Need your opinion PLEASE!

[Country]

About 3 years ago I purchased a 1966 ford f100 custom cab. Truck is 100% original with title. It has a 352 and a water cooled automatic transmission. Truck was a one owner and had 40 thousand miles on it. The owner purchased the truck when he retired in 1965. I have some really neat documentation regarding the history, miles of the truck along with the original owners manual. Long story short there is no doubt that this trucks mileage is correct. The core support, inner fenders,hood,cab are in great shape. The passenger side of the truck is straight and has a tool box in the bed. Its a long bed. The driver side fender is messed up (I do have a replacement) and the driver door needs attention. The driver side bed has a small but long crease about 3 to 4 feet long that would need to be fixed by a good body man. Tail gate is dented but I have a perfect one stashed and ready to be installed.Bed trim needs replaced. Ive put about 7 thousand miles on the truck since Ive owned it. Its now getting to the point were it has slowly deteriorated to the point that the engine,transmission, brakes,cosmetics need attention. The paint, windshield and door seals need replaced as well. It basically needs a driver quality restoration.

I also acquired a 66 short bed with title. The cab, inner fenders, core support are rust bombs and would require alot of work. Basically I have a good bed with a ok bed floor with a frame and title. Has a Ford 9 with 3.23 gears. I have access to another short bed floor that is perfect. So was thinking of replacing the floor and combining the long bed cab forward.

Ive ran the numbers and basically the cost to do either truck would be the same.

I keep flopping back and forth on this. Should I kill a long bed with a history and combine it with the shortbed frame and box and do a frankentruck short bed.
Both trucks would be used as semi daily drivers. Of course when finished the short bed would worth be much more.......
so what would you do????

[bruceandersson]

All the documentation stuff is really only useful if you are going to sell the truck at a major auction after a six figure restoration. Having cobbled a couple of short beds together, be prepared for a lot of effort to replace a whole bed floor. There are dozens of spot welds to deal with. I am not sure about the value of a finished truck in short vs long. The short bed will sell faster, but not sure for how much more. The price for either will depend on the quality of the work done. Build the truck you want.

[banjopicker66]

Short answer: My opinion is that unless you have your heart set on a SWB, restore the LWB because it is in better shape to start with. It will take less work to get more enjoyment out of the truck and the project. (The history you have with the LWB is great, by the way, but unless you do a concours-type restoration, it adds little value.)

Reasoning: All the work the LWB needs now will need to be done if you move it to the SWB frame. Both trucks are the same age, which means that things like brakes and engines on both of them will all need some sort of attention. Even though it sounds like a wash, transplanting the LWB cab will take quite a bit of extra work. I also think the rust in the SWB cab is indicative of hidden cancer rust in the SWB frame and bed that will increase the job's work, and cost more in both money and frustration in a job that ends up expanding unexpectedly.
Finally, the value of a restored SWB over a LWB is minimal. Maybe in another 20 or 30 years, but not now, not really.

Additional thoughts on fixing the LWB:
You can drive it while doing most of the repairs.
You can do the repairs incrementally.
You can use the SWB for some parts like the rear axle, for example.
All the upgrades that you might consider, such as power steering and power disc brakes will essentially be the same (you didn't mention what engine and transmission are in the SWB).
The SWB is more popular, but doesn't necessarily have more restored "value" - but you could probably sell it as it is now for some good change, whereas LWB frames go to the scrapyard a lot.

Just my opinion, and best of luck to you.

[64 f100]

For a Driver, fix the one that is easiest. You can always find another donor and fix the short bed truck. If, you start by destroying the good truck then you will have both trucks down and not be able to drive either. May even turn out that you've bitten off more than you wanted to and take many years to complete or finally give up and loose the value of both. Even building a driver takes a lot of money, even when you do it all, if you do it right. Just to complete the cab and doors I estimate 500 to over 1,000 in new parts, depending. Once you start a project like this, it takes a lot of personal time or a lot of money and someone willing to do the job. Shop time runs 45 to 75$/hr. . If, planning on doing it yourself, I would say what is your situation? Married , good full time job, plenty of spare money, how much spare time? I suggest doing both, but find a better short bed truck for parts. Repair panels are not cheap. All I can say is, look before you leap. If you need the truck, I would not tear it apart. It may be years before it's back together, and lots of money. Things have a way of snowballing. Some questions that need asking. Do you have a place inside that can be dedicated to the restoration of the truck? What is your budget? Have you started by getting needed parts for the restoration in advance? You have done some things, like the fender. A lot depends on your age and abilities. Do a reality check on what you can spend and in what time frame. Not unreasonable to expect the restoration to take years.

Rich

[Truckrat]

Country, These guys like Banjo and 64 have both been there and done that.
I myself have been there too and like has been said, if one is already a driver, I would
keep it a driver as long as possible. Driving them is a hoot no matter how long the bed is.
As far as fenders and doors, You can swap them out easy enough without taking the
whole truck apart. The crease in the bed can be worked with it still on the frame.
A good body guy can hammer and dolly it out or use a stud gun and pull it out.
More than one way to skin a cat! I drove a Unibody around for a long time while doing
body work on it. Had a long gouge in the passenger door I had to hammer and dolly
out and weld up. Was kinda fun when you are in traffic and nobody wants to get near
ya because you are driving an old truck. Especially one with some rust and Patina and
a few dents and dings. Drove mine that way for a couple of years as I worked on it. TR

[Country]

Appreciate the input guys.
I did a fairly extensive frame off restoration a few years ago that was a sentimental thing. Unfortunately it sets in the garage under a tarp and goes to a car show a few times a year.
You can see pics of it in my profile/gallery.
I really do think that keeping the blue long bed is the smart move given your guys exp with this and input. I want to use it as I currently do as a semi daily driver. I guess I had short bed fever.