Hello all,

I just bought a '71 F-100 from NC and brought it home to MI. My plan is to do a complete restoration to factory original condition. I know this will take a while (15 or so years) especially because money is tight. The question that I have is this. Where should I start. Whats the best plan of attack. I am proficient mechanically, but know nothing about body work. There is a little bit of rust, and I dont want it to get worse. So I was thinking I should start with the body. Any ideas/tips on getting it done RIGHT (no bondo) would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and have a good day!

 

Hello Wahl and welcome to FTE. If you got the room to remove the body you'll have no problems. I'm in a 2 car garage and it was tight but i've just placed the cab on frame. I did the disc conversion on the weekend to avoid code enforcer. I'm also new to prep and body work. I have a good cab,new fenders, got to repair inner fenders and i want to lead in the seam of bed and hood. I haven't really made up my mine to fill the seam with lead or try and use the mig. Well enjoy your truck and if you have alot of room i'm sure you and the members of FTE will get it done. Enjoy

 

well first no good paint job has no fill of some kind. with body work you get the big stuff out and then use very little filler just to smoth things out.

do you want to be able to dive the truck durring the work or will it just sit tell done?

if you dont want to drive it, then i would say take it all apart get the body work done and then start putting it back together with new or fixed parts.

many of the parts for these trucks can be bought NOS (new old stock) or reproduced, many times from the Ford tooling.

if you want to still drive the truck i would say start with what is the worst and just work around the truck to different weekend projects.

that is kinda what i am doing but i am doing more of a resto mod on my truck.

 

the_wahl, Are you sure that you want to give up that much garage space for that many years? In my construction business, I have been to homes over the past 35 years and on occasion run up on a project like yours that has sat untouched for years. Spouses sometimes make unflattering remarks, sometimes junk is packed all round and on the vehicle.

That kind of project is for an experienced restorer, drive the truck for a year get it painted if you like, then decide.



John

 

You are right... NO BONDO. You have to use a high quality filler. And, as stated before, for any great paint job some filler is used. As for where to start... that should depend on your expectations and your resources. I am still in the midst of my project which has been going on 7 years. I wanted to do a frame-off resto mod, read some books, got some advise and simply tore in. Now armed with 20/20 hind-sight and a clearer understanding of my goals I can see ways of acheiving what I have accomplished and still being able to enjoy my truck all with only taking it off the road for short periods of time.

 

Not offense intended...but the first place I would start is my moving from Michigan to New Mexico, Colorado or Arizona.....the winters in Michigan will destroy any work you put into your project....we have tons of old cars out here in the Southwest and the west because of our low humidity and the fact that most places use sand rather than salt on roads in the winter. Plus....if you should decide to sell it during the resto or after...folks are VERY suspect of vehicles from the great lakes/midwest, due to the rust and salt issues...

I lived in Lansing for a mere year and a half and the salts wreaked havoc on my 1974 Beetle....

Outside of that bit of ribbing, when you buy parts, research them...and spend a little extra cash to get the "better" replacement parts....cheaper rubber/trim/seatcovers, etc will wear out much sooner and may not fit as well from the start....even then, realize that some of the replacement rubber and such may not be as good or last as long as the original stuff that is on it now.

Paint....this is where you want to dump alot of money.....again, a cheap paint job can turn to crap within a couple of years...so check out who will be painting...make sure they are not going to have "their son learn" on your truck....also talk to others that are restoring...or that have resto's you like and ask them about what pitfalls they had or avoided....

After my resto project on my Beetle, I decided "never again!" Now my vehicles are well cared for "beaters" now. I've been alot happier with that approach...

Good luck on your project!

 

Duplicate post....stupid forum lag.....

 

I have to agree with Unimog statements when it comes truck resto. I have had fun doing the work and seeing the outcome but I want to enjoy this thing on a daily basis when completed. But, I have a '65 Mustang stashed away that I will be getting very serious with and won't mind the long process. If you have not already, read the Aug '09 issue of Classic Trucks; some sweet bumpsides are featured. The first thing that I noticed was even though the owner's show truck was AMAZING, he was having fun with the other truck. After I was knee deep in my projeect I realized my goal was to build something somewhere in between.

 

John I greatly appreciate your concern with me taking on to big of a project for being as inexperienced as I am. I value your opinion as I was taught growing up. However I am not the type of person to start and not finish something. I am new this, although I am not new to how things work. I am not claiming to know everything, but at 28 years old I have been to Iraq, got married, had 2 kids and completely gutted and remodeled a home. (with the help of my brother-in-law) There is no doubt in my mind that this is not going to be easy. But thats what draws me to this project. Something that my son and I can do once he gets old enough. No, I dont have the room. I just have some really good friends in Michigan, as well as on this very website. And the whole point of this project is to take my time and do it right. I never half-*** anything. If it takes 25 years so be it. Thats another reason why I wanted to start at this age. With that being said, I value your opinion and thank you for your advice. But I will still begin and finish this project before 25 years is up. Once again thank you.

 

LOL. Nice. I would move, but I'm about the only one in MI that has a job! JK. Anyway the roots and kids thing.....you know how it is.

 

Thank you! I dont have time to write a long response, but I will be in touch with you.

 

The truck will never see salt, I will drive it once done, and I will drive it till I take it apart

 

I wish you the best!




John

 

Start with a lot of zip bags and magic markers to label the bags. That way in 15 years you will still know where everything goes. All the best.

 

i would say that this is the best advice in this thread. and you are welcome to PM or email me anytime.