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Welcome to the Build thread of my F100. The project will be broken down in different stages. First priority is getting it fully road worthy etc as i want to use it daily during the resto/mod.
Id recently had a gutsfull of modern cars, over complicated, silly issues, expensive to fix...being kicked in the nuts by depreciation etc.
I have always wanted an F100, in alot of ways its my dream car. I finally decided to just do it..I sold my BMW, and bought one. Was told it was mechanically sound etc but the paint was a little rough. I bought it without seeing it and paid to have it delivered.
It was delivered to my works, i finished work and drove it home...The romantic dream is a little far away at the moment haha. The steering was scary...really scary (5 inches of free-play). I managed it, and the feeling and sound alone made me fall in love. There should be alot of quick progress, then it may slow down for a while as i plan out the projects bigger stages such as IFS, air ride etc.
My initial plan...
Initially i had it laid out in my head, i wanted it to look like an F100, but drive like a modern car, That included Disc Brakes, Power Steering, Air Conditioning etc etc. I have always wanted air ride, a number of my friends have it on their rides and i like the idea. Obviously for this to take place, the ideal setup would be an IFS install and a 4 link setup on the rear with bags. I've come across a few kits, but I'll worry about that later down the line.
I had idea's of swapping out the engine (A 272 y Block) for something with alot more power...tbh at the moment, i may forget that plan, the engine sounds fantastic and im wondering realistically how much power do i actually need...Thoughts may change later down the line but at present, i plan to hold onto the motor.
Heres how she looked when she was delivered last week.
As previously stated, this is going to be my daily driver. So priority is get it on the road in a safe and usable condition asap.
First Priorities were sort out the death steering. Im all for adventure but im not brave enough to deal with 5" of play.
12v Conversion - When it arrived, i was pleasently surprised to discover it had already been done. (This was a half victory)
Paint to tidy up the appearance - I have an OCD and i like things to be clean and tidy and organised etc. Leaving it with the current paint scheme was a no go, even if i just spend a small amount of money, paint it myself to improve it in the meantime.
First Parts Order
After spending a few hours around the truck, a few things became obvious.
1. The wiring was a electrical fire waiting to happen, it had been 12v converted...badly...by a monkey.
2. The door latches - particularly passenger side were badly worn and the passenger door could randomly open on its own.
3. The window rubbers etc were ruined and the passenger window rattled its brains out.
4. The interior in general was junk, the drivers side of the seat was falling through, ripped and the springs damaged.
With this in mind, i set about my first order. I ended up on Mid-Fifty's website, order'd a boat load of items including a full 400 series power steering upgrade, box, pump, lines...the works.
I ordered new door rubbers and anti rattle kit.
Altmans door locks.
Extended roll pan with number plate recess.
Numerous steering items to change along with the power steering.
Full Dakota digital dash
Various service items (leads, plugs, oil filter, etc)
And a number of other 'essentials'.
New rear light clusters incorporating tail light, stop light and indicators in one unit. I plan to recess these into the roll-pan.
True to the sellers words, the mechanical of the truck were pretty good. Engine sounded great and pulled well. The 3 speed manual changed gear exceptionally well. The brakes had already been refurbished by himself.
First job i did was to rip out all of the interior, carpets, sound proofing etc and set about the wiring. I cut it all out, I say cut...this lot wasnt even connected to anything, it was all just tied up in the loom
The lights worked, but the front lights were very dim and there was a 30 sec delay for them coming on. Non of the dash except the speedo worked. Soon as i tore the wiring apart, it became apparent why, it wasnt connected.
The heater was leaking into the interior and the fan wasnt wired up as it was still 6v. Rather than drop the 12v to 6v. I opted for a new heater for kit cars, has two dedicated vents for the demisters and two for the cabin. Should work well.
While it was 12v converted, it still had a Dynamo. It had some of the worst earths iv ever seen...It was a joke. I have ordered an Alternator, which i will fit this weekend, then start with the full re-wire. I'll fit a fuse box and then run everything from there like a modern car. Progress pics will come over the weekend.
Looks like you have a pretty good truck to start with. The things you have planned should give you a very nice ride. I think you will be happy with the Y-block and can tune it to suit your needs. I have one in my 56 Fairlane and love it. Congrats on the new truck and good luck.
Thank you. I do love it. Aside from the steering which is under way, it drove really well. Id love to lower it. Im hessitant to spend money on springs etc when in 6 months i may go IFS. May just remove a few leafs at the moment to help a little, although from what i understand it wont help much.
Your truck sounds really nice! Good luck with your project.
I did a similar thing to you; sold a modern car to buy an F100.
Mine was a beautiful series 8 rx7. The things we do!
Keep at her!
Some progress and updates. Its coming along well. I feel I would be driving her by now if i didnt have such a crappy shift pattern of 3 day shifts, 3 night shifts, 3 off. All the below was done in my 3 days off. My next lot of days off begin Sunday so hopefully come Tuesday i can have it mostly built back up and start getting it into colour.
Anyway..some progress updates as promised.
When it comes time to paint a vehicle, you have options. You can tidy it up enough so it looks OK, blow over the paint and make It look fairly nice. Especially at a distance or to a casual observer. Eventually though, you will be back here in X amount of months doing parts again to cover up rust.. Reaction or imperfections.
If i had the time and space at the moment, then i would have preferred a total strip down and sandblast and go from there. I haven't currently got a unit like i used to have etc. So its a case of making the most of what i have at present.
Time for a strip down! Off came the doors, the front wings, slam panel, inner wings, bonnet etc which left it looking rather bare...
The doors and wings had to come off anyway to do the rust in the front lower cab corners. The rusty sections were cut out and new pieces fabricated and welded in. The passenger side which looked solid.. At first i thought all i had to do was a triangular section in the first picture... I then discovered the side of the bottom of the wing was pure filler. I mean a house brick piece of filler. :/ once I'd realised and cut it out I was left with some sizable holes to fill. Im happy with the repairs though, not my prettiest work, it is solid.
The chassis was tidied up, the reason the springs etc weren't pulled off and refreshed is because I haven't fully decided what im doing suspension wise.. Do I IFS or not. I didn't want a spend a small fortune refurbished and replacing parts I'm going to be throwing away in 12 months.
The firewall was welded up and waterproofed, it had holes etc all over the place for clips and harnesses. The firewall and inner wings, outer wings all rubbed down and given a fresh coat of stone chip, all cavities were hit with Waxoyl. The inside of the bonnet was hit with stone chip aswell for the extra protection.
Currently in the process of preparing bodywork for colour. While the truck is in good shape, the old paint is a mess, it has cracks and blisters, surface rust in places, dents, dips....Its a long process of rubbing down, sanding, filling, priming, rubbing down, sanding, filling, priming.... But i will get there....one day. lol. The firewall and inner wings etc were shot into colour ready for the rebuild.
Im at that point of the project where it starts to feel like a chore and it feels its never ending...why you ask? Simple....Bodywork. In my opinion, you either have the patience of a frickin saint and bodywork is no big deal...or your like me, Impatient, short tempered and I would generally rather swallow razor blades than do bodywork. Unfortunatly though, unless i wanted to stick with the rusty old patina'd look..its a must. Now its true I could have paid someone to paint the truck. But I hate spending money on jobs that i can do myself...So for the last few weeks, iv grinned and bared and just got on with it. Finally im at the state now where i can start to rebuild and things start going back together...so what did I achieve this week?
Firstly it was time to tackle the rust in the rear cab corners, fortunately only the drivers side showed signs of rust. I cut out the rot, and put in a fresh plate.. Heres a picture as i started to cut it out. The inside were solid but contained serfuace rust, they were treated with a rust eating liquid, then coated in a waxoyl to prevent any future rusting.
Once the rust was sorted, it was covered with filler and the shaping process began. I also began to prepare the cab and rub it down finding any low spots, high spots, pits etc. At the same time i worked to get the dash and door shuts painted and in colour so i could start moving forward. Everything was sealed in an Acid Etch primer and then the colour laid over the top.
Once the primer was dry, i have the cab a final rub down with 800 wet and dry and laid colour over the top. I am reasonably happy with it. I am by no means a bodyshop expert. As previously stated, i don't have the time nor patience. While this truck is being restored, i also didn't want it to look brand new. She is 62 years old, she's earned her battle scars etc. So i wanted it to look new..but old new if that makes sense. If it has the odd blemish here and there, I think it adds a little character. That said, i think it turned out rather well. And im now at the point where i can start to rebuild it and piece it back together. Next week's jobs include rebuilding the doors and getting them on. I have all new seals, rubbers, door locks and handles to go on. It should start looking rather sharp shortly.
Its coming along relatively well. I hate body work though so this part is a real labor.
Aim over my next few days is to get the doors painted and then rebuilt, I have all new seals, weather strips, anti rattle strips, Altmans door latches, new bullet mirrors, new door handles etc. Once it starts to get built back up..I'll be happier. Awaiting a new windshield and weather strips at the moment before the glass goes back in.
I've also still got to lift the bed off and replace the bed floor. But im at the point now where i can start to visualize it finished. Or finished for the time being at least.
04-09-2015, 05:48 PM
(This was a half victory)
