I purchased a 53 f100 yesterday for $300 because the owner was going to put it out in his field to let rot as yard art and I couldn't stomach the thought of letting that happen. This is my first truck of this age and I didn't realize how much more expensive and difficult it is to get parts for vs my 75. That being said is it worth me sinking a bunch of time and money into this truck or should I part it out? Sell it to someone with a little bigger budget? Or? I hate seeing old rigs go to waste but I may have gotten myself into more of a mess than I can handle at the moment. Now for pictures.
It was a lovely home for the mice

this isn't installed, just sitting in there on the cross member.
Floor cleaned up and is in better shape than my 75.
Dash is pretty clean

My wife is convinced I have addiction issues, I disagree.

 

Get it running, put on some new brakes (Total brake system) and drive it as is. Looks good, nice find.

Edit: Guess your gonna need some glass too.

 

No glass, no motor or transmission, (that motor looks like a boat anchor), no interior, about the only thing going for it is the body parts. I wouldn't part it out cuz then you would be stuck with all the crap. I would pass it on to somebody with more time and experience.

 

There are many answers to that question. Worth, like happiness, is a state of mind. Only you can answer that question.

If the question is “Is it feasible?” look no further than 56panelford’s build thread on his ’56. But be careful; setting a goal that high is only achievable by few.

If you are a perfectionist and lack the ability like me, then you will have to settle for something less. But along the way, you will learn many new skills and be part of a support base that will cheer and nudge you along.

Fortunately, you picked a truck that has just about every part available for sale.

Good luck.

 

Don't part it out, don't scrap it. You've saved a decent truck! Welcome to the 48 to 56 version of FTE madness!

The bed, fenders, floorboards, rocker panels, cab corners all look better than my 54 did when I painted it in 1999.

I hope that isn't a can of starting fluid sitting on the engine block!

 

Hmmm, that's a $10,000 fixer upper, (on the conservative side)

 

This is what my floors looked like:




Replacement parts are readily available for trucks like ours. I made the mistake, however, of going into my project without knowing how to weld. As a result, I had to pay people to do it for me. That can work, and it did in my case, but it greatly inflates the cost.

There are lots of stories on here of members resurrecting seemingly dead engines. Don't count yours out just based on appearance. Your floors didn't look so great either in the first picture, but look at them now with just a little clean-up.

 

I would try to sell it to someone who would restore it.
To restore to original condition will cost $25 to 30,000.
I know this from experience.
To make it a hot rod about the same cost.

 

Its a can of carb cleaner, I was trying to clean some funk off the engine to see if I could find some numbers, I'm not sure what the motor is, the guy i bought it from said it's a mopar.

 

If you got a title with the deal, $300 is a steal. You could easily resell it on eBay for 5-8 hundred. If it were mine, I would do a Mustang II front end, 302 carb engine with C-4 auto
trans. Probably the hardest part to find would be stock bench seat, so be willing to settle for salvage yard buckets or Ranger/S10 bench type seats.

 

I'm curious what that engine is! Most MoPars have the center cylinders' exhaust together, not evenly spaced. Is the distributor hole up front? It almost looks Buick or Poncho but they also have the center ports together. Ford MEL ??

 

I thought the glass was perfect. Ha!

 

That doesn't look MOPAR to me. Judging from the valve covers and oil pump I'd say its a big Caddy. Probably a 472/500. We can probably rule out the later 425 because the exhaust manifold doesn't have a big indentation in it near the front.


Bobby

 

I would build that in a minute, like new compared to some of the stuff I have built.

 

This is what's great about the forums, great motivation to dive into the project. I love the look of the truck and would love to get it on the road. Thanks for all the input guys.