I have officially lost my mind!

[Sharkdance]

As I had stated before, I am often a victim of the "as long as your doing it you might as well" syndrom. And now my 72 to 70 cab swap has become no exception.
It all started when I found major rust under the drip rail of my 70 F250.
This truck is my daily driver so what ever method I used to fix it had to be a quick one for minimal down time.
After studying Keiths project truck for a while I decided that the best and most permanent fix would be to just find a better cab rather than try and repair the rot in the 70. (It is realy bad)
Then I started having electrical problems in the 70 and discovered that the wiring harness was trashed by the previous owner so I found a 72 doner truck with a cab that had virtualy no rust and an almost virgin wiring harness. A weekend or two for a cab swap and my troubles should be over I thought.
The key word here is "should".

Welp, that was about 4 or 5 months ago.
I pulled the front clip off of the 72 and then pulled the engine/tranny. Then removed the cab and began cleaning it for prep to put on the 70.
Thats when I fell victim.
I knew I had to replace the floor pans but that was no big deal so I began to cut them out.
I also knew I had to replace the windshield since it was cracked so I went ahead and removed that. With the windshield out I discovered a couple of small spots of rust just under the drip rail so out came the grinder. I wanted to make sure I never had to deal with rusted drip rails again on this truck.

That done I decided to remove the instrument cluster just to clean it up a bit and the ac unit to swap out known good parts from the 70.
Now I had basicaly a completely stripped cab and knew I wanted to paint it the same color inside and out (its now blue but I want to paint it green) so out came the dashpad and wiring harness.
Ive been sanding on this cab for a couple of days now and its lokking pretty good. It will soon be ready for paint.

Now with all of this done, wouldnt it be a shame to set it on a dirty greasy frame?
So now I must degrease and paint my frame when I finaly remove the cab from the 70 mustnt I? And after all of that (since Im already into it this far) shouldnt I remove the bed and degrease and paint the frame under there too? As long as Im gonna paint the bed anyway of course.

The truth is. Ive had several project cars before but never was able to finish them. Something always happened and I had to get rid of them before they were completed. This will NOT happen with my truck.
If it takes me the rest of my life (since thats how long I plan on keeping this truck) I will finish this project and have fun doing it.

Just wanted to say thank you to Keith and all who make this place possible because it has truely helped me out more than you know.
The knowledge base this forum and website contain is remarkable!
I love my truck. And its refreshing to find others with the same passion.

So, while I may have lost my mind. Im having fun and learning while doing it and I think I have found quite a few friends in the process

Thanks everyone!

[390Nut]

If it takes me the rest of my life (since thats how long I plan on keeping this truck) I will finish this project and have fun doing it.

Are they ever really done??


Keep on keepin' on with your project. I see the same thing in my future, not to sure if I want to replace the cab or not, but it needs attention badly, and for mostly the same reason, the drip rail. Right now I'm sort of in the same boat; I need the truck running and drivable, but it needs a lot of work. Right now I'm still focused on the powertrain, but hopefully next spring I can dig into the body/frame a bit. The Rex will come out to play, leaving me time to work on the truck. Can't wait!

[FORDification]

You're on the right track....don't lose focus now!

I decided that the frame and the bottom of the cab/bed would be the areas least likely to be revisited after the truck was reassembled, so they HAD to be done right the first time. After the body parts are reassembled, everything else can be done as you have the time and money. Heck, even if you just slap the rest back together, it can easily be redone in stages later on. But with the frame and cab/box done, it'll never have to be completely disassembled again.

I definitely think that while you've got the cab off, go ahead and remove the 8 bolts holding the box on and get the box removed, so you have full access to the frame. You could spend a day or two with an angle grinder & wire wheel, some degreaser and a lot of elbow grease and get the frame cleaned up enough for a couple coats of POR-15. (Is that what you were planning to use, or were you actually going to paint it?) Then spend another day or two doing the same thing to the bottom of the box and bolt it back on. You can always do things like the suspension, brakes, wiring, etc. after the body parts are reassembled. Heck, even if you just bolt all your used parts back together and get it running again, you can always come back and do other sub-systems later down the road....but you'll have the backbone done, which is (to me) the most important.

Anyway, I know exactly what you're going through. I've had several car projects in the past where I went in with guns a-blazin' and got everything disassembled, and then quickly lost steam. In fact, I think that's where most people fall short too. They might even get started getting some of the parts cleaned up and installed, but the reassembly process takes much longer, mainly due to time/money constraints. And if a person doesn't see regular progress on their project, they're gonna lose interest really fast. That's why often when I have a free day and I head down to the shop to work on my truck, I don't even have a plan of attack when I walk through the door....I just know I need to get SOMETHING done. Once I walk around it for a few minutes and smoke a cigarette and assess the situation, I forumulate a plan and hit the ground running. Once I get started I don't let up for anything, until I'm too tired to continue (or the wife calls and tells me to come home and give her a break from the kids!)

Sounds to me like you're doing everything right so far. Just don't get overwhelmed with the pile of parts. Get your plan down and stick to it. I've also found that posting regular updates here on your progress tends to keep you motivated, since everyone knows what you're up to and you know that they're waiting for the latest news.

[Sharkdance]

390Nut
"Are they ever really done??"

Heh, I guess not. What would be the fun in that? Half the fun of owning a 67-72 is the bond you make with them while driving and working on them to keep em running and looking right.

390Nut
"I'm sort of in the same boat; I need the truck running and drivable, but it needs a lot of work. Right now I'm still focused on the powertrain"

Yowza!!! If the engine in your profile is what your referring to then that is awsome! Yea buddy that is nice!

I have spent the last three + years on drive train, suspension and brakes so while mine might look like hell it runs and stops realy good. In fact in all of that time I have been teased at work for putting so much money and time into something that looks like its falling apart. But I dont care.
Now is my time. Time to take care of all of the non mechanical things that make folks think you have a better truck than just some ole rust bucket.
Funny thing is, while my truck has been called a lot of names. They have always had to say them while watching my tail lights get smaller.

[Sharkdance]

Thanks for the encouragement Keith. It is apreciated.

Its your website that got me started down this path so I guess that means its all yor fault.
Realy, I apreciate all that you do. This place had been so helpfull to me and I feel that I have a better handle on this project than any other that I have started.
Maybe thats why my others were never completed. Because I didnt have this kind of support and reference of info of what to expect next.

Your right about why most people lose interest and wind up selling or giving away thier project. Sure some of it has to do with money, life, problems, etc. but being able to meet/talk to others might have saved a lot of people from giving up. Thats one of many reasons why this place is so helpfull.

I agree with you and will take your advice about removing the bed and taking care of the frame at the same time of my cab removal/swap. I guess I always knew I would be doing that since I had decided to do the cab swap in the first place.
I have looked at POR15 and read about every one else here that uses it. Sounds like a great product.
But I was also considering using a product called Rust Bullet
Maybe Ill do a product article on it if I wind up using it.

[flyboy2610]

That's how mine started, too!
It takes time but it's worth it!

[4x4x4crewcab]

Just wanted to say thank you to Keith and all who make this place possible because it has truely helped me out more than you know.
The knowledge base this forum and website contain is remarkable!
I love my truck. And its refreshing to find others with the same passion.

I must agree the site does give inspiration,support and a drive to show others new progress.
Keep up the good work

[390Nut]

390Nut

Yowza!!! If the engine in your profile is what your referring to then that is awsome! Yea buddy that is nice!

Unfortunately, it's not so nice, right now. GOt some issues I am trying to resolve, unfortunately it's been pretty slow at work so money's been tight.
At this point, it's running allright, but there's problems with it now, mostly external stuff (exhaust leaks, carb adjusting, clutch, etc etc). Going to likely yank the engine next week, and fix everything at once, if I can, and see if I can get her right.

I will say this though, when it was running right, it was a GOOD THING!

Keep at `er, is all I can say. I know I've got to do the same, but it's nice to see others projects coming along, the progress is always good!