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Keep in mind you (or your son) will spend a ton of money and time on it if your expectations are high. There’s something to the other kids wanting new trucks and it’ll take money and time to have a new running truck. They’ll be driving by and honking when there’s a breakdown. That roof rust looks like mice are in the roof channels and it’s rusting inside out or just a bad surface prep on the repaint.
Yes, we have talked about this at length - trying to make sure this is what he wants. He is nearly 12, so we have time. No matter which one we get, we will be re-doing the interior to look 'new', and the engine will be reliable. A fuel injected later model engine of some sort is the plan...(unless we find a nice rebuilt 390 or so).
I don't know much about paint, but I'm really thinking its a bad prep on the paint. The interior headliner looked pretty good. I didn't see any signs of leaks anyway.
The roof channel does scare me. If its only surface rust, is this pickup still one to stay away from?
Hello Josh, I think it's okay if I hi-jack your thread here. I just sent you a PM regarding your question to me because your FTE forum settings are set to not allow a email from me.
Let me know if you get it, if not I'll cut and paste my response in this thread for you. Good luck with the hunt I hope you find the right truck for you and your son.
Just my two cents - it wasn't the prep work on the brown one - it looks like someone was trying to cover up severe rust for a quick sale. Given the sometimes short attention span of a teenager I would focus on a truck where you can do a "rolling restoration". In other words, you can work on the brakes, and then drive it, drop in a motor, and then drive it. At worst it might be out of commission for a week or two for each job. The brown truck would be a cab off repair with months or years of work even if you are a capable body man and welder. This obviously depends on your work schedule and how much time you can devote to it. Once it is all apart the interest will wane. Focus on finding a truck that might look bad but relatively rust free that needs mechanical repairs and I think you'll both be happier. I was able to finally dig through my garage yesterday on my 12 year and counting Mustang restoration where I was hoping for some support from someone who expressed a lot of interest. When it turned into significant but typical rust problems with convertibles (tearing it completely apart to replace inner rockers), his interest dropped quickly.
F250’s seem to be cheaper due to the higher demand of an f100
Classic ford trucks are cheaper than classic chevy’s.
4x4’s are expensive and add more complexity.
Rust is bad unless you know how to deal with it.
check the frame near the power steering to make sure it’s not cracked. It can be fixed by any welder.
Ford 360/390 “FE” engines are desired, but replacement/rebuild isn’t as cheap as the other engines.
Parts are readily available and mostly inexpensive, and makes these trucks a good place to learn how to wrench.
Good luck and hope to see you both on the forums in the future!
Agreed with all that’s been said. Maybe don’t be in a rush to buy something. My first Bumpside I was in a rush to find and then I realized I should have been more patient and selective when it turned out to have had botched repaint and rust repair. I then had to sell it because I wanted to go through something something needing less work. The ‘rust free’ cab and bed are the holy grail. You might pay premium for f100 but maybe be open to other options.
When I started mine, I read the entire backlog off the fordification body discussion forum, then the 4x4 and engine sections. Sift through the information.
Unless you are good at welding and sheet metal fab work, I'd pass on that one. If it's rusted there, chances are it has rust in more places you have not found. Like cab mounts, floor pans, fenders, and doors. The fenders and doors may have been repaired before repaint. But how well?
I appreciate all the info. My oldest is (almost) 12 so we have time. He really likes the looks of the '61-'66 models and we just missed a good one. 64 f100 that had been garage kept for 17 years. Sold before we could get there...
We have time and I have a very flexible work schedule during the winter. I am a mechanic except on the marine side, but I'm pretty sure we can cross the line a little bit. Bad thing is, I am not a welder. So any fab work will have to be outsorced.
We are still on the hunt. Hopefully something decent will pop up here before long. Again, I appreciate all the info given so far!
The biggest problem with that rust above the windshield is that they don't make patch panels for that. That means you will either have to make your own, or cut the roof off of another truck and try to cut and paste. Either way, that kind of job is not for the faint of heart. There's more aftermarket support for the f100 stuff. Small blocks are a lot cheaper to build than FEs especially with mustang guys unloading parts to go to a coyote swap. There are also more options for fuel injection and transmissions with an overdrive with the small block
Well we found one. Popped up on facebook within a few hours drive, so we jumped on it. Seems to be straight and rust free. I only found one place under the driver door kicker that had any rust - about the size of a quarter.
1965 F100 - Younger guy bought it 5 years ago from his wife's step dad, that was a collector. The guy I bought it from was doing an engine swap to a 460, and ran into some money problems. Needed it gone asap...
I'll also start a new thread in the right sub-forum.
Well done
I was going to say an older truck could also be the 80 - 86 trucks and can be built to be just as kool then saw your son, who the truck will be built for, liked the older ones.
How bout a like in here to your build thread as we would love to follow along for the ride.
Dave ----
Well done
I was going to say an older truck could also be the 80 - 86 trucks and can be built to be just as kool then saw your son, who the truck will be built for, liked the older ones.
How bout a like in here to your build thread as we would love to follow along for the ride.
Dave ----
Yes, I will add the link here. It will be a slow process for us, but I'm sure he will keep us going...especially since he will be needing it in 3 years or so...
Cool I have been to the other post and added my .02
I do bounce between years just to see what others are doing with their projects and that could be a bad thing.
The other day I found 2 frames for a short bed 80-86 truck and a CV motor/trans can hear run and was thinking if they had a full CV car I could buy cheap I could have a start to my next truck project
But I know the wife would leave me as its only been a year since I got my 81 F100 on the road and I have a car project sitting in my garage I have had over 30 years and never drove
I really need to get back on it and do the last bit of body work and paint it.
I will be following you and your son's project
Dave ----
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Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
