My daily driver, summer/fall project

[72BahamaBlue]

Last July, my former neighbor gave me his 1971 F100. I was looking for a replacement for my 1976 F150, as it was pretty rough. No heater or fan, leaky cab, dragging disc brakes, but the engine was in great shape.
Brought the 1971 home, and dug right into it.
This would be a budget service rather than a restoration, and would give me a good drivetrain for a future shortbed I hope to find.
Another neighbor was interested in the project, he'd get any parts from the '76 he wanted, and the money from scrapping it.
On to the 71!
Custom trim level, 302 auto, power steering and brakes. Lots of issues. Some rust through on the windsheild drip rail, bed seams, typical lower fenders and doors rust, an ill-fitting plastic bedliner, cracked exhaust manifolds with completely disintegrated headpipe gaskets, crunchy steering gearbox, missing fasteners all over, no dashpad, tailgate rusted through, on and on. Was hit at on time, found a receipt for the bodywork done about 18 years ago. Pretty crude repairs, but the body was otherwise straight.
Removed the core support and grille, pulled the engine, pressure washed the entire chassis 4 times. Collected all that gunk, nearly filled a 5-gallon bucket.

[72BahamaBlue]

The donor motor. The easy way to get it out.
Then it's off to the scrap yard. R.I.P., thanks for your years of reliable service!

[72BahamaBlue]

Sealed up the cab, windows,repaired the rusty floorboards with sheet plastic and lots of caulk, sealed all the leaks from the firewall.
Crude, bit it's now dry inside.
Had lots of fun removing the old plastic window tint, hours with paint thinner and razor blades.Added a wiper delay, headliner, seat from the '76, cleaned up the heaterbox, new control valve, installed a dashpad, headliner. Lots of time spent cleaning, fixing all the rattles, replacing missing fasteners, repairing weatherstripping, fixing lights, removing several feet of unused wire, removed the saddle fuel tanks, etc.
On to the drive train. The 300/6 from the '76 had been rebuilt right before I got it. We installed new gaskets and seals, a good cleanup and paint. Used the 1-piece blue gasket for the oil pan, and a valve cover from an EFI engine. The earlier heads use a larger diameter bolt to secure the valve cover, so the blue rubber gasket won't fit. Ended up using a rubber gasket for the earlier cover. I like the EFI valve cover, the metal is much thicker than the older style, and seals up well.

[72BahamaBlue]

Found a distributor with the Pertronix kit installed on Craigslist, a larger air cleaner from a 1983 F250 I parted out.
Had a problem with replacement radiators from Autozone, went through 3 replacements Spectra radiators under warranty. Each one had a leak on the upper tank seam, front center. Went with a Murray brand from Oreilley's, no more issues.
Lots of issues with the brakes...broken adjuster hardware, loose and dry wheel bearings, someone bolted the rod to the brake booster onto the wrong side of the pedal. Replaced all the hardware, rubber brake lines, tightened up the hard lines, adjusted and flushed the brakes. Pedal no longer goes to the floor...Better!

Front end was all nice and tight, installed dentside-type radius control arms and sway bar brackets. Sway bar will be added when the weather clears up again. Used the dent springs and cups from the '76 as well.
A note about the steering gear: Steering gearbox was replaced with a Red Head reman unit. The only one they had was a custom order unit, a customer never picked up. Red Head will replace the standard truck valve with a passenger car valve, giving the steering gear a quicker ratio. It works very well, and is about 3 1/4 turns lock to lock, vs. about 4 turns. It steers really nicely, I'll use the same setup for my '72.
The 300 power steering pump and brackets from the '76, as well as the lines bolted right in. The '76 uses a long zig-zag line as a cooler, attached to the frame.
I found a good muffler and tailpipe from a 90's V8 F150, it slipped right over the 6 cyl. head pipe. Fit well under the bed, exits behind the rear wheel. Found some attaching points for 2 hangers, and welded it together. It's a heavier welded muffler, IIRC from a 351W powered F150. It's got a nice rumble, and only cost $20. from the pick and pull.

[72BahamaBlue]

Removed the lights, emblems, door panels, handles, lock cylinders. Cleaned the insides of the doors, added more drain holes, cleaned up the body, a light sanding and primer, 1 1/2 tubes of 3M marine adhesive/sealant along the cab drip rails, bed seams, bed floor perimeter and seams, and it's time to paint.
Masked it all, a few Harbor Freight yellow foam rollers, 3 quarts on primer, 5 cans of spray primer, 2 quarts of Rustoleum Royal blue, sprayed the wheels off the '76 with siver wheel paint, rear bumper painted metallic smoke gray, intalled a straight front bumper, and it's looking a whole lot better. Found a reasonably straight tailgate; some welding, filler, caulk, primer and paint. For a $20. tailgate, it turned out pretty well.
Project cost around $800., including paying neighbor Jim for his help.
Left to do, replace the leaking pinion seal, install the sway bar, and add a leaf to the rear springs. Compared to the '76 F150, the F100 rear springs are pretty soft.
I have a dependable work truck, less stuff in the garage, a working heater!!!, and a complete drivetrain for the future short bed.
The search continues!

I wanted to add, a big thank you to Keith for this website, and thanks to all those who take the time to post so much helpful information!

[390bump]

Fantastic job! I love what you accomplished with the money you spent. That truck will run for years now...

[sargentrs]

Great work!