1966 F100 Build

[Project66]

I recently purchased a nice clean 1966 F100. I initially wanted to rat rod it but am choosing to tear down and do a frame off resto. Hopefully I can figure out how to post images and we can be off posting.

[F7BIGJOB]

from RoDiland, Photobucket account to load pics here is prolly the best/easiest way

[Project66]

I just resized in Photoshop. I can let a little thing like images stop me now can I?
Here we go.Just purchased this truck in SC. Nice clean barn find.

[Project66]

The dash proved to be a challenge removing the hard pad.

[Project66]

The wiring was old and brittle


The harness was melted together in several places! This was a running truck! Glad we took it apart

[Project66]

The dash had a jeep radio that was made to fit.


Cut out the whole area to install a DIN style cd player


Metal cut and bent to fit


Ready to weld


The support was actually the same size as the cutout but the placement was to the left for the trim to fit snugly so we moved it over.

[Project66]

The front sheetmetal with the thousand hidden and hard-to-reach bolts took most of the morning to remove.





The bed was removed next.

[390fastback]

Wow! Not wasting any time are you?

I hear you on the 1000 hard to get at bolts. None of mine came off in a useable state either. All broke or got the grinder!

[Project66]

The cab was next to come off.
First matter of business was to remove the column and the cab mounts, master cylinder etc etc



Cab slid back some


With no fancy lifts I pushed the cab back on 2x12 boards. Had it going out the back so I can put it on the trailer that was made for it.

[Project66]

Stripped down the frame of the unboltable parts. I appreciate the guys who take every rivet off but this is not happening. I did take apart the springs to clean and repaint.

[Project66]

Soda Blasting is not new but seems to be catching on more. I got David from Carolina Soda Blasters to give the truck a cleaning http://carolinasodablaster.com/. This is crazy stuff. He is doing it in stages so I can keep up.
The crazy thing is you can stand right by the cab and you may get some soda in your mouth but it is ok. This is great for the neighbors. They don't have to dust off their back decks after you finish. The metal after it was blasted was like it was right off the assembly line. you could even see the spot weld heat marks.

Here we are before....







Here is after

[Project66]

Cleaning and cleaning and cleaning. The soda blasting does great work but there is still the hard hand labor that goes into any project as all of you know. Because it is so gentle you may have to do some extra work getting out the seam sealer. I used an ice pick and the wire wheel to remove the old sealer.


The soda blasting made fast work getting off the glue from the dash as well as the rubber setting caulk around the windows


One thing soda blasting doesn't get the deep rust out. It seems to only clean it. I used a product from Home Depot called Prep and Etch by Kleenstrip. This is a phosphoric acid that eats rust and leaves a clean paintable surface. Several applications were applied to finally clean the metal. This stuff is dangerous so you must wear protective gear. Now I sound like your mother!!
The acid must, must- MUST be removed before applying primers. Wash off with water or lacquer thinner or you will not have good results.



Also, if you do the soda route, your metal would be good inside for months but before you epoxy prime you must , must wash the soda off with hot dish water and then wash again. The soda leaves a slimy residue that will not just go away with regular metal cleaner / degreaser .
My face felt slimy when I washed it after soda blasting. I spoke to tech support about using their epoxy over soda blasting and they told me horror stories about guys who just washed it down with wax degreaser.

[Project66]

Epoxy is on!
One of the scariest things is washing off the raw metal cab after soda blasting. I washed it with Dawn dish soap and hot water twice. Then a good rinse and into the heated garage.
I purchased some epoxy primer from SPI. I heard nothing but good about their products and the tech support was awesome, 7 day tech support! My cable company barely does that!
Note: Before I applied epoxy I used the DA with 80 grit per the instructions over the whole cab


This stuff is awesome. You can do body filler over this in just a day.

So here we are

[Thomas1190]

This is great!! Loving your project. Keep the photos coming! This going to be a sweet 66 SWB when its all done.

[totten]

Great start.

[Max]

Great work so far! Been using SPI stuff for years now. Not a single complaint.

[kstones63]

Welcome from Phoenix.
It looks like you have a great truck to start with. Keep the pics coming, we like them.

Kevin

[Alfs64]

Welcome from El Paso! Excellent start on a awesome
build.

[HawaiiKid]

Is it going to be a full resto or a resto mod? Lookin great so far!

[Project66]

Is it going to be a full resto or a resto mod? Lookin great so far!

Not sure yet. I have been looking at the 4.6 engines and a mustang II IFS. Love to get a crown vic and narrow it about 4-6 inches. I was thinking about finding a rack that was 4 inches narrow then cut the crossmember to match the rack. I need to keep in mind the Ankerman angle. Color is the thing too...Some colors just don't go with a full resto IMO.
Right now looking at the two tone greens like Chip Foose has on his ***y sedan.
Here is a F100 with similar colors
PPG Mercedes-Benz Brilliant Silver applied to the bottom half, PPG Honda Galapagos Green to the top half.