My Next Project: '78 F-250
I spent the day Sunday removing the bed from my next project vehicle. Its the '78 F-250 XLT Ranger 4x4 that my grandad had bought fairly new. My Dad bought it from Grandad around 1990 and used it on our farm. It has been a farm truck since new and it shows. Decades of exposure to mud, salt, and cow manure have rusted the body panels and in places, the frame. The front fenders, doors, cab corners, and bed are all junk. When the truck finally laid down a few years ago my Dad got mad and slammed the door so hard that it shattered the glass.
I removed the bed in pieces on Sunday. Luckily the floorpans appear to be solid as well as the drip rail area. The frame from the cab forward is solid, but from the cab back is pretty crusty. The rear shock mounts rusted off a few years back. There is a crossmember in front of the rear axle that has holes rusted in it. The frame has about a 5'' long hole rusted in it due to the close proximity between it and the gas tank (mud was held there and eventually rotted her out). I plan to patch the frame on the rusty spot and acquire a new crossmember and shock mounts then coat it in some sort of rust stopper. The bed floor rusted out so bad that the front part of the bed settled into the back of the cab and caused all sorts of carnage. Dad would jack the bed up with a floor jack to put fuel into it! There will be a lot of body work to do on the back side of the cab but I think its salvagable.
I know it looks hopeless but this is the first vehicle I ever drove and was my grandad's, so lots of sentimental value here. He would turn me loose driving this thing across the pasture when I was a little guy to teach me how to drive. It has the 400M, C6, full time 4wd. Not sure what axles? I'm guessing Dana 60's but I'm not sure how to I.D. them.
The goal is to built it basically stock with a 4" lift and 35s. I want it to look vintage '70s with some period correct wheels. After I get a pole barn built it will be time to learn lots and lots of body work. I already have a line on a low mileage 400M to replace the worn out original one as well as some original body parts. Other than a new radiator, trans refresh, front end rebuild, and some odds and ends it really is mechanically pretty good (believe it or not). I may need some advice from Jerry (daminc) on this one. He may be the only one on here who has saved something this far gone.
The huge dent here on the pass side cab corner is from a mad bull charging the truck when it was fairly new!
This is the only actual rust-through on the frame. I should be able to patch it fairly easily.
Let me know what you guys think. Am I crazy or what?
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