New user, been lurking on this site for a while now. So I finally decided to make an account.

A little history about the truck. We bought it from a friend for $2.00. A friend helped us out in a time of need, our daily started to **** the bed. So he decided to "pay it forward". He purchased the truck 2 years prior for $1.87 because his friend had just recently bought a new truck.

We took on the lifestyle with horses, wood heat, and a small acreage me and my new wife. That's when I met my business partner/engineer, and friend who sold us this truck. It's been the best truck we ever owned. I replaced all the U joints right away fixed the IACV and TPS.

My wife just finished her RN course and got a job at the hospital. Myself, I just started a fabrication company. So now its time to give the love this truck deserves. She is a daily at the moment and always will be until we buy a Crew cab for a family down the road. Will pass it on to our kids in the future.

This truck tows my wife's horse trailer to all her nearby race events and she commutes it to the hospital where it's the oldest vehicle there.

Enough about the history here's our plan/build and **** I have to get my *** in gear about.

Nite has:
-302
-M4OD
-MagnaFlow exhaust
-Warn manual hubs
-33x12.5r15 BFG mud terrains with Aluminum Center lines
-tow package and brake controller
-22" light bar
-tonneu cover
-KnN intake kit

Parts I have
-dana 44 solid (3.55)
-9" rear end (3.55)
-Lariat vinyl Interior (mint) might use the bench and re vinyl them black.
-air bags for the rear leafs, Don't haul much just when we do ill pump up the bags
-Spare 302
-New front panels and doors


The finished plan?
plan changes once in a while.

Suspension:
-D44 front with coil
-9" rear with a locker
-Air bags in the rear for weight when were towing.
-small lift/ maybe just level it out.
-35s cant decide.
-4:10-4:56 gears

Chassis:
-Flat deck with a huge storage box behind the cab for saddle/misc
-New front bumper/winch
-Subtle rock sliders/steps
-Built in tidy tank.

Motor:
We have a spare 302 that we will start a savings for. Unless we find a used one for a smarter choice.
Will consider a 351w
Mild build, higher compression
nothing crazy

With it being a nite in mind and the truck that will do most of my advertising. The truck will be kept subtle as possible but definitely not back to factory.
The flat deck will be a light duty deck. We will incorporate as much as details we can IE: nite on the box, the stripes, the color. The deck will be stained almost black, the window will get tinted, the rims will be painted black. The aftermarket bumpers we build for it will be subtle. The winch will be hidden as much as possible. The grill we might design a new one. again subtle. Would to find the original "nite" floor matts aswell.

She might be a slow process. A lot of the stuff I have its just a matter of taking the time off to dedicate the shop for it instead of income.

 

You have a nice starting point and some great plans. Take lots of pictures of your progress and keep us posted. Welcome to the FTE family!

 

tuned in to see progress as i myself just picked up an 87 single cab short bed. as said above, nice starting point. going to look sweet with a flatbed! you going to build it out of metal or wood, or half and half?

 

I'll be doing it all steel with a wood deck..2x8 with a dark almost black stain. We will be designing one hopefully in a couple weeks once it slows down.

First time on mobile see how this works.

The only thing I'll be doing different is adding a big box behind the cab. And following the body lines with a sheet under the deck. This was one I built a while ago for a customer 14 ford. I'll pretty much only be using the fender through the deck concept so it doesn't look so industrial. Hope the pic doesn't upload large

 

pic uploaded fine.

i like the fender through the deck look, it does make it look more like something you also will daily drive, rather than just a straight beater work truck. i do like complete flat decks also, but man that one you built looks awesome. i believe the do make actual black stain also, saw it at home depot the other day as a matter of fact.

just noticed the LED bar flush mounted also. any night pics?

 

That's a good looking bed!