Project '71 F-100 Update: 7/24 Wiring Progress w/ Pics!

[Caseys71]

Well I've had my truck for a while, been a member here for a while, and have yet to start a project thread so here it is . I got my truck in late August just after school started back up last year for $500, and I plan to do an amateur restoration between now and then , Here are some pictures I took just before I handed over the money buy it :

Engine, Before we spent some time getting it clean

Shot of the passenger's side, Looks like the passenger's side was facing the salty ocean breeze for a while

Picture of the interior

Another picture of the interior, notice the brake fluid, there were about 3-4 bottles of that size riding around in the cab because the front passenger's wheel cylinder leaks .

Shot of the floor-boards (pun intended) , good thing we've already got some floor-pans , the rust isn't too bad though at least not IMO, as compared to other local trucks.

[Caseys71]

We started to disassemble things almost immediately, that way we could check out all of the sheet-metal and see how much cancer was hiding in my truck .

This is a pic w/ almost the entire interior gutted.

You can see my beautiful dash-pad and seat in this pic, I have since cut out the vent grilles in the dash pad, and the seat is in my room , it's actually pretty comfortable as long as you sit in the middle and not directly on the driver's or passenger's side where the foam is chewed up and your sitting on springs .

[Caseys71]

We started to disassemble everything else as well .

Hood, and tailgate stored up against a wall, for all you electricians out there that roomex is not live, and just dangling around in the pic , but we have since ran power to the building with part of that roll of roomex and currently it is still sitting there waiting for something else that needs wired up .

Here's the bed supported in the air by cinder blocks , w/ a few scissor jacks we used to raise it up off the frame rails, and the trailer tag was just hung on there, when we drove it on the street it still had tags .

Not the safest method of bed removal but it was the best we could come up with at the time, and there are scissor jacks inside of the frame rails that we used to raise the bed, then we picked it up and sit it beside our shop.

Had to have some fun with the bed off I bet it would look way cooler if I didn't have an open rear .

Here's my truck all washed up .

Here's the truck tucked away in Me and my father's shop, that we put up just for the Bump .

[spencer alsobrook]

wow man..looks lik you got your project going good......my truck is just sitting around.....i crank it every day and wash it everyweekend..but it'll be a while before i get near as close as you

[Caseys71]

I wish we were still getting progress on it but, it has been wet, and cold outside , and I'm still looking for a job so that makes it a double whammy . But I crank my truck every day too just to hear it run , hopefully things will pick up on my truck in the spring if I can get a job, and I will definitely be moving along in the summer when I can work full weeks and put some money into the Bump . Good luck with your project .

[bb429power]

Same here, I need some dang cash. I want a job over the summer really bad. I would make up excuses just to start my truck up and move it so I could hear her run.

[Caseys71]

Made some serious cash over spring break, and purchased some POR-15 (Even though I don't want to paint another thing after painting for two days straight to earn some of that money ) and a bunch of wire-wheels, did some trimming for my floor pans and started to clean up my frame. Working on a big update that I will probably post at the end of this week .

[Caseys71]

Same here, I need some dang cash. I want a job over the summer really bad. I would make up excuses just to start my truck up and move it so I could hear her run.

Well at least I was able to make some money over spring-break but so far I've just been taking random small jobs ( I painted a house and some patio furniture, did some yard work/mowing, and a bunch of other misc. to-do things for family and a few things for the neighbors)so that I can earn some cash.

[BiggDogg]

Looking good man. I like your shop space

[rusty63]

When it comes to por15, i'd suggest you have evrything prepped that you want to use it on. It doesn't last long once you crack that can open! Yeah, I read all the directions & sealed the can with plastic... but I've still got a nice solid can of the leftovers.

[Caseys71]

When it comes to por15, i'd suggest you have evrything prepped that you want to use it on. It doesn't last long once you crack that can open! Yeah, I read all the directions & sealed the can with plastic... but I've still got a nice solid can of the leftovers.

, from NC man! Thanks for the tip man and as for it not lasting after you crack it open I think I remember the can saying that once you get out the paint you will be using to close it immediately with plastic in between the lid and can that may have been your problem . Anyways I would hate to mess up $100 worth of paint , so I've looked over the directions pretty carefully .

Looking good man. I like your shop space

Thanks, hopefully I will be able to get some POR-15 laid down by Saturday! I'm glad that I have the shop space I have, it's not much but it's better than working in the driveway like I've been doing .

[bb429power]

Are you doing all this independently? As in, did you buy the truck yourself, are you getting any help from your dad? Keep up the good work.

[Caseys71]

I do most of the work independently however it helps to get some help from someone with more experience than me like my dad to help out when I need it . Basically though I plan to do most of the work myself, as we already did a father-son type project ('77 Nova) and most projects we work on together are wood-working projects (another passion of mine and my dad's !) Also I did purchase the truck, and about 95% of everything that has been bought so far was paid for by me, everything else was either a gift or something my parents saw somewhere and figured I might like . Your doing a great job on your truck too man!

[bb429power]

Thanks, I'm kind of in the same boat. I want to be able to look back and know that I did it all by myself, but I do get help from my dad sometimes both financially and physically with working on the truck. But I bought a ton of stuff on my own, me and you will both have cool trucks for our first vehicle. Plus they will be all our own. I wish I could earn some money, but I'm about to turn 16 on the 14th and when I get my license I want to try and get a job at a local body shop. There's a TON around here, or at a tire shop. When we both get done we should meet up half way across the country . Your doing a good job and sound like you have a good work ethic. What are your plans as far as the engine goes? Mild to wild?

I almost forgot to add, just like you, I had some fun with mine in the backyard. I drove in circles and gave my dogs a ride Just a bit too redneck?

[Caseys71]

Yea I wasn't trying to say I didn't get any help from my parents, it's nice to have them help. Unfortunately though I didn't get to work on the bump at all this weekend , but I did get to earn some more money . Sounds like a plan Justin, that would be one heck of a trip but I think the bump would be up for it . Thanks, I wish I was able to work on the truck this weekend like I had planned but at least I will have some more money to put into it now. As for the engine my plans are to get together with a friend of my dad's here in town and plan out my engine build, plan is to have a real "Sleeper" when we're finished, all the little rice burners in town won't even know what hit 'em . Hopefully I will be able to get up with Barry (The engine builder I was talking about) or Mr. Mcnally (Another good friend of the family) over the summer and help them do a lot of the engine work. Plans include a cam,clean up the heads probably do new valves and rockers, also go through the bottom end with new bearings and turn the crank. Maybe do new pistons/rods, I think the mods will all depend on budget though so I won't know for sure until we get to that point.