Is this truck too far gone?

[Ratcrazy]

Ratcrazy, I skimmed through your thread and saw some pics. Hard to tell, but it looks like mine is worse than yours. Both my rocker panels and cab corners are gone. Looks like the inside left of the cab (to the left of the pedals) is gone too. Bottom part of of at least the passenger door is gone. In the next few days I'll know more as I clean everything up.

Thanks for the encouragement guys.

Get the zip wheel going and cut it out and start welding in new metal.I lost about 3 inches off the bottom of mine before I found enough metal to weld to. You can do it. Be creative and start building dude. Its FUN!!![

 

[adam f]

You can seal that rust up and not change it much with what I told you about in a previous email.

I never got any email from you. Unless it went to my junk folder. Can you resend it?

Guys...I know how to keep the patina by not painting it....duh...I was refering to Thunder's quote "I can tell you how to stop that rust from getting any worse and yet keep the patina looking great."

Here are some more pics of the rust

 

[adam f]

The bed is also rusted up pretty good. 3 out of the 4 mounting points on the frame are rusted off, so its barely hanging on.

Now, do you guys still think I should drive it like it is? I don't think so. There's not much left! I'm all for keeping the rustic patina look, but damn, this thing is bad.

If I were to patch a few panels to make it structurally safe, I'm afraid I'd ruin the patina look with a bunch of new metal, so I had planned to just take it down to bare metal and repaint. If you guys think I could do some repairs and keep the patina, speak up.

 

[adam f]

And one of the doors is red, which according to the bill of sale I found from 1977 in the truck, it was red, and a flatbed. There is a sticker that looks to have been painted over that says "Sea-Horse Motors" Not sure what that is. Dont think its the Johnson SeaHorse outboard motors. Maybe the name of a repair shop?

It would take a LOT of work to get it drive able. I would have to replace ALL the brake lines, master cylinder, probably

 

[earthman]

It would take a LOT of work to get it drive able. I would have to replace ALL the brake lines, master cylinder, probably

It is a big undertaking for sure.You can break it down into manageable steps. Hows this. Take the cab and bed off, set them aside. Step by step bring the chassis up to excellent. Now is the time to upgrade the motor and trans what ever and put good paint on everything.
Only then after the body is pressure washed and all the corrsion and rot is blasted off, set the cab back on and brace up whats weak with diamond plate,angle iron, street signs and pop rivets or whatever you have access to.
One step at a time and ALWAYS focus on what you want here not what you don't.

 

[Corsair]

That sure looks like a Johnson Outboard insignia from the 60's or so. Sea-horse is of course, their old moniker. My Dad had two 10 hp Johnsons from the 50's -IIRC, that was the name.

By the way, hell of a nice truck. My 0.02?? She's very pretty the way she is. That patina is OUTSTANDING. (Just my opinion - go ahead and fix her up the way you wish).

My '50 F47 (Canadian F1) runs a 455 Olds which seems to needle a small number of the real hard-core Ford fans.... OTOH lots of the "Olds" guys like it. My point is that not everyone has the same notion of what's necessarily cool.

 

[adam f]

I think my plan is this. First up, get the motor running. Or figure out what it will take to get it running. If its reasonable, I'll run the flathead. If its going to cost a lot of money, I'll sell it and get an SBC 350.

Strip EVERYTHING out of the cab. Take it off, cut the body at the bottom to get rid of all the rust. Chop a few inches out of the windows.

Strip the chassis. Possibly add a "Z" front and rear to lower it down. I want this thing low. After getting the frame where I want it, rebuild the brake system. Yank the engine and tranny. Replace ALL gaskets and tune up parts, clean up, paint, and reinstall.

Rebuild the bed, minus fenders.

 

[CR55]

It is a big undertaking for sure.You can break it down into manageable steps. Hows this. Take the cab and bed off, set them aside. Step by step bring the chassis up to excellent. Now is the time to upgrade the motor and trans what ever and put good paint on everything.
Only then after the body is pressure washed and all the corrsion and rot is blasted off, set the cab back on and brace up whats weak with diamond plate,angle iron, street signs and pop rivets or whatever you have access to.
One step at a time and ALWAYS focus on what you want here not what you don't.

Adam, congrats on starting your Rat! Listen to the above advice, start small, do little areas first. Don't try to do the whole truck at once. I guarantee that will overwhelm you and you'll more than likely give up! Seen it happen quite often. Settle in for the long haul!!![cl......CR

 

[Sam_Fear]

Guys...I know how to keep the patina by not painting it....duh...

Hey, I was just messin' with ya a bit. Sounds like your going to need to replace most of the floor and maybe parts of the pillars. That doesn't mean you have to replace the door metal or cab corners. As long as the hinges and latches are holding the doors will work.

Don't let me or anybody tell you how your truck should look! If you first envisioned it flat black - then go for it! Flat black only seems over done on the web. I've got a 63 F100 that's flat black (red rims too ). If you'd like to keep the patina without all the holes, just clean up around the parts you need to fix and maybe down the line you'll figure out a "2- tone" paint scheme using the original patina as one of the colors.

 

[adam f]

Thanks for all the help guys. I'm going to start a build thread here in a few.

 

[riverrat44]

I agree with Earthman, if ya got a grinder, welder, torch, and some imagination, the skys the limit.... Have fun, It'll be a fine lookin ride no matter what color 'tis

 

[bob w]

Here's my take: The cab is quite rough. I would remove it and start building the chassis. Keep a look out for a better cab. They are out there, on Craigslist, eBay, the free want ad papers, etc. It would be a ton less work and probably cheaper to start with a better cab. If, by the time your chassis and running gear is together and if a better cab has not surfaced, then proceed with the cab you have. Just another opton for you to consider. Good luck with your project.

 

[earthman]

Here's my take: The cab is quite rough. I would remove it and start building the chassis. Keep a look out for a better cab. They are out there, on Craigslist, eBay, the free want ad papers, etc. It would be a ton less work and probably cheaper to start with a better cab. If, by the time your chassis and running gear is together and if a better cab has not surfaced, then proceed with the cab you have. Just another opton for you to consider. Good luck with your project.

Adam thats more than an opinion there, that's the voice of experience

 

[adam f]

Good idea. I'll keep an eye out. I'm going to go ahead and chop it up and see how it turns out. If its bad, I'll just scrap it and get another.

 

[cyan]

Don't have much to offer in terms of help but wanted to add that I very much enjoyed reading 6 pages of the progression of your project... (though just the beginning,) and also mention as a new member how wonderful it is to see everyone's enthusiasm towards your project! I wish you the best of luck and look forward to following the future progression!