live in MO - bought the truck in Cali - that first pic was the day I got it home still had the other guy's plates on it... We get rain all the time here in MO

 

I'll second that statement! Every friggin time the wife and I ride to Missouri, It friggin rains! Usually just enough to make me detail my bike.

 

Paint job? Your truck looks show quality compared to mine the way it sits now.

Best thing I think you could do first, LEARN. Learn how to do the repairs yourself, or with the help of others in your state chapter (hint hint, get involved). Spending a month screwing around learning how to weld thin gauge sheet metal without warping may not seem like the funnest thing to do, until you get a quote for someone else to do the roof.

Cheapest quote I got for a guy to just weld in 1 new floor pan, with me doing all the prep and fitment was $450, I went and bought a decent MIG welder for $165 (Costco clearance) that day. Since I will be replacing 80% of the sheet metal in/on my cab I figure that little welder and a lot of practice will save me $6,000 in labor costs on just the cab.

First thing I work on with a truck after tune up and fluids. The BRAKES, the first time the truck won't start is embarrassing, the first time it won't stop is life threatening. You already has a heavy truck with mediocre brakes, now it has heavy wheels/tires that are much larger than stock and you have 1.5 year old child.... Invest in safety. At a minimum do Hydroboost, may be the last/only brake upgrade you ever do!

I've rambled on enough for now. WE NEED MORE PICTURES IN THE THREAD!!!!!!!!!

 

hydroboost on the list... got it...

And I will get more pictures up in the thread... like I said previously, I'm new to the forum and didn't know if it was ok to post or link to photos or put them in the the thread... I guess you answered that.

I work at a car dealership... hardly have the time with the new boy and work... most of the work I can get done pretty cheap. Not free, and I'm not talking about all the work. But the big stuff, I can read and get advice from FTE on how to get it done the right way the first time, and hopefully help the next guy out when they find their truck and they want to make it their own. I think that is what this forum is all about.

 

Here are some pics - I have intentions on getting into the motor for the valve stem seals and possibly and intake manifold leak this weekend

 

oh and a pic of me driving my boy around the circle drive to put him to sleep....

 

Your truck is cherry compared to what I started with. That roof rust will be a challenge but fixable.

 

Nice truck. I may be biased, but crew cab 4x4 sounds like a perfect cummins candidate. Superduty drivetrain, with cummins powerplant. I liked your paint rendering also.

 

Way nicer than mine, don't tell my wife or my truck I said that. haha

 

Thanks again for all the compliments and suggestions

This diesel conversion stuff is crazy nuts!! Crazy cool... I've been reading on them all night... I'm a FTE junkie all of the sudden. So many possibilities, and all covered in detail in one place.

And I know a good metal fab guy... To be continued...

I'm tearing into this truck ASAP... The rest I'll figure out as I go and continue to research.

I need figure a budget... It won't be right... But it will point me in the right direction...

 

I know how that works! Same thing happened to me a few years ago.
It's turned into a pretty expensive addiction .

 

I hear ya, I joined a while back to get smart on these ol things, maybe some day I will learn a thing or two?

Mikeo0o0o0 The FTE part is not so costly, but the trucks and parts add up after a while don't they? lol

 

Well... took the truck to my lead mechanic today (He's an old ford tech and so was his dad, who worked on these truck new) because it was a quart low again on oil.... showed him the issues I had thought it had. He agreed with both the intake manifold issue and the valve stem seals, but said it has to have a piston seal issue with it losing that much oil and none is leaking on the ground. So I guess that has made the decision on the route I need to go. Tonight will be the last time she runs for a while... to be continued

 

Nice cliff hanger, lol. What are the plans, refresh the motor or pull and rebuild?

 

From a conversation:
"What are you going to do about your problem?
"I don't have a problem, I can quit any time I want to."
"Well, why don't you quit?"
"I don't want to."

FTE isn't the problem....but it sure is an enabler.