MM , I love driving vintage pickups , slow , has power nothing , all manual.
A true step back in time. This truck fits me , kinda narrow cab and almost sitting shoulder to shoulder with passenger , very personal ! In other words people you don’t like don’t even stand a chance , they’re walking. Steering wheel , pedals & stick shift right where it needs to be for me. Beside the dents( I don’t do bodywork !)  I can  fix all the mechanical and electrical this truck has to offer. Like a giant tinker toy I can drive , just some real basic maintenance to keep her good to roll down the road. And no onboard computers to fail , gotta roll the windows down and probably gotta stand on the brakes to stop , I love that kinda stuff !

That description make me think of Grandpa's 1952 ford Flat Bed , Flat Head V-8 four speed with a granny gear - to pull a hay rake or the hay-bale wagon either one.
So slow we would leave it idling in Ganny gear and walk beside it loading the wagon behind it.   Just leave the windows down to reach in for minor steering wheel corrections from the running board once in a while.  

Thank goodness for Round-Bails !                 just kidding.

Post us a picture of how its coming along !  

Reviving a survivor is walking a fine line between improvement & preservation. Preserving what there is priority , cleaning ok inside but I caught myself trying to put my stamp on it. Stick shift was sloppy decided to replace indexing pin on stick, took it apart cleaned it. Almost took it to the powder coater for a dose of “ alien silver “ . A color I like to use as accent on my bikes. But I caught myself , No billet , no leds , no powder coating , I think you get the drift. On the flip side of that is the shift knob , OEM , super dirty/dusty , try some gentle cleaners , keeps turning rag brown but shows no improvement , think it’s a Bakelite type plastic , bump it up to a more aggressive cleaner , same with a browner rag. You could barely see the shift pattern on the knob , cleaner not working , it feels like a rock , so I started wet sanding it , clean out pattern with a dull pin , continue wet sanding. Yeah finer and finer  , using ultra fine sanding pads for plastic headlight restoration. Now pattern is clean & legible , knob is nice & shiny & smooth as a babies butt. Stick is black with original black paint and original patina. Not everything has to shine , it’s a survivor !      

Today I button up under dash , flasher arrived. Install wiring & fuses , the list of electrical woes is shrinking fast. By the end of the day I should have that short list or if I’m lucky , not ! Most of the bad wiring was the stuff that other previous owner(s) had done to it. But that’s what I do , sort things out and make it run. I will drive this truck next year , brakes , tires , glass  and away we go ! Licensing will be a breeze I have a pink slip in my name and it’s currently on a planned non op (PNO) so no back fees owed , just the regular registration fee. Double ugly is getting another life , I won’t work it hard but she will pull her weight and provide a barrel full of smiles. Fear nothing I have AAA road service !  

Supposed to rain here today so indoor projects today. Yesterday I got 4 out of 5 wheels off the F100. Got r/r , spare , both fronts leaving the L/R. It gonna take some Herculean effort ( my big word for the day) they are tight & rusted and where installed when ? Getting the wheels loose in preparation for brake job. Been lucky so far I haven’t broken any studs , just 5 to go !

I’ve been talking with some friends about getting it sanded and clear coated to preserve its patina. In all that talking I gathered up the nerve to ask how much. Then I just figured it out , sand it  , wash & dry it ( next summer ) tape it off and shoot it. Hell it’s just a dull clear coat right , put it on a bit thick , then when it dries go back and cut the curtain off. Got an old one quart spray gun for just this kind of job. There are some surface rust that may need a more aggressive treatment before spraying. I’m still investigating how they do it. Most of it can be done with a scratchy pad and some rubbing compound. I ain’t paying 2k. I’ll keep dry as possible , keeping the inside dry is important too. I’ll find out how to prep and what to spray on it from people who do it and then totally fake it !    

Yeah a new mask is a must before spraying , but I’ll use my spray gun. It puts it out there and in a hurry.  Roof heavy coat , hood heavy coat , the rest just a semi heavy coat. Put it on thick , let dry , return to cut the curtains off , LOL. Ought to be interesting , the last thing I painted with that gun was a steel roll up door on a warehouse bout 40 years ago. Just an old fashion 1 quart spray gun , a DeVilbiss. Was a quality gun in its day. Car culture has always been huge here and survivor trucks and cars seem to be very popular , like a sub culture. Not a fan of phony paint job’s simulating the look but some painters are really good at it ! Her patina is the real deal !