This could transfer into OT vehicles also, but for those with multiple project vehicles; what made you pick up the second or third or fourth? Was it a dream car/truck that you've wanted for years, or a niche vehicle to put a peg into a hole in your fleet? Something that just caught your eye driving down the road, a vision you had on a sleepless night, or no earthly reason other than you though it would be cool and haven't seen it done?

Lately a second and a third "project" truck have been picking at my mind and they just won't go away. Won't go away to the point that I've started to "bench build" each of them. Part numbers, pictures, research into costs trying to set budgets trying to figure out if I have or can make room to store and work on them. I don't -need- either one, The first I think would fill the hole of sport, good power, go fast, stop and handle well, truck I've dreamed about wanted for years, the other is a big, don't have a use for, haven't seen it done quite this way, I think it would be cool, answer looking for a problem that isn't there, truck.

My daily driver is a 2007 F150 Crew Cab 4x4 6.5' it handles my "truck stuff" like lumber runs, hauling the four wheeler, buying dirt and mulch in bulk by the yard, fire wood, driving out on the beach for a fun day trip. I have a topper for the bed that I put on for our summer road trip and hurricane season if we need to evacuate again. It seats 5 or 6 comfortably, let's us travel from Florida to Michigan and do some exploring along the way.






The 56 F100 is/was my first vehicle, I drove it to high school when I turned 16, I used it as a daily driver to my first W2 job. It is not original, but rather a good mix of 60's early 70's style and nothing really modern save for the radio and a few things that go mostly unnoticed. No power anything, four speed, straight axle, leaf spring, and Lincoln Y Block powered. I really don't want to modernize the truck much at all. For me the nostalgia and allure come from the simplicity and lack of refinements of the truck. I might swap to front discs, add an underfloor brake booster, and add power steering but even those are still "might" happens.



So what are you reasons behind a second, third, or fourth project truck or build? What made you decide to do a second, or take one in a different direction? What are your "bench build" ideas if you can't do another project?

 

I think that we all have various tastes/desires when it comes to trucks/cars...I always liked the looks of the fat-fendered F100s so that's what brought me here. That said, the 1940 Ford coupe was on the top of my bucket list so that is what is the current project in the garage. Recently my longtime neighbor took ill and ultimately succumbed to cancer...this 2000 Dodge Dakota R/T was his truck and he wanted me to have it because he knew that I was the only one who would care for it better than him. I thought that I would keep the R/T because it belonged to my friend but as it's turned out I REALLY enjoy driving it...it is a hot rod.
If you can afford it then have all the toys you can fit into your own toybox while you are still able to play...

 

I have owned my 54 since 1977. It has been a work truck, a daily driver, a second vehicle. When I retired from teaching in 2012 I bought a 1970 F350 flatbed dump. I used it as a work truck to haul my mower from job to job or haul brush, mulch, etc.




In the spring of 2016 a friend called and asked if I saw the 55 on Craigslist the same color as my 54. I found it and it looked good. I emailed the owner. I liked it better than my 70 except it wasn't a dump bed. Since it was the same color as my 54, I just had to have it. Even my wife liked it better than my 70. I emailed he owner. The very next day I see a guy at NAPA who has always bugged me about selling him the 70 F350. He says, "Are you ready to sell your truck to me?" I said Yes. Well he agreed to buy my truck. That gave me cash to buy the 55, plus $1000. Here is the truck the day I saw it for the first time.

It was all stock and complete and non molested. I changed a few things cosmetically for the better as most of you know.

Here is a picture of it at work last year after it was repainted.

 

I just sort of stumble into all of my projects. I got my 49 F1 as part of a trade. I swapped off a 49 Pontiac Silver Streak and ended up with my F1.

My 67 Jeepster Commando is a Jeep one I got from a buddy. I've been trying to buy this thing for years and my buddy and I haggled and drank beer and talked about it for years. Then one day he gave it to me. I told him no, I couldn't just take it. that started another round of haggling. After several years of that I finally picked it up.
My Harley isn't really a project, its just more of a toy.
The 75 Dodge D200 is partially mine, I'm helping my son buy it from my Dad (it was my Grandpa's truck) but it will probably live at my house.
The 26 Model T roadster pickup with the Packard engine project again, just sort of fell into my lap. Parts started accumulating and one day I figured I better start putting them together.
The latest, my 72 F250 4x4, again, just fell into my lap. My uncle offered it to me and made me a great deal.

Now, if I just had time to focus on any one thing I might actually get something done...










Bobby

 

My obsession started when I was around 8 or 9. My dad bought beat up piece of junk '49 F-2. It was rusted out, had metal patches riveted on and was about six different colors. At the time I couldn't understand why my dad bought such and ugly piece of junk. Well, not long after it must have grown on me because I loved the old wreck. Fast forward about a dozen years, after sitting on the side of the driveway rotting away I got a hold of it and tore it apart and did two restoration and finally got it on the road.





Then I decided I wanted another one but one with dual wheels so I bought my '52 F-4. I tore it down and started building it back up but only have it about half together.


I had always wanted a panel truck and one day my wife came home and told me she was talking with other women and during their conversation they were all telling each other how they control their husbands. My wife made the mistake of telling me she told the other women she had me under her thumb. The following weekend I bought a panel truck I had found on the internet. After a couple of years, and another panel body I had the panel truck on the road.



The third project , a '37 Buick Special followed me home, again because of my wife. I went with a neighbor to look at Hudson and the seller had the Buick sitting in his yard and a bunch of other cars all over the city he lived in. I took pictures of the cars he had for sale including the Buick. When I got home I uploaded the pictures onto my computer and showed the pictures to my wife. When the picture of the Buick came up she asked if the Buick was for sale. When I said, "Yes", she told me I should buy it. After finding out for sure she wasn't kidding I went down and bought the car a week later. This became a parts car and since I bought it I've bought four other '37 Buicks to make one good one.






All my projects start out at junkers because I'm an idiot. I know I end up spending as much time and money as if I would have bought a completed car or truck but that would no fun and I also can't afford plopping down a large sum all at once.

Read my signature, I think it pretty much sums it up.

 

I'm not even 20 yet and I have 3 and a antique model A John Deere tractor the tractor was my grandpa's and it was in a fire in 2010 and ruined the sheet metal my uncle was supposed to get it but didnt want to fix it and I got it, it still turns over and it just needs sandblasting new paint and tires now. My grandpa left me his 89 f150 and I'm slowing fixing it. I bought a 48 ford f1 and I'm slowing getting it fixed. The last isnt that bad of a project because it runs and its only a 2003 f150 but my grandpa had one when I was growing up and it burned in 2010 (also when the tractor was burnt) and I have always wanted one but im slowing making it like new too. I guess I started with a lot from the get go!

 

Dixon, I can only imagine how much our 'disease' will progress on you in another 20 years. Keep up the good work, you are off to a great start!.
Tom

 

[QUOTE=CharlieLed;18596788]I thought that I would keep the R/T because it belonged to my friend but as it's turned out I REALLY enjoy driving it...it is a hot rod.[QUOTE]
I agree Charlie! I bought a 2000 Dakota club cab new after driving every pickup I think was made that year. Loved the ride and even with the smaller V-8 than the RT plenty of power. I traded it to my Dad for his 2005 Dakota crew cab and regretted it the day I made the trade.

In answer to ZSK’s question, In another life I’m positive I would have owned a salvage yard. My only problem would be I’d want to “SAVE” everything. I truly believe this hobby to be a sickness and for folks with no control could be serious. Last November I bought a 53 Panel that I really won’t have room for if I ever get my 56 small window out of the bodyshop.

 

OK, my turn. Long story, sorry in advance.

In 2015 I had my '51 F2 for seven years and was content with it. But then something happened.
I was scrolling through the local Craigslist in the 'Car & Truck Parts' section just to see what was available for Saturn Vue parts. Mainly I was looking for an electronic Steering Assist bundle to put on the F2 so that it could have power steering. Well a junkyard in the next town over is always listing parts cars and I noticed in the background of one of their pictures the distinctive shape of a '48-'52 truck roof.
Just a glimpse of it. I had been to that yard several times and never saw it before. It turns out the pictures were taken in a section of the property that is off limits to the public, owned by a family member.
So I replied to the ad and asked if the truck in the background was for sale. I couldn't even tell if it was an F1 or an F8....all I could see was the roof. The reply back was 'That pickup is not for sale'.
Hmmmm, so it IS a pickup.
About a month later I went to the junkyard and asked to see the parts car. I had no interest in the car, just wanted to see the truck. So they let me in and I went straight to the truck. It was an F3 and it was sunk in the ground with small trees grown up around it. Had been there for many, many years and was in a row of cars from the 50's. I started to twitch, you guys know what it's like.
I was told to get away from that row of vehicles, they weren't for sale. What a grouchy guy he was.
Another month later I went to the family member and asked very politely if I could see the truck up close - and this time I brought my F2 to his house. He was very impressed with the '51 and that helped change his personality a bit. He said the truck was in a row of cars that he was going to fix up one day. (The guy is about 75 years old! It wasn't ever going to happen)
I suggested that he might have a hard time finding parts but I knew where to find them. So I asked him if I could buy it so that one day he will actually see it fixed up. He grouched some more and then said he will sell it for $2,000. Nope - not gonna happen. The truck was complete and original, but it was in rough, rough, rusty shape. Maybe $300...but that is all it was worth.
I didn't counter-offer and went home. Two months later and I could not stop thinking about that truck. I had no room for it, no money to throw at it. But here in Maine an F2 is uncommon, and I have never seen an F3 except once at a cruise-in that had a home-made wooden flatbed. This one was sitting in that junkyard just rotting away.
At the time I had a 1999 or so GMC pickup that I had bought to fix up and flip. I had $400 into it. It was in very nice shape body-wise but had a rotted frame that would not pass state inspection. I couldn't find anyone to weld it up for a decent price so I detailed and polished that turd, then drove it - unregistered - to that junkyard to see if they would give me a good price as a parts truck. Bingo....things started to happen.
The junkyard owner saw the GMC and wanted the good parts off it - sheet metal, transfer case and interior. He gave me $900 cash for the truck. I asked him if his uncle (the F3 owner) could be talked into a lower price for the F3. He said, lets go over and see. We went over and caught him by surprise. He was in a sour mood and didn't want to sell it all all anymore.
So I left him alone. But couldn't stop thinking about the truck.
I had a handy profit from the GMC burning a hole in my pocket. It was Christmas season and I thought I'd go over again and talk to the guy. I knocked on his door, his wife answered and let me in. She was wrapping Christmas presents on the kitchen table. Mr. Grouchy came in the room and said he would sell it for $1,500. I put on my best sad face and said no, that was too much. He asked how much I was willing to pay and I said $500. He said something to the effect of 'Get out of my house' but his wife stood up and I'm not making this up..."Just sell him that old truck - ITS CHRISTMAS!".
So I said "how about the $900 I got from your nephew"?
Deal.
His wife wrote up a bill of sale right there on the kitchen table.
The tough part was getting the truck out from where it sat. We took a cordless Sawsall and cut all the alder trees around it. The tires were rotted and flat so I brought two wheels from my F2 so it would drag somewhat. Then the guy got a front end loader from the junkyard and we pulled it out. The nephew who bought the GMC offered to haul the truck to my house for free as long as I brought the finished F3 for him and his uncle to see when it was done. I plan to honor that deal this summer.
Turns out it had not been on the road since 1968. The registration was still in the glove box.
So why did I overpay to have a another truck? Well, because it may be one of only a few F3's in the entire state. And I had parts and knowledge left over from the F2 build.
Here is a picture of it at the junkyard.
.

 

Some of my non ford collection

 

Before I got into my 81 F100 flare side I was into AMC cars, had 3 of them a 70 Javelin I built as a 1/4 mile drag car raced but never painted, a 2nd 70 Javelin a factory 390 4sp disc brake car that I am resto-moding for a street car and a 75 GremlinX factory v8 car that needs restoring again. When I moved from CT to NC in 2015 I moved all the AMC's as I now had a bigger garage to work on them. BUT ..........

There is always a but, we take our own weekly trash to the dump and during the summer it sticks having it in my DD 02 Durango with 220K on it. So I wanted a cheap pick up for trash runs and to use as a back up for the Durango as we only had 1 other car.
Well the cheap $800 81 F100 flare side PU needed some work to be safe but the OCD in me would not let me "rube it" to get on the road. Fist thing I did was make sure the motor, had a miss when I did a short test drive, was good and when it was I pulled the whole truck apart as in cab off frame rebuild. I also bought a 81 F100 style side long bed for a parts truck less motor, doors & tail gate.

The parts truck, a roll over, had AC and the flare did not little did I know back then the firewalls are different. Well we just swap that part of the fire wall. This was after floors, rockers, cab corners & lower inside & outside left door to get rid of rust. Strip the frame paint and rebuild everything before it went back on the frame.
Now that flare side bed, there was nothing left of the cross braces or wood. At $1000 just for the cross braces there was no way I could get that by the banker (wife) after everything I have done so far.
So we take the style side bed that was caved in on 1 side, cut the sides off the metal ribbed floor and make it shorter to fit the flare side frame and bolt the flare side bed sides, after a lot of metal work, to the metal floor.
It now looks like a factory metal ribbed floor on a flare side.
I also added the rear 19 gal tank, flare side never had a rear tank only the 16 gal side tank, grafted in a rear filler door so I now have duel tanks on my flare side and the dash switch is all factory stock from the parts truck.

I have a little more body work to do before I can lay paint to the outside, engine bay & engine, and inside the cab and door jambs have been painted already. Color will be factory candy apple red with the white down the center of each side.
I am working on custom bumpers using the stock ones. First they will not show the bumper bolts from the front side (done).
I am working on adding driving / fog lights into the front bumper not on top or below as that does not look right in my book. I have the lights and the holes cut just need a little more "fitting" before I weld it all up.
I don't have the $$ for re-chroming so going to look into chrome wrap once the bumpers are done. If they cant be wrapped I will most likely paint them but don't know what color yet.

So far other than the kingpins and the bumper wrap I have done all the work myself.
Taken 7/4/2018 I have done a little more work to it since then

My web site is down or I would post other pictures.
Yes it is a sickness!
Dave ----

 

I'll go.

For the longest time, I've been a fan of the early 40's Ford sedans. To me, the look was a throwback to every car ever drawn in the Little Golden Books collection. I had looked at a few locally but didn't find a project worth the scratch. Not in any hurry, I just casually kept my eyes open.

So I had a habit, emphasis on the past tense, of periodically flipping through eBay looking at active auctions. Feeling a sense of brotherhood with some of the sellers, I would place bids early on to bump the prices up a bit - you know, to help grow the hobby. Well, wouldn't you know that this '46 Tudor listing shows up. Hey, it's only a hour-ish away, seems to be in decent shape, and the high bid was insultingly low. In the spirit of selfless giving, I pushed the price up. It could have been five bucks more - there is a limit to the value of my altruism - and logged out feeling I had contributed to the GNP.

You know were this is going.

So I won the auction. Yippee. Didn't have a means to move it, didn't have a place to park it, didn't have space to work on it. In short, a typical guy plan.

Yadda, yadda, yadda. I imposed on the kindness of relatives for important stuff and have gotten things to the point of ready for startup and gremlin chasing. Hoping to hit the road this year - fingers crossed. Pics to prove it happened.


I'm a winner!


After body work.

As it sits today.

 

These are some projects we are working on the 56 is my dads and the 48 is mine. The 56 is powered by a 5.4 triton and sits on a 97 f150 and the 48 is all original and has no motor but im probably going to put the 272 from the 56 in it.

 

Caution. What you are about to read and see is unrelated to Ford trucks. The other distracting projects I have going involve wooden sailboats from the 1930's. I acquired my original boat when I was still in high school, and much to my wife's chagrin, I always kept it stored inside and our cars outside:



After retirement, I started restoring my prized "Snipe" which is a 15' 6" one-design racing sailboat. I purchased it for $125 back at a time when I was making $1.25 an hour working part time at a mattress factory. I finished the restoration about 2011:



While working on the restoration of my original Snipe, I learned from an expert on wooden Snipes that mine was one of only three carvel built wooden Snipes built by the Dunphy Boats Works of Oshkosh, WI that were known to still exist. When another Snipe just like mine (presumably number two of four) appeared on e-bay, what could I do? I bid on it of course, and brought it home for something like $260--trailer included:










I'm restoring this boat to be a replica of a famous Snipe that was raced in the late 1930's and early 1940's by William Crosby. Crosby designed the Snipe in 1931, and was instrumental in establishing the Snipe class, which by the early 1940's, had become the largest one-design class of racing sailboats in the world.

My restoration is just about finished. I have after all been working on it since 2011. Next up should be the 1968 Plymouth in my signature. I am, however, almost 72, and at the rate I work on projects, there may not be time.

Jim

 

Great stuff guys! Looks like we are all a bit nuts and have way more ideas than we have time and money for....LOL

Life is good

Bobby