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.

First thing I did to it was swap over the complete Lariat interior out of my 90, replacing the worn out vinyl XL crap that was in there. This included the seat, door panels, and sun visors:

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

 

daaaaaamn, this truck has come a long way....well kinda.


Might as well start looking for a D60/Sterling combo if you plan on running the 38s. That 50ttb was not an upgrade to your 44 in the strength department.

 

Yup, already have the sterling rear end, been planning on a 60 for years, just havnt had the money buy a nice one, or the space to store one that needs a rebuild.

I know what ya mean about "kinda." So much work done, and yet at the same time im already planning on redoing pretty much everything ive already done.

 

ya i just picked up my d60 and sterlin for 1000

 

I found a 60F on CL locally with 4.56 gears for 800 and i dont have the cash, this damn winter has screwed me more ways than i care to count.

 

I like it!

 

Looks good man. Why did they paint your hood and not the rest of your truck? Lazy *******s.

 

lol them paintin the hood and not the rest of the truck was my call. at that time the hood was the only body part with only surface rust, every other body panel on the truck at that time had rust eaten completely through at some place or another

 

wow shes come along was from where she started, good job man

 

I should delete them all just because you pointed it out to me.

Nice build and thanks for posting the pict's too.

 

Awesome thread! It is always nice to see all the time and work spent on a vehicle over time. It helps others enjoy their own projects too. Keep it up!

 

Hey man, what good is a body shop if they can't do a few patch panels??? :P

 

ever paid for bodywork before?

1- its very time consuming
2- bodymen charge outrageous hourly rates
3- the material needed isnt cheap.

Unless you go to Maaco or similar youd be surprised how crappy a 2k paint and body job looks.


awaits Cheetos stamp of approval.

 

Heck if the body is that rusted anyway, just cut the rust out.
Say its been throug vietnam and still runs like a champ...
The wholes are where bomb fragments tore through it....
Who cares that nam was in th 60's and your truck was built in the 80's