hello Everyone... New Member with New project

[jasonmcfarland1983]

hey everyone... love this sight. My name is Jason and I'm a US Marine who returned from Iraq in October. I bought a '68 Ford F-100 2wd I6 240 off of Ebay for $300 and will end up paying around $1,200 to get it from South Dakota to Maine. This is my FIRST ever project car of any kind, but my grandad has been buying old cars "forever" and fixing them up a bit. IF you want to take a look the EBAY nbr is 320059794576 - Lemme know if it was worth it. I don't want to chop it all up fancy or anything... just restore it so that it looks nice like the original red/white paint job and drives nicely. Give me ANY and ALL tips for restoration. Thanks alot!! I'm sure i'll frequent this sight often with questions!!!

[trukcrazy]

Welcome Jason, good to have you back home safe. I am sure your truck is worth it. What are your plans for it? Have fun with it. Here's a picture of Jason's truck.

[ratfink]

Welcome from Az. Thanks for your service.
Good luck with the project.
Ratfink

[jzjames]

jasonmcfarland, congrats on getting your ass out of the sandbox. America gives you the highest respect and can never repay the U.S. military personnel for protecting our asses over here in the land of luxury. Hope you get to stay out of there.
Any way, I started this reply, and Im going to finish it. You can get almost all the info you need on the bumpside trucks on this site that
Kieth created. Its an above-board site, and really enjoyable overall.
Your truck however may have some issues with rust, you may want to consider using it as a parts vehicle. There are alot of 67-72's out there, and they are one of the best trucks to restore, modern enough to be practical, and old enough to be well built trucks (and easy to work on).
Jump in here with any and all questions, you'll get alot of opinons.
Mahalo. jz

[Levi W. Kring]

[FORDification]

Welcome back to the states and to the forums....glad to have you aboard.

I gotta say though, I agree with jzjames. I saw this truck on E-bay while it was listed, and just thought to myself at that time that there really didn't appear to be many useable parts on it as a parts truck, except for maybe the grille. While I don't want to discourage your ambitions by any means, I would like to offer a dose of reality to this and say that IMO maybe truck isn't a very good candidate for restoring.

Why? Well, there's a LOT of rust in this one. From the pictures on the listing, it appears as if virtually every single body panel will need replaced. Both fenders are shot, as are the inner fenders. The doors are gone too, but he did state he's including an extra door (though he didn't state if it's in good shape). The rear cab corners are toast, so more than likely the cab floorpans and front mounts are also shot. And I'd venture a guess that the radiator support is shot as well. The cab has the cheesy '70s-era sunroof, which probably leaks and is impossible to find parts for.

Yes, all these things can be replaced if one were so determined, but it's a LOT of work and a lot of money.

So, with what you paid for the truck and what it's gonna cost you to get it more than halfway across the country, you're going to be into this for roughly $1500....which is more than many good-running trucks are going for. Heck, I live in Nebraska, just a couple hours away from this truck, and I buy parts trucks all the time....but even at $300 I had to pass. I just didn't think it wasn't worth the time and money to go get.

Have you paid for this truck yet? I guess I'm just wondering if it would be possible to have an honest discussion with the seller and see if he'll release you from your obligation to pay for it. With a little looking, you can find one a LOT closer that needs a LOT less work for less than what you're going to have into this one from the start, before you even turn the first wrench. There are a lot of members who live in your neck of the woods who could keep their eyes open for a good candidate for you.

As always, this is just my opinion, for what it's worth. I'd just hate to see you get in over your head trying to save something that doesn't appear to be cost-effective to save. Regardless, keep us informed about how this adventure goes, and if you decide to do it anyway, there's plenty of good folks with parts trucks here who can help you find all the parts you're going to need.

Good luck!

[ezernut9mm]

welcome to the site and thanks for your service!

[heep70]

and to the site.

[71 LONG BED]

Which ever way you decide to go with your project, first and foremost you should have fun. Please don't be afraid to ask any question, no matter how irrelevant you think it is. Thanks for your service and we'll be right along side of you as your project moves forward.

P.S. Where in Maine are you? I have a camp on Narrows Pond in Winthrop, just outside of Augusta.

[67RED]

thanks for your service. and good luck on your project.

[69F110]

Jason,

Welcome home brother! I also want to welcome you to the forums and say that keith knows what he speaks of...Good luck with it either way...

Again, welcome to the forums and the site...enjoy!

[mytmatt]

Hello Jason, welcome from Texas! Your service to your country is much appreciated, welcome home!

[Jake11]

Hi. Glad you got back here. Nice forum. Welcome. KeithP.

[binder56jd]

red is good

[jasonmcfarland1983]

THANKS sooo much to everyone at this sight. I did not expect the HUGE responses I got!! Thank you for your kind words of appreciation and bits of advice about my truck. I'm probably a bit crazy, but already bought the truck and having a shipper bring it to my door for $1100. I'm not interested at doing a FULL restoration ( don't have the time, experience, or tools needed). I have always wanted to try working on an old car with my Grandad and look forward to having fun and learning a little bit. I don't really even know how to weld much at this point!! I hope to get this veh running fairly well by patching up the old engine and then patching up the rust spots and putting a few new parts in it. Not looking to make money on it, as much as I'm looking for a good winter project to have fun and spend some time with my Grandad who has worked on cars his whole life. A little rust adds character (in my opinion) and I'd be proud to drive it anywhere even as it looks now...hahahha.. thanks again guys for the advice.... i know i'll be back here often. AND if this doesn't turn out well.... at least I'll learn from my mistakes, right!??!