Dge1993's Build...or I Guess You Could Say Rebuild Thread
05-09-2013, 08:53 PM
#1
Dge1993's Build...or I Guess You Could Say Rebuild Thread
So I guess to start it off I have a 2006 regular cab, 4.2 V-6,
The back story to her: I bought the truck back in 2009 with 50,000 miles on her.
I first went through a phase of wanting to add chrome to her so I added chrome to the rocker panels.
But a day or two after adding the chrome to her my hometown was hit by a tornado.... No one in my family was hurt but I came to find my truck wasn't so lucky. I did get lucky in the fact that all the damage was cosmetic. About five minutes after the storm passed I walked out to her and stuck the key in the ignition. She started with no problems at all, and I was able to use her in rescue effort following the storm.
About two weeks after the storm I added my own message to the fender which got me a lot of thumbs up from all the Ford guys in my town.
The truck only had damage done to the side facing the storm, so luckily the drivers side wasn't touched. But I did end up having to buy new headlights so I went a head and got a cheap set of smoked lights off Ebay and re-sealed them.
A couple months went by and I decided to PTM my emblems, added lights behind the grill, and installed a brush guard.
The back story to her: I bought the truck back in 2009 with 50,000 miles on her.
I first went through a phase of wanting to add chrome to her so I added chrome to the rocker panels.
But a day or two after adding the chrome to her my hometown was hit by a tornado.... No one in my family was hurt but I came to find my truck wasn't so lucky. I did get lucky in the fact that all the damage was cosmetic. About five minutes after the storm passed I walked out to her and stuck the key in the ignition. She started with no problems at all, and I was able to use her in rescue effort following the storm.
About two weeks after the storm I added my own message to the fender which got me a lot of thumbs up from all the Ford guys in my town.
The truck only had damage done to the side facing the storm, so luckily the drivers side wasn't touched. But I did end up having to buy new headlights so I went a head and got a cheap set of smoked lights off Ebay and re-sealed them.
A couple months went by and I decided to PTM my emblems, added lights behind the grill, and installed a brush guard.
05-09-2013, 09:00 PM
#2
I then needed to replace both mirrors so thanks to this forum I found these great things called tow mirrors. I added them to my truck and man do they make a difference. I have zero blind spots on the truck and I can see a lot better when I am pulling my trailer.
Then through luck I found the pats I needed to start my Body repairs pretty cheap on Craigslist.
After this started the really difficult part of my repair, and ended up having to get a little creative when it came to the bed.
Then through luck I found the pats I needed to start my Body repairs pretty cheap on Craigslist.
After this started the really difficult part of my repair, and ended up having to get a little creative when it came to the bed.
05-13-2013, 07:58 PM
#6
Okay now with the new doors on the truck it is time to start on the bed
When I started to fix my bed I first looked for a short bed skin or a complete short bed. I couldn't find either in my area, but I found on craigslist a long bed skin that was only fifty dollars.
So after some measuring and some pondering I came to the conclusion that I was going to copy something off roader's do and "bob" the bed skin. Bobing the bed is a technique where you actually shorten the length of the bed by cutting out a section of it. Most guys do this to gin on their approach angles, but in my case it was simply to make a long bed skin fit on my short bed box.
Luckily for me Ford puts all the length of the bed in front of the wheel arch, so to make it fit I had to cut a piece out of the front part of the skin then butt the two sections together and weld it back up. The scariest part of this build was the cutting part, but seeing as the skin only cost me $50 I simply went for it.
Don't Judge my welds this was my first ever welding experience.
once the welding was finished I re-measured and I am not sure if it was luck or skill but all my careful preparation payed off, the bed skin was a perfect fit.
When I started to fix my bed I first looked for a short bed skin or a complete short bed. I couldn't find either in my area, but I found on craigslist a long bed skin that was only fifty dollars.
So after some measuring and some pondering I came to the conclusion that I was going to copy something off roader's do and "bob" the bed skin. Bobing the bed is a technique where you actually shorten the length of the bed by cutting out a section of it. Most guys do this to gin on their approach angles, but in my case it was simply to make a long bed skin fit on my short bed box.
Luckily for me Ford puts all the length of the bed in front of the wheel arch, so to make it fit I had to cut a piece out of the front part of the skin then butt the two sections together and weld it back up. The scariest part of this build was the cutting part, but seeing as the skin only cost me $50 I simply went for it.
Don't Judge my welds this was my first ever welding experience.
once the welding was finished I re-measured and I am not sure if it was luck or skill but all my careful preparation payed off, the bed skin was a perfect fit.
05-13-2013, 08:03 PM
#7
With the new skin made up it was now time to pull the bed. After removing the lights and harnesses, detaching the filler neck, disconnecting the differential breather tube, and removing six bed bolts the bed lifted free.
After the bed was free, the fun task of drilling out spot welds was next on the list. After about two hours of drilling the old skin was off.
After the bed was free, the fun task of drilling out spot welds was next on the list. After about two hours of drilling the old skin was off.
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05-13-2013, 08:17 PM
#8
Now we fitted the new skin to the bed box, lined it all up and re-welded it all back together. then set it back on the truck.
Then it was on to body work and sanding for paint.
After taking the advice of 5-1-5-0 I decided to let someone else paint it, this was the only thing I wasn't comfortable with doing on my own.
So this is how my truck sits now. after adding up all my cost I managed to redo everything for a little under $1000. So in my opinion I saved a lot of money than simply taking it to a body shop. sure it took two years to fix but I have more time then money so the wait was worth it.
Now its on to more mods and better things. I'm thinking about getting some stock 4x4 blocks for the rear and a leveling kit for the front to get me a couple more inches of lift on the truck. I am also getting close to needing tires, so that is definitely in the future.
Then it was on to body work and sanding for paint.
After taking the advice of 5-1-5-0 I decided to let someone else paint it, this was the only thing I wasn't comfortable with doing on my own.
So this is how my truck sits now. after adding up all my cost I managed to redo everything for a little under $1000. So in my opinion I saved a lot of money than simply taking it to a body shop. sure it took two years to fix but I have more time then money so the wait was worth it.
Now its on to more mods and better things. I'm thinking about getting some stock 4x4 blocks for the rear and a leveling kit for the front to get me a couple more inches of lift on the truck. I am also getting close to needing tires, so that is definitely in the future.
05-13-2013, 09:28 PM
#9
05-15-2013, 11:19 AM
#10
