If that truck had some stock appearing wheels and tires installed, it would be a good representative of a working truck of the era. Certainly, something I would drive. Adjust the front bumper for a better fit and it would help the overall looks. Drive it until the truck tells you what it wants. Just one old man's opinion, it is your truck. Good looking one, BTW.

 

Nice original custom cab truck. Does it have a 292 and with an auto or manual trans? I'd do a stock restoration. Thorough, but driver quality so you can still use it without too many worries. I'm not a fan of the Patina look or clear coat over rust to "preserve it" look. Rust will only keep getting worse and eventually be very difficult and expensive to repair.

What I'd like to know is why does it look like the hood still fits good? That alignment is usually first to go bad.

 

Unfortunately to many the "patina look" means that they don't care if the deterioration continues. But since you plan to keep your truck I would, as others have noted, I would suggest that you get it running, driving and stopping first. Then look at the worst areas of rust/deterioration and fix them before they get worse. This would definitely include wiring, fuel and cooling systems.

 

Nice ride, leave as is but protect it.

 

I voted for neither. If there was something in between, I'd have voted for that. You don't need a Dearborn-level stock resto, and I think you will likely become unhappy with the current look. I wanted to leave mine about like yours (a little worse... OK, a lot worse) and it grated on me. I budgeted $2500 for paint and body (no rust repairs needed) and did all the mechanical stuff myself. There's no comparison to the high-dollar paint jobs many folks have, but being able to wash and wax it without a tetanus booster is really nice.

One thing to consider... right now there are a lot of body and trim parts available, more so than even 20 years ago. But there's also a lot of stuff no longer available, and personally I suspect demand is going to drop as more and more trucks get restored. I'd at least buy some of the stuff you're likely to need due to wear or desire to upgrade.

 

I'm an in-betweene-er too. My ideal would be to lose the candy-stripe and go to Meadow Green, maybe with black fenders? ... but I just can't bring myself to erase Mr. Parker's so carefully detailed finish, at least, not yet. So I end up scraping and sanding wherever the original flakes off, then spraying acid-8 primer and re-painting in hopefully discreet patch areas. My local paint guy is so good at color matching, you really can't see the re-paints except for the overlap difference, close-up. But anything closer than ten feet would have a true show-guy grimacing. On the other hand, there's a certain amount of freedom in not having to be so preciously careful about a diamond-perfect finish. Will have to confront a decision sooner or later, but I do end up driving ever so happily somewhere in the middle. For now. 'Hey, it's a work in progress.'

 

I'm a minimalist. Do what it takes to make it reliable and safe. I like old trucks because they drive like old trucks. For me that's a good part of the charm. Some people want a modern ride that just looks old.
But you are out there with the crazys in their modern cars so a good disc brake upgrade ain't a bad thing. If you are running the freeway, you almost need some tall gears or overdrive to keep from getting ran over and being a danger.

 

I couldn't pick either, for several reasons. First and formost is its a family truck and keeping it the same is something I feel is something you should discuss with your father and see how he feels about changes. Second I also would be somewhere in-between. Since there are not any family signage to preserve, I would tinker with getting it ready for paint and try your hand at spraying it yourself. I should have started with this but obviously getting any truck to a point where it is safe and reliable is paramount no matter what your choice. Best of luck on it and congratulations on being blessed with your fathers truck being passed on to you.

 

Restoring it means a little bit of reluctance to use it hard as you might damage all the work you put into it. Plus it will take 60 years to get the look it has on now back. Restoring it also means you can use it better on todays roads.

But, with that being said I'm still painting mine. I love a good patina, but opinions very on what is good and what is just trashed.


Something that's helped me:

Picture an old truck lot with every single possible version of your truck you could have. Restored ones, chopped ones, diesel, Big block, tiny scooter engines, red, white, blue hot pink, everything. And you get to pick just one for free.

Which one would you pick?


Build that one.

 

I'll get that done this evening. The areas that bolt the fenders and running boards together are ALL rusted out. Not a single piece actually connects to the other. The front passenger hood has rusted out. The truck was in a rough accident that affected the front passenger side, and the passenger fender was replaced(with one it terrible condition). The front bumper is bent but I am afraid at replacing it--it'd look too good for this old truck.

\
Thank you, the bumper is bent up, I thought of tying it to a big tree and just giving it a couple gentle pulls in reverse...never did it though.

223 with 3-on-the-tree. The hood was messed up in some accident a very long time ago and they covered up a bunch of rust with filler, and the hood line above the grill is "off". But otherwise is does seem to fit ok.

My father isn't much of a car guy in a typical sense--he's all for me restoring for the simple fact that I'm the one doing the work.
Yes that future reluctance has me worried.


That is one of the best analogies I've ever heard/read. Thank you for that.






Bonus points: My original clutch spring broke on the way home from work 45 minutes ago. Held the pedal up with my hand all the way home. I love old trucks.

 

After hearing about the rust thru at the running boards and fenders and the hood, I change my vote. It needs fixed and restored.

 

The boards are not rusted but they are dented pretty badly, only the metal on the fenders is missing. It should be a very easy cut and weld replacement of metal.


As soon as the sun sets a bit I'll have some pictures for fun.

 

I prefer to see these relics restored to original, (I voted restore) although improving the brakes and better gearing is something I agree with to maintain today's highway speeds as I'll be doing on my '52 F3. while maintaining the original drivetrain.

 

I have both and my "leave it alone truck" is the one i get to use. I still don't have the 50 done cause it takes lots of money. It took my 1952 65 years to get the way it is, i'd hate to lose that. Its like the truck is trying to tell stories with each ding, dent and scratch. Personally i love that white truck in this post with the bit of surface wear. I could buff that out and make it shine without losing the look. I wouldn't touch it.

 

Here is a string of photos, as many as I can post at a time. '

Photo 1: I got a screw in my fancy new tire a week ago and had to use my spare to get home from the work parking lot. I bought a bias ply trailer tire for the spare since it was the only thing that'd fit between the frame rails--I thought it looked neat and snapped a pic.


2: You can see the arch of the hood lip is off and covered in filler on the passenger side, and the ripple mark on the bumper, remnants of a wreck.

3: passenger side bent bumper

4: Drivers side factory bumper

5: passenger rear fender rusted out mounting area where it mates with the running board.

6: I sanded the repaint white paint off the FORD letters and uncovered what is most likely the original black paint. Thought it was very cool.

7: imperfections in rear passenger fender.