Marvin 2....1970 SWB Resto

[marvin2]

My truck was given to me by my family as a wedding gift in October of '09. The truck has more or less sat since then. My wife and I moved into a new house and had a slew of other odds and ends to take care of, so the restoration had been put on hold, but.......the time is finally here! My dad came over today and helped me take the whole front clip off.

A full body off restoration is in store for Marvin 2. I'm nearly 100% sure that I will be doing the CV swap as well. Not sure want I want to do for the rear axle, but I will decide that a little later on down the line.

Here are some pics...

How it looked when I "opened" it:




How it looks after today....

Fenders removed:


Front clip removed:






Cab mounts look to be good:




Driver's side inner fender......not so good. Some rust on the radiator core support, but nothing too bad.
The previous owner's awesome bondo "repair":






All in all, I am pretty happy with what we have found so far. I'll try to keep this thread going as the restoration progresses. Please chime in, offer advice, etc. These forums are a huge help....

[BobbyFord]

Looks like a nice truck to start with

[marvin2]

I figured that it would be a while before I started hunting for a CV IFS....but....I just found one fairly locally for $350. I won't have time to pick it up until the end of the month, so if it is still there by then, I will definitely be bringing it home.

[FordTruck]

Looks like a good project. I like those valve covers I wish I could find some like that for the ol 70.

[marvin2]

Got some time over the past couple of weekends and got most of the interior gutted. I still have to pull the gas tank, passenger door, and steering column, then the cab will be ready to be pulled.
















Here are some of the pieces. For the most part, everything is in fairly decent shape.












Some of my new toy....I'm gonna try to not let it steal too much of my time, but it is pretty distracting. Its a 93 Eddie Bauer Edition Bronco...5.8, auto, 200k on the clock.

[marvin2]

Been almost a year since I updated this thread. I haven't had as much time as I would like to work on the truck, but I have made some progress. Removed the bed and tore down & disconnected the cab. I'll pull the cab as soon as I can line up some extra hands to help me. Next on the list is to pull the motor & trans.

[terry1167]

That is quite the project and looks like you are really doing a thorough job. Looks like a great truck for a project. That's the problem with these projects.....time and money AND other distractions. I have way too many toys and get distracted because I end up with too many balls in the air.

Good luck and keep us posted of your progress. Nice Bronco by the way.

[brandon.k]

Good to see you back Marvin. It looks like the pickup is coming along pretty nicely. Glad to see you still have the Stang to

[basketcase0302]

Looking good, stay on it and it'll be no time before it's on the road again.
Is that a "little 302" (as a few members here call them) I see?
What tranny is that?

[marvin2]

I've made some good progress over the past several months. Looks like I'm reaching the end of the tear down phase. I need to drag the frame around back and clean it, then I'll start with the rebuild. Hopefully I've done a good enough job of labeling and organizing the parts and hardware...although I do occassionally run across a piece and have no clue where it came from.

I'm still planning on doing the CV front swap, so I've been hunting craigslist for some parts cars. Just started to put some thought into the rear axle...it might be nice to swapout to an explorer rear with disc brakes.

As far as the drivetrain goes, I am going to keep the 302 and just freshen it up. I'll swap on a 4 BBL intake and carb, maybe do a mild cam, and a set of headers (I think I read somewhere that 5.0 shorty mustang headers will fit???). I haven't made up my mind on the transmission yet, but the T18 that I removed will not be going back in.

Here are some pics:

[maddmatt13]

looking good so far! What are you going to do with the wheel on it now? I've been looking for a set of them.

[rusty63]

From what I've read the explorer is too skinny. You want a 90's crown vic rear - it'll have discs and the right bolt pattern & width to work with late model rims. Check carcrafters build for specifics...

[marvin2]

looking good so far! What are you going to do with the wheel on it now? I've been looking for a set of them.

Sorry...they're going to my brother. He is doing a late 70's Jeep build and they were pretty common wheels for the time period.

From what I've read the explorer is too skinny. You want a 90's crown vic rear - it'll have discs and the right bolt pattern & width to work with late model rims. Check carcrafters build for specifics...

Thanks rusty....I'll keep doing some research and see what I come up with. Hopefully I can pick up a rearend and front IFS during the same junkyard trip.

[marvin2]

Spent some time this weekend wire wheeling and priming the frame...I'm about 75% of the way complete. Getting inside the frame rails is a headache. Now I need to devise a way to "safely" flip the frame on my own and get the underside. I don't have much more to do before it is time to start cutting out the front suspension. Pics to follow soon.

[69rangerf100]

Spent some time this weekend wire wheeling and priming the frame...I'm about 75% of the way complete. Getting inside the frame rails is a headache. Now I need to devise a way to "safely" flip the frame on my own and get the underside. I don't have much more to do before it is time to start cutting out the front suspension. Pics to follow soon.

what i did was full seam googles around my eyes and a sheild and laid on my back and wire wheeled the underside