Any of you guys ever done an off frame restoration of your truck? Where do you start? What are some things to watch out for?

 

Something us parts guys like to call hidden damage and oops...

When you take a rusted panel off, the entire panel beneath is gone/rusted. Take lots of pictures, label part's that you've pulled off and take more pictures/notes. Let me know if i can help.

 

I will be taking pictures and labeling everything, putting bolts in labeled baggies.

I'm thinking i will start with the bed. It is pretty rust free except for the usual wheel wells. I have the replacement metal and have a small amount of work to do with that. I figure i'd weld in new inner wheel well edges and glue in new outers.

Anyway, take the bed off turn it up side down and start wire wheeling everything,and painting with rust bullet and flat black paint.

Once that is solid i'll set it off to the siade and work on tearing down the front clip. Here is where i worry, there are a lot of pieces and parts. I learned from tearing the AC out that there is a method to the madness of tearing stuff out, you have to do things in the right order.

How would you guys start?

 

1. I'd reccomend a good sand blaster rather than wire wheel. The wheel gouges, and tends to be uneven, plus an entire bed will chew up ALOT of bits.

2. A/C & front clip? Start with the sheelt metal, that way, you can sit on your tire and work. Also, take measurements of EXACTLY WHERE THE 'wear marks' are in the paint, this will help you to line everything up later.

 

One of the best things you can buy is ford factory shop manuals. I got my entire set of ebay. They show the dealers how to do stuff the right way. The next best thing is what you are doing-lots of pictures and baggies.

Take your time. I have spent over 6 years doing my truck, and most of the time I did it right. The stuff I hurried, I ended up going back and redoing.

Here's the order I did things: safety, body, interior, performance. New brakes and brakelines should be top priority. Also, a master bushing kit, such as one from prothane or energy susp. is good because you get all the bushings at once.

Good luck, take lots of pics and post them as you have time

 

Having never actually done a frame off restoration before, here is my two cents! I would also get help or ask when you don't know something. I myself am asking questions on my truck all the time. Also, plan ahead. If you know you are going to be replacing parts or upgrading, now is the time. My buddy wanted to upgrade his rear end in his pickup during his frame off, got so excited when the sheet metal came back from paint shop that he got it back together and never upgraded his rear end. Well, long story short his tricked out corvette motor (sorry he is a Chevy guy) ripped apart his feable stock rear end and sent pieces flying. Needless to say he had a lot of 're-work' to do because he didn't swap out rear ends like he had planned.

Best of luck to you and post pics. LOTS OF THEM!

 

my only advice is take it a section at a time...don't get too crazy or you will leave things undone...and you will be completely overwhelmed...I know that taken everything off is a PITA, but go slow...write down a game plan and get'r done.

you are looking a major undertaking...I know, I have now been working for almost a year on mine and have almost quadrupled my original $3k budget...(my wife informs me this will be me LAST restore...but I got my eye on IH Scout...LOL!)

Good luck!

 

Yep, been there done that. If I had it to do again I would take the $9-15 k a frame up will cost you and just go to ebay and bid on one. Save one some coin and all the hard work.

They have restored 79 Ford pu's trucks up for bid on there a LOT. They have beautiful restores with the owners maybe getting a third of what they put in them, not even counting the mess of restoration and hard labor they put in on them....

Also one should not fool themselves in to thinking, " I will not put that much money in MY truck" whenever they entertain the thought of a frame up....

If a person has the mindset of perfecting the truck to where they literally tear it apart piece by piece, making each piece top notch, it is going to cost more than they can ever get out of it...

One should not elude themselves with the thought of, "when I get it done I WILL NEVER sell it". They all get sold sooner or later, if not crashed first...

Get a plan what you want the truck to look like before you remove the first bolt and what you will do with it when its done. I have one sitting in my carport that I have $15K in that is just collecting dust. It just needs newer tires and wheels and putting the racetrack trim back on, to finish it up. Another $1400...

On the other hand, if you want to make your significant other a truck widow/widower, never have any spare cash, ruin your garage with the mess, ruin clothes and possibly even human body parts to just end up with a pretty truck that needs it own gas refinery, go for it all jmo

 

9-15k??? Not sure about that. I hope not. Maybe you're thinking of a Jay Leno restoration. I'm thinking the truck is basically 5 parts.

Bed: Remove replace wheel wells, strip, rust bullet and paint.

Front Clip: Remove, clean, strip and Paint

Cab: Remove, strip and Paint (I need a new seat).

Engine: Pull, replace main seal and anything else that is easily accessable

Frame: Strip, Rust Bullet and Paint.

Put everything back together... Of course i'll prolly re-do the brake lines and the cheap chrome stuff... Disassemble in my garage, paint at my buddies paint shop. Re-assemble in my garage. I'm hoping 1yr... My truck is pretty clean to start with, the floor boards, cab corners and everything else is really solid, i just have a few holes on the wheel wells, dirt gets trapped in there and the show is over it seems. The truck is really in good shape.

 

I don't mean to disagree w/ 79'r but if that's all you are doing, you are not doing a Frame up restore. When you do a complete tear down of the vehicle you are going to find tons of items that need to be replaced, which should be expected on a 30+ year old truck. Plus you have tons of items you missed on your "basic tear down"...such as, if the truck bed needs new wheel arch panels, there is a 100% chance that you are also going to need the rear wheelhouses, this will also lead to the need for new braces, new protective rubber underneath, etc.etc..

Also you will want to replace all the weatherstripping, anti-rattle kits, and anything else that has fallen into disrepair.

It gets expensive having to collect the supplies to do these repairs yourself, even if you can borrow the tools. I have spent $500 on just SANDPAPER.

if you really think it's a simple sand and paint you might want to reconsider...and since your doing it, you might as well do it right

just my $.02

 

It may be in nice of shape, but I second the notion that as soon as you start taking things off you will find other stuff to do but it can be done for less than 9k. I think a lot of people dump a ton of cash into engine parts or other accessories that wouldn't be needed. I.e. if it only needs a seal replaced there's no need to throw on an intake, carb, replace w/ a 460, etc.

Good luck - as always, be sure to post pics as you go.

 

If you are going to invest the time and money, make sure you are starting with the right vehicle. When it is all said and done you don't want to second guess yourself, (wish I would have done a short bed, long bed, 2X4, 4X4 maybe I should have done a Fairlane instead etc...) A frame up restoration is a huge undertaking and you don't want to be disappointed when you are done.
Once you are sure of what you want, buy the best example you can afford. You will be money ahead in the end.

 

These guys are correct about the cost. My son and I just finished a bed off on our 77 flairside, and I am also around 10k coounting the $2,500 paint job. One thing leads to another and so on. This was our first project but I will be much smarter the next time around.

 

All great advice!

My son and I are just finishing the chasis on our frame off project of a 1977 Flareside. So far we have 2.5 years in it and have done most of the work ourselves to keep the cost down. We purchased 3 donors along the way to keep the truck as original as possible. They've also been helpful for answering the inevitable question "how was that on there again?". Not to mention some of this stuff is very scarce. I'd also suggest getting an ebay account if you don't already have one.

This site has been as helpful as any of the manuals we purchased. Everyone on this site, guys like NumberDummy and Mi1lion are invaluable resources.

Enjoy! Besides having an awesome ride when you're done you'll also meet some of the best car people....Ford people that is...

 

I am in the process of doing a frame up hotrod of my 76. I've read theposts above, and there are some excellent points there. Here is my .02:
1. before dissassembly, put together a budget for your project.
2. as you dissassemble, reevise your budget
3. Consider what is going to be cost effective to farm out work wise. For example, If I were to do it over again, I would have the frame bead blasted and most likely the body as well. It really isn't that expensive, and for you when you include equipment, etc. it is worth having a professional do it.
4. I think I've made this suggestion before, but open an account at your local florist. Always helps to keep your wife/significant other happy.
5. Include her in the project. Can she help you with the upholstery? How about little things in the shop? Let her feel like she is a part of it, you might be surprised next time you order some parts, to her response.