I figured I'd leave the "new member" post behind and start a "build" thread. There won't be a whole lot of action here for a couple months but I do have some updates for you guys.

I eventually got 6 guys over to my house to get the cap off the truck so that it would fit in my garage. It was definitely every bit of 850 lbs that the previous owner quoted. With the truck in the garage (had to remove the wide towing mirrors to get it to fit) the cap sat in the driveway for about a month while I worked on lightening it. I first removed the telescoping roof and then the overhang that went above the cab. My plan was to make it light enough so that it would be a 2-3 man job getting it on and off. I thought that to be reasonable.




Once the weather broke a little bit, I had a friend come over and we dragged it back behind my garage to get it out of the way. It was really tough for two guys but I still thought I could get it light enough until...




So that's that. I'll end up cutting it up into pieces and keeping the scrap for other projects. I'll also keep the locks/latches because they are keyed to match the bed boxes. I will eventually make a new version of it out of aluminum. That'll happen once I've got the time, money and learn how to TIG.
On a happier note, my timing for putting away and waking up summer-only vehicles is Halloween weekend and Easter weekend. Although I bought the truck after Halloween, I woke it up this past weekend and used it to pick up an engine hoist from a friend. I gave it a really quick wash and it already looks 100% times better than when I bought it. It'll get a more thorough wash and I'm also going to wax it once the weather really breaks.

 

Welcome to FTE and The Bumpside Kingdom.
Well you know, "things happen for a reason". What are your plans with it?

 

Better the topper than the truck...

 

Thanks for the welcome!

I suppose they do. I guess the reason here is to save my back. That thing was stupid heavy! Other than the fact that I missed having an old truck, I bought it to tow my race car to the track. I was tired of renting/borrowing trucks and new trucks are boring.

Plans for this year are really just functional. It needs brakes (badly) along with new trans cooler lines and at the very least bushings up front. It also needs a rear window - the original glass was removed to allow access to the bed through the cap. I may also POR-15 the frame this summer. It's really quite clean and I'd like to keep it that way.

Long-term I've got some big plans but there are a few large projects to finish before that happens.

 

For sure. I'll take a crushed cap over a crushed truck any day.

 

That 350 is a survivor for sure! Are you going to remove the rear "cabinets" and put in a bed??? A dual wheel F-series with a pick-up bed would really be unique.

 

Yeah it is. The coolest part is that it's really been used it's whole life.

No plans to remove the utility bed right now - great waterproof tool and part storage for the track. Maybe once it's "retired" from work duty it'll get a prettier bed. There's a cool photoshop floating around the internet of an old dually with a pick-up bed. It's sharp looking for sure.

 

Oh yeah, you mentioned the racecar thing. Great use of the tool storage area!

You can take your time to look for a deal on an old bed. My 100 is a camper model that lost its top just a few years ago. The nice thing about that is the bed is in excellent shape.

Is that blue an original color or was it painted in some company color? (Not that it matters, mine is all in grey primer and all the neighbors think it's a rat rod or something.)

 

Oh, I've realized a nice thing about an old truck. I have no problem just taking the grinder or sander to any rust spot and hitting it with primer or paint. It's liberating.

 

The bed floor is a little rusty and possibly thin in some areas but I'll most likely give it a hearty coat of liner to maintain it. It's definitely in better shape than it would be had it not had a cap.



I don't know for sure, but I think the truck was blue from the beginning. The interior is all blue and the utility bed went on the truck in 69 (at least it was manufactured then). Since the color matches, I'm guessing that the truck hadn't already been repainted inside and out by then but who knows.

I know what you mean about old trucks. It's one of the best things about them.

 

 

Yep, that's the one!

I could do without the French yellow headlights on an old American truck but I love it otherwise.

 

Tiny update. I solved my mirror issue for ~$20. The problem is that the wide towing mirrors on the truck don't fit through a normal garage door and I had take them on and off just to use the truck. After a ton of internet searching to find foldable vintage-looking tow mirrors I realized I was thinking too hard about this.
I'll be towing probably 20% of the time (miles-wise) with the truck. So. Big mirrors come off for 80% of the time and are replaced by these on both sides.

I'm just now noticing that the photoshop above has similar clip ons...maybe it's destiny.
Next step is getting baby seat anchors in place so my 1.5 month old can ride with me. Any maybe it's time for a rear window...

 

I spent a couple hours with the truck yesterday working on completely unnecessary things! The dash pad was disgusting, completely cracked and falling apart. I started to clean it but realized it wasn't worth the effort. I figured out that it was bolted in place...so I took it off! The two nuts above the heater were a real pain to get to. The solution was a screwdriver with a socket extension attached to a swivel extension, attached to a long 3/8" socket. Worked like a charm. I also had to remove the gauge cluster.
Before:


After:


I also gave these little guys some love. The two on the left had not been cleaned in this picture. The oil pressure gauge was disgusting.


And finally, I picked up some longer set screws to get the mirrors solidly mounted. They definitely work - as in they reflect things but boy are they tiny. I badly need a rearview mirror on this thing!



Oh, and I remembered to put the correct license plate on it. Been driving around with the plate that was on my C10.

 

I raced in the PVGP in Schenley Park this past weekend and it was the first big towing test for Elmore. He passed with flying colors (other than getting 5-6 mpg!!). Even in the long grades near Pittsburgh temp never got over ~195. I'm a little unhappy with the 10/30 oil. It seemed very, very thin once at operating temp. It's been suggested that I give 10/40 a shot.

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The service bed is just as amazing as I thought it would be. There was almost nothing in the bed of the truck - just my pit bike, oil catch and canopy. The pit bike went on the trailer for the return trip.
In other news, there's finally a rear window in the truck, I replaced the rag joint, front brakes were done and trans cooler lines replaced.