Grandpa's Truck

 "The problem with the world is that intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence." - Charles Bukowski

A while back we ended up in possession of my wife's grandfather's farm truck.  Grandpa once owned fifty acres in Pomona, California, which he grew oranges on.  He purchased the farm truck new, and used it to work his orchard grove.  After grandpa grew old, the truck passed into the hands of his son - my wife's uncle - who modified it a bit.  

We found ourselves caring for the uncle and his belongings as dementia took hold, and he was no longer able to fend for himself.  He passed away at an elderly care home in Sandpoint, Idaho at the beginning of the Covid pandemic, when one of the staff brought in one of the early and more dangerous variants of Covid.

We were the only members of the family who had room to store a spare vehicle, and we were the only ones willing to assist the uncle - so the old truck wound up with us.  There was some bitterness about us taking possession of the truck - from the niece and nephew, plus the (non-related) sister-in-law.

Apparently that side of the family did an internet search, and found a same-year truck in pristine condition for sale at $20,000.  Their assumption was that my wife and I should go through the hassle of selling the truck for $20,000 and divide the proceeds with them after it sold.  However, this truck is *NOT* in pristine condition, and worth nowhere near that amount.  The wife instead wants to fix it up and keep it in the family as an heirloom, which I completely understand.

I'm not really a truck guy - I prefer driving motorcycles and fast cars.  However, I promised the wife that we would get grandpa's truck on the road at some point.  That point is now approaching.  We've built up a significant restoration fund for the truck, and in the (hopefully) near future I'll be getting it road-worthy again.  It arrived on a trailer in non-running condition, so this will be a project that requires a significant investment of time.

The truck is a 1960 Ford F100.  It originally came with an inline 6 cylinder engine that displaced 223 cubic inches (3.7 liters).  The uncle replaced that with a 302 cubic inch (5 liter) V-8 engine out of a 1990 Ford Thunderbird.  At some point, he added slotted magnesium wheels.  At some other point he disassembled the brake system and then lost the parts :(

• Goal #1 is to get the engine running. 
  
• Goal #2 is to locate and install the missing brake parts.
• Goal #3 is to purchase new tires and see if it will go down the road without drama.  
• Goal #4 - which will be a long-term project - is beautification.  There's not a square inch of this vehicle that isn't cosmetically f*cked up in one way or the other - both inside and out.

The truck hasn't been worked on since it arrived, because we didn't have vehicle title until recently.   Damn if I was going to put money and effort into it only to have relatives make a claim on it after I had also stored it many years for free.

Below:  A few photos of it when it arrived.  The essentials are there, but it needs a lot of TLC.

Below:  A few holes in the rear where a dent was partially pulled out with a slide hammer.   The truck has plenty of minor surface corrosion, but there's no body rot that I've seen.  The real issue will be getting chrome work done, I suspect.

  

Below:  The 302 V-8 engine.  Fortunately it's carbureted.  This was a shoddy engine swap.  The engine mounts are solid steel.  If the truck hits a big bump and the frame flexes, there's a possibility that the solid engine mounts will crack the cast iron engine block, and that will be the end of the engine.

The battery (top left) came loose during transport and spilled acid on the aluminum valve cover, corroding it badly.  The truck has a good train horn, apparently.

Below: Where the brake booster and brake fluid reservoir is supposed to be.  A push-rod attached to the brake pedal is sticking through a hole in the firewall.  I've already bought a wiring diagram for this truck, so that I can deal with that clusterf*ck.

I've been thinking that the front drum brakes need to go, and that they should be replaced with disk brakes.  There's a kit for that - one that includes rotors and calipers, plus the brake booster, master cylinder and a brake fluid reservoir.

Another thing I'd like to correct on this old rig is the fuel tank.  It's inside the cab, behind the seat.  It stinks, and I'm not keen on driving a rig around with flammable vapors in a tank right behind me.  They make kits to relocate that as well.

We shall see how the project goes.  Right now I have to remove all the junk I've stored in the bed and pressure wash the thing.  It'll be a while yet.  It would also be a great idea to complete the air compressor and parts washer room before embarking on this project.  But first I need some time off.  Yeah right, LMAO.