Not sure where its going to end or how I'm going to get there. Guess we'll find out.

1978 Ford F100 Explorer
Rebuild, restore, re.......whatever.

Follow along: Project F100

The blog is a little different.
We're going to present the project from two points of view. Mine...and my wife's. This ought to be interesting. Maybe even a little humorous.

 

what did you use to set up the blog? I will be keeping an eye on it, especially to see what the wife has to say. I am kinda in the same situation you are, I got my 47 ford truck from my Father in law as well.

 

i started a engine removal and replace having never done it before. i read some books and some posts and just went for it. its a great way to learn. i am lucky that my truck is not my dialy driver and could sit for a week or 2. good luck!

 

Chaos - I'm using Blogspot. http://www.blogspot.com It's owned by google and therefore works really well with the Google suit of products, specifically picasa which is used to manage pictures. Its pretty intuitive. I'm no expert, but if you have any questions let me know and I'll try to answer them as best I can.

Brady- thanks for the encouragement. I'm looking forward to getting my hands dirty. I too have the convenience of it not being my primary driver so it can be out of commission with out affecting me too much. Although it does take up more space than I imagined. And I suspect it will be down for a little more than a couple weeks. Let's put it this way, I stopped paying insurance on it.

I'm going to try to update it once a week, at least when I'm able to accomplish something.

stay tuned, found some not-so-interesting stuff this week.....new entry will be going up on Sunday, SUNDAY, sunday........saturday's only!

Mike

 

Like the blog and especially the misses point of view; I've never seem to understand my wife thoughts on my trucks but its good to she her view as well. I'm almost at paint stage on a 78 model for my 15 year old daugther as her 1st ride. I got till mid july to finish. Havn't posted any recent progress, but today painted the grille insert and did both round & square light bezel; havn't decided on which ones, more than likely will us square, they look better on 78 & 9's model.
Enjoy your post and looking forward to seeing more progress.

Mitch

 

Mitch-
I love your work on the 78'.
I would like to pick your brain about getting the frame and suspension components so clean. Can you provide any insight?

Mike

 

blog has been updated.

 

It's fun seeing both sides of the story - yours and your wife's. Looks like the latest pics show some serious floor pan rust...salvageable?

 

I think so.
A couple of replacement floor pans will fix the foot area.
but I'm concerned about the rot between the seat and the rocker panel.
I THINK the rocker panel is solid, but I'm not sure where I'm going to find a replacement metal for that section of the floor. I may just have to fab a piece up. The angles "shouldn't" be that big of a deal.
I have limited experience, so I can't say for sure.
I'm still researching.

Mike

 

i would say buy a parts truck that might not run so it would be cheep, but only if it doesnt have any rust.

 

A whole truck?
I just got one area that won't be fixed by a new floor pan that's 12" X 6" inside the cab to fix. Do I really need a whole truck?

I don't know, that's why I'm asking.

 

No you dont need a whole truck. Go to a U Pull it yard and see if you can find one in decent shape in that area and have them cut it out for you. Or fab up the section you need to replace and weld it in. Looking at the pic on your blog, that is a typical spot for rust for some reason onthe old pickups and broncos. Also check out yor front cab mounts on the cab. They tend to rot out as well. You also might have to either replace or reinforce the frame mounts for the cab because they usually rusted out and got thin.

I dont want to scare you, but I have seen this on alot of these style trucks.

 

I an't scared.....




yet
I'm surprised I haven't seen more to be honest.
I'll pay special attention to the cab mounts this weekend, if the weather cooperates.
Any other areas of interest I should be paying special attention to?

 

On these style trucks its mainly the cab mounts, floors and frame mount locations. But also check the frame where the coil spring buckets are and where the rear leaf spring hangers are as well as any cross members. Rear spring hangers and front spring buckets are notourious for pushing apart due to rust between the frame and the piece. Easy solution is to remoce the rivets, remove the bracket and clean up frame. Repair if necessary. Paint everything with POR15 (or your choice of paint) and bolt everything on using 7/16" grade 8 bolts and locking nuts (or lock washers) I guarentee the frame will out last that truck and probably most other trucks as well.

On the body the bottoms of the fenders can get a little rusted out, and the bottom front of the hood also can rust out on these. But if you have seen any signs yet, all I would do is undercoat those areas.

 

The $1MM question, POR-15 or Eastwood Rust Encapsulator? Inquiring minds want to know. I've done the search and I've read the posts.
I've flip flopped 1/2 a dozen times. Currently leaning toward the Eastwood product. I need to decide because I'm guessing I'm about 3-4 weeks away from using what ever it is I decide to use. Method of application is a major consideration. I need to be able to do it at home and I don't have spray equipment.