So, after cruzin this thread for a while, it dawned on me that I have never actually made a progress thread for my truck, even though there is little that I havent done to it. So here we go, dates are probably way off, but oh well.

And to the mods, I know alot of these pics have that little copyright in the bottom, but I am Josh Huston, so please dont delete them!

Here is how the truck looked april of 05, about 3 days after I brought her home, sitting next to my old 90 F150, which i killed as a result of being 16 and stupid:





Pulled the truck out of a field looking like that, hadnt run in 5 years. Changed the fluids, put in a new battery and brake like, and she started right up! ... Then needed a new starter and clutch immediately.

Drove it like that for a while, but knew it needed some work in the looks dept. Added Country Boy across the windshield, whips on the mirror mounts (since my mirrors both rusted away and fell off lol) and a fancy redneck liscense plate:


Of course the old bald dry rotted tires needed to go, so i picked up a set of these from a buddy, had to remove the front bumper to make em fit, but it was junk anyways:


About this time I was also able to buy my custom front bumper from my same buddy, he ended up getting out of the truck scene all together.


Drove it like this for a while, had some fun, until one day I fired her up and clang clack clang! no oil psi, and engines makin a ton of bad noises. So got a used engine, tore it down, regasketed it, (didnt want to tear too deep in, i didnt know anything about rebuilding yet and i needed the truck to drive asap) and swapped it in:




So, new engine, new clutch, and im feelin bulletproof, had tons of fun with the truck, takin her out and playin almost every weekend




Over the next summer I ran into a killer deal at the local swap meet, and picked up 4 of these brand new, still had the stickers on em, for only 100 bucks! Rims cost me 50 at the same meet, got a couple killer deals that day:


Problem is these would not fit up front without doing something, so i added an add a leaf and stuffed em in there:



Had a ton more fun on these tires, but never got an alignment, and kept blowing up front wheel bearings on my puny dana 44 front end:




Now in this time I was getting real upset with my truck. The 37" military tires SUCKED off road, i was eating through bearings every 3-4 months, and with no alignment, the tires were constantly toed out at the top, looked like crap. So... Out with the add a leaf, and back on new stock sized tires


Over that winter I picked me up a dana 50 ttb cheap, rebuilt it, and swapped it in in my college drivetrains class



Looking at these pics this is also when the body shop students repainted my hood:




More to come, only up to winter 06 now!

 

About this time i was makin alot of money, and had extra to spend on the truck, so i picked up a 4" Rough country lift, and put that on:







With all this work done on the truck, it was time for some body work. I had bought an old 87 f250 w/ a diesel as a plaything, but it needed too much work to be worth it, and i ended up using it more for parts than anything else.


Swapped boxes, the red one, although damaged on the pass side, was completely rust free everywhere, and as you can see rust has kinda been a problem of mine, lol. That fall I also decided I had had enough with the 37s, and got rid of them perminantly, mounting the 33s from my diesel onto my nice mag rims



Next spring summer came, and I was able to finally afford to put an exhaust on the truck, true dual full 2.5" pipe all the way back with single chamber IMCO mufflers and 3" tips. Heres a pic of what it looked like before also lol




and by sheer luck I was surfin craigslist one day, and came across an add for some 38s on rims for 400 bucks!!! They were mine!!




After another year of wheeling, now with big tires, the truck was kinda starting to fall apart, so I set my sights on body panels. I was able to pick up a couple NOS fenders for cheap at the local swap meet, and I also found a set of rust free doors and cab over the internet and swap meets.




About this time I lost my job, the economy took a crap, and I really havnt had any money to do anything else to her. Plans include swapping the 351W over to carb, camming it, rebuilding or replacing the ZF trans, fixing the bedside, and finally getting it into paint. But thats all along way off, expecially since work in my field seems to have all but dried up around here. So heres how she sits as of last fall before I put her into storage for the winter, about 1/2 done, with so much more to do

 

That trucks gonna be cool as hell!! It already is!! I have a 89 Bronco. I want to swap to a solid front axle and say the hell with the TTB.