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Man, Id do it yourself as long as you don't want a pure show truck. I got quotes on paint and body and they ranged between 8 - 12K!
As far as learning to paint, this was my very first time doing any of this and I really thought Id be in way over my head but its not as hard as I thought. I went to a small local autobody supply store a year ago and told the owner my plans and that I wanted to do the paint myself. He gave me directions from step one as I bought supply's. Id go home, do what he said to do with what he sold me then go back for the next step. Dont let the pictures fool you, this is in no way perfect. I have 2 small runs in the base coat, some sanding scratches that I didn't get out in the base, and a small lip on the door I burned though with the buffer but all in all, we are very happy with our first paint job.
Thanks for the advice. If I end up doing the paint myself, I would be thrilled to have my paint job turn out as well as yours! I do have a verbal quote from an auto body guy that we've had do a lot of stuff for us in the past for $1300 to spray the paint if I do all the body work and primer. But after all the priming I'd probably be comfortable enough with the gun to try paint anyway.
Congrats on your beautiful truck. You've definitely put in the work to deserve it. I hope your wife enjoys it! She's one lucky lady
Heliguy, Your truck is looking awesome, great job!
I may have missed it earlier, but you mentioned that the A/C system you used is from Classic Auto Air. I went to their website and didn't see a '73-79 kit listed.
Do you happen to remember the part number of the kit you ordered or did you use mostly original Ford parts since it was already an Air Conditioned truck?
Heliguy, Your truck is looking awesome, great job!
I may have missed it earlier, but you mentioned that the A/C system you used is from Classic Auto Air. I went to their website and didn't see a '73-79 kit listed.
Do you happen to remember the part number of the kit you ordered or did you use mostly original Ford parts since it was already an Air Conditioned truck?
Keep up the great progress!
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Yes, I used classic auto air and Im very happy with the kit. I dont know why they haven't updated their webpage yet to show this kit but it does exist and fits perfectly. One of their technicians and salesman is Ron Mineo and he was the designer of this kit. Hes the one I have used for the purchase and all the questions. Hes a great guy and loves these trucks. His email is ron@classicautoair.com
I ran it yesterday in the driveway when it was 100 degrees outside and let the A/C run for a while and it blew very cold and my water temp never got over 180. Never could run the A/C at an idle before the new kit without the engine over heating.
Got the headlight buckets and grille on tonight. Is it just me or did they not really care about gaps in the 70's? Im struggling with the hood and fenders. I can get it close but not perfect.
Got the headlight buckets and grille on tonight. Is it just me or did they not really care about gaps in the 70's? Im struggling with the hood and fenders. I can get it close but not perfect.
As far as I've read on FTE... when you can't get your gaps right, start over.
It's literally that simple. You might find that you go back 4-5 steps/parts and there's something loose or WAYYYY out of wack.
I've never done this myself, so I'm just passing on what I've learnt from others. Sometimes it's easier to start over than fight with something that isn't good to begin with (this is in no way meant to be offensive. It's easy to miss something small that throws the entire body out of alignment).
Is it just me or did they not really care about gaps in the 70's? Im struggling with the hood and fenders. I can get it close but not perfect.
It's not just you. Back in the day when they were building these trucks. That's what they were, just trucks. They hadn't reached the "status" they have today, they were headed there but not yet.
Ford didn't really pay that much attention to panel gap and fit. They were built mainly as work trucks.
Without doing a lot of body work (metal work, not bondo) and building up the edges of the panels, about the only thing you can do is get it to the point of being acceptable to you.
Wow! New to the forum and found your thread searching for something similar to the truck I just bought, 78 F150 Ranger, mine is a 2WD however. I wasn't planning to do a complete restoration but after seeing your progress, it makes me want to. Looks great!
As far as I've read on FTE... when you can't get your gaps right, start over.
It's literally that simple. You might find that you go back 4-5 steps/parts and there's something loose or WAYYYY out of wack.
I've never done this myself, so I'm just passing on what I've learnt from others. Sometimes it's easier to start over than fight with something that isn't good to begin with (this is in no way meant to be offensive. It's easy to miss something small that throws the entire body out of alignment).
Thanks, Thats what Im trying now.
Originally Posted by mikeo0o0o0
It's not just you. Back in the day when they were building these trucks. That's what they were, just trucks. They hadn't reached the "status" they have today, they were headed there but not yet.
Ford didn't really pay that much attention to panel gap and fit. They were built mainly as work trucks.
Without doing a lot of body work (metal work, not bondo) and building up the edges of the panels, about the only thing you can do is get it to the point of being acceptable to you.
Thanks Mike. Its been a real pain. Now im messing with the cab and radiator mounts and starting over from there.
Originally Posted by quest4reds
Wow! New to the forum and found your thread searching for something similar to the truck I just bought, 78 F150 Ranger, mine is a 2WD however. I wasn't planning to do a complete restoration but after seeing your progress, it makes me want to. Looks great!
Welcome to the forum and congrats on the truck. Thanks for the kind words, its been a lot of work but without the info on this forum Id never be where Im. When you start your project please start a thread so we call all keep up!
So, after fighting the gaps, door, and hood fitment, we unbolted everything including the cab mounts and started from scratch. Now it looks MUCH better but not perfect.
Got the grille all finished and wired in the new lights. installed the carpet, radio, subwoofer, power door locks, and glove box. Wife and I tinted and installed the back glass and learned that we dont want to do the windshield so I have a glass shop coming out on Friday to do the new windshield. By then we should have the door glass installed and then the cab will be 100%.
Then its time to tackle the bed and weld in the new fender wells
07-11-2016, 03:32 PM
