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I posted an intro thread sometime last year.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1531645-got-a-free-79-shortbed-truck.html#post17854216
I have been slowly s l o w l y Messing with this truck. Finally really tearing into it. My brother got me some floor pans and cab mounts this week. I need to RIP the seats out and see what I am really getting into there. I dropped the tank today so I can start cleaning up the frame and cutting out the bad crossmembers. I have a few videos on YouTube showing some updates. Hoping to have more in the coming weeks.
Update! I ended up giving this truck to my younger brother 4 years ago. He still has it and has done alot of work to it. maybe i can get him to join here and can continue the journey. for now here is his youtube channel. he has alot of videos with it on there.
https://youtube.com/@fullrange4x4?si=Z51Jhh7TgLh2XC_m
Last edited by Doabackflip; Nov 26, 2025 at 12:41 PM.
Couple pictures of the frame after some cup brush action. Its lumpy and pitted but solid beside the spots that hump over the axles. Last night a beat on it with a hammer and really got nothing but a headache.
Looks like a fun challenge that one might enjoy. OTOH, it could be what a friend of mine had in mind when he pointed out to me that, "free is a four letter word."
As of right now I have less than $200 into it. That's title, gas money for my buddy to pick it up. I think the biggest expense was the roll of brake line haha. I know it will soon start taping into the wallet.
Seats out. Didn't take many pictures. Got a short video I have to edit and upload. Was fun snapping bolts off to get the seats out.
Pushed the truck as far over as I could.
I just finished replacing my shackles and hangers in my latest YouTube video (click the link in my signature). Not a fun job, grinding and pounding on rivets, and dealing with seized bolts. I had to do a leaf spring bushing too.
I watched that video. That's a tool I need to get, a air chisel. I replace a hanger on my 93 flareside I had a few years ago. Think I cut the heads off and beat them out to with a punch. Air chisel is the way to go though.
There are many ways to remove rivets. As they say, YMMV.
I like to flatten the rivet head using two hammers, one held atop the rivet head and the other to hit the first hammer. This creates a centered flat spot that allows a small punch to make a nice, centered dimple with which to drill a 1/8" hole that will eventually be finished with a 1/2" bit (equalling the diameter of the rivet). Oftentimes, the rivet head just separates and falls to the floor leaving a countersunk indentation on the remainder of the rivet. Then, use a punch in that air tool instead of the chisel which easily pushes the rivet out the other side. When you get it centered like this, it's hard to tell there was a rivet there (clean hole, no stray grinder marks, etc.). As well, the removed bracket is usually undamaged and completely reusable. Again, YMMV.
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalytic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
