It's been a long time coming. I bought this heap in 2009 so I could learn some body work and mechanical on these old trucks.

I obviously still have a lot to learn, but ya gotta start somewhere.

'78 4x4, 351M, 4-speed, short box.


From this




To this...with a lot in between!

Nice job. Good looking rig.

I'd sport that, nice!

I dig it! My first wagon was a '76 F-150 4X4 long bed...need to get another some day.

Nice Truck.

Im diggin it!! Well done!!

tzone;
Good afternoon to you my cyber friend, hopefully this finds you and yours well and thanks so much for sharing the photos of your finished product.

I've got to say a pickup of that vintage brings back a lot of fond memories for me - it's from "my era" you see - and that truck would have been regarded as quite the ride back in that day.

It's interesting too in that it's a 4x4 which were comparatively rare back then or at least were in my part of Saskatchewan. Nowadays I get funny looks from the younger folks when I tell them that.

Thanks again for sharing the project photos with us sir, may you and yours have many grand adventures in it and all the best to you all this summer.

Dwayne

I came to realize that you know that you're getting old when you like a tan or brown pick-up. Nice job tzone. It's always good to see old gas guzzlers on the road.

That's not a 78 grill, maybe a 77??

Awesome! Very jealous.

I believe it's older than that. '75 or '76 maybe?

Nice job.

Ernie

Grill swap.

Very well done!

A job well done!

Nice job, Tom! Did your 'bodyguard' assist you? He'll, no doubt, be driving that rig pretty soon!

what an improvement. I miss my old 1976 F-100.

I like it.

That's a tough looking, solid truck. Very nice! I had a '74 that was a great truck.

I like it, t-zone. Great job.

Very nice T Zone. The fruits of many hours of work!!

VERY nice Sir, I like the "Peanut Tan" paint.

Awesome Tom!

You better run that truck uo to camp chicken buck this year!

Love those old Fords!

Good job on keeping another one alive. That kind of rust repair is not easy or fun.,, unless you have spray foam expanding insulation and "kitty hair" in a can!

Very nice work, tzone!!!

Heh, I was thinking the same thing. The closer I get to being in the dirt the more Earth tones, silvers and grays look to me.

That looks good even to a 60s-70s Chevy guy, brown.

Very Nice

Looks great. Nice job on the restore.

Love it!

Especially the color.

I really like it. Great old school 4x4 and I can see the result of a lot of hard work.

I can't wait to see tom enjoying this truck out in the forest, with a little deer blood running out the back of the box!

Outstanding truck. Great job.

Looks good!!

Nice job, tz!

Cowboy Cadillac!

Good looking truck and a lot of work! Congrats!

Wow.. What a transformation! I didn't know ya had it in ya...

Very nice, Tom..

I hope it will make it that far!

The original grill was trashed. Bruinruin is correct, it's a 76 grill. I got the whole grill set up with the blinkers and wiring for $25. I like that grill more better. It looks a bit more aggressive to me. The relocating the headlight buckets was more than I had bargained for though. I moved the originals to fit. The 73-77 bucket assembly was $80 per side and another $50/bracket. More than I was willing to spend for what this is.

Oh he had his hands all over it! lol. He was grinning ear to ear Saturday when we picked it up from the exhaust shop.

I'll try to find the original thread I started when the work began on it. He's in there a bunch.

He gave me two rules...pick him up from school in it and rev it up for his friends. And, we have to bring it to baseball.

It does look pretty tan in the pics. It's actually the same "desert tan" that is on our US Military vehicles now. It's a matte finish, which works perfectly for this rig. Which isn't a show truck by any stretch.

It's an industrial single stage paint that went on very nice. It set up quickly and only ran on the cab corner. It holds dirt like a mofo though!

Dare I ask to see the new interior?

I may be 68, but that color doesn't spin my starter. I'd use that coat as a primer. A pearlescent gun-metal blue/gray would be my desire.

But VERY impressive work, good sir.

Very sharp!

That ought to serve you well.

Here is the link to the original thread. Lots of "working" pictures in it for anyone that would like to take a look.

1978 Ford

I get that the color isn't for everyone. but the primer/sealer was gray. I will sell this one to you an you can paint it.

My daily driver '14 Ram is blue/gray.

I'll post some interior tonight if I get a chance. It's freshened up but the original black. There is new carpet and a sweet "saddle blanket" seat cover.

Good to see your Dad joining in the fun, too. Don't they sell 'Leinies' there anymore?

Matter of fact they do. We both had several throughout the afternoon on Saturday and a few on Sunday. Which is wh teed were Gatorade bottles to clean up yesterday afternoon.

Well done!

Hello Deayne! I hope you had a great weekend. Thanks for the kind words on this truck.

It's funny you mention that most trucks were 2wd drive. All the trucks we had as a kid in the 70's and 80's were all 2wd.

Dig it - love the fact you don't have a 12 inch lift on it the most.

Always wanted one like this with 33's at the MOST on it. All I need.

Uber T !!!!!

Nice rig, tzone. I bet it'll climb and bog a little, too.

Thanks! This truck has 33's on it Andrew. I can't tell if it has a leveling kit or not. But it sits nice and has a good stance.

When I do the next one, it will probably have a 4" suspension lift, no body lift tho.

Nice Job ...I really like that truck.

The world needs more old car/truck "plastic surgeons!"

Great job!

That truck is uber cool! Love those old Fords, good job tzone!!

She's a beaut Tom! Definitely avatar worthy.

Take 'er on up to Chickenbuck and pop her cherry. Nothin' like mud and blood to break in a "new" truck! Well done!

Love old chevy and ford trucks. Good job man!

You've made art of honesty and simplicity of form and content. Bravo Maestro.

Nicely done! I sure like the lines of this generation of truck!

Did this one in 1990. photo taken today. Love these old trucks.

Awesome! I love the two tone.

Just found this thread now. Great Job Tom! It turned out great!