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After a little over two years of searching I have finally found my baby while searching craigslist late one night!
1978 F150 Ranger extended cab *Trailer edition*
400M
C6
2WD
58,289 miles
She came with a new radiator.
Carb rebuild (2 barrel)
Cap, plugs and wires.
Originally an Oregon truck there is little to no rust. All said and done I paid $3850.00
I am a younger guy. Just turned 30, I have owned a few early 90's F150's but this is my first vehicle with a carburetor. My goal by the time I am done is to have this truck look like it just rolled off the assembly line. That is were the you all come in. I learn quick and am not afraid to get my hands dirty. I will post some pictures tomorrow on a few problem areas, (rust starting to form on top of the drip rail over the doors) and what I should do to refinish the interior of the box.
I do have two projects I want to do immediately and I would love to hear any advice you may have!
#1 Replace the radio and install speakers. Want the radio to fit with the times
Looking at the USA-630. Has anyone used this and if so what are your thoughts? Also looking to install some good quality clear sounding speakers. Is the original speaker installed in the dash?
#2 This truck has the rubber floor and I noticed some light rust on top of the floor pans. I want to remove the flooring and rust, apply a primer to prevent future rust, (any suggestions?) and install carpeting. Any suggestions on the best flooring out there? I found this website and wondering if it is any good?74-79 Ford Full Size Truck, Standard Cab Carpet 2 WD 4 Speed 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979
#3 The window seals, especially on the drivers side door need replacing. Loud as hell when driving over 35 MPH. Never worked with glass, how hard is it and who makes the best replacement seals?
I will keep this thread updated with pictures and questions as I go along.
My first priority is trying to stop the rust. Living in North Dakota if I let it continue I will not have much of a truck left after a few years.
Rust above and below the drip rail. In order to fix this should I try removing the rail all together? Or could a guy sand a thin strip above and below the rail bringing it to bare metal then touching it up and blending?
First thing I want to do within the next few weeks is to tear up the floor and get rid of the rust starting to form. Per your suggestion HI0 Silver, I see Eastwood makes a 'Rust converter" Should I treat the floor with that before coating it with the rust encapsulater? I want to install a good sound barrier/insulation along with carpet. Who makes flooring that is as close to the OEM as possible?
Next step is the bed. Rust is minimal for a 36 year old truck. What rust there is seems to be just at the surface. I have little to know painting experience, but might try my hand on this bed to see how it turns out.
Also, has anyone used a good undercoat they recommend? What would the pros and cons be of treating the underside be?
Well you certainly have a nice starting point. Although it appears to be missing a tooth in the front. Lol. As far as the roof is concerned I'd suggest finding a good restoration/bodyshop that has a sandblaster. Unless you want to try your hand at that yourself. But beware you can warp the metal when sandblasting. But that's the best way to tackle that area and be sure you removed all the rust. Then coat the metal with a good epoxy primer them glaze the deep craters of the rust scabs with a good polyester filler. Then apply a good 2 part primer surfacer. Then sand and paint. As far as a good under coat look into Fluid film and other products like that. Just be sure to coat the deep crevices like where the braces and the outer panels meet, and up around and between the inner wheel house and the outer bedside. That's where the dirt and moisture get trapped and do their damage. Whatever you do stay away from rubberized undercoats. They eventually crack and peel. Thus trapping more dirt and moisture. Which is what you don't want to do.
Took her into a few different classic car restoration shops for a quote on repairing the rust on the drip rail and box. Found an old timer who seems to have forgotten more about body work than I will ever know myself. Said he will remove the drip rails, sandblast and fill in anyplace that needs to be filled then paint above and below the molding blending it into the roof.
The box would be completely sandblasted, with two quarter sized dents on the top rail fixed then repainted and blended in. He was concerned about how the blend would look until he buffed out a small portion on the box and said it would be almost unnoticeable! He quoted $750 bucks for everything is that a fair price?
I have the other tooth on its way paredneck! and thankyou for your suggestions on the undercoat. Fluid film looks like a good product, would it have to be re-applied every year?
That's a great price. Especially if he does exactly what he says he will do. But then again I'm guessing that doesn't include the cost of the material? From what I've heard and read about fluid film is, yes it will need recoated yearly, at least where it see the most water.
New carpet ordered, POR-15 ordered. Few other small odds and ends.
Thinking about removing the rear towing bumper. blasting it then powdercoating it brown to match the panels. Has anyone done this before? right now its just a big ugly grey thing!
I will post several pictures when the floor refinish starts. In the mean time i thought this was a pretty darn neat picture!
New radio, hidden amp and speakers. $650
New carpet, Dynaflex, POR-15 and lots of elbow grease. $375
Having the bed and drip rails blasted and repainted (Do not trust myself on this one) $700
Wife said tonight that she thought this would be a $3850 dollar purchase and not cost much more...
Now, it has the 400 engine and she is using oil. Roughly a quart after driving 400 miles is that considered excessive for this engine? I need to decide if I start with replacing valve covers etc, or pull the motor and do a complete rebuild. Would like to get rid of the EGR crap while boosting the compression, mileage, and if the performance took a jump I would not be sad about it.
From what I am seeing in the forums a decent rebuild will cost around $3000-$3500?
My end goal with this truck is to have a reliable everyday driver with enhancements to the comfort, amenities, and performance while maintaining a near stock appearance. Everything is original right now, I know I may be hurting the value by changing some things... But Lord willing I will never sell this truck
Nice truck. Thanks for not making it into another high-boy street rod. When all the
stock trucks are butchered up, the prices for the restored ones will go through the roof.
Nice truck. Thanks for not making it into another high-boy street rod. When all the
stock trucks are butchered up, the prices for the restored ones will go through the roof.
I know what you mean... I have nothing against street rods or high-boys. But there is a simple beauty in an old almost stock truck.
Every time a young guy looks at it the first words out of his/her month is 'Whoa h you need to put a 6 in lift and some 35's on!" Every time an older gentle stops to take a look they have a little glimmer in there eye "I used to own one just like her!"
Again nothing against modified. I want one of those one day as well. But this one I want to remain original.
So far everything you mentioned that you'd like to do to personalize your truck will have minimal effect on the value. And that's because it could be very easily put back to bare bones stock. As far as the oil is concerned, Yes that does sound excessive. However the things you need to watch for and determine is where is the oil going? Is it getting burnt? Or is lost due to leaking gaskets and seals? How many miles are on the engine? Does it have good compression? Is it smoking at all? If so what color is the smoke? As long as everything checks out to be all good, and is just losing the oil due to leaking gaskets. Then just replace the gaskets that are bad. No sense in a total rebuild if it doesn't need it. However if it is burning oil, has a loss of compression, or any else then yeah it'll need a complete tear down and rebuild. Hope this helps.
As far as the wife goes. Just re-assure her that when the truck is all done the way you want it'll still be cheaper then a new truck and 10 times better than any of the plastic wanna be trucks.
As far as the wife goes. Just re-assure her that when the truck is all done the way you want it'll still be cheaper then a new truck and 10 times better than any of the plastic wanna be trucks.
Hahaha! Yes that is eventually what it came too! As we are sitting out on the balcony having a couple beers and discussing this during some "Intense fellowship" I pointed to her 2014 Camry and asked.. "I forget honey, what did we pay for that again?" A major eye roll later I think the point came across
So far everything you mentioned that you'd like to do to personalize your truck will have minimal effect on the value. And that's because it could be very easily put back to bare bones stock. As far as the oil is concerned, Yes that does sound excessive. However the things you need to watch for and determine is where is the oil going? Is it getting burnt? Or is lost due to leaking gaskets and seals? How many miles are on the engine? Does it have good compression? Is it smoking at all? If so what color is the smoke? As long as everything checks out to be all good, and is just losing the oil due to leaking gaskets. Then just replace the gaskets that are bad. No sense in a total rebuild if it doesn't need it. However if it is burning oil, has a loss of compression, or any else then yeah it'll need a complete tear down and rebuild. Hope this helps.
So far no puddles underneath. The only time she has smoke is at start up. I have not checked the compression yet, however after looking again I noticed oil around the valve covers the engine has 58,789 miles on it now.
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and thankyou for your suggestions on the undercoat. Fluid film looks like a good product, would it have to be re-applied every year?
