Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives 1978 F-150 shot box 4x4- New project

updates?

Probably not for a couple weeks. Cab corners are on the way.

Messed around with the hood latch today. Got the front shocks in, air conditioner off(seized up), rust proofing on frame, fenders, body mounts, inner fenders...lots of odds and ends that will have to be done at some point so today seemed like a good time to do it.

I was going to put the fenders back on today, but since they're off I thought it would be a good time to get the shocks and new suspension bushings on, with it being open.

Got a sweet burn on my forearm the shape of a 3/4" nut from the torching the shocks off. One look at it and there is no question what made that mark.

pics or it didn't happen...

I didn't take any this time. Laziness would be my only excuse since I did have a camera with me. There really isn't much to see that's different other than the shocks.

It might look a little cleaner in the frame area since it was scraped off, blown off, and had rust proofing sprayed on it.

I didn't put in the new front springs or the "C" bushings on the trailing arms. It dang sure looks like they're the same as what I bought for it.

If you want them for any of the dozen of so Ford truck projects you have, let me know.

I think Dave wants to see a picture of yer nuts, uh..I mean yer nut-shaped burn.

Good work on the Ford!

Could I spose...it's still there. The burn that is.

Starting to make a little progress. Lots of work to do yet, but it's a step in the right direction anyway.

This is how it looked a few short weeks ago.


This is from Tuesday.


better fender, took the trim and light out, cleaned and rust-proofed the back.


and it's starting to resemble a truck again.


Also bought a set of wheels and tires today. It's a bit different direction than I was planning but couldn't pass it up.

Dunlop Radial Rovers, 33 x 12.5, on 15x10 black steel "wagon wheel" type rims.

Got after it a bit again on Sunday. Patched a piece on the floor near the passanger door, put on the passanger side fender, aligned the fenders, hood, and doors so they open and close and lines are as straight as I can get them.

Also, finished taking off the unwanted air conditioning pieces. They didn't work anymore and I have no intention of fixing it. Discoverd that I will probably need a different radiator at some point.

The hood was a bastard. It isn't the original and it didn't want to be on that truck. A BFH helped it decied that was the right place to be.

It wouldn't open once the latch caught. after a lot of messing around, I saw the safety latch was bent and was not catching, but going behind the "hole" in the hood where it latches. Once I got that straightened out it worked like it is supposed to.

Took a lesson from northern_dave and made a patch from the orginal hood.



Here is the patch. I didn't have access to the welder today, so we riveted it in. I will weld up the edges to get a good seal before the carpet goes back on.


Finally got the hood to latch and re-open without cuss words.


Passanger side metal on. Lines are as straight as they're going to get on this old truck, but really, not too bad.


Other side


Cleaned all the junk and dirt from the box and put the truck out in the sun to dry it off.


figured what the heck, washed the whole thing. It may be a hodge-podge but it's a clean hodge-podge.
[img]http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr102/tzone777/020-2.jpg[/img]

Next time the wheel arches get the attention.

Lookin good Tom.

Pssst...thats...in....the...shade...

I like the hood color for the record

Pssst...thats...in....the...shade...

[/quote]

that is where I washed it, then parked it in the yard where the sun was shining.

that is where I washed it, then parked it in the yard where the sun was shining. [/quote]

Just keepin ya real Tommy!

I donno what happened to the quotes on those two posts we had Jimmy?

The "blue" color I was thinking about isn't too far off of your truck color if I remember it correctly. It is probably a bit more on the blue than yours.

Lookingood man. Makes me wanna get the toyota project up an runnin again

Thanks. How's that coming along?

I ran the weedeater around it the other day.

Its still on hold. Been lookin around latley and gettin a few ideas though. Kinda leanin away from the SBC or SBF thinkin might scale it down a lil bit. Try an keep it lighter.

That 2.3L Turbo outta the 80's era mustangs would be a blast. Stick some longfield axleshafts in it and rail the piss outta it!

But thats still a ways down the road..

Messed around on the truck again today. I didn't take any pictures because nothing really changed as far as the way it looks.

There are a few engine goodies that are new. Aluminum radiator, hoses, plugs and wires, water pump, coil. I'll try to get a picture of that stuff next time I guess.

I had my best helper today to help Grandpa and I in the shop. He was a great inspector and found all the areas we still need to fix.

We got the floors on the drivers side finished today.. Next time we go up, it will be a busy week. I'd like to tackle the rest of the floor which is the trans cowel, and a small patch on the pass. side under the seat where the floor pan didn't reach.

If things go right, we should be able to get the box sides on...at least on side. Then, the fun stuff.

I even fired it up and took the little guy around the block a few times, with much dismay from the neighbors I'm sure because there is no exhaust past the manifolds. Quiet it ain't.

Great looking project Tom! These old trucks sure are fun to work on. Just curious what type of welder are you using? I went with wire fed unit, but I was curious as to what you were using. I remember really hoping I didn't warp things!