Well, I'm trying to get over my habit of being a lurker. I have built up a few rigs over the years and I have one in the works right now that I'm excited about. This is meant to serve as a reminder to myself and an encouragement to you other builders who are struggling with an issue. I feel your pain.
Growing up in Arkansas I had lots of trucks to feed, farm, hunt or just drag into the school parking lot. After college I moved to Dallas for work and I have kept myself busy with small projects.
So, this was my short mission statement.
#1. Build up something that has A/C and doors.
#2. Needs to be 4x4. Not going to live my high school days with 40inch swampers but I do get out in the country.
#3. $6K total budget.
#4. Something that could tow trailers around the farm.
#5. Perform all the work myself.
I set off to Craigslist with $2k and started looking. After a couple months, a few test drives and a six pack with the owner I drug Waldo back to my shop.
Waldo was purchased because it checked 3.5 boxes out of 4. It is a 1988 Ford F-250HD with the 460. Of course the A/C doesn't work but most everything else ran fine. It was a tired and honest farm truck that needed everything.
The previous owner bought it new and sold it to me for $1100 and a Cowboys jersey that I had in the back seat of my truck. I'm not making that last part up. With Waldo back at home base I started the tear down.
You mean everyone doesn't use mudflaps as interior mats?
From the pretty side view you can tell that the hood and both fenders are dented from god knows what. It did however act as an effective boat anchor to wind synthetic rope on the Scrambler.
One thing lead to another and with the left over room in my budget I set plans to completely rebuild the truck.
Project list is as follows.
Repair/replace everything. It's really that simple. To make this a reliable rig I'm starting over and I'm sure I will blow thru my 6k budget in the process.
As of now I have done the following.
1. Found nice fenders, hood, head lights, and seats out of a donor 1991.
2. Done the body work and shot primer on the cab, fenders and hood.
3. Stripped all the paint off the 8ft flatbed. No primer on it yet as I'm undecided on how to finish it out.
4. Frame and all undercarriage has been blasted/flap disked to remove rust and 25 years of North Texas mud.
5. Sprayed everything underneath with rust reformer and topped it with Rustoleum hammered black. I highly recommend it. In the past I used POR 15 on a boat trailer and while impressive it wasn't worth it.
6. Rear axle got new fluids, a few new springs, shocks, u-bolts, wheel studs, new bushings all around.
7. Installed a parking brake cable and assorted linkage. It was MIA when I bought the truck.
8. All new brake lines front to rear.
9. Installed a new radio, stereo wiring and speakers. My wife likes her music and while a radio doesn't mean anything to me it is a must have item for her.
10. Primer and paint for the mirrors, handles, grill, etc.
11. All new door linkage, locks, striker plates, etc. Truck had no working locks when I bought it.
12. Found some newer Chevy steel wheels for $60.
13. Installed Warn hubs in the front.
14. New gaskets everywhere and fluids throughout. P.S. the oil pan gasket is a nightmare on this engine. I wish I would have just left it alone.
15. New Battery and cables, new solenoid, and starter while I was in there.
16. Dropped both fuel tanks and cleaned and treated the interior of both.
17. Front end got all new bushings, shocks, springs, fluids, etc.
18. New body mounts installed.
19. Pulled off cracked manifolds on both sides, replaced with headers and welded up all new exhaust while I was in the mood.
That about concludes what I have completed since 7/1/2013. Up until two weeks ago I was feeling pretty good about my progress. Going to go ahead and post this mess before my computer dies or something. Will continue the ugly part of the story in the next post.
Bill D.
Growing up in Arkansas I had lots of trucks to feed, farm, hunt or just drag into the school parking lot. After college I moved to Dallas for work and I have kept myself busy with small projects.
So, this was my short mission statement.
#1. Build up something that has A/C and doors.
#2. Needs to be 4x4. Not going to live my high school days with 40inch swampers but I do get out in the country.
#3. $6K total budget.
#4. Something that could tow trailers around the farm.
#5. Perform all the work myself.
I set off to Craigslist with $2k and started looking. After a couple months, a few test drives and a six pack with the owner I drug Waldo back to my shop.
Waldo was purchased because it checked 3.5 boxes out of 4. It is a 1988 Ford F-250HD with the 460. Of course the A/C doesn't work but most everything else ran fine. It was a tired and honest farm truck that needed everything.
The previous owner bought it new and sold it to me for $1100 and a Cowboys jersey that I had in the back seat of my truck. I'm not making that last part up. With Waldo back at home base I started the tear down.
You mean everyone doesn't use mudflaps as interior mats?
From the pretty side view you can tell that the hood and both fenders are dented from god knows what. It did however act as an effective boat anchor to wind synthetic rope on the Scrambler.
One thing lead to another and with the left over room in my budget I set plans to completely rebuild the truck.
Project list is as follows.
Repair/replace everything. It's really that simple. To make this a reliable rig I'm starting over and I'm sure I will blow thru my 6k budget in the process.
As of now I have done the following.
1. Found nice fenders, hood, head lights, and seats out of a donor 1991.
2. Done the body work and shot primer on the cab, fenders and hood.
3. Stripped all the paint off the 8ft flatbed. No primer on it yet as I'm undecided on how to finish it out.
4. Frame and all undercarriage has been blasted/flap disked to remove rust and 25 years of North Texas mud.
5. Sprayed everything underneath with rust reformer and topped it with Rustoleum hammered black. I highly recommend it. In the past I used POR 15 on a boat trailer and while impressive it wasn't worth it.
6. Rear axle got new fluids, a few new springs, shocks, u-bolts, wheel studs, new bushings all around.
7. Installed a parking brake cable and assorted linkage. It was MIA when I bought the truck.
8. All new brake lines front to rear.
9. Installed a new radio, stereo wiring and speakers. My wife likes her music and while a radio doesn't mean anything to me it is a must have item for her.
10. Primer and paint for the mirrors, handles, grill, etc.
11. All new door linkage, locks, striker plates, etc. Truck had no working locks when I bought it.
12. Found some newer Chevy steel wheels for $60.
13. Installed Warn hubs in the front.
14. New gaskets everywhere and fluids throughout. P.S. the oil pan gasket is a nightmare on this engine. I wish I would have just left it alone.
15. New Battery and cables, new solenoid, and starter while I was in there.
16. Dropped both fuel tanks and cleaned and treated the interior of both.
17. Front end got all new bushings, shocks, springs, fluids, etc.
18. New body mounts installed.
19. Pulled off cracked manifolds on both sides, replaced with headers and welded up all new exhaust while I was in the mood.
That about concludes what I have completed since 7/1/2013. Up until two weeks ago I was feeling pretty good about my progress. Going to go ahead and post this mess before my computer dies or something. Will continue the ugly part of the story in the next post.
Bill D.
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