Thank You Walston for all the advice and also the articles! I am basically new to all this, so any help I can get I will gladly take it! I will be sure to follow your advice and make sure I document things as well as not sell anything I don't use...Orginally, I was tempted to sell parts I did not need to help fund the project, but the more I think about it and with what you (and others) have said, I am going to hang on to them.

As far as modifications go, once again, the more I think about it, I think the more original I keep the truck, the better I think I will like it in the end. I do want to do a few minor performance upgrades though (Dual exhaust with shorty headers, electronic ignition, Holley 2 Barrel fuel injection etc, nothing major though). And like you said, you can always change it at a later date. And yes, I will definilty be doing all the safety mods that you discussed.

My uncle is an insurance guy, so hopefully, he will be able to help me and dad figure out that part of the "puzzle".

By the way, great looking truck in your avatar! Just curious as to what year it is? Know it has got to be a '58-'60, right?

 

Edit: Just saw your truck is a 1960 Walston! Very nice!

 

We are definitely gonna need more pictures.

 

I will post some more pics of the truck later today for you guys. Anyone have a way I can load pics into my thread without having to use photobucket? It has not been working well for me lately...

Also, I do have a couple questions about my truck...

1. Since it is a Custom Cab, it should have a horn ring right? Mine just has the push button in the center of the wheel.

2. Are the big side mirrors factory or did someone add them at a later time?

Thanks,
Taylor

 

Welcome Taylor and congrats. You are so lucky and keep in mind when you are with that truck you are in the the presence of greatness. Maybe you will be able to hand it down to your grandson. Enjoy

 

Taylor,

If you click on my name "Walston" you can select "view gallery". There you can see a lot of the stuff we have been talking apart. Yes mine is a 60. Not too many differences in the 57-60 trucks. Grill and head lights; hoods,bumpers, interior **** colors, not a big bunch more. I think there is a thread or two that covers this in detail. You can do a search. There is also a lot of information in the 48-56 Forum since we used to be part of that group, it was originally 48-60.

I am not sure if the ring horn was in all custom cabs, someone else may know for sure.

The mirrors look to be aftermarket. They may have been a dealer option, but I don't think they were Ford.

 

Checked My '59 Custom Cab and it has the horn ring

 

As Walston said, the mirrors look to be added later. Most dealers would install whatever the customer specified back then, but your "west coasters" look to be a bit newer.
As for horn rings, we'll have to get the word from some '57 owners there. I know '59 and '60 Custom Cabs came with the ring and windshield trim, armrest, etc.

 

Thanks for the congrats and welcome! It is very special to me and I will enjoy every minute of working on and driving it. I do hope I can pass it on to my own family someday! Don't have any plans to ever sell it.

I did go through your pic gallery and there were some very helpful pictures in there that I will for sure be referring back to them as I build my truck. Thanks for the info on the differences between the years and also for the info on the horn ring and mirrors. Yah, I was kinda thinking the mirrors were aftermarket as well. I kinda like how these look as they make it look like a farm truck plus they do give better visibility than the little round ones.

Ok, Thanks for checking!

Ok, thanks for the info! Like I said above, kinda figured they were not stock but had to ask. I definitively think they add to the truck's looks. Yah, hopefully some '57 guys will chime in about the horn. Would really like to know about that.

 

Just wanted to say thanks again to everyone for the all kind words, advice, and help! Like I have said, I am new to all this so any help I can get along the way is very appreciated! I am super glad I decided to join this forum with this great group of guys!

Really looking forward to getting more involved in the forum and also updating this build/restoration thread!

Photo bucket has not been working well for me, but when it gets fixed, I will be putting up more pics of my truck.

 

My '57 did NOT have the horn ring, the steering wheel and horn button were very similar to the '56. I thought I read somewhere the horn ring was a '59-'60 item, but I'm not certain about that.

 

One of your first purchases should be a shop manual. There are several for sale on Ebay. I prefer the actual book, but there are also CD copies for sale. For example:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ORIGINAL-1957-FORD-TRUCK-SHOP-MANUAL-F100-F250-F350-F900-FORD-MOTOR-COMPANY-/191035155286?pt=Motors_Manuals_Literature&hash=item2c7a952356&vxp=mtr

 

Ok, Thanks a bunch for the info! I am going to think they did not come with a horn ring in '57 then. No big deal, was just curious.

Thanks for the tip! Actually already ordered a shop manual and also an operator's manual from Ebay and they came in the mail Friday. Thought I better be prepared!

 

Sounds like you are off to a good start. Best of luck and holler if you need help on something. Father / son projects are the best ones, so enjoy your time. Redoing the 60 with my son was a real blessed experience.

 

Thanks Walston! Ever since I found out I am getting the truck, I have been trying to research things on the internet etc that will help me with my restoration. Figured the more I knew, the better the build would go. I am very excited about doing this with my dad as I have been wanting to do a project like this with him for awhile now. And I am sure I will lots of questions for you guys along the way!