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bluesfella · 09-10-2009, 11:45 PM

Hey guys and gals. My name is Vance and this is my intro/build thread. Like the title says, this build is probably going to take a loooong time. I have no money, little time, and my wife and I are expecting our 2nd child ANY DAY NOW.

I bought this truck in the summer of '05 for $300. ('66 SWB Fleetside. Zero options, 250 inline 6.) It belonged to my friend's grandfather (2nd owner) who inherited it from his father (1st owner). After my buddy's grandfather died, it sat under a tree in Mississippi for almost a decade, rusting away. A tree fell on it, smashing in the hood and breaking the windshield.

I bought it, knowing I had my work cut out for me. But, when I put new gas in the tank, gapped the points, and put in a new battery, it fired right up! I did a bit of maintenance, replaced the whole braking system, and have been driving it semi-regularly for the past 4 years.

The rockers, floors, and door bottoms are completely shot. The more I uncover, the worse it gets. I found a new hood (the blue one) cheap on e-bay and just this week I found a mostly-rust-free parts truck less than an hour from me. I call it a parts truck, but the only thing it's missing is an engine.

My truck has perfect, never-touched fenders, bed, etc...the only parts that are rusty is the cab and the doors. This donor truck has very good doors and cab.

It even has a nice set of wheels the PO bought for it. (Not at all my style, though.)

The PO had this truck on his farm (it's a real barn find!) for 11 years. Was going to fix it up...never got around to it, etc. It's in remarkably good shape. I had pretty much lost hope of finding something like this in Florida.

So, my plan is to take the cab and doors from this donor truck, fix the few small problems with the donor cab (rear corners, small dings, etc.) and sell off the rest of the truck to finance this build.

Luckily, I do have some help:

Even with the help of my shop monkey, this build is going to take forever. But I wanted to do a proper intro and put this up here to keep me motivated. I'm sure I'll be pestering you guys with questions. This isn't my first old car (I currently drive a '55 Chevy BelAir as my daily), but it is my first ground-up restoration.

Plans are for a clean and simple resto-mod. Outside appearance will remain mostly stock, but I may paint the top of the cab white. Color will probably be turquoise and white. Lowered 2"/4", add disc brakes, carpet, and an original-appearing radio (that will actually just power my iPod). I'm keeping the 250 inline 6, but may switch the tranny to a T-5. That's about it.

Thanks for reading. I will post updates as I get stuff done, but like the title says, it's going to take me a long time.

09-10-2009, 11:45 PM	#1
bluesfella Registered User Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 53	Intro and the longest build thread you'll ever see. Hey guys and gals. My name is Vance and this is my intro/build thread. Like the title says, this build is probably going to take a loooong time. I have no money, little time, and my wife and I are expecting our 2nd child ANY DAY NOW. I bought this truck in the summer of '05 for $300. ('66 SWB Fleetside. Zero options, 250 inline 6.) It belonged to my friend's grandfather (2nd owner) who inherited it from his father (1st owner). After my buddy's grandfather died, it sat under a tree in Mississippi for almost a decade, rusting away. A tree fell on it, smashing in the hood and breaking the windshield. I bought it, knowing I had my work cut out for me. But, when I put new gas in the tank, gapped the points, and put in a new battery, it fired right up! I did a bit of maintenance, replaced the whole braking system, and have been driving it semi-regularly for the past 4 years. The rockers, floors, and door bottoms are completely shot. The more I uncover, the worse it gets. I found a new hood (the blue one) cheap on e-bay and just this week I found a mostly-rust-free parts truck less than an hour from me. I call it a parts truck, but the only thing it's missing is an engine. My truck has perfect, never-touched fenders, bed, etc...the only parts that are rusty is the cab and the doors. This donor truck has very good doors and cab. It even has a nice set of wheels the PO bought for it. (Not at all my style, though.) The PO had this truck on his farm (it's a real barn find!) for 11 years. Was going to fix it up...never got around to it, etc. It's in remarkably good shape. I had pretty much lost hope of finding something like this in Florida. So, my plan is to take the cab and doors from this donor truck, fix the few small problems with the donor cab (rear corners, small dings, etc.) and sell off the rest of the truck to finance this build. Luckily, I do have some help: Even with the help of my shop monkey, this build is going to take forever. But I wanted to do a proper intro and put this up here to keep me motivated. I'm sure I'll be pestering you guys with questions. This isn't my first old car (I currently drive a '55 Chevy BelAir as my daily), but it is my first ground-up restoration. Plans are for a clean and simple resto-mod. Outside appearance will remain mostly stock, but I may paint the top of the cab white. Color will probably be turquoise and white. Lowered 2"/4", add disc brakes, carpet, and an original-appearing radio (that will actually just power my iPod). I'm keeping the 250 inline 6, but may switch the tranny to a T-5. That's about it. Thanks for reading. I will post updates as I get stuff done, but like the title says, it's going to take me a long time. __________________ www.vancerutherford.com Last edited by N2TRUX; 09-11-2009 at 10:52 AM.