Project Ressurection

[Ressurektion]

I posted in the intro section, but couldn't find a project section. Hope this is in the right place.

I saved this truck from a life of being a field decoration. Got it for way less than even he wanted to sell it for. Worked my magic, and drove it home after sitting for 2 years.

Here it is on the day I got it home.




Total mess.

The bed is held on by axle u-bolts welded to 3" I-beams that are in turn welded to the frame rails.

I managed to get the bed off with the help of a skid-steer and a angle grinder.



I then removed all of the extra stuff to get it as close to bare frame as possible.




We started this project with the full restoration in mind, but winter crept up on us very fast, and we need a truck, so it will be the back half only for now.

I'll have more pictures later but there is more progress.

Here is the quote from my intro post. There is a lot to do.

Originally Posted by Ressurektion

Hello!

I'm a brand new Power Stroke owner. My family has owned them for generations on the farm but I have never needed anything bigger than a Ranger until now.

Right before my wife and I got married last year, we were lucky enough to purchase a 250 from a friend for very cheap.

I have built several Fords before for customers so I am not unfamiliar with the truck. But we weren't quite prepared for the amount of total work.

I do not have pictures yet, but will soon, so you will have to deal with my descriptive ramblings.

After much VIN searching and bothering the heck out of my local dealership...

I am the proud owner of an early 1999 F-250. 7.3L Diesel with a 6-speed manual with manual stick transfer case and manual locking hubs.

The hub locks are frozen in the housings, locked of course, and the truck needs this list as much as I can find right away.

Ball-joints
wheel bearings
hub locks
every u-joint on it
front brakes - calipers,brackets,rotors,pads,hoses
hard brake lines everywhere
rear parking brakes - shoes and hardware
rear brakes - calipers,brackets,rotors,pads,hoses
tires - of course
random hardware
new gooseneck hitch
new bumper hitch
new flatbed - it has a mid-90's made for Chevy one on it now
new wiring in the rear for tail/running lights
both batteries
serpentine belt and tensioner
glow plugs
valve cover gaskets
oil pan drain plug

On the plus side... it has a Banks Git-Kit already installed. But the chip went bad... so it took me about 2 hours to figure out that if i remove the chip... it runs like normal truck.

So there it is... work truck exterior with the sealed beam headlights and a nasty condition aftermarket lower bumper cover. minor rust on the bottom of the doors, and a couple of dents and scratches so you know it was a farm truck.

I plan on going through this thing front to back inside and out. Nothing left untouched.

Let the pics and journey begin. It's good to be among friends.

[Zaairman]

Looks like a fun project. Not sure if you've realized it or not, but that is the pickup truck frame and not a C&C frame, so you could put a normal truck bed on there if you wanted instead of a flatbed.

[dieselcrawler]

Nice find... ditch the Banks chip, get a good one. I personally like DP Tuner, but others like the TS chip with custom tunes as well... Gauges, DIY Intake/6637 Filter, straight pipe the stock exhaust, and you're set... naturally, you've got other things as well to work into the priority list, but just my 2 cents where chips and performance is concerned. Keep us posted on your progress!

[hollister25073]

Looks like a fun project


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[Pullnpray]

Sweet! and x2 on the putting a regular long bed on it! it'd look sweet.

[Ressurektion]

As for the bed, my wife and I decided to build a flatbed to suit our purposes on the farm.

We have both a bumper pull and a gooseneck trailer. We haul round bales as well as small squares. I haul motorcycles,sleds,atvs, and the more I can get on will be better.

Plus, as an added benefit, my wife really wants a flatbed in a custom built farm truck. It's been her dream to own one. So we made a deal....

I make the bed, to her specifications, and she cannot haggle with me on modifications to the rest of the truck.

No matter cost, style, color, or performance.

[Ressurektion]

More progress...

During most of this work our camera memory card became jacked... so until I fix it, camera phone pics.



To get to this point took several days, I was working only in the afternoon's and she though that I was going too slow. She picked up some tools and began to work. I came home to this....



She had removed brake cables, lines, hoses, and various pieces of hardware. As well as took a thousand pictures with our camera that the memory card is now fried.

As soon as I get it back from the "shop" I'll post the pics she took.

We decided that since we were stuck on the truck for now... we head to the farm and get the flatbed started, as well as pick up the sandblaster.

I was impatient to try it out...I'm a child that way. Here are my results using just field sand I scooped into the tank.



If you notice, there is a lot missing from the truck in that picture. I'll have more progress pics of the truck later.

[Ressurektion]

When we got to the farm, her father said that he had an old flatbed that was sitting behind the barn. We went and looked at it. Not our style, but had a very solid foundation and framework. Might be a good candidate.

We measured the bed and it will work... it's 8x8 so it will need some trimming width wise.

But we forgot one thing... The shop at the farm is an old milk barn converted to a smooth concrete floor. The door is only 6.5 feet wide... and the bed is 8.

So we had to make a new door....



If you look at the wall line you can see wehre the old door stopped. We had to cut the concrete footing as well as build the header to fit the new door. The outside still looks unfinished, as it started snowing the hour we finished, but the inside is good to go!



So that is all for today, the memory card for the camera should be ready by wednesday so I will have pictures of my progress up to date then.

Sorry for making you suffer with the crappy phone pics.

[Pullnpray]

Looks awesome! and i noticed you're from northern IL? Where abouts? im located just up on the state line, about an hour east of rockford

[Ressurektion]

Originally Posted by Pullnpray

Looks awesome! and i noticed you're from northern IL? Where abouts? im located just up on the state line, about an hour east of rockford

We moved in December from Shirland to Rock City. Where are you at?