So I've got my '58 F100 and I love it. Like all of them, it needs a fair amount of work, but lately I've been weighing the pros and cons of "investing" the money into it. I'm definitely not looking to do a full-on restoration, nor do I have any desire to have a show truck. So here's where I'm at. Let me know if you think I'm crazy for considering spending money at this point. Keep in mind, it's probably a $3500 truck on a good day.

What I want to do to it (in order of priority):
Rebuild (probably just the heads) of the 272, or replace it with a decent used motor. It runs awesome, but burns a lot of oil. Has good compression and doesn't really leak.
Recover the seat with leather (will probably get a seat from a donor truck since a lot of my springs are broken).
Patch/replace floors (they aren't terrible, but they aren't good) and coat with bedliner. The steps are also pretty far gone.
Headers and exhaust
Install a parking brake
Replace doors and paint the whole truck. Doors look good, but the bottoms are both rotted out. Decent doors can be had cheap, and since I want to change the color of the truck, I figure that would be a good time to swap them. It'll be a cheap paint job.

Pros (what the truck has going for it; reasons to do the above work):
Runs awesome (it's my only car so whenever I'm not on my motorcycle I'm in the truck)
Mostly original (except paint, alternator)
Looks cool (ok, all old trucks look cool)
Bed isn't all rotted (I patched and reinforced some areas already and then bed lined it)
Almost everything works

Cons (what it's got against it; reasons not to do the above work)
No sentimental value (ok, some, but the truck isn't a family heirloom or anything)
Not an especially desirable truck (small window, long bed, 2wd, etc.)
Crappy Maaco paint job
No power steering, no power brakes
My fiancé can't drive it due to the no PS

Thanks for your help!

Here are some pics:

 

I would fix her up . I am a bit biased though . I Love old vehicles . I see potential there . And to me , the long bed , is desirable .

 

Yeah, I'm with you. This is the first long bed I've had and I don't know how I ever managed with 2 less feet! The problem is that I know rebuilding the motor is going to set me back $1k+ because I don't want to do it myself. At what point do you reach the point of diminishing returns?

Kind of considering getting a little econo-box pickup truck for all of my truck needs, and then getting something else to satisfy the "toy" category. With this I'm trying to do both with one vehicle.

 

I look at it a bit differently . I am not looking for resale value . I look at the price of a new truck and realize I can do a bunch of work to mine !I am not spending anywhere close to a truck payment each month on my truck .It does all I need , and then some . But I tend to keep a vehicle for a while . I still have my first car ( 53 Pontiac ) So as I said I am a bit biased . My " new " car is a 98 Kia . My wife drives a 04 Mountineer .

 

Yeah I don't think I'll ever buy a new truck again. I was thinking about buying some $2k Japanese 4cyl or a Ranger or something. I honestly don't drive much. I put about 15k a year on my motorcycles and about 5k/yr on my truck.

 

Well , find someone that is into old trucks , willing to fix her and not scrap her . You can buy something to suit your needs , more modern , PS and auto cheaper than restoring what you have . But , Biased , just get what you have up to a daily driver , brake upgrade and add PS . Best of luck deciding !

 

Not ready to do that just yet, just looking for opinions on my options. It's a daily driver now, just burns a lot of oil.

 

looks like you already have a great game plan, I say attack it and post lots of pictures with your progress

 

If you're looking for a return on your investment, you will be disappointed. Most people fix up these old trucks because they love them. Not to get rich doing it. If you need a daily driver with the creature comforts, PS, PB, etc, punt this one, go buy an econobox and be happy. If you want to roll in something with style, fix this one up and enjoy it. You will never find a stylish econobox so don't waste your time looking for one. I vote for fixing up this one. Good Luck. Jim

 

Seems that beyond motor issue; everything is basic repairable, worst part of it is the floor; but easy patch panel, if its burning a lot of oil; I don't think just head work is going to solve the problem. If it isn't costing u money to have it as a daily driver, keep it and repair as money and time comes available.

 

Kits available to install PS, PB, etc