Hi guys,

New to the forum, just purchased a 1958 Ford F-100 over the weekend. I have been browsing for a long time and finally settled on one.

I am looking to do a full restore, and i'm bracing myself for what lies ahead.
Don't know much about the truck, bought it off a mechanic who only bought it for the bed. He gave me the registration card from the previous owner, last registration shows 1992 in Beaumont, CA.

VIN: F10J8L11629
BODY TYPE MODEL: ZH58TINS

I have it out on the street in front of my house right now. I have a garage but its only about 18x8, so the truck will fit once I get it running, just won't leave much room to work around it (driveway is on an incline and truck is too heavy to push in). Over the weekend I pulled the bench seat and fuel tank. Nastiest gas I have ever smelled or laid my eyes on. Do you recommend cleaning the tank or purchasing a new one? Also the fuel lines were clogged with what looked like RTV sealant, i'm guessing it's just gunk from sitting for so many years?? Im all for doing a lot of the work myself, just need to browse this forum for more tips.

Gonna be a fun adventure and I hope to post updates as often as possible. Any tips or encouragement is greatly appreciated. Take a look at the pics in my album and tell me what ya think!

 

If you can afford it, replace the tank. If not, clean and seal it. Same goes for the fuel line. Hang on to the old fuel level sensor, they're hard to find.

 

Welcome to the Fridge forum. I can't wait to see pics of your project.

 

An electric winch in garage is helpful.

 

I am sort of at the same place you are. I used a glass jar and a short tube with a filter until I rebuilt the carb and had it running. I will clean the tank the best I can and put a filter before the pump until I finish several other projects on the truck. After I have it painted I will then make more improvements on my truck. Sometimes it is better to hurry up and wait. If you are just going to drive it then you should spend more time on the small stuff.
good luck

 

Thanks for the tips guys! Ill be diving in a little deeper tomorrow and trying to clean out the fuel tank. I took off the radiator and hoses last night. Peeked in with a flashlight into the water pump and saw nothing but gunk. Im gonna post pics tomorrow, my pics from last night in the dark aren't the best.

 

How do you plan on cleaning out the tank? I ve seen different videos on youtube of people using chain/rocks and shaking the hell out of it. Not really a fan of the rock trick, seems like more work to get them back out. Would blasting it with vinegar and water work?

 

Getting rocks or whatever you use isn't that difficult if you first take teh tank out. Get some methyl ethyl ketone (MEK). I prefer to use 3/8" nuts as the abrasive. Just count the # you use before putting them in. You can basically use anything. If you have a "20 year box" of hardware, use that. I like using the Kreem gas tank liner. I've done many motorcycle gas tanks with it and it works well.
Also make sure you remove anything attached to the tank and seal the holes up with some aluminum tape or equivalent. Haven't used gorilla tape, but it may suffice.

 

Ive got the tank out. I like the 3/8" nuts idea better. I think ill give it a shot tomorrow and post updates. Might take some work, I think some screws on the sending unit might be stripped. Thanks for the tip on the Kreem gas tank liner, seems like a solid option.

 

Had not thought about the nuts. I will just use small gravel then diesel. I also will put a inline filter between the tank and fuel pump. I looked into the coating products but heard that sometimes they will flake after awhile. Will start this weekend. I will not count, just listen for the rattle.
ec

 

If you're not using a coating, the diesel will do fine for cleaning the tank. If you can get away without a coating, by all means.

 

If you are not going to coat the tank, after you get it as clean as you can i would buy some rust converter to convert the rust and that will stop the rusting for a good while. Its not a coating,it just kills the rust.

 

I fastened one onto a tractor wheel with ratchet straps. Sharp gravel and nuts, couldn't decide which to use. Tumbled it with water for a couple hours and it was really clean where I could look inside. Didn't coat it. Saved me some $ and it's still original.

 

How clean should the tank be to safely re-use it? I did the first run of cleaning with nuts and MEK, and this is how it looks. Still pretty rusty... Is it ok to coat when it looks like this, or should I do another run of the nuts and MEK and then coat it?

 

That still looks pretty nasty. I'd try again. You can reuse the MEK. Just let the junque settle to the bottom and pour the fluid off