Good idea

 

Ahhh.. the start of a new project. What a great time! Good luck, and share the pix with us. They all start ugly and some actually eventually get finished. And that was not a dig on Niolin. Seriously, I wish I was starting a new project, but I just don't have the room. Jag

 

One thing that has helped me more than anything is taking small steps one at a time instead of looking at the whole project all the time. I set weekly goals, then break that goal down into daily goals.

My most recent weekly goal (written on the dry erase board in my garage) looked like this....

GOAL - Cab floor
Saturday - clean bottom of cab & inspect for rusted areas that need repair. ***when I find areas that need repair I circle them with a Sharpie. Then I number them, usually starting in the top left corner.***

Sunday - repair areas 1-4
Monday - areas 5-6
Tuesday - clean and sand firewall and bottom of cab
Wednesday - 1st coat of bed liner - I used Herculiner, available in a kit at Lowe's for about $70. GREAT STUFF! went on easily, covered great, dries fairly quickly, and looks good.
Thursday - 2nd coat of bed liner
Friday - check all bolt holes, make sure threads are clean, check to make sure I have all the bolts, washers, etc. that I need.
Saturday - go get any bolts, etc. that I need to install cab on frame. Install cab, front clip, and hood.
Sunday - drink beer and watch football!!!

I don't do much on it during the week, usually no more than an hour to an hour and a half per day. I've found that breaking it down this way keeps me focused on what needs to be done. If I find something during the process, I write it on the board. When I finish one week, I decide what to do the next week and start the process all over.

I will agree with taking LOTS of pictures and tagging and bagging everything! I've wasted many hours and dollars chasing down nuts, bolts, washers, etc. because I only bagged the things I thought I would re-use. I should have kept EVERYTHING!!!

 

In this digital age. Take pictures. Lots and lots of pictures. Small things catch me on 're assembling. Which way a linkage went. Exactly what holes a relay bolted on. Where exactly a Wire or cable went through the firewall. Pictures and zoom have often saved my bacon. And build it with parts your familiar with; my model a got a 3.8 supercharged engine from a 1990. Thunderbird. I have owned about 9 vehicles with 3.8s. So I know their flaws and quirks. And the best part is its a ford in my Ford. And old guys flip Cuz it's not adirty gas guzzling Chevy 350 with an ancient coffee can with holes in it dripping fuel in. Lol ok just my 2 cents: it's your truck restore it Rod it or do whatever you can imagine. If your comfortable with the technology you use then you can do the work yourself and service it after; I see on tv every build out of those shops get an ls1 fuel injected thing that the guy buying couldn't even change the oil on. Kinda sad.

 

Welcome. Mid fifty, LMC, and Dennis Carpenter are the common parts suppliers. I've used the 1st 2 with good results and have heard good stuff about carpenter too.

 

Looks like mid fifty doesn't have much for a 1950. I will check LMC and carpenter

 

You may already know, but Classic Haulers is a good source for the 48-52's.

 

As is Mac's

 

Classic Haulers and MidFifty are the same company I believe. I've bought tons of stuff from Classic Haulers, great quality parts (at least everything that I've bought) and good people.

Depending on what you are planning for mods, Speedway can be a good parts source also. Disc brakes, brakes booster packages, etc... with good prices.

 

No I did not now these parts suppliers... Thanks

 

One thing I would add is to stay as close to the plan as possible. I have found that if you make changes to the plan it causes a ripple effect down the line and you end up spending more time and money to undo/re-do things, which delay's the overall project completion.
Welcome aboard!
w

 

MACs Auto Parts out of NY is another supplier I have used. Carpenter has really good shipping with a flat rate of 14.99 for over $100 (other than hoods, fenders and other large body parts with truck freight). That can save a lot in some cases compared to other suppliers. Watch your wish list for what is really needed at first so cost don't overtake you like I have done a few times. A spreadsheet or similar item as you see what you need or just want is helpful and a good cost predictor. I did not do the pics posted above and have paid the price for it. Wished I had known and utilized that tip originally.

 

As someone who recently started down a similar path, I can only echo what others have said: document, document, document EVERYTHING you do, everything you take apart, etc. Digital cameras are indeed a Godsend for this. My truck was started by a well-intentioned fellow back in 1998 who threw the nuts, bolts, screws, washers etc into a tool box as he took it apart, apparently thinking it would be back together so soon the disorganization wouldn't matter. It's shaping up to be the most annoying part of the job for me.

I'd also suggest sticking to the simple plan you already have for getting the truck going. There are a handful of changes I want to make to this truck but decided it would be better to get it 'done' so to speak, first. Too easy to get disillusioned when things get drawn out more and more. As well, it's easier to make changes to suspension etc from a known quantity in my book. Easier to see when you actually introduce a problem that wasn't there before.

Beyond that - good luck and stay with it!

 

Welcome to FTE. I don't have a tip for you but my advice would be to pace yourself. I'm in the middle of a project and because of a deadline I have due to where my truck is located (i have to get it out of there by the end of October), I've done nothing but work on my truck and spend money almost everyday. Kind of takes the fun out of the project when there's a deadline. Enjoy the build and post plenty of photos.
Good luck!

Wally

 

Actually Classic Haulers and Mid Fifty are "sister" businesses, as in they are each owned by the other's sister. Yes, they are both all female owned and run companies, and those gals know their stuff! They also know how to treat customers like they are important to them, great to do business with!
I posted a suggestion on how to plan a build a little while ago, it can be found in this topic
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...1955-f250.html
Unfortunately my front end alignment info referenced was for the 53-56.