the notso pretty 56 F100

[mlcraven]

Kinda rough admittedly, but pretty lines and loads of potential. You'll have lots of fun with it!

[Beagle]

that wheel loks in similar condition to the wheel in my falcon - I was thinking of wrapping the rim with friction tape like the old nascar guys used to do -...

I did this on the Lightning when the original leather wore through. I drive right handed at 12:30 and am sweaty palmed with a tendency to death grip the thing in traffic. I used baseball bat tape. When it gets hot down here, well, it was a mess. The plain leather wrappy things they sell at Walmart for 8.88 these days replaced it. It wouldn't fit until I cut off all of the old factory wrap. The new wheels are too large of diameter rim (not outside diameter of the wheel, the diameter of the rim itself), but the old skinny ones might work if you took an upholtsery needle and sewed the seams inside the wheel maybe?

[JOES66FURY]

I have seen guys restore their wheels like this guy did...might be fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIEM7r_BRw0

[milner351]

Great link Joe - That looks like something anybody could do at home with some patience - then apply some good primer and paint - and have that old wheel looking new again. I wonder if JB weld in the "stick" form would work as well? I have used that for other projects- but it doesn't seem to get quite as plyable as the KB stuff he's using in the video.

[JOES66FURY]

I saw a "how too" on the power block and am pretty sure they used stick JB weld...should work just fine for this application.

[squirrel]

that steering wheel is pretty nice, I'd clean it and run it as-is, at least until the chunks start falling off.

[STINEY]

Great link Joe - That looks like something anybody could do at home with some patience - then apply some good primer and paint - and have that old wheel looking new again. I wonder if JB weld in the "stick" form would work as well? I have used that for other projects- but it doesn't seem to get quite as plyable as the KB stuff he's using in the video.

This is EXACTLY how I restored a '56 VW batwing steering wheel. JB Weld works great, lots of sanding on the finger grooves though.

[BOOOGHAR]

pic of the unmolested dash



odometer reads 86k miles

[BOOOGHAR]

heres a walk around video of the truck

[milner351]

What are you thinking is hte best fix for the roof? that looks like it maybe the most challenging fix on the old girl. Hopefully side door glass isn't hard to find.
Is there any value to the old Y block?
Are you going to get an original bed for it or making a flat bed or something like that?

[BOOOGHAR]

side glass is a easy fix, LMC carries all that

the Y block im selling for 100 bux to a friend thats build a period perfect 50s Model A, he builds some incredible stuff out of his garage

the roof, im kinda at a loss with, theres a place in CA that specializes in F100 trucks, im going to give them a call and ask thier opinion

and as for a bed, I have one I can get, I dont know the condition but ive thought about building something like this since I plan on building my truck into a push vehicle of sorts

[BOOOGHAR]

spent some time on the truck today, was able to remove the fan shroud and radiator, who there would still be coolant in it after almost 40 years and removing just about everything from the engine compartment, I am surprised on how easy bolts came undone or just plain broke off, lol

[Caveman Tony]

Booger, dude.... keep that Dana 44.

Those are pretty stout. Save the money you'd spend on the 9" for other stuff.

Seriously, the off-road crowd has been beating on Dana 44's for YEARS and short of putting a Pro-Stock motor or 40" tires on, you'll be happy with it. Gears and Lockers abound for 'em too...

[BOOOGHAR]

im researching the dana 44 now, looks as if it might be a keeper, I plan on 4 linking the rear with coil overs anyways and get rid of the junk leaf springs

[milner351]

I'm all for a home built bed if a ready to use one doesn't become available near by and reasonably priced, steel aint cheap, I hope can salvage most of what you need. I would vote for diamond plate the horizontal surface, use something like 1/8" plate for the fenders (so a rock, tire blow out won't rip the fenders up) and running boards, and bed sides if you have lots of it and don't care about weight.
12 gauge would be good for alot of it too, especially if you have access to a break / shear, and roller to put some corrugation strength and design into the sides and floor. As Dan usually suggests - cutting the top out of a van is a good place for corrugated metal that's usually oxidized but not dented. Another idea is to us a modern bed "interior" with your own sides and fenders.

I agree on the dana 44 - keep it if there's nothing wrong with it.

The roof is a toughy - but for the rough image of this thing - can you just weld in patches to make it work?