Hello all. I am very new to this forum...actually this is my first posting. It has been somewhat of a dream to build a truck since I was in middle school, and now that I'm a little older..with family, and kids...settled down...I'm ready for my first project. I have always been interested in the mid 80's chevy 1/2 ton short box - step, but when I saw a picture of a late 60's Ford p/u...i think I fell in love...I'm looking at spending several years in finishing my first project and would love some advice as to how I should start and how I should plan on the build. I am looking at spending a 2-3 thousand to start. I think this forum is amazing and would appreciate all your valued advice. Thanks!

 

Your question is HUGE. First, rather than waste my precious efforts on useless thoughts, do you mean a 61-66 or 67-72? Either era has its merits, but we here are all quite partial to the former.

If you like the later (too much plastic IMHO), then you are in the wrong forum. If you saw a pic of the 61-66 and liked what you saw, then make it clear and we will fill you will all sorts of ideas!!!!

 

Oh, and WELCOME to FTE!!!!!!!!!!

 

Welcome to the forums. The time spent on your rig will definetly show up later on. The greatest advice I can give you is...Take your time, think it through (consult us when necessary), and don't cut corners. Cutting corners will come back to burn you...just ask me.

Once again welcome and good luck.

 

Welcome to the forums, bacon. It's a good group. As soon as we know what you're looking at, you won't believe how much help you'll find in here. It's like having 100 years of experience right in your shop with you. I hope you're referring to 61-66. Best lookin' trucks FoMoCo ever made, in my very humble opinion. Taps fingers waiting on a reply.....

 

Welcome to FTE.
Nothing against Chevys, but those 1980s versions are far from unique. You'll get a lot more attention with a "Slick 60s" Ford, believe me. I get smiles and waves on every drive.
Read through the archives here, and get educated. It will save you a lot of money and heartache from buying the 'wrong' truck. You may want to start with my website here simply because I have some useful links for parts suppliers and other sites that explain the various differences in the years.
Main thing to learn is what is hard to get for these (i.e., what rusts) so you don't buy a truck you can't fix. Item #1 is radiator supports...do a search on this subject and you'll quickly learn a lot. Most of the rest of it isn't too bad, and a lot of parts/patch panels have become available.
Unicabs are the holy grail, but are also more difficult to restore. Finding tailgates for these is especially hard.
61-63 is one series.
64 is a little unique. It is a 61-63 with a 65-66 (some would say 'proper') bed.
65-66 is another truck again, with Twin-I-Beam suspension and the 'modern' FE V8 option vs. the Y-block of the previous models.
You can get a good starter truck for your budget, if you shop hard and are patient. The truck on my site was purchased for $2600 and is a nice driver.

 

bacon...Welcome to Ford Truck Enthusiasts! If you have a minute check out the Guidelines, it will help you to navigate through and understand FTE.
We are pleased you have chosen, the best source of Fords…..there is!
See you on the boards.

Enjoy FTE …..

 

1st of all Bacon, Welcome to FTE and the 61-66 forum page.

There is no book or books that begin to approach the knowledge contained here in. That being said, I'll try to give ya my best answer below. It's how I have people I "do" Projects for get going.

I gotta agree with my comerades here. I'll also add a few things.

1, Start by doing thorough & good research, collect info & data, organize it for later reference and comparison as you develop your real concept & plan.

2 Form a Clear idea or vision of what you want, what you want it to do and what you want to do with it. . . . In otherwords; Form a goal or set of objectives you want to achieve.

3, Decide whether you want a 61 to 64 or a 65-66 version, AND learn the differences between them. Also complie a list of body types, models, and options that you have an interest in & don't have interest in.

4 Look at as many "Slicks" of like kind to that which you have chosen for yourself. Study them for ideas in positive & negative terms; [WOW! That's a Great Idea, for the positive or I wonder what they were thinking when they did that? for the negative ]

5, Pay attention to prices/ cost factors to develop a sound budget for your project. We all can tell you many well intentioned projects end up in salvage yards due to lack of Planning and Budgeting <- VERY IMPORTANT as boring as it may seem!

6 When you have an understanding of these things, some familiarity of these great trucks, and a vision or objective in mind, form a plan for your personal project using a critical path approach ie: step 1, before step 2, before step3, and so forth.

7, With a plan & budget in place, start looking for a "Platform" or Basis Truck for your project. Be sure to ask for 2nd & 3rd opinions, seek information, tips & knowledge. There are no stupid questions, except those ones we failed to ask when we should have. . . . Be 100% sure your basis truck is worth doing, in good enough condition to get good results, at reasonable cost and in an acceptable time frame.

8 Be careful not to let anxiety or being anxious & excited "acelerate" your thinking, or your projects development, or creation. Remember you're trying to make a dream and a vision into your reality. . . . Good Work takes time to accomplish.

9, As you approach an actual beginning of your project, build your truck in your mind, then in/on your paper work & virtual fashion on your P/C. All these
practice trips" provide insight. They are easily modified-revised and changed, unlike money, time and efforts spent on an actual truck made of metal, glass & so forth. At this point I encourage my clients to start a Journal of their project, including all the development data, info & processing, projected goal/objectives & so forth. Include before, during & after photos of your truck and photo copies of related paper work for it. Also any related information as to history, previous use/ ownership and so forth.

9(a) Also purchase, drive and use your Platform, or Basis Truck for a while to be certain of what you actually want to do, achieve, and end up with. Don't just buy a "Slick" and begin taking it apart without actually using it a while 1st. This experience is priceless in finalizing your "ideal" project. Enter thoughts & progres in your Journal as things go along. I recommend saving receipts, drawings, schematics, wiring details & Info,a good list of what is used to complete the project and so forth. A good journal can increase upwards by a couple thousand dollars the value for Insurance purposes, sale & record documentation of the finished project. Well done special interest vehicles w/ complete journal & history is worth more than one without a journal. it can make a $15K show quality truck worth $17.5K or more. . . .

10, After you have experienced your truck in reality, and real time, and when you do begin work take plenty of good photos. they will enhance your journal as well as help you to put stuff back together after it's been apart for a while. Pix prevent having to remember everything, which nobody ever can, just refer to the image when the time comes. . . .

Good luck, good learning, and again welcome to FTE

FBp

 

First off were you live if you are in Texas, new mecico, oklahoma and can get to midland texas there is a 64 short bed style side with a 292, c4 automatic, Dana 44 3.31, little rust, it has been in a fender bender the left fender is dented and needs replacing, the left headlight bezel also needs replacement, has new rims from LMC and new tires, it has a built in toolbox which the owner said was rare for that year, the interior needs work but it does run strong. Owner wants about $1,500-$1,700. I was gonna buy it but found my 66 instead.

 

every thing ford body pete said is right on do it on paper several timjes as you drive the truck. and for gods sake take pics they are worth there weight in gold!!!
Rhett

 

All these guys have great advice, and you can count on us to help you along the way. My .02: the 65-66 is easiest, cuz you already have twin I-beam which is easy to upgrade to power steering and disc brakes. I bot a '64 before I knew better, and have a lot of work ahead of me to get there. You should be able to get a decent driver in your budget. Look at your strengths and weaknesses before you buy. For me, engine work is easy, but body work is hard, so I go for solid body condition before anything else. I don't even care if it has a drivetrain, as long as the body is solid up top and underneath. You may be just the opposite, so go with what you know. I tend to prefer unrestored trucks, cuz ya never know what's under that fancy paint job. Also, take your time looking for a truck. Like lookin for women and dogs, we sometimes fall head over heels for one that is all wrong for us, and don't realize it til it's too late. Good luck!

 

Welcome to the FTE Board. This board has been great for me. I am also starting my first project restoring a 1963 F-100. I got mine here in Arizona so it has no rust. My advice when looking for a project is find a truck that has as little rust as possible. Rust is very expensive to get rid of. Second get as complete of a truck as you can find. Repo parts are available but are sometimes very expensive and not the quality of the orignal parts. The truck I bought is a step side with a 223 six and a four speed. I paid $1400 for it and it has been my daily driver for about 4 months. The engine was re-built by the previous owner and it runs great. It needs paint and interior mostly.

Remeber to take your time and most important have fun doing it.

 

You sound alot like me when I built my first truck. It took 3 years to do and it came out alot better then I imagined. Once I finished it though I slowly lost interest because it was done, you know what I mean?. I traded my vehicle for a 66 F100 and plan to rod it out , but show quality. I learned alot from my first build that I will use toward this one.
The answer to your question is more complicated then you think. It depends on how your building it (ie. original restoration, hot rodding, or race). For example I am going to rod this one so I will be pulling it into my garage and tear it down to the frame and then build it back slow by powder coating the frame then rebuild the rear-end and install disc front end, lower, moter, etc... When I built my race car I started with the motor and worked everything towards the 1/4 mile.
So you can see it depends on how your going to build it.

 

I started a '61 Uni and learned a quick lesson. Just like was said here the ones with "twin I beam" are a lot easier to work with. The '61 & '62 have a lot of parts that are exclusive to those years. It does make it an adventure to find what you need, but sometimes get's a little frustrating. I was lucky enough to stumble across a second one that's a real gem and needs next to nothing to finish. My $.02 is don't jump on the first one you find if it doesn't fit your skill level. Going to retail vendors for parts or services can be a killer $$$ wise.