So I am new to the forum but a Ford guy, I currently have a couple of 60s Mustangs that I fully restored (every nut and bolt) and I am a fair mechanic. I farm out transmissions but thats about it. One of the guys that works for me has an F250 Camper Special that has been sitting in his yard for about 8 years and he wants to get rid of. Here are the details as I know them:

Been in his family its whole life
Engine was rebuilt about 5K miles before it was parked (says it is 352 bored to 390 now)
After engine rebuild rear end died and was swapped with a junkyard rear end
Was finally parked when the transmission started screaming
Bed was swapped for a rust free one from another truck
Cab mounts look good, drivers side floor needs replaced.

Before I drag this thing home do I need to look for anything else other than triple checking the cab mounts? I have not really done any work on these trucks before.

 

Look for rust on the front fenders behind the wheel openings. Even if it isn't showing on the outside it could have eaten through the inner part already. The cowl openings drain down the sides through the inside of the fender and they commonly get clogged with pine needles, leaves, mud, etc. The other thing to really look at is the radiator support. If the rad support is too far gone, they are about $400 to buy a replacement.

The last thing to check are the bottoms at the back of the cab. There is a lip underneath that catches detritus and causes them to rust through. I've also seen the fronts of hoods rust from the inside out...not sure how that one happens.

Your mechanic endeavors sounds a lot like me---I'll dig into most things except the guts of a transmission or changing gears and diffs.

Good luck. Post pictures when you get it home!

 

Welcome to FTE

Rust is the mortal enemy of these trucks, and it rains and rains in the PNW on the west side of the Cascades.

Look at the radiator support where it mounts to the frame rails, rear of the front fenders, bottom of the doors, cab corners, bed pan, cross members and especially the drip rails.

Ford spot welded the separate drip rails to the cab, then used paintable caulk to fill in the gaps. The caulk hardens, then begins to chip off, rust begins, soon spreads into the roof. Not pleasant!

 

hatracks- Where in WA are you and the truck? My truck came out of western WA (Arlington) and I lived in Mill Creek there until three years ago when I moved to Boise--grew up in the Tri-Cities. Thus, I am familiar with the demon of pine needles in the cowl...

ND has a good point on the drip rails, I completely forgot about that. They are a major problem as well.

 

The big dummy owned a 1965 F100 Styleside 352 with stick & over, from 3/1965 to 11/2009, so I know what to look for.

 

Thanks fellas I will double check the roof, drip rails, and cab corners, unfortunately I am familiar with the rust in ford doors and seam sealed drip rails. I am a mediocre welder so I am not scared of a bit of welding but dont want this to turn into a huge project.

I honestly am just saving it to save it...it has been sitting under a pine tree for 8 years so I am just going to get it running, go through the transmission, do the floor pans and drive it. Here are some crappy pictures he sent me of the truck, I will go see in person this week.

 

All good info.

Maybe one slight correction that is moot?

On this West side of the mountains the real killer is more the Douglas Fir trees. Not as much actual Pine on this side of the state, although they can certainly be found, too, especially in the South of this side of the mountains as you get down past Olympia. The Douglas Fir needles are a lot shorter and smaller diameter so they can go anyplace. I find them in my clothes all the time. If it is windy out it can look like it is raining, but it's not just the needles. It's also what I call, CHOADES, falling from the sky. What the heck is a Choade in this context? They are like tiny immature Douglas Fir cones. Millions of them. I'll take some pictures since this is a topic I'm very familiar with and it'll give an idea of what could happen if a vehicle isn't sheltered around this area. They are highly water absorbent and act like tiny sponges.

Back in a few....you'll like this.

.

 

Looks like maybe it's under a Cedar tree right now. Those can be bad, too. Cowl area and drains could be suspect. I brought two trucks from the East side of the state and one from California to make sure I started with decent sheet metal. I like to weld but I didn't want a huge project, either. Rust repair is time consuming and there are lots of these trucks to be had out there. It's a lot cheaper to drive a little ways.

If they are under a shelter of some sort or haven't been directly under a tree then usually maybe would be OK. Just use some caution and if possible don't let your emotions or wanting to save one suck you in.

I would really be suspicious of the front of the hood, too. Water gets past the hood emblem and sits in the front lip and rusts from the inside out. Hoods can be found, but rust free examples are getting harder to come by. They can also be repaired, but it's not a real easy area depending on what is wrong.

.

 

Yes! Fir trees is more precise. My eastern WA roots still show through despite my years west of the mountains...no native pines/firs/spruce in the Tri-Cities so they all generically become "pines" around there when a native wastelander gets into trees with needles.

 

I have been sucked in on more than one occasion for saving a car...this one had been hit in every panel:

 

^ Primered Fastback has 1968/69 Mustang/Fairlane/Torino styled steel wheels.

All Mustang's are unit bodied, are prone to having hidden rust.

25 some years ago, a guy in Venice was selling a '66 GT ragtop, said it was an all original CA car with black plates. Uh huh...

The price was right, the guy was moving to Australia, so I went to look at it. The black plates began with W, so I knew they weren't the plates issued prior to 1968.

DSO code on the Warranty Plate: Michigan and I could smell fresh undercoating.

Back then, there were no repro floor pans, so the usual fix was to tack weld metal real estate signs to the rusted out floor boards, then hide the signs with undercoating.

I passed, this ragtop was a rusty mess!

But the worst Ford's to have hidden rust are 1957/79 Rancheros. 1957/59 & 1972/79 are body on frame construction, 1960/71's are unit bodies.

Below the Ranchero bed pan is the station wagon floor pan consisting of foot and seat wells, spare tire well.

Ford spot welded the bed pan, then used paintable caulk to fill in the gaps. The caulk hardens, chips off (sound familiar?!), water seeps in, rust begins...and it's hidden from view.

A pal of mine was driving home in his '57 Ranchero he had just bought off fleabay. All of a sudden, the gas tank fell off! Above the tank is the wagons spare tire well, it had completely rusted out.

But no vehicle on gawds green earth rusts as bad as Studebakers with front fender air vents ('47/61 sedans, '54/61 wagons, '53/55 coupes/hardtops, '56/64 Hawks).

 

Turned the 352 into a 390 caught my eye. Can it be proven? Was the block bored out 0.05" to get it to 4.05"? Was the rotating assembly changed out?

 

Oh I doubt anything was really done to it other than a standard rebuild, he is just going by what his dad told him 10 years ago. I am only giving him scrap price for the truck so I am not going to argue with him.

 

well looks like the drivers cab mount was a little further gone than he thought, along with the floor boards. I am probably going to pass on this one.

 

Mike is on to something. Check the stroke to be sure it's a 390, if you're still interested.