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The first truck I remember my dad having was a 1979 f250 that belonged to my grandpa. Because of my previous experience with the 1979 I have wanted one ever since then. Now I have one, it is a 1979 F150 Ranger XLT. I bought it from the original owner who is the head mechanic for the dealership it came from. I was talking to a friend and he says the roll bar might be a uncommon dealership option. Is there anyway of finding out if this is the case.
The first picture is what it looks like now and the second is what I want it to look like hopefully within two years. The truck is going to take longer than hoped because I have to fund it myself and it is not easy while still in high school. Any advice is appreciated.
I'd be glad to throw my 2 cents in the hat. As for the roll bar I have no idea but the rust stuff I've dealt with. My biggest suggestion is when it comes to buying rust-free parts vs repairing your existing sheet metal just buy the rust-free stuff. I think when you start looking at the costs you'll find the rust repairs cost about as much as the replacement (southern) parts and they'll never be as nice of a part. cover everything in oil/tar/grease also so it stays a nice truck.
Love that body style, nice looking truck. Good luck man
Thanks Kirk, I love this body style too. I have already purchased a rust free short box for it for only 600 dollars and I will be putting new doors on as well, not to mention the floor pans and cab corners. I will not be doing the floors and cab corners, I am a good welder but I just don't want to mess anything up. A friend of the family will be doing that work.
I had a similar train of though when i first got my truck and had rockers put in it. But since that time I've come around. If you start feeling brave i'll say this much: It's not uni-body construction, if it goes in straight and looks good it IS right (Leave doors on for a datum helps). Not a structural component ya know. 600 for a rust-free short bed is pretty fair. I've got a 97 f150 which i bought a short bed for, cost me 300 bucks but i had to drive it home to CT from GA.
I forgot to mention it in my original post but the first thing that I will be doing to the truck is replacing the fuel pump and fuel tank along with the sending unit. After that the box will be replaced and the frame sand blasted and a rust spot repaired, then painted. The engine runs really smooth but there is always room for improvement. New belts, spark plugs, and a good carb tune will be happening within a few days from now. I will post some more pictures as I get further into the project.
look into getting a cheap needle scaler from harbor freight, it'll knock the rust flakes off the frame before you wire wheel/sand blast. There's rust on there that when cleaned looks like good metal. test the theory with a hammer on one of your worst spots and you'll get chunks if it's anything like mine.
Well I just got some really bad news from a friend of mine that does body work and he said that I will need a new frame. It has a large rusted out area right above the axle. He said it would be easier and safer to get a replacement frame. Does anybody know how much a replacement frame should cost? Also where is a good place to start looking, junk yards, specialty rust free parts dealers?
09-04-2015, 05:41 PM
My first build
