65 Stepside "Dust N Rust"

[RustNdust65]

Hey everyone,

Ive been inspired by alot of members trucks in the projects and builds section so i decided to start my own, im a long way from finished but i guess so is everyone else.

So to start out i couldnt think of a cool name for my slick project build. The only one that came to mind was Nightmare! but not in a cool, scary street machine way. This truck has been a labor of love. Some days I think its the best truck ever created and some other days i want to push it out to the end of the driveway and staple the title to the front seat. In all seriousness i really do love this truck it doesnt look like much, and quite honestly there isnt much there anymore, but i wouldnt trade it.

Ive had this truck for about 7 months now and every time i work on it, it throws me a curveball. Always learning something new, mostly what not to do. Either way its been an experience so far.

Feb 2016-
I knew i wanted an F100 for close to about a year. I wasnt really set on the year. I like 61-71ish. I had my eye on one in Iowa. It was a 69 swb banana yellow with a 390 and a C6. Nice truck, GREAT price. Seeing as i live in St. Louis, MO It was located about 6 hours north of me. I called the guy selling and asked if he could hold it for me for 2 days until saturday so that i could get my trailer and come get it. I offered and extra $200 for his trouble. He said sure, come Saturday guess who didnt answer there phone all day. Well day wasted...Good thing i had a backup plan. I wish i could of kept the ad. Long story short it was listed as a "1965 f100 stepside, 351c/C6, a little rust in common spots but runs and drives...$2500...i Jumped at the offer and headed to Farmland, IN the next day.

When i got there 6 hours later I quickly discovered the 351c was not...it was a 351m. Not a complete deal breaker but not thrilled about it. Like promised the truck started and moved....about 7 feet before dying and flooding the engine. After alot of patience and cranking of the starter I got it up on the trailer, strapped it down got the title in hand, after negotiating on the price we where both pleased and i brought it back to St. Louis.


I spent the first couple days just staring at it, then slowly started taking it apart. I didnt really have a plan yet just knew that i didnt want the 351m and there was a good amount of rusty things that needed fixing.


I started with the grill for the time being. I didnt like how it came out and plan on re-doing it but at least its some what sealed for the time being so it wont rust as fast i guess haha

March 2016-
I finally have a plan at this point its kind of a loose plan but better then nothing. I knew i wanted to lower it, not bag it but just lower it, change the engine and fix the rust.
Fixed the "wont run longer then 10 seconds" problem and threw it up on craigslist, that night someone came by and bought it, of course i gave him a full disclosure and he was ok with it. It ran like a champ and almost thought about keeping it at that point. But i took it out the next day and it was gone.





It was at this point that my "simple project truck" snowballed out of control. And also at this moment i realized it was going to be a love hate relationship with this truck.



every bolt that held the front end on came off in this fashion.


I knew i had my work cut out as soon as the front came off

[RustNdust65]

April 2016-

Well i guess i drank the Kool Aid...Decided to do the Crown Vic front end, or at least start the swap.


There are a couple of times that i forgot to take out the phone and snap a picture, or i simply couldnt take a picture. Kind of like the next one. I had to use my Oxy torch to remove the old suspension, only because i had everything removed and unbolted except the damn trailing arm castle nuts with the cotter pins...well this truck has spent the last decade outside in Indiana. They where rusted so bad i tried every trick in the book to gett them off. Heat, impact wrench, more heat, pliers, you name it i tried...i got so feed up i drove an hour to work grabbed my work truck with the acetylene torch and drove it home torched those SOB's off and drove it back to work. Needless to say i was in trouble with the wife becuase the entire house smelled of burning rubber for a week from the trailing arm bushings that melting and dripped hot molten rubber on the garage floor...oops.


You can see the water on the floor from said burning rubber haha

[RustNdust65]

April/May 2016-

The next few weeks i dont really get much of anything done with the truck what time i do have to sneak off to the garage one or both of my sons are right behind me to go "work on Mater"...thanks boys
Well if you come ask me questions in my garage i put you to work. Just joking he actually asks me to go work on it alot which i think is amazing. Beats playing video games all day i guess.


June 2016-
Not a damn thing was done to the truck, Work was beyond busy and it was 93 degrees at midnight for most of the month. No thanks

July 2016-

Ok took a month off time to get going again. Started by welding in a brace across the front. At this time i was deciding how i was going to remove the crossmember. Sure my torch would work but honestly it was way to damn hot for that thing and the only tip i had for it was pretty broad, i use it to cut >1 inch steel for my job and would of really preferred a nice pencil size flame. So i decided to use a sawzall and a cutoff wheel, it worked surprisingly well



At this point i took another two weeks off due to work and spending time with the family.

July/August 2016-

After flip-flopping about what engine and trans combo i want to run, which i still havent made up my mind, i decided at the time that the Big Block bolt pattern C6 had to go. Decided to snap a pic and post to craigslist, a few days later had a reply..."im interested i can be there in three days"...sweet.

OK so get ready for this one.....
After stairing at the trans in the tunnel i was trying to decide the best way to remove it. I didnt want to remove the crossmember in fear of breaking or stripping more bolts so i decided using an engine hoist and just swing it out...ok we have a plan.
So the plan was to get the boys in bed and go out into the garage swing the tranny out, clean it up a little and be back inside in the shower by 9pm. HA!!
My oldest (6 years old) "hey dad i wanna work on Mater".
Sure i have to take this tranny out way not get an extra hand even if it is tiny. So out to the garage we go. I roll the hoist out and start getting the chains out. After finding the right size bolt to fit through the bellhousing and chain my son is getting restless god forbid he sit still for 10 mins. So he wants to go run around the neighborhood. I tell him to go inside if he doesnt want to help. Well wifey comes out and gives me an ear full. At this point my 3 year old comes out and wont go back inside, he wants dad but hates loud noises and or basically anything to do with the truck. After I remove the shifter linkage, the transmount bolt, tie up the drive shaft so as to when it slides out the tailhousing. Im ready to go! but every 30 seconds i have to poke my head out of the garage to make sure the little one is still coloring or digging in the dirt. Well 6 year old comes back out and three year old goes inside. Ok we are in business now. I brief him before we start. "so because this big thing is so far back and the chain thingys are long this big thing (tranny) is going to swing toward you as you jack up the hoist, I promise it wont hit you as long as you stand back here i have to go under and make sure it clears the crossmember" so he starts lifts and im under the truck with a jack getting it over the trans mount. Well i cleared the mount and at that second the rear chain i had wrapped around the tailhousing slips off!!! the Tranny indo's tailshaft straight down luckly not hitting but dumping ever ounce of fluid on the ground. Now i couldnt give you the exact capacity of ATF but my god!! it was close to about 15quarts that evacuated out the tailhousing in less then 20 seconds. Im slipping and cussing trying not to fall grabbing shop towels. He looks at me completely white and says "daddy that looks like blood..i dont feel so good". GREAT! i have an ocean of atf now seeping under my wifes car and COVERING my garage floor and my son is about to pass out because of the "blood" i grab him and run him inside put him on a chair in the kitchen and get him a drink then run out to the garage grabbing the brand new unopened box of very expensive kitty litter my wifes cats just have to have and pour it out on the fluid, doesnt help much haha. At this time my wife runs out giving me the death stair, could it be from the kitty litter or the mess or our son almost fainting...nope, apparently when he went in to take a break, he also got into the bath and failed to mention that to me. So its 30 mins past bed time hes filthy again i wasted $20 kitty litter and i still have a red pond in my garage. What could i do but grab a beer, give him another quick bath put him to bed then run to the store to replace and purchase alot more cheaper kitty litter. Got home and started cleaning. 2 hours later i can finally get to the tranny and enjoy the trophy i just ripped from the truck and would be selling to fund more truck parts. First order of business, this thing is dingy! It took about one scrap with a putty knife to realize i was screwed. I entrusted in the previous owner from day one and it has screwed me. The engine was not what he said, the rear end was not what he said hell even the year of the truck is unknown at this time, I forgot to mention when removing the engine the motor mounts werent even bolted to the frame, they literally where just set on the pedestals with no nut on the bolt! So shame on me for not thoroughly investigating the tranny before posting an ad. I called the guy immediately and apologized, lucikly he was understanding.

After an entire can of degreaser and scrub brush


Well turns out i have a Mid 70's FMX


Not sure if im going to keep it. I hear people either love them or absolutely hate them. Either way moving on.

Time to remove these stupid parts of the crossmember



August/September 2016-

Well finally looked into the engine and trans i removed from the truck and the shoty work to get it there. The engine was from a 73/74 torino and the grans was from a 73 LTD. Who ever performed this swap butchered the truck terribly. Including both passanger and driver side framerails i welded close 29 holes....unbelievable. And that was only on the horizontal parts of the frame between where the rad support holes and where and a foot and a half back. and im not exaggerating. 29 Holes, sorry if they are hard to see but basically every where that is shiney was once a drilled hole





And this is how it is sitting right now in my garage


But luckily I am going this week to pick up the crown vic front end, im sure nobody really cares because we have all seen it done before, but im excited to get going again.

[jkimbrel65]

Your wrong We all like seeing one saved.Please keep the pics and updates coming.And we'll help if we can


Mike

[shipwrecked]

You said the truck is a 65- you got a grill from what appears a 1962.

Have you looked at the door tag? Have you found the frame vin yet? It is right near where the front right fender was- right by where you plan to add your crown vic suspension.

The labor of love and desire to shove the truck down the driveway are certainly some feelings I have daily.
I got home from work at 0200 and was in the garage for 20 minutes sanding the dash while the pups took a potty. I seem to spend way more time out in the garage then doing adult things like laundry....

keep the pics coming and glad your boy wasn't hurt in his fainting spell.

[RustNdust65]

Hey shipwrecked,

Yes I have looked into decoding the mess of years on this truck and that's a story in its own.
So the Title and Door Jam VIN reflect the same number thank god. The truck is titled as a 65, but after looking up the VIN it comes back as a 64. The VIN on the passenger side frame rail is no longer there...I can see where the PO ground the metal down to install some sort of half ass motor mount for his engine swap.

I did find the partial VIN about two feet back on the same section of frame rail. The only part I can make out is about 2 or three letters and I've ground, and sanded, and wire wheeled to try to see more but no such Luck.

At first I thought that maybe it was titled wrong but it did have twin I beams and correct me if I'm wrong I thought they started that in 1965.

My best guess is (maybe a bit far-fetched) it started production in1964 and ended in 1965???
Either way...oh and the grill...apparently it was in an accident because the hood and driver side fender are also not original. The original color was carrabien turquoise, the fender and hood where red and the PO rattle canned the entire truck Chaulk blue.

It's a mess for sure but I love it. Although I hate seeing it just sit there I'm taking my time with it.

Any other ideas where I might be able to find another VIN on the truck?

Thanks

[SteveCanup]

I love the tranny removal story...I have 2 grandsons (the youngest is now 7...the oldest 11) and you described them to a "T." I had to read the story to my wife and (sorry) we both laughed. We understand your pain. The grandsons usually visit during the summer for a week each and they will help me work on my '64... as long as there is no blood involved. The difference is that my wife loves my old truck. Good luck with your build and keep the pics and stories coming. I have 3 or 4 build threads that I keep up with on here....now, I can follow yours. I am going back and forth about the crown vic transplant...not sure yet.


Steve-

[RustNdust65]

Thanks Steve,

Yea looking back it's pretty funny and at the time all I could think was " is this really happening" My two sons are now 7 and 3 and are night and day different haha. For instance my oldest is really learning all his tools and he's getting pretty proficient at it and my youngest wants to treat my tools like lightsabers haha. I'm sure he will get into it though

[orangeRcode]

I beams were 65-66. If it has steps inside the cab and solid front end it should be a 61-64.

Great stories and play by play. Keep em coming with pics.

I feel you about the wife. My kids are older but I drag the boy out to help from time to time. He's 13 and one of the main reasons I bought the truck. I caught the Mustang car bug when I was about his age and he had shown some interest in trucks. Unfortunately, he would rather spend time on the computer gaming that being out getting greasy and busting knuckles with me. Hopefully, that will change in time.

[RustNdust65]

Thanks orangeRcode,

I guess that answers the debate then. It has no step in the cab and has/had Ibeams up front. Thank you for the info.

Unfortunately my son hasn't been able to help the past month. I only have one welding helmet and I've been patching holes in the frame and some body work which I will post pics of in a day or two. He loves the actylene torch though haha. He asks once a week if we can burn and cut anything else out yet, wish my Home owners association had the same passion! I can't even park my work truck in my neighborhood so I have to make special trips for the torch.

[orangeRcode]

Can't park your work truck in the drive? Man that's harsh. I don't think I could deal with a HOA like that. My neighbor is a top drive tech and parks his 1 ton with service bed in his drive. At any given time there may be my wife's car, my dd truck, my 2 daughter's mustangs and my Slick in the drive.

I did take a little bit of heat for having a fox body mustang in my drive for a week while I parted it out. That was actually after I pulled the rear end so there was no way it would move. Had the shell hauled off when my neighbor got a complaint. Apparently, they thought the car was in his drive. He told them to mind their own business and came and told me I probably needed to get it moved.

[The Big M]

The Twin I, as orangeRcode mentioned, indicates 65-66. As do the cab mounts and inner fenders.

Great story! At least it has personality. And for future reference you want the cheap non-clumping kitty litter, not the pricey stuff.

[RustNdust65]

Yea my HOA is a real pain. I have an f550 work truck and can't even drive it in the neighborhood I did once and was threatened with a $300 fine because the roads can't handle the weight. After pointing out the trash trucks and school buses weight a bit more then mine they just get pissy and it wasn't worth the headache considering I just moved In less then a year ago.

[RustNdust65]

Hey everyone! So its been awhile since I posted any kind of update about my truck but alot has happened in the past two months. To start this off we found out we are having another baby. This makes number three and im hoping for another boy. But either way...here we go!

Ok so ive been prepping for a CV IFS for a few months now and its finally underway.



Finally found the right deal. Everybody is trying to sell these for upwards of $600! Bought mine from a farmer about two hours west of St. Louis, MO for $250



Mocked up under the frame in desperate need of cleaning



Locating bosses drilled and a couple stacks of washers to space the brackets for the time being.



Bolt holes drilled and spacer tubes welded in...this was a bit tricky though. Apparently i got the frame a bit to hot welding one of these in and i started to warp the frame. Luckily i was able to beat it back straight.



i still need to grind down the steering input shaft and cut off the old rag joint on the end of the steering shaft.



Rough cut out of the trailing arm brackets. I didnt get a pic of it but i ground it all down and drilled the holes so thats ready to go.



In the mean time i decided to Flip the rear axle. It went relativley smooth besides removing the original leaf spring eye bushing (sawzall, cutoff wheel, and 6" c clamp)...hole lotta cussing with this one. The balancing act required to get this thing lined up and raised and put back together was not fun and took alot longer then expected. But im happy with the ride height. I still plan to take it back apart and clean and paint everything. just wanted it in there while i did the front end.



i already have adaptors for the rear to match the bolt pattern but I still need to pick up some 17" CV wheels. I have to get all 4 because my front end came with 16" wheels and they barely clear the brakes.



I know the lighting is bad but i think everyone gets the idea.

So realistic plan for the next year is obviously finish the IFS which will probably happen the next two weeks. Then the steering then the stopping. Im going to have to come up with something for a radiator support. I really dont want to spend $500 to have one shipped. might just make my own who knows.

[SteveCanup]

Thanks for the update...and congrats on the upcoming new addition to the family. Prayers that it is healthy.

[RustNdust65]

Hey everyone,

So its been a long time since ive given any kind of update. Its been a rather busy half a year since my last posts.

After I flipped my rear axle last December i decided to go a different route. After doing the CV ifs swap i decided why not have IRS!

Disclaimer: Although I am happy with it now I can not advise doing this as it is a serious amount of work. Although it is pretty cool to have independent suspension all the way around and disk brakes at all four corners I cant say id do this again. But for those of you that do want to do it ill help out as much as possible. The only real reason i went this route is because my ford 9inch needed more work (aka $$$) then was really worth it. It had an open diff 3.00 gears with no brake shoes and messed up brake lines from MC back. The seals were trashed and every bushing in the rear needed to be replaced.

The IRS setup is from a 91 Thunderbird SC. 3.73 posi with 10in brakes. I got this for $150 so why not.



After i removed the bed, the rear axle and the crossmember i had to come up with a way to make upper spring perches/mounts for the crossmember. this was not fun and took alot of measuring and eyeballing it. but turned out just fine i think



Another reason i would kind of advice against this is the fact that a majority of these ford rears have problems of bolts breaking off inside the bushings. Wouldnt be a big problem except that Ford decided to discontinue making these so they cannot be purchased anywhere including the dealer. So i had to get creative after i "unstuck" mine.



Since i cant buy them i made new ones out of Polyurethane and they came out actually pretty good, made a HUGE mess, but i thinik they'll do.



Now unfortunetly my phone/camera broke and they following week there were no pics, im sorry.



for fathers day my wife basically told me to spend some money on the truck!!! so i tried to get the best and most for the budget she gave me!! New Power stop pads and rotors all around, NICCOP brake line, New Master Cylinder and Wilwood Prop Valve! plus shocks and few other little things here and there.



Things were finally starting to take shape and turned my attention back to the Cab...I hate body work.



I will get a better picture of it with the bed back on but it lowered the rear about another 1.5-2in more then the axle flip.



Before i start back on the body work again I really need some wheels. So those should be coming up next then i'll decide if i need to address the elephant in the room and start on the cab or mock up and rebuild an engine/trans

[Custumcab66]

Looks Great! I thought long and hard about that IRS for my 66slick but for now im going with an explorer rear axle and i think i'm going to fabricate a three link rear suspension for it similar to what i used on dirt cars in the past. IRS is intriguing though. Love this Thread!

[RustNdust65]

Thank you Custumcab66. If I had to do it again I'd definitely go solid axle in the rear with some type of 4link coilover setup. Either way it was a really good learning experience. I refused to buy the prefabbed kits some guy in Florida sells for $400.

[RustNdust65]

Here a better picture of what the rear drop will get you.

This is with the truck level. Granted it doesnt have the wheels on the front ive put it on jack stands where it should sit once loaded on the ground. It is pretty low, that spare tire in the picture will not slide under the frame. I didnt want it too low but this is the perfect ride height that i wanted.

For the record the CV front end is the civilian version so the springs are softer and i cut one coil out of the thunderbird springs in the rear.
It was alot of trial and error to get it to sit correct but im happy with it now.

[shipwrecked]

Looks nice!