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hello everyone. just purchased a 1979 F150 flareside. pretty good body and frame w/ min rust. can't wait to tear into it. interior and bed are rough.
I've built a factory five roadster and have done some restoration work on a 1985 Mercedes 350SL, so I'm comfortable around cars but hope to learn some new skills.
Truck is hopefully going to be delivered on Thurs. Starting to create a punch list of things that need/could be done. Hoping to get some ideas from this forum as well. I've seen a IFS conversion, but not sure if I'm THAT committed to this restoration. Hard to say if I want a period correct restoration or a restomod, including an engine swap. It gets out of hand budget-wise very quickly.
after my test drive, a steering update is mandatory. It felt like driving a boat there was so much slop in the steering system. I'm guessing I'll need to upgrade the suspension bushings as well, but will take a look.
Rear brake lights are not working, so I'l need to figure that out. May consider rewiring the entire car. I've used Russ Thompson wiring harness before, but also looking at a Painless system. Anyone have experience with the latter? These trucks don't have too much to wire up.
Stock gauges seem to work. I'll look into it. Might be nice to get some modern gauges w/ GPS speedo.
Interior is a complete mess. I'll need carpet, new seats, dash pad and dash, and door cards. Still determining if I'm going to do a custom interior or stick with a stock bench vs buckets w/ center console. I'll consider scouring a junk yard for some buckets as new ones can be up to $4k.
Bed is a complete loss as well. Wood is rotten and will replace with new stuff. Truck is being sold w/ some new SS inserts from the prior owner.
Also contemplating rear disk conversion. Seller is giving me some new drums that he bought but the idea of disks seems safer.
Some hesitation as well w/ acceleration as well as stalling at times. I suspect a vacuum leak that I'll need to find. Not sure what engine is in it. I've been told it needs a new fuel pump which the previous owner has already purchased.
That's all for now. Plan on tearing the back of the truck apart first to get the rotten boards out first. In my mind, it's starting to become a frame-off resto. That would lead to possibly powder coating or POR-15'ing the frame.
starting to add up already $$ and I haven't even received the truck!
any comments appreciated
When they were new they drove great. If you rebuild what you have and replace worn parts it will be cheaper and a lot faster imo. Something as simple as rear disk swap can lead to down time hunting for parts and waiting on orders then all the other parts to go with it, master cylinder, proportion valves, replumbing, brake cables. Again jmo if you blow it all apart at once it's going to take up a lot of room. I have a shed full of projects that I'll never get done in my lifetime. Stock driveline replacement parts are fairly easy to get. My hat is off to the guys that are able to blow stuff apart and rebuild. I'm to old to pull all nighters anymore.
thanks for the input. yeah, tearing everything down is going to take time and more importantly lots of $$.
I'll work on replacing stock suspension and steering bits and have fun with this.
I just recently finished my 78 flareside. You can see my thread in my signature for some ideas. The ride with all new stuff is pretty amazing compared to all the worn/used ones I have driven in the past. I also have no problems stopping with 4wd and oversize tires on the stock drum setup.
Welcome to FTE.
I think once you get the truck is to look it over to see what is needed to make it safe to drive, brakes & steering from what I seen you post.
The thing is do you put money into brakes, I dont see any issues with the factory system if in good working order, or even the steering if you will be replacing it with say a crown vic front clip as you would not be using any of the parts you put money into. Same with the rear brakes as you would likely go with a explore rear axle that has disc brakes to match wheel bolt patterns.
Then again it also depends on what you are looking for in the long run.
Dont mind the ride of a factory stock truck then rebuild everything back to factory. You could rebuild the suspension using DJM drop arms to lower it a little and still use factory springs / bushings & brakes.
Same goes for the motor how well dose it run? If it needs a rebuild then what motor to go with?
Maybe something newer that is hooked to a over drive transmission so you can cruise in it?
So as you know you can go crazy as the budget will let you or just have a fun project that is nice to cruise in.
BTW I did a 4 year cab off frame rebuild of a 81 F100 flare side. I was going to use the truck for weekly trash runs and a back up to pull my car trailer.
I also bought a 81 F100 LB style side for parts as I knew the FS needed a lot of work / parts.
Once I got the truck home and looked it over closer is when I went crazy and pulled the whole truck apart for the rebuild.
Wife I though was going to leave me LOL but 4 years later she can see it was worth it.
I built it as a nice looking driver, I do take the trash to the dump weekly and to / from work all the time.
The plus is I also hit the local shows and have fun with it. Not a lot of trucks show up and if they do they are bow ties and everyone has one LOL
Thing is to have fun with the build / project and post lots of pictures.
Dave ----
Firstly, that is a great looking start, that we can see!
Am I wrong thinking this truck is 4x4? I would consider that to be the more desirable version of this bodystyle. Mudboggers is a fantastic example of a flareside that has been restored.
Definitely get a Marti report. They are inexpensive, and give you a loooot of information that can help guide you down the restomod vs factory restoration side of things. They will give you everything that truck came from the factory with. It could be especially valuable if its a free wheeling edition, or some other special edition.
The reason I emphasize special edition, is the mirror. That is a factory black ford mirror(dont throw it away, worth money). They came on all free wheeling trucks. I however cannot remember if they came on customs.
As said that looks like a nice truck to start your project with.
I would go over the brakes & fluids, maybe a tune up to make sure it is safe and drive it some to get a feel for it.
Once you drive it some then you can figure what you want to do with the truck.
Also pointed out wrong bed, it is from 80 - 86 trucks as the body lines on the rear fenders match the body lines on the cab of the 80's trucks.
Your rear fenders would be more round as pointed out. I also dont think you can mount the round fenders on the later bed as the bolts will not line up, different fender shapes.
I also dont think your truck started off as a flare side but could be wrong as I dont know all the ins and outs of your years trucks.
I say this because the cab has moldings in the "dent" and I know on the 80 - 86 flare side trucks never had molding on the cab.
Again I could be wrong and the report that someone posted about would tell you for sure.
Then again would the plate on the door also say what it started as?
I dont know if your truck has duel tanks or not but note 80 - 86 flare sides never had a rear (19 gallon) tank option only a 16 gallon front / side tank.
I added the rear tank using all factory parts from a 81 F100 style side duel tank truck to mine making it look like it is a factory duel tank truck.
Dave ----
Firstly, that is a great looking start, that we can see!
Am I wrong thinking this truck is 4x4? I would consider that to be the more desirable version of this bodystyle. Mudboggers is a fantastic example of a flareside that has been restored.
Definitely get a Marti report. They are inexpensive, and give you a loooot of information that can help guide you down the restomod vs factory restoration side of things. They will give you everything that truck came from the factory with. It could be especially valuable if its a free wheeling edition, or some other special edition.
The reason I emphasize special edition, is the mirror. That is a factory black ford mirror(dont throw it away, worth money). They came on all free wheeling trucks. I however cannot remember if they came on customs.
I'll check out the Marti report. New to this so I've never heard of it. I'm not sure if that mirror is stock. Feels like a flimsy plastic replica to me.
Originally Posted by FuzzFace2
As said that looks like a nice truck to start your project with.
I would go over the brakes & fluids, maybe a tune up to make sure it is safe and drive it some to get a feel for it.
Once you drive it some then you can figure what you want to do with the truck.
Also pointed out wrong bed, it is from 80 - 86 trucks as the body lines on the rear fenders match the body lines on the cab of the 80's trucks.
Your rear fenders would be more round as pointed out. I also dont think you can mount the round fenders on the later bed as the bolts will not line up, different fender shapes.
I also dont think your truck started off as a flare side but could be wrong as I dont know all the ins and outs of your years trucks.
I say this because the cab has moldings in the "dent" and I know on the 80 - 86 flare side trucks never had molding on the cab.
Again I could be wrong and the report that someone posted about would tell you for sure.
Then again would the plate on the door also say what it started as?
I dont know if your truck has duel tanks or not but note 80 - 86 flare sides never had a rear (19 gallon) tank option only a 16 gallon front / side tank.
I added the rear tank using all factory parts from a 81 F100 style side duel tank truck to mine making it look like it is a factory duel tank truck.
Dave ----
ps yes that is the weekly trash in the back LOL
all documentation points to a 79 F150. and looks like a 19g tank in the rear
OK, did a quick crawl around tonight.
Lots to see under the hood.
-Air cleaner not secured (no wing nut), air cleaner hose not connected to the air intake behind the grill.
-lots of oil, more on that later
-undersized battery. Looks like a tractor battery
-random upturned "pipe" not attached to anything that seems to be coming off of the PS exhaust manifold.
-non functional horn
-still not sure what drivetrain I have. where should I be looking for block number? I tried looking at PS under heads but too much stuff in the way.
More to see crawling under truck
-oil EVERYWHERE. entire oil pan, trans pan, caked in oil. sheet of cardboard under the engine now.
-cracked exhaust pipe under the cab. completely sheared in 2. -BLOCKS OF WOOD FOR MOTOR MOUNTS!! you heard me right. on both motor mounts. no signs of any rubber or poly bushings. WAS THIS EVER A THING?
-very small area of rusted body. will likely cut and weld in a new patch.
-all cracked/busted bushings between bed and frame, cab and frame, all suspension/steering parts. Can I save the front steering parts and use replace the boots on the joints or should I replace the whole part?
Interior:
-likely a gut job.
-Door panels badly cracked, pulling away from doors
-dash pad disentigrating
-some gauges working
-no working radio
-heater seems to blow air
-AC doesn't appear to be working
-no "stops" when shifting the 3 on the tree. Assume I'll need a new part in the steering column.
-Non functional horn
-new floor panels screwed and POR-15'd in place
-bench needs replaced/redone
-window seals all cracked
Thinking of replacing entire dash gauges w/ some GPS gauges from LMC. Will this accommodate stock wiring harness? Should I just consider replacing the entire wiring harness?
Exterior
-good part is most body panels are good
-paint is 6/10. poor prep and flaking off in places
-surface rust bubbling paint on tailgate.
wood bed half rotted out
-Rear brake lights not working (will check fuse first)
-headlights/high beams work
-surface rust on bumper, will buff this out w/ some steel wool sometime.
overall, car seems solid. little frame rust and very good body panels.
I don't think this car is roadworthy at this moment and will start off by giving everything a good power wash.
At the very least, steering components and bushings need to be replaced.
I also need to figure out the rear brake light situation before feeling comfortable taking it on the roads.
Carb needs to be tuned a bit.
Stay tuned!
ok. so the bed is not original. got it.
did a more thorough walk around last night.
significant oil leak. so much gunk caked onto the bottom of the oil pan and trans pan.
no significant rust.
interior is a gut job.
exhaust pipe has a broken section under the cab.
engine mounts are ....wait for it...WOOD! IS/WAS THAT EVER A THING?
seems like we got some work to do here.
I'll likely do a compression test and determine if I'll use the stock engine or rebuild/replace it.
Further, the guy I bought it from trailered it to my house on a 2 wheel dolly. from what I've read, this could destroy the transmission quickly.
First off, that looks to be a great starting point for a truck. I personally like the flareside 4x4 trucks. My advice is to only do one project at a time and to just get it to where the truck is road worthy. Then start working on the cosmetic stuff (i.e. bed). If not mistaken, you can take those fenders off of the bed and then install the period correct ones on it. By the way, WOOD for engine mounts were never a thing. That is some redneck ingenuity at its finest. So, probably start there by changing those out. How far did the guy tow the truck on that dolly? It can be detrimental to the transmission and thats why your supposed to remove the drive shaft when flat towing like that. But the C6 trans in that truck may surprise you and be just fine. If you are not ready to rebuild the engine just yet (assuming that it needs it), I would leave all of the grime on the engine until you are. This will aid in it retaining most of its fluids until you are ready to tear the engine apart. Interior wise, seats from 67 all the way up through 96 Ford trucks will fit right into that truck. You will just have to swap out the seat tracks onto the seat that you are wanting to use. If the engine does need to be rebuilt, honestly I would try to find a 460 and build that engine up while still driving with the current engine. The 460 will bolt right to your trans, you just need to change out the flex plate and torque converter. There are companies that sell the engine swap kits to go from the 351m/400 to a 460 in these trucks. Keep us updated on the truck.
First off, that looks to be a great starting point for a truck. I personally like the flareside 4x4 trucks. My advice is to only do one project at a time and to just get it to where the truck is road worthy. Then start working on the cosmetic stuff (i.e. bed). If not mistaken, you can take those fenders off of the bed and then install the period correct ones on it. By the way, WOOD for engine mounts were never a thing. That is some redneck ingenuity at its finest. So, probably start there by changing those out. How far did the guy tow the truck on that dolly? It can be detrimental to the transmission and thats why your supposed to remove the drive shaft when flat towing like that. But the C6 trans in that truck may surprise you and be just fine. If you are not ready to rebuild the engine just yet (assuming that it needs it), I would leave all of the grime on the engine until you are. This will aid in it retaining most of its fluids until you are ready to tear the engine apart. Interior wise, seats from 67 all the way up through 96 Ford trucks will fit right into that truck. You will just have to swap out the seat tracks onto the seat that you are wanting to use. If the engine does need to be rebuilt, honestly I would try to find a 460 and build that engine up while still driving with the current engine. The 460 will bolt right to your trans, you just need to change out the flex plate and torque converter. There are companies that sell the engine swap kits to go from the 351m/400 to a 460 in these trucks. Keep us updated on the truck.
Thanks for the response. If I'm lifting the motor to replace the mounts, I think I'll likely be swapping the motor and possibly the transmission.
I was going to ask if the 351m could be swapped out with any other small block (ie 347 stroker) and what would be the best option for a truck like this. A reman'd 460 actually isn't too crazy expensive (found some for under $3000, but not sure if that's for a short block or long block). Honestly, given the amount of oil/fluid leaking, all the gaskets need replaced which would be easiest to pull the engine anyway.
Transmission seems to move the car forward and backward. How can I tell when it's failing? The car was towed about 20miles to my house on that 2 wheel dolly. However, the previous owner told me he towed it from KY (not sure how he towed it). Does it make sense to just get a reman'd C6 or are there upgrades for the ol' 3 on the tree?
Last question. My post from 2 entries ago didn't show up for almost a day after I posted it, prompting a 2nd post since I thought I didn't click on "reply". is this a common occurrence on this forum? do all entries get reviewed before getting posted?
