I'll go ahead and confess that I'm only 16 and my parents got me an '88 Volvo for my first car. Except for the utter lack of acceleration I have no real gripes with it... I have a title to a 1969 F-100 with a shortbed and stepsides. I know it hasn't been run in the past 8 years and the brakes are locked up... I've been told by family that it's the master cylinder. I was at my grandmother's farm for a few hours a week ago and checked up on it. I don't drive a manual, but I thought it was strange that the column shift moved about 120 degrees. I'm thinking about getting it rolling and moving it to a flat concrete stretch somewhere and evaluating from there. What kind of grief am I looking to put up with completely restoring a truck like that to pristine condition. I want to keep it all original and I think it's got a 300 I6 but I don't really know. It's most definitely an I6 and it's all standard parts, no mods... thanks

 

Restoring an old car or truck can be very satisfying. That said, most people will get half way through and say "NEVER AGAIN". Then when finished, they're out looking for another project. These things take time, money, patients, lots of tools, and a good place (garage) to perform the task. If you still feel up to it (believe me its worth it to most or we would all be driving new trucks) the people here are always willing to donate advise and moral support. I say go for it!

Nathan

 

James, I agree with Nathan, it will take $10-15,000.00 and a couple of years to bring your truck to that condition. I would suggest that you leave it at your grandmothers, get it running, and drivable, finish high school & college, and get a job before you start the project. It has been here since 69, it aint going anywhere, it'll keep until you are better suited to do the project. :-)

John
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66F100s Rule
In the cool still quite of night you can hear chevies rusting away.

 

I'm thinking that you probably have a 300 but it's a possibility you have a 240. I had a 70 Ford Van w/ a 240 in it. It's the same family of engine as the 300 but w/ a shorter stroke. I know the stroke of a 300 is 4" and the 240 is less (I don't know exactly what it is. Ford also made a 170 and 200 (both inline 6's) but they aren't the same family as the 240/300 and used in cars. My 76 had a 3 on the tree w/ 300 when I bought it. The shifter wasn't really sloppy but it was never a quick shift. I liked the fact that you had full use of bench seat but hated the fact that 1st to 2nd was always a slow shift. Now I have two trucks w/ the floor shifter, they sure shift nicer. I have a friend that has a Chev w/ 3sp that a previous owner converted to floor shift. With a good quality Hurst shifter, it shifts much tighter and nicer than the column would. As far as whether to spend alot of money restoring? I'd be looking hard at the cab. Is it rusting? Is the floorboard solid? And what about the fenders on the box? Are they staight? I have a 69 that I think is going to the junkyard or at least be sold. I wanted the motor and transmission out of it. I have a 76 and 79 as well that I've spend much money on. The 69 would require too much work because of a difficult dent in the cab and some rust just in front of the driver door, where mud and dirt have been sitting so long it's started rusting through the sheetmetal. Fenders, Hood, Grill.... you can find that stuff... my truck has mostly good parts like that. Having had 3 Ford trucks now, w/ manual trannies... I'll tell you that they are noisy.. lot's of gear whine. The engine is probably bullet proof. A 69 probably has 4 drum brakes, mine does. You could upgrade to have Power brakes/ or Power disc frontbrakes. This stuff can be done, but it'll nickel and dime you. I just bought a new power brake booster/Mastercylinder to upgrade my 76 to PB... about $250 and go to boneyard and find a firewall bracket. Finding a newer Ford Truck w/ disc fronts, you can swap the entire I-beam assembly. On the other hand... the 4 drums and no Power assist wasn't that bad on my 69. If you don't want to afford the to restore the truck, and it has some redeeming qualities, like a solid bed or cab, I'm sure you can find someone to buy the pieces. Or do like so many of us, and drive it around kinda of beat up looking but functional. You'll find that compared to so many cars.. especially more modern ones, that the truck is beautiful in it's simplicity. You can actually reach things and fix them. Good luck with it.

BBT

 

I've gotta agree with Nathan and John on all accounts. These things always take longer and much more money than originally anticipated. Not to mention the patience associated with working on a 30+ year old truck with rusted and seized components. On the other hand, when it is all said and done, you will certainly have a much more original and uncommon truck than most others.

If the truck has been sitting for eight years then the brake problem is more than just a master cylinder. The wheel cylinders will be completely shot. If you have calipers up front then the pistons will most likely be seized. Before you try to start the truck, remove and drain the gas tank. Make sure you check for rust and varnish inside the tank. The carburetor will be shot and probably full of varnish so it'll need rebuilding. Drain oil and radiator then refill with fresh fluids. You'll need new plugs and points for sure and it wouldn't hurt to get rotor, cap, condensor, and wires. Then squirt some oil into the top of each cylinder and remove the distributor and spin the oil pump shaft to lubricate the entire engine.

Good luck and remember to try and have fun with it.

Jim

 

I've just started on a 79 F-100 that my dad had in the yard when he passed away a few years ago. He was sick enough the last 3 years he was alive that he did nothing to the truck, except to start it up every now and again. This is my first project, and it is a pretty good candidate as the body is all there, just needs cab corners and repairs to rust spots where the mirrors mount on the doors. The paint is pretty bad, sitting out in Northern Ontario acid rain for that length of time without a good coat of wax or anything but paint and bodywork is in the plan and budget. I think you will find this project to be very rewarding as well as a challenging and fun learning experience. I drove my truck for about a year and a half before starting the project to find all the wrinkles and problems, these vehicles are so simple that I put a common screwdriver and a half/nine box end wrench in the glovebox and I never needed anything else to get it going when the truck gave me a hassle! Best advice so far in this thread? HAVE FUN WITH IT!

 

this is not a project for the weak of heart.i own several ford trucks in different stages of repair.i suggest some good tools and alot of patience.it can be tough but it is very rewarding.hope you stick with it

 

Dear 16 yr old
I recently obtained by grandfathers 69 longbed and have been in the process of restoring it. The guys here on this board are correct it takes time and money if you want to do it right the first time. I am 26 and have been working on mine for almost a year. Follow the advice of getting it running right now, this makes you fall in love with it even more so later on it is a joy to restore it. When I got my truck it had set for 5 years and the brakes were froze up on it, to get it moving I had to replace all wheel cylinders, flex lines and the front drums. Also had to get new spark plugs, wires, rotor cap,points and condenser. Change the fuids and espically the fuel filter. It wouldn't hurt to add a cheap inline filter before the one on the bottom of the fuel pump. The drum brakes will work great for you as long as your not in mud holes and crossing creeks and it will be much cheaper than changing over to disc at the present time. Also while you are at it you might want to replace the hard metal brake lines, they are cheap I got mine at Napa for $3-$5 for each of the 3 lines. Most of all have fun and go slow.
Chief

 

The first thing you need to tell yourself is that you are not looking to drive the truck for 5 years. PATIENCE! Most people that do a restore tend to rush the job as they get closer to finish. PATIENCE! Take the same amount of time on the last bolt in as the first one out. PATIENCE! Nothing worse than a rushed job. PATIENCE! I've been a year on mine now and have not turned a wrench yet. That year has been used to accumulate all the necessary things I'll need to do the job. Getting ready to start this spring though. Always remember the more time you take to do the job right the better off you will be. PATIENCE! That's the key.

 

The most important thing is that you MUST really like the truck. You mentioned that you wanted it original and that makes it tough. I don't care about original on my 73 so I was able to upgrade to power brakes, power steering, A/C... I cut the cab for the A/C, so being original makes a difference. Most all the parts you'll need are out there, they made a ton of these trucks.

If you go forward with the project, objectivly evaluate each part (fenders, cab, bed...) I spent about 10 hours stripping, rust treatment on inside, on the door that came with my truck, only to find more rust on the outside. I gave up on the door and found a cherry one for $75. Now I'm doing the bed and it's a TON of work! The point is evaluate each piece and look for pull-yourself yards that have parts in better condition.

Mine has been a 5 year deal so far, and will be finished in a few weeks, I spend about $5,500 on the engine and I'm in for about $10,000 so far. Be realistic about the money it'll take and think if you really like the truck that much. In the end, you'll be very happy and have something very different.