The engine it out of the truck, and 1/2 torn-down. That's when I decided I should have the heads rebuilt and the valve seats worked to burn unleaded fuel. That means I should have the lower-end rebuilt too. On top of that, I f'ed-up the threads on the crankshaft when I pulled the harmonic balancer.

Over-all, the truck isn't terribly rusty. There are holes rusted-through on both sides in the area behind the hood/above the dent/in front of the door/below the windshield. The paint really is shot, it's spider-webed, and there's rust all-along under the "rub rail" in the dent. The floor of the bed looks like swiss cheese, but I do have a replacement bed already, that's about an 8 on a scale of 10.

All the wiring is shot. None of the lights work.

It did run when I brought it home. I drove it onto the trailer, off the trailer and into the garage. It didn't run well.

I think if I could get a shop to finish the engine work, and get her running again, I'd find the motivation to do the other stuff as my time allowed.

 

My 73 Camper Special 2WD 360 C-6...when I started.



14 months later. Pick a spot like "engine " to work on and don't get distracted by all the other stuff. Your never rushed and if it does not get done today...so what. That way you see consistent progress. Helps keep you motivated.

 

I may have to resort to sitting in the truck, making VROOM VROOM and screeching tire sounds, like I did (in this truck) when I was 6 years-old.

 

Just keep on building man, its not a race to finish it, if it takes you 10 years, it just takes you 10 years.
Just do what you can when you can. I got in over my head and tried to do it all at once, big mistake.. I didn't have a plan or the funds.
You'll be happy when you can hand the keys to one of your little ones (assuming you have kids) and letting them drive, and make memories in/around it like you have of the old truck.

 

Looks awesome. And is so much fun to work on.

 

Things are progressing again, albeit slowly. I've got the engine at a shop, being rebuilt. I've got the truck loaded on a dolly, so I can tow it to a carwash to clean out the nearly 40-years of sludge from the frame and x-members. Removed steering gears, have a Redhead ready to install once the engine bay is clean. Also removed the vacuum booster/master cylinder for replacement. I think I'm going to refurb the steering column while I'm at-it.

While the truck is out of the shop for the wash, I plan to remove the old bed. That way it'll be easier to work on the electrical, fuel tanks, etc.

Once the motor is rebuilt, it'll be ready for paint and install (I hope). Then brakes, interior strip, and electrical systems before putting her back-together for body and paint.

 

Speed-bump. I was hoping to work on the truck a good amount this week, but I managed to cut my thumb the other night, on an unrelated project. Required a trip to the E.R. and 5 stitches. Slowed me down. Hoping to drag it to the car was tomorrow. Saturday is booked with family stuff, but maybe back to it on Sunday and Monday. Still nothing picture-worthy yet. Maybe when I have it in the daylight?

 

Working on the truck again, after having a friend come over and help me line out a step by step plan. I gutted the cab, and both doors today, in preparation for body work and paint. I created quite a mess! Found some cancer in the floor pans, but I've seen worse posted by other FTE users, so hopefully mine's repairable. I've removed all the glass as well. Tomorrow I'll clean up this mess, then continue removing body trim, the grill and badges.

 

I think drawing up a "plan" is always a good idea. I usually type up a step by step plan, sometimes with a general goal date for any project that I start (house, yard, car, etc.). This helps keep me motivated and disciplined as it is a whole lot easier to bite off the steps and see your progress as you check the completed tasks off the list. It also keeps it from being so "overwhelming" because you have a step by step plan and it keeps you from getting lost and starting down 12 different roads. Keep up the good work and thank for keeping us posted!

 

Over the weekend, I got the cab pretty-much stripped, removed the front fenders, glass, gutted the doors, and removed the grill/bumper. All-in-all, about 10-hours of work including clean-up.

Here's what I found under the rubber floor covering.




Here's the worst of what I found in the windshield frame.


And a pic of how she'll sit until next weekend.

 

Keep up the good work !!! There is no rush and you seem to have a good game plan. I know life gets in the way, try being in the military. Look forward to seeing your progress.

 

Need a little input. Please see this post: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-opinions.html

 

I took my truck to a reputable body shop and had them do the rust repair that I did not want to do. I had a cab corner, a dent in the rear corner of the bed and another hole in the back of the cab, that they fixed. I do have some rust in my floorboard that I am going to repair. I have not done any welding in at least 30+ years, so this will be a refresher course. I say use the extra cab for parts and do as much of the repair as you can. I took mine to the shop because the cab and bed corner will be seen, and I did not want to practice on anything that would be that obvious. I have some pictures here; https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...build-log.html
Good luck with your truck.

 

Well, time for a little update, I guess.

The original cab is toast. Too many years of sitting outside in the Pacific North-WET have taken their toll. I've lined-up a 1979 donor truck, with near-perfect cab. My truck is stripped bare from the cab-forward. Next step is to remove the bed, then refurb the running gear. I've lined-up a body and paint guy, he'll get-started on the bed, cab, and fenders in a couple of weeks.

 

I'm glad to hear that you're still chugging along. I put the door glass in Pop's Truck today. It seemed a small thing, but a step in the right direction. Good luck and keep at it. Take care.