Welcome to FTE, Mike. One word of advice.....pictures!!

I also agree with the others, drive it for awhile first, I never got that privilege with mine.

 

I hadn't seen John's article before and now that I'm pretty much finished with my truck I can tell you that he offers a lot of great advice. (nice job, John!)

Do whatever will make you proud to drive the truck and you will bask in the success every time you get behind the wheel.

 

Welcome to the board Mike...you have already gotten a wealth of good info, the only thing that I could add is to say that this is YOUR truck; don't build it for the next owner, build it for yourself and enjoy the fruits of your labor!

 

I agree with Bobby in principle about driving the truck while you are planning your build but don't make the mistake of spending a lot of money on it just to do that. I considered that when I bought my truck since the old flathead was running but by the time I would have rebuilt the original the brakes (which were going to be replaced with discs), correct the old frayed wiring (which was going to be replaced due to an engine change), got tires safe enough to drive on (a totally different size from what I would eventually use), got the charging system working (which was going to be converted to 12V and an alternator), etc., etc., etc., if would have cost me a bundle. Yeah, if you happen to be lucky enough to buy a running truck in good condition then by all means drive it but most of us are not that lucky...

 

Lots of great thoughts here.. I have been driving a 56 every day to work for a couple years now, its suspension is bone stock as are the brakes. It has a 302 from 1971, and I enjoy the V8, but the "six" would have been fine; if it was in there when I bought it I would have kept the 6cyl. I have been slowly rebuilding the steering and suspension, and it is more than adaquate if you want it to drive like an old truck, which I enjoy. If I had any money to modify anything (and I don't) I would put on a simple/basic front disc kit, however the stock brakes work prettty good... 12v, in my experience, is a good thing, as is an alternator.. Generators are fine but seem to need more frequent repair (or the ones I have has did).. Drive it! I have a lot of fun working on it, but more fun driving it!

 

Vern,

Good points. My truck was pretty rough when I got it also. I did get it running and had to diddle with the brakes, charging system, etc. I got it to where I could go around the block etc but never did get it to where I was confident enough to take a cross town drive through traffic.
I sure had alot of lonely frustrating nights out in the garage when I was questioning my sanity, cussing every last part of the truck, trying to see out of one eye while the other one watered so bad from all the crap falling into it (its amazing what can get around the safety glasses). If I weren't such a stubborn a** I probably would have towed the thing to a wrecking yard and been done with it. As it was, the couple of memories I had of driving the truck around the block went along way to keeping me motivated.

Bobby

 

Bobby, I guess we are all motivated in different ways. Just imagining mine being able to move under it's own power was motivation enough to keep me going on it...

 

Build it the way it will make you happy. Going in with the plan of what will make it most valueable is the wrong way of attack in my opinion. Build what you will enjoy driving and build something fun and safe. It is really hard to get the money spent on a restoration back out of it once done, specially if you will be farming out a bit of the work. Save for a few such as older mopar musclecars which are going for absurd amounts of money, unless you do everything yourself and find some good deals, I don't think you are going to get more out then you stuck in. In fact they often say you often further ahead moneywise looking for one already done at the right price, or in the best condition you can find. The majority of people who fix up or restore older vehicles do it for the love of it and to build it the way they want. Take for example bodywork and paint. Its very easy to have several hundred hours in body and paint on an older vehicle, and materials can easily run over a grand. Now if thats farmed out to a shop that specializes in older vehicles and has overhead to pay. Lets they charge around $60/ hr. For an example, say there is 200 hours of work, which isn't a ton for an older vehicle. 200 x $60=$12,000. Add materials and could be over 13 grand. If there is quite a bit of bodywork, paint alone can often excede what something will sell for when done. Not only that, but a lot of shops won't even work on old cars. Many bodyshops stick to collision cause there is better money in it.
Build what you want to build for your enjoyment, and don't worry to much about what you will get back when you go to sell. You probably won't come out ahead anyways, even though Ford trucks are gaining popularity, they are not selling for the kind of coin like say a cuda, superbird or charger rt are, so keeping it all original, unless thats what you really want, is a high priority IMO. You can always save the engine and original parts if you wished.

 

How experienced are you at working on cars? If this is your first restoration, I'd keep the 6, as the headaches that accompany an engine swap may be more than you want to deal with.

 

gee Travis ?????

why you want Mike to have less aggrevation/spilt blood/lost money/therapy/marital discord and pure dang fun than the rest of us ???

Go for it Mike... drop a big block in her and come on over to the darkside...(there is no darkside smiley so insert evil grin here) we just took out a batch of cookies mmmm--mm



later
John

 

Mike,
Good luck on your build and welcome to the site. Read Bobbyt's reply again, it is right on. Enjoy the ride. Joe