Restoring 1960 Ford F-100 On a Budget

1. Finding the Right Restoration Candidate

Take one look at this nicely restored 1960 F-100, and it's hard to believe that a high school student did it mostly by himself on a strict budget. But that's exactly what Instructables user caml2 did, and he's not afraid to share what he learned along the way. Not only is it valuable information for anyone looking to take the plunge, but it's also rather inspiring.

The first order of business, of course, is to find the right vehicle. Obviously, it can be tempting to pick up something cheap at this point. But sometimes, it's worth spending a little extra, especially for at truck needing less bodywork. In this case, our young man located a truck that had sat in a field for over 20 years, yet was mostly original and without major rust issues. This is important because oftentimes with modified trucks, you never know if the work performed was high quality or not. Until it's too late.

>>Join the conversation about caml2's 1960 Ford F-100 right here in Ford-trucks.com.

2. Make a List (and Check It Twice!)

Next, you'll want to assess what you have and what you need. Before you begin tearing your truck apart, figure out what works and what doesn't. Is there anything missing? Anything broken that needs to be replaced? In this case, the builder figured that there was no reason why his old truck couldn't be made to run again rather easily. And sure enough, he got it running, but the truck still needed quite a bit of work. There was coolant in the engine oil, the brakes and clutch didn't work, the transmission had busted gears, and the wiring was a disaster. But at least now, he knew what he was working with. And by carefully bagging and labeling everything as you disassemble the truck, you'll make reassembly much easier.

>>Join the conversation about caml2's 1960 Ford F-100 right here in Ford-trucks.com.

3. Get Down to Business

After tearing the truck down, the owner had his truck sandblasted and acid washed to remove the decades of gunk and surface rust on the body. Then, to prevent more rust from forming, he had it primered, as he still had to save money for the paint job. Next, it was time to tackle the mechanical aspects of the truck. Because the block was cracked, he located one from another truck, along with a rebuild kit for the 223ci 6-cylinder. A machine shop was commissioned to clean and bore the new/old block, but the young builder did the disassembly/assembly work himself to save money. He then rebuilt the transmission, replaced all the brake components, and swapped out the shocks and springs.

>>Join the conversation about caml2's 1960 Ford F-100 right here in Ford-trucks.com.

4. Bodywork and Paint

For most people, completing body and paint work on an old truck simply isn't in the cards. Unlike basic mechanical work, it takes years to master the art of this, obviously. Regardless, doing some of the prep work yourself can save you some cash. And that's exactly what our young builder did, sanding the primer and taking the truck apart himself so that he wouldn't have to pay the body shop to do it for him. 

>>Join the conversation about caml2's 1960 Ford F-100 right here in Ford-trucks.com.

5. Putting it all together

With everything freshly rebuilt and painted, it's time to put everything back together, which can be a very easy thing or a very difficult thing depending on how well you catalog and organize parts. After reassembling all the major parts on his 1960 F-100, our builder also installed a new wiring harness, gauge cluster, exhaust, glass, lights, and wheels and tires. He did pay a professional shop to reupholster the seat, but built a new wood bed himself with basic 2x4s from a local hardware store. The end result? Something he can surely be proud of--especially when you consider the fact that he did most of the work himself!

>>Join the conversation about caml2's 1960 Ford F-100 right here in Ford-trucks.com.

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