72 F100 4x4 Build

[1968-f250]

Well, I've always wanted a 4x4 bumpside, so when I stumbled upon this one for $250, I have to grab it. The body is completely shot since it was used and abused by a construction company, but who cares, all I wanted was the frame. This is going to be a long term build since I still need to get my 68 250 painted and the bronco, so most of my funds will be going towards those. My future plans for the truck include sandblasting and painting the frame, all new bushings, and 4 in lift with 35s. Once that's done, I'll look into the body. Since it won't be a daily driver, I could care less about mileage. I bought it without an engine, but I already have a 390 I'm working on to drop in it. Now, onto the pictures!

This is the day I brought it home.




Like I said, it's beat up and rusty. So, first order of business was to tear the rusty box off.






Then I did some patching on the inner fenders so the hood could go back on, and then put some 31's on it. Much better.

[1968-f250]

I also found some parts on craigslist for it.


A pair of brand new fenders


Really good inner fenders. You can see the patch I did on one of them. I'll go more in detail with that later.


One 67-69 upper valance, and a 70-72 upper valance


67 steel grille


67 aluminum grille

I have a rust free radiator support in my parts bronco that will go on this truck, and it came with a usable hood. I also have a decent pass. door left from my 68 f250 that just needs a skin. If I'm crazy enough, I might try to fix the cab...

Anyone have an idea of what that aluminum grille is worth?

[1968-f250]

Like I said before, the pass. inner fender that I bought needed a patch. It rotted out where the battery tray would have been, a very common spot as it seems.
Here is the rusted section is question


I made a patch in two pieces so it would be easier to form


Then I cut out the offending rust


Then welded the patch in


And after some time with a flap disc...

[Manny]

Holy smokes that thing was hammered!!!! Still i see the $250.00 quick. No doubt i would have bought it. Know the pain of 4 projects so i wish you the best on this one. Looks like a great start. Hopefully you saved what was left of the bed side toolbox??? Can't wait for more.

[hfdco4]

Don't worry, that body with buff out no problem.

[Lone Ranger]

What a score! Hopefully the frame isn't tweaked with all the bashing it took. Still for that money you can't go wrong. What if you put your nice 68 body on it?
Even smashed up with no bed it looks tough. You could do a rat rod type build. I've always wanted a highboy with a tow truck bed.

[1968-f250]

Holy smokes that thing was hammered!!!! Still i see the $250.00 quick. No doubt i would have bought it. Know the pain of 4 projects so i wish you the best on this one. Looks like a great start. Hopefully you saved what was left of the bed side toolbox??? Can't wait for more.

I still have to remove what remains of the tool box. The bottom of the box is completely gone, but the door might be savable. I still need to pull the tailgate supports off of it also.

Don't worry, that body with buff out no problem.

I guess we will see... The cab does look like it could be saved. With a lot of hours though...

What a score! Hopefully the frame isn't tweaked with all the bashing it took. Still for that money you can't go wrong. What if you put your nice 68 body on it?
Even smashed up with no bed it looks tough. You could do a rat rod type build. I've always wanted a highboy with a tow truck bed.

The frame is in really good shape. No rot, and the radius arm ends look to be very good also. Sadly the PO hacked up the front frame horns a little bit. I must have had a plow on it at some point. There is also some crap welded to the rear frame, but it'll grind off.

My whole plan at first was to do a body swap, but I came to my senses and couldn't rip apart the 68. It just performs so well that it would be a shame, and I'd like to keep it original since it is my great grandpa's old truck. There is enough parts for sale locally to put a whole new body on it, but I don't have the funds at the moment. I gotta get the 68 painted soon or I'll go crazy! Hopefully I can start to get some quotes on a paint job soon.

[Manny]

I still have to remove what remains of the tool box. The bottom of the box is completely gone, but the door might be savable. I still need to pull the tailgate supports off of it also.

Cool just saw some hard to come by parts. Hopefully you can save it and get it stitched into your new bed. Don't see to many on 100's

[Lone Ranger]

I got a bunch of body panels off eBay. Galvanized and primed fenders were like 140 each and inner galvanized fenders were like 200. I liked the idea of galvanized cause it should never rust. It would be a shame to tear up your gramps old truck... And why not have two bumps?!

[hfdco4]

With everything we have seen you do to the 68, painting it shouldn't be a problem. Look at some of the single stage paints that are available. You can do it yourself and save thousands of dollars!!!!!!!

[1968-f250]

I got a bunch of body panels off eBay. Galvanized and primed fenders were like 140 each and inner galvanized fenders were like 200. I liked the idea of galvanized cause it should never rust. It would be a shame to tear up your gramps old truck... And why not have two bumps?!

That sounds pretty interesting with the galvanized parts. Should hold up really good.

With everything we have seen you do to the 68, painting it shouldn't be a problem. Look at some of the single stage paints that are available. You can do it yourself and save thousands of dollars!!!!!!!

That was the original plan, but I don't know anymore. It still needs a good amount of finish body filler work to make it look presentable, and I'm not sure if I'm capable of making it look how I want it to. I brought it to a guy who does really great paint jobs locally, and he was thinking between 5 and 6 thousand to do the truck. But, he is a perfectionist, and I've seen the work that he has done. I guess we will see what happens.

[Manny]

5 to 6,000 is up there. I would say pour the labor of love into it myself. Of course nowadays material seems to just be going stupid for good paint. What color and material going to be using PPG?

[Lone Ranger]

You could always paint it yourself to get by then save up for a pro paint job down the road.

[1968-f250]

You could always paint it yourself to get by then save up for a pro paint job down the road.

5 to 6,000 is up there. I would say pour the labor of love into it myself. Of course nowadays material seems to just be going stupid for good paint. What color and material going to be using PPG?

Well, the decision is final.. I'm going to paint it myself! I actually started sanding today. I'm not sure on what supplier I'm going to go through for paint, but it will be getting a coat of Harbor Blue by the end of June if all goes well. I'll be updating that build thread shortly.

The 72 is kind of on hold until I can get a chance to go through the heads, and I'll be putting most of my time into painting the 68.

[hfdco4]

Great, just post some pics of the body work on your other thread.