I have wanted a short bed Ford for a long time to fix up but I could never find a good one or one that wasn't too pricey. I have a '67 that was originally going to be a parts truck but I think now it will become Project Truckenstein. Here is the truck I am starting with....


It is a 67 Ranger that has seen better days but it has some potential. The cab floors need to be replaced but the cab supports are great. There aren't too many dents in the roof either. One cab corner has some rust but it isn't too bad. The bed needs some help inside but the outside is pretty solid. The right fender apron is shot and the core support is trash too. I was able to find a complete front cap for 150 bucks that has like new fender aprons and the core support is in great shape. The battery tray isn't even rusted out. Here it is.......

 

I'm going for an old school look for my truck. I want the flat black paint job with some brighter color highlights. I thought turquoise wheels with baby moons and a turquoise pinstripe down the middle of the bump. I'd like to find a drawing of a bump that I could import into paint and play with the colors a bit. I would like to do some turquoise highlights on the front as well. Maybe part of the grill or the bumper but I'm not sure. I'm looking for a good manual tranny. The truck has a 289 or 302 in it now with a T18 I think. I was reading about the T19 in another forum so that is probably what I'll go with because it is not a low geared tranny and would be better suited to highway use than the T18. I'm calling this project Truckenstein because it will have parts from just about every year bumps were made. I want to keep the interior 67 but the exterior doesn't really matter too much to me. The engine is still up in the air. I have a 460 that would be a beast but I also have a 5.0 that I might drop in there. I'll decide about that after I do some more work on the frame and body. Here are some pics of the tear down.....



Good solid cab mounts!!

 

Looks like a good start to a solid project. The 460 would be more fun if you can afford to feed it, the 5.0 can be a lot of fun too and a whole lot more economical. I have a 460 sitting in a 79 F100 that I occasionally have an itch to drag out. Have entertained the idea of putting it in my 53 parts truck and making a toy out of it. I built the engine about 15 years ago and it only has 44K on it, spent a lot of money on machine work and parts. Only problem was, it'll pass anything but a gas station Oh Well, boys and their toys

 

I'm not sure what I'll do yet. I was thinking about dropping the 460 into my 70 and using it for hauling stuff but I think having it in the 67 and hauling butt would be a lot more fun!

 

It'll definately be that, but you had better have good driving skills to keep that shortbed on the road when you drop the go-pedal. My 79 is a shortbed stepside and if not careful, the rear wants to outrun the front.

 

Thats good to know for when I get around to my short bed. Plans of a beefy 460 in it.

 

Sounds like a fun project Will, I wish you the best in it. If it was me...I'd go with the 302 since they're make good power, but are still reasonable on the liquid dinosaurs. Though I know a guy that parting out a kitty that was motivated by a 4.6L that is in great shape for 140k miles...if your looking for one.That's how my Ranchero is...the rear end from time to time gets a wild idea that it wants to lead. And just like a 460 it can & will pass just about anything...except for a gas station. Fun to drive...but expensive to keep gas in the tank. The low mounted gas cap means you have to hold the stupid nozzle the entire time your feeding it. That gets old when it's raining or if you want to clean the window while emptying the pocket book into the gas tank. Thank goodness it's happy with 87 octane.

 

I'm really still up in the air on the engine. About the only thing I know for sure is that I want a manual trans and the color scheme! I have all the stuff to do the 460 swap minus the trans I want and a flywheel (the 460 I have has a C6). I also have the 5.0 with all the wires, sensors, and computer sitting in a Lincoln Continental and it runs! I'm just not sure how hard it would be to graft the 5.0 harness into the 67 wiring. I have also thought about just converting the 5.0 to a carbed. engine. Too many options at this point so I think I'll just stick to the body work for now.

 

Funny, I was in a simiular boat until recently...had the engine, just needed something to stick it in. Actually still have the engine, just changing what I'm going to do. I've got a buddy that's putting a 5.0L (EFI 302) from a '98 Mountaineer into a '68 Bronco. He's evening going to re-use the "three on the tree"...not sure what model tranny, but it's what ever the Broncos would have had in '68. I'll see if I can talk him into spilling his guts in this thread if your interested.

 

Hey that sounds good! I'm interested in the 5.0 swap but I'm just not sure on the wiring. I'm pretty sure I could do the mechanical though.