Thunder1
Well-known member
There's no turning back now!
My 16 year old son and I started the process of tearing down my 51 f-1 cab today. We took out all the glass which was already far gone a long time ago. We taped up the windshield and rear window with heavy duct tape on both sides and decided to just break the glass to speed up it's removal. My son thought it was the coolest thing to put on a pair of heavy welding gloves and a pair of full goggles and then break all the glass with a large rubber mallet. It all came out in one big floppy piece pretty easy and the clean up was minimal. Then we moved on to the dry rotted wiring which consisted of all of it and essentially anything and everything else that is either rusted through and almost gone. We found our fair share of 30 year old rat nests. There were plenty of other things beyond repair or otherwise in the way as well. We started this morning by stripping the firewall of all it's various electrical components. Then we moved on to the heater box and then to everything under and behind the dash itself with the exception of the gauges. Thats next weekends adventure. Then we both stepped through the floor boards on both sides and then cut out everything we could. That didn't leave much but whats left under the seat. I knew this truck was bad off but now I'm totally convinced that the only thing holding it together is 100% Ford brand iron oxide. What a bomb! Then we stripped the doors of what turned out to be very old 1/4" thick plexiglass that had fallen completely down inside the doors once the window regulators gave way some years ago. We also removed the vent window frames. We finished up the day by removing the gas tank from behind the seat. It was comical! I checked it along time ago for signs of any gas because you never know and near as I could tell there was nothing but dirt and plenty of rust in there - I was right. The filler neck broke off in my hand as we pulled the tank loose from the body and when we began to lift the tank up and out, it just gave way and the bottom completely disintregated filling my driveway and shoes with about 2 lbs. of really rusty dirt, old walnut shells and rats nests.
The expression on my sons face was priceless! He said, "Your sure about this right?" I said, "100% you'll see!" I have to give it to him. He's not had much interest in this project until just lately and he's been out there taking charge of things. I'm really proud of him!
It's a great feeling having your kid there with you just as excited as you are about seeing this truck get built. I'm truly grateful for that! Next week we'll start in on removing the bench seat and the gauges and then the real work will begin and I'll have some pictures - I promise!!!
Thunder1
My 16 year old son and I started the process of tearing down my 51 f-1 cab today. We took out all the glass which was already far gone a long time ago. We taped up the windshield and rear window with heavy duct tape on both sides and decided to just break the glass to speed up it's removal. My son thought it was the coolest thing to put on a pair of heavy welding gloves and a pair of full goggles and then break all the glass with a large rubber mallet. It all came out in one big floppy piece pretty easy and the clean up was minimal. Then we moved on to the dry rotted wiring which consisted of all of it and essentially anything and everything else that is either rusted through and almost gone. We found our fair share of 30 year old rat nests. There were plenty of other things beyond repair or otherwise in the way as well. We started this morning by stripping the firewall of all it's various electrical components. Then we moved on to the heater box and then to everything under and behind the dash itself with the exception of the gauges. Thats next weekends adventure. Then we both stepped through the floor boards on both sides and then cut out everything we could. That didn't leave much but whats left under the seat. I knew this truck was bad off but now I'm totally convinced that the only thing holding it together is 100% Ford brand iron oxide. What a bomb! Then we stripped the doors of what turned out to be very old 1/4" thick plexiglass that had fallen completely down inside the doors once the window regulators gave way some years ago. We also removed the vent window frames. We finished up the day by removing the gas tank from behind the seat. It was comical! I checked it along time ago for signs of any gas because you never know and near as I could tell there was nothing but dirt and plenty of rust in there - I was right. The filler neck broke off in my hand as we pulled the tank loose from the body and when we began to lift the tank up and out, it just gave way and the bottom completely disintregated filling my driveway and shoes with about 2 lbs. of really rusty dirt, old walnut shells and rats nests.
The expression on my sons face was priceless! He said, "Your sure about this right?" I said, "100% you'll see!" I have to give it to him. He's not had much interest in this project until just lately and he's been out there taking charge of things. I'm really proud of him! It's a great feeling having your kid there with you just as excited as you are about seeing this truck get built. I'm truly grateful for that! Next week we'll start in on removing the bench seat and the gauges and then the real work will begin and I'll have some pictures - I promise!!!
Thunder1
