Agree the two basic approaches are "ground up rebuild" and "sections". It depends what you are starting with and how long you want the truck apart. My '78 F250 wasn't too bad and I didn't want it apart for long periods of time so I did "sections". Basic maintenance catch up was a start but even that was and is in "sections" to some extent. Working brakes and tight steeing first. In addition, full brake overhaul, PS pump, replace cracked rear springs, shocks, radiator, heater core, tuneup and reman carb.

On the resto, a big section was the box and frame. I pulled the box, repaired wheel arches and a few other spots where rust or hard use had taken a toll and re-painted it. The frame was needle peened, primed and painted along with the underside of the cab.

Another section was wheels and tires. I finally bit the bullet and replaced the 16.5 wheels with 16's and good rubber.

Right now it looks decent and runs great. I have gotten a lot of use out of it as a weekend work truck and a "second" car. Also a lot of "hey nice truck" comments.

Next up? On the mechanical side, I'd like to go through the front drive axle (U joints and bearings as needed) as preventative maintenance. On the body I'll pull fenders, doors and cab mat to clean, repair as needed and re-paint. Maybe this winter.

After that, maybe an upgraded uprated 400 engine... although the current one is fairly low miles and runs fine.

 

Yes, as stated earlier, I don't even drive this truck right now. It's sitting outside. Overall, it needs a tune up big time as it just runs rough. Carb and spark plugs probably to start off with if I wanted to keep driveing it? Rust wise, the driver side floor board next to the door actually rusted through so it has a piece of sheet metal pop riveted to it to cover it up. Other rust on the truck is mostly surface rust that could be sand blasted off. Obviously, yes there could be some rust elsewhere hidden that I may not be aware of. There is a crease in the passenger door. It was there when I got it. Paint on hood is alligatored and cracked. Overall, I love the truck.

I like to do things the "right" way and am not a "jerryrigger" or "corner cutter" Isn't the best way to do this is to start from the frame up and go over absolutly everything? I guess what I want in the end will dictate that. I am not going to put it into car shows nor do I want it all chromed out everywhere. I want it as a reliable daily driver and like new. That is probably kinda broad but thats what I want. I feel that if I do it and still drive it, there are certain things I will not be able to do. For instance, how would I sandblast the frame and have it repainted if I am still driveing it? Thats one of my bigger questions.

 

On page 23 of 24 in the 1979 F-250 4x4 gallery, Greg Saye has pictures of his burgundy/champagne truck. That is what I want. Is that just a pipe dream? I want to think not.

 

^^^^Most important thing.^^^^

As far as the rust goes, you'll have to evaluate that yourself. How much is bad, how long to fix it with my level of expertise.
I can give you my own experience. When I first got my truck it didn't run at all and had a few rust issues. It took two, four day, all out thrashes to get it ready for the road including replacing the floor. Since then I have been able to drive it as I fix it up and I love it. But that's my deal.