Started wrenching on my 51 f-1 today!

A coating i like for interiors is rustoleum stone. Looks like crusty rust, it's tough, covers and hides everything. Actually coated the whole model a frame with it. Neat and clean but still looks ruff.

Thanks guys! I'm glad I happened across the rust arrestor. It does make a huge difference in the look of the cab without taking too much away from the obvious age of it. My main concern was slowing down and stopping the corrosion of the metal without having to totally hide the natural patina. I've watched it slowly flake away even since I bought it and that always kinda bothered me. I'm really glad to hear the positive feedback. I'll have to check out the rustoleum stone too e-man. That sounds like something I'd like.

If anybody is interested trying the Insul-x Rust Arrestor it's available through most Sherwin Williams Paint Stores by special order. Roughly $51.00 plus tax per gallon.

Thunder

Rustoleum

Earthman..I googled it and I keep coming up with a 3 part Rustoleum stone paint.Is that the right stuff..?

BadRATT, This is a link to it. It says apply a clear coat but that would be too shiny.I let it dry and put on a second coat to get the consistent texture I wanted on the frame using the dark brown. Inside the body one coat was enough.Get it at Home Depot. Let us know how you like it.

http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=79

I found a complete bed today - Lets hope he will sell it right!

I happened across a complete 54 f1 Ford bed that was converted into a trailer many years ago and has been parked out behind a furniture restoration shop a few miles from my house for several years. As usual, I forgot my camera! I had to wait for the guy to come back from lunch but when he did, I asked him if he would sell it and he said yes. The problem now is he wants a day or two to think about what he'd take for it. All the panels are straight and solid and It has a nice steel floor and both fenders. The tailgate is surface rusted but still in good shape too. He's been using it to store his winter firewood but he said he'd be willing to part with it. I offered him $200 but he still wants to think about it. I think $200 was a fair offer. I might be willing to do $250 but he'll have to unload his firewood himself! I should know whether or not I'm getting it by Wednesday. I'll keep you guys posted!

Thunder

Maybe you should offer to replace it with a different bed? Is he just concerned that he won't have a wood storage area or is he price checking?

He's price checking. Bottom line is that as far as I'm concerned, If he won't take $250.00 for it I'll just keep looking until I find another one. $250 is the maximum I have to invest in it. I'm hoping that amount seems reasonable to him. If he's wise, he'll take my offer. It's not doing him any good just sitting there rusting away. According to him I'm the first person to ever show any interest in it and based on that I'll probably be the last. It's been there a very long time.

Here's some exciting news!

In a previous post I mentioned finding a 54 Ford f100 bed / trailer conversion in really good shape not far from my house. Well after a week and a half of waiting on the guy to make up his mind I decided to stop by to see if he was ready to talk price. I just about passed out when he said he'd take $600.00 cash for it!!!

I told him there was no way I would or could pay that much for it when I only paid $300.00 for my cab. Of course he tried to tell me how hard they are to find, blah, blah, blah..... and that on Ebay they go for $600 - $800 and again, blah, blah, blah!!! I decided we weren't going anywhere with this and mentioned that my $250.00 offer was fair in my opinion. So I started to leave his shop and I told him he'd have to come off that $600.00 a lot if he really wanted to sell it.
I also said those prices might be true on E-bay but this was Nashville and these beds start at $200 and go up to about $300 for one in really good shape!! I said my final goodbye and I was out the door and headed for my truck and the next thing I hear is, "how's $300.00 sound?" I stopped and thought about it for a second and although I should have probably ignored him and left - I REALLY want the bed so I said ok, you got a deal! I'm picking it up on Friday! $300 is more than I wanted to spend but It's a good straight bed with a nice tailgate and $300 beats $600.00 any day!! I'll snap some pics of it over the next couple of days and get them posted for you guys.

Thunder

SO you didn't win the Gold medal, no big deal, the silver is mighty fine! A straight box to start with will save you the time and money in the long run, so congrats and good job. Looking forward to the pics.

Thanks moronthethrottle! Yeah, thats what I thought too. I'm all about saving time and money!

T1

Sometimes I ending up paying more for something than I really could afford. For me, part of that problem stems from living in an area where there aren't any old car parts to be had. I seem to find that later down the road I forget about it when things start to go together and I'm happy in the long run that I was able to acquire the desired part/s. So in short, congrats on scoring a bed. Are you going to coat it with Insul-x like the cab?

Still not a bad price for what you got. I believe that came with a Dana 44 rear and that's not a bad piece.

Thanks fella's! Like you said Gastrick, in the long run I'll have the parts I want and the bed is in great shape so that makes it worth the extra expense. Yes, I'm going to coat the bed panels etc.. with the rust arrestor too. That way the patina will match better with the cab and the bed will have that same measure of protection. I hope that we can make use of the original Dana 44. By next week we should have it apart to see what kind of shape it's in.

T1

congrats are in order for gettin some more parts for the truck! i thought i'd mention that, if building fenderless, those good fenders could be sold/traded to offset the original purchase price....

Thanks hotrod preacher! Yes, It'll be fenderless. There might be some hope for reselling the fenders for another rat rod project although they are the roughest part of the bed. The bottom 3 1/2 inches on the front of both fenders are rusted away. There's also several bullet holes in the left one. I guess It's very possible that there's probably somebody out there that would like to have them just because of the condition they are in.

T1

My 54 Bed is Bought & Paid For!!

I just got home from buying the 54 Ford bed. I got a good workout in the process of cleaning out all the firewood and accumulated trash too. My buddy and I are going back on Friday to get it. It rolls great and the tires seem to be good shape but I still don't trust the old hitch enough to hitch it up and pull it. Intead, we're taking his dual axle flatbed trailer with a 4 ton winch on it just to avoid any potential loading problems. In the meantime here's a few pictures just as I found it. It's been sitting in this spot for about 11 years.

Thunder

Bed looks in good shape. Yup, the front pinion seal is leaking. Still I would consider rebuilding that rear and using it. It's the right width for the bed.

Thanks Don. I'm glad you were able to see some detail in the picture. I looked at that seal after we pulled the trailer down level and rolled it around some. Sure enough, a substantial leak like you said. I'm going to seriously look into rebuilding it. For the nostalgia and also I've got it so I might as well use it. Again, like you said, we know it's the right width! I've got plenty of work ahead to get it ready to mount. The floor is 1/8 inch steel welded to heavy steel angle joined to the bottom of the bed panels. It has held up great considering its age and prior use.

T1

I picked up my 54 bed yesterday. Now it's just a matter of time before we get down to the business of bringing it all together. The rear end turned out not to be a Dana 44. As a matter of fact, nobody knows exactly what it is??? So it goes in the pile with all the other non - essentials for now. I'm sure with a picture or two somebody will I.D. it. I have two 10 bolt rear ends to pick from for free so it's not a big deal. Here's some news I didn't expect. A friend of mine also offered up a really strong 283 or a 305, both of which run. I've heard the 283 run before and I'm tempted to use it. No, it's not a 350 but I'm not after a ton of horsepower anyway. The really cool thing - he said I could have whichever one I want. He just needs the space and knows how strapped for cash I am. So that's the latest. I'll post any progress.

T1

I finally have my engine lined up!!! It's not anything very unique but what the heck, It's a freebie! Like everyone else I love freebies!! It's a 305 with rebuilt 350 heads, and a descent cam, but I'm not exactly sure of the specs on it yet. It could use a new 4 barrel carb and a different set of headers but it still runs strong. I Also got a free TH350 trans. thrown in too. It needs some work too but we won't really know how much until we get into it in another week or so. I don't think its anything really major. I almost forgot, I also got a good 10 bolt Chevy rear end as a part of the package too. Now if I could just get my hands on some parts to start on the front end I'd be in business! I'll be out of town all next week but after I get back I'll post some pics. Yes Gastrick, I promise!!

Thunder