So I have a 1964 Ford F100 4x4 I want to rebuild, but this is my first time rebuilding a truck and I don't know where to start at. Any advice as to where to start and tips would be appreciated!!

 

I started by pulling the bed and working on it. Then moved to the rust issues in the cab.
No matter what those parts had to be fixed. I left the suspensions other then some general rust cleaning and undercoating, along with new shocks....as im not sure if ill stay all original in those areas or not. Their are upgrades (disk brakes/etc) that are available.

So anyway, start with things you know have to be done, move to things that you may opt to change anyway later.

label and bag every screw/bolt

 

are you driving while restoring it? that will change the order and importance of certain things

matt

 

Hi welcome to FTE..... If the truck is driveable I would work on getting all the mechanicals in working order first. Some of the 4wd mechanical parts can be hard to come by if they are not working. How beat is this truck. Most of the 4wd trucks I have seen have been pretty well worked to death. Most need lots of body work and the mechanicals are used up and need repaired or rebuilt or replaced. Can you post up some pics and describe what kind of shape your 4wd is in and is it stock factory or fabed up using different years and parts? Better judgements on how you should proceed can be made once we know more about your truck and your capabilities.

Edit: I looked at your door tag in the pics you posted in your profile. It does not match up to the running gear under your truck. Looks like you have F250 axles and the tag is for an
F100. Probably had some door changes or axle changes to match the work they were doing with the truck. As suspected truck has been road hard and put away wet and used up. It can be brought back but will take lots of time, patients and money. From the pics I see it doesn't look like you will be able to drive it to see how the mechanicals are. Looks like you will be starting from scratch and not knowing you abilities I would say don't pay to much for it as it looks like it should be a parts truck only. After seeing the pics I would say how much time and money do you want to spend?

 

I would start by lacing up your tennis shoes and then RUN as fast as you can away from that thing.

Actually, a little bit of upholstery cleaner on that front seat and it will be good as new.

The bed on these things is 16 gauge sheetmetal so if you decide to weld up those holes you'll want the thicker gauge. Wonder what the holes were for? Maybe had a camper and they wanted access to those areas with the camper on.

Looks like it could use a complete restoration. Fun project.

 

Rule of thumb: Mechanical work first, body and paint second, upholstery last.

But before doing anything, you need to have EVERY repro parts sellers catalog to compare what each has, to compare prices, in order to come up with an estimate of the costs.

And whatever dollar figure you come up with, DOUBLE IT and then add 25% and this still won't be enough.

Many people grossly underestimate what a restoration costs. Some have no plan, tear the truck all apart without taking pics or labeling where the parts came from.

But, when reality sets in, they find they can't afford it, lose interest. The loose parts are piled in the bed, the truck sits forlorn or is sold for peanuts as a "basket case" or goes down the road to Valhalla.

You think you bought an old truck, but what you actually bought is a hobby...and hobbies tend to be expensive.