I have a good story I'd like to share. First, I've always wanted to fix one of these trucks up my entire life since I was a kid, but never had the money nor could find a shortbed. About a week ago, my wife and I went for a walk and I noticed a truck in this yard half covered up with a tarp. Of course, I knew right away it was a 74 or newer by the looks of the bed. I figured, heck I'm gonna go knock on that guys door and see if we can buy it from him. So, the guy answers the door and he's older (66 or so), and super nice. First, I asked if it were his truck and he said yes, let's go take a look at it. (Seemed he wanted to talk). So we pulled the tarp off and it was a 4x4 78 Shortbed F-150 with the 351M engine. The best part is that it has little rust, even on the bed!! So we looked it over a bit, and I asked him if he would want to sell it. His reply was that he has owned it since 89 and has always wanted to fix it up himself like me. So, he said to let him think about it for a few days. My fews days were up yesterday, so I pulled in his drive right after work that night with my wife and he came right out of the house. First thing he asked me was, "Are you sure you want this truck"? Of course, I said yes, but had no idea what he may want. He goes "Tell you what, $100, and it's yours!" By this time, my jaw was on the ground and I had to check my pants. Needless to say, the truck is now mine. She doesn't run, but for a $100 I'm not gonna complain. I'd figure I'd rebuild the motor and do a restore. Anyone know where to get parts?

 

78ford351m, this post is titled just bought a 78 F150, but if you want to know specific info on a motor rebuild, possibly go to the 335 series(engine)forum, and ask 351M rebuild ideas needed or somthing like that, so that way the guys with the most knowledge on rebuilding 351Ms are almost sure to read your question over just bought a 78 F150 , with that title, you'll get alot of post saying great deal, nice truck, stuff like that, but not to much help on your specific questions.

Great deal, and good luck

 

Stealing from old people is not nice.

Holy cow a $100 ???????? The bed alone could be worth 10 times that.

I’m doing a frame up restore on my 78 F150 4X Shorty, right now. Depending on how far you want to go and what you need the options are: buy a donor truck, wrecking yards or there are several aftermarket suppliers. Also, you might consider a 460 swap.
There have been many FTE threads on each.

 

The old man just wanted someone that wasn't gonna junk it, since it didn't run. I'll get some pics hopefully by next week. The bed is in awesome shape except for the rear and drivers side fender well. I've been told you can get new stuff to weld in replacement. Is this true or am I gonna have to steal it off another bed? What's a good aftermark place?

 

[QUOTE=78ford351m]The old man just wanted someone that wasn't gonna junk it, since it didn't run.

In view of the circumstances, when you refer to the "old man" you should at least precede the "old" with some kind of superlative such as 'terrific' or 'wonderful' and even consider 'generous.' lol

 

[QUOTE=Bdox]Trust me, I'm thankful and have thanked him several times. Can't wait to get it started.

 

Yes you can get replacement panels to weld in above the fender wells. I'm still searching the forums here to try and find if there is one or more brands that fit better and/or will last longer than others. You could also find another truck with a good bed on it to swap however a shortbed in great condition should be hard to find plus you have to deal with getting rid of the rest of the truck underneath it. Be carefull - a side effect to this disease you have just come down with is that every time you save some money you end up finding a great deal on another truck. You could end up with a whole driveway full. Welcome.

 

Yeah, I've had a couple in the past. Tell me where I can get the fender replacements so I can get them. Also what about the rear of the bed? It's rusted on the bottom on the back. It's like a straight panel. Thanks!

 

If you look on the left of this page there are links to suppliers in blue.
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Auto Krafters, National Parts Depot and Bronco Graveyard should all have replacement panels. There is probably a local supplier in your area too, have a look in your yellow pages.

 

Sounds good, thanks for the tip!

 

Try www.lmctruck.com I've got their latest 73-79 Ford Truck catalog in front of me right now. They have pretty much everything you might need.

Good luck....

Bob G

 

sgtwg, beware of quality!
lmc has alot of parts, but most of them don't fit worth a darn.

 

Yeah, I had that problem with the mustang. I want them to fit without modifying them!

 

here she is:

 

Looks to be in really good shape with a almost new paint job, nice truck.