New Member saying hello! 1961 F100 Unibody short bed
Posted: September 8, 2016, 12:21 am
Hello all! I'm Matt from Des Moines, Iowa. I'm 34, Moved up here from Sherman, TX (hence the screen name) and always been a big fan of anything old Ford. I restore vintage motorcycles and classic cars in my free time. I can't tell you how excited I am to be here! After a 4 1/2 year search for my very own F100 I finally grabbed one off an old farmer here in Iowa. It was originally a Nebraska truck that ended up going into storage in 1992. The farmer retired, moved to Iowa and brought the truck with him. Being he was down sizing he had no place for the truck and that's where I came in. Finally! I have my very own '61 Uni short bed! The exact year and bed I wanted.
Info on the truck: The farmer said he didn't drive it on snow often at all, he had a old F250 4x4 he used for that, this was more of his running into town and light duty truck. The cab mounts are rough, the floor where they meet is worse, but I'm not too worried about that as I have done a full rust removal on a '66 Mustang 'vert over the past year. We're talking new front and rear torque boxes, new inner rockers, new 'vert support pans, new toe boards, new floor pans, and new rear frame rails (she was bad). I admit it wasn't fun but she's cancer free now and all measurements are spot on (that took some doing). In comparison this truck is muuuuuch better off. The torque box has only surface rust on the bottom and minor pitting on top. there is one spot in the bed where it has rusted through. as for the body, only surface rust...and I like it! It has a 351W in it from a mid 70's LTD with whatever auto trans they came with and it does run and drive, doesn't drive great, old breaks, old bushings etc. Plan to do some research on towing with that trans, no idea if they are capable of that. Have yet to open up the rear to see what gears I'm working with, would like to be able to tow a 1 ton camper.
Plan for now is to replace those cab mounts, floor pans and that spot in the bed. Then make her reliable, would love to add disc breaks, rack and pinion and all of that, but that's for another day. For now how about some pictures!
[EDIT] Tried to attach pictures but it says "Sorry, the board attachment quota has been reached." not sure what that means, but maybe you guys can tell me so I can get them up. Tried making the pics smaller, and lowered quality but no dice. Thanks!
Info on the truck: The farmer said he didn't drive it on snow often at all, he had a old F250 4x4 he used for that, this was more of his running into town and light duty truck. The cab mounts are rough, the floor where they meet is worse, but I'm not too worried about that as I have done a full rust removal on a '66 Mustang 'vert over the past year. We're talking new front and rear torque boxes, new inner rockers, new 'vert support pans, new toe boards, new floor pans, and new rear frame rails (she was bad). I admit it wasn't fun but she's cancer free now and all measurements are spot on (that took some doing). In comparison this truck is muuuuuch better off. The torque box has only surface rust on the bottom and minor pitting on top. there is one spot in the bed where it has rusted through. as for the body, only surface rust...and I like it! It has a 351W in it from a mid 70's LTD with whatever auto trans they came with and it does run and drive, doesn't drive great, old breaks, old bushings etc. Plan to do some research on towing with that trans, no idea if they are capable of that. Have yet to open up the rear to see what gears I'm working with, would like to be able to tow a 1 ton camper.
Plan for now is to replace those cab mounts, floor pans and that spot in the bed. Then make her reliable, would love to add disc breaks, rack and pinion and all of that, but that's for another day. For now how about some pictures!
[EDIT] Tried to attach pictures but it says "Sorry, the board attachment quota has been reached." not sure what that means, but maybe you guys can tell me so I can get them up. Tried making the pics smaller, and lowered quality but no dice. Thanks!
