Hello, I'm a seventeen year old looking to rebuild a 1954 ford f100 i just recently bought. I decided to buy this truck as a project for me and my father and was wondering if any of you could give me some ideas on what I should do to this.

Thanks alot

 

How much $$$ do you want to spend? What would you like it to be, restored to stock condition or modified into a hot rod? Welcome to the board

 

Josh, make yourself a gallery so we can see what we're talking about, and we'll try to help. Sounds like a great father-son project.Welcome to the boards.

Racerjim

 

Welcome to FTE joshf08. There are so many ways to go with your truck, you have to decide. What condition is it in? What do you think it needs done on it? What type of work are you and your father comfortible in doing on this truck? Come back with some info and we`ll jump right in to help you out.

 

Welcome aboard, Josh. You can count on plenty of help, opinions, suggestions here. Give us some pics to work from and we'll have your head spinning with possibilities before you can say: "Slow DOWN!"

 

Sweet.... what a great idea for dad and son. This will do more for you both than just buying a ride. Memories are forever. Go slow, enjoy the time spent with dad, listen and learn as you go along, treat it as journey,not a destination........the truck will get done in due time ,don't rush.....spend time here on FTE and look into the gallerys of other members as you finf topics that interest you. A great load of guys and gals here, stay tuned and welcome ........Jon

 

Josh
Welcome to FTE. We have the best people and information available anywhere.
A project like this has two things happening at the beginning, all sorts of ideas swimming around (Both you and your Dad.) and the reality of whats really possible.
Talk with your Dad, look around here, talk some more, go sit in the truck and pretend your driving down the road, and then talk some more.
Oh, and we need pictures, We like Pictures.

 

Opinions we got! As others have suggested you need to decide what you want in a truck and how you will be using it before you can proceed.

Welcome aboard the Effie express!

 

If your like I was at 17, no patience, all I wanted to do was DRIVE. I would suggest getting it safe and doing just that for a while. If you get it torn apart, for a long term mod, you might give up before your finished. These things can sometimes take years to complete. I started mine 5 years ago and still not finished, too many distractions. When you have the money, no time. When you have the time... well you get the picture. Enjoy your truck!

 

Hello joshf08 congratulations on your truck first start small as you gain knowledge and confidence increase your goals. I've had my 60 since 1988 and it is still in progress (it may never be dun) as you grow your outlook and ideas will change and thats ok good luck keep us posted and ask question anytime these people are great sources of info

 

Hey, Josh. This is coming from someone who didn't have a "clue" where to start..I started at car shows..lots and lots of classic cars shows. Everyone at a show is proud of their ride and they find it complimentary, that you want to photograph some special thing you find interesting or appealing. You can never take too many photos (in this day of digital...delete). Set up photo folders on your computer...interiors, front ends, rear ends, gages, motors, even little things like mirrors, tail lights, etc. As your project comes together, reference the photos and incorporate the little things your want to see in your ride at every stage of the building process. As your ride comes together in your mind, you'll weed out and narrow down your photo folders. As your ride comes together, in reality, it gets weeded down even further (not feasible, too expensive, too much work and/or fabrication, etc.) "Dream" photos, as I called them, keep you on the alert when you're walking through junk yards or attending swap meets. You'll have an "Ah Hah" moment...there's the tail lights I want...you can snag parts a lot cheaper if your buy 'em when you find 'em, instead of waiting 'till you need 'em.

Just one other thing...you're a 17 year old male (girls are such a distraction, at that age)....involve that girlfriend in your "dream" or she'll resent the time you spend on it. Give her the mechanics 101 class and show her that getting your hands dirty can be fun! It won't take away from this being a father/son project...you guys are going to be doing the "real" work, anyway. At the very least, show her photos of what you invision...gals love a man with a dream.

 

Hey, not only is my name Josh, too, but I bought my '53 F100 when I was 17. My dad and I worked on it together for years and I just recently finished it up. Weird, huh?

Once you figure out if you want to do a stock restoration or a hot rod, it will open up dozens more questions. Search the boards here and you'll find lots of answers. Chances are that whatever you decide to do has already been done by someone here. Learn from our mistakes and your journey will be even more fun.

Good luck and post some pictures!

 

Hey Josh-- it occurs to me that you have three things to look at here at the start. You can 1.) get it safe and running and drive it as is. 2.) Do a restoration. Depending on how much the truck needs will dictate your options here. Also, read Earl's World for a real detailed look at restoration. 3.) If you want to drive a hotrod truck, you can start making your plans for the drivetrain, suspension, cabin and then the finish. You can put those in any order you want, but plan for all of them. It's fun.

It is really a good idea to have a plan and sticking to it. Projects can get real expensive and real frustrating and lots of guys lose their enthusiasm before the job is done. Working on my truck with my grandson, who was your age at the time, has been one of the best times in my life.

respectfully, himmelberg

 

I'm thinking what I would like to do is mix a little of the hot rod with restoration. That way it still has a portion of antique but it also has the newer hot rod look. The truck is in good condition, the only problem is there is alot of play in the steering.

 

I will get pics ASAP