New Guy Old Truck

[WrongBedDave]

Hi all! New guy here with a 63 F100 "wrong bed" 2wd. Ive had this truck for four years now, i got it as a junior in high school as my first truck. When i bought it it had a 289 with a C4 that had not been well maintained and the interior was all messed up thanks to the PO among other things.



Here's a list of everything I've done so far in no particular order.

Front disc brakes
Fuel cell under the bed

Put in a bench seat out of a 96 F250, still need to get a cover for it


Pulled the tired 289 and dropped in a rebuild 302


Built my own headers and exhaust system




Replaced the old radiator and trans cooler with new aluminum ones


Swapped in a Bronco gauge cluster with a 3 hole dash panel to get the gauge set up I wanted


Ran all new hard lines for the fuel system and the transmission cooler.



Tool box & Flag mount



And the final and probably biggest modification I've had done:

The drip rails are gone!!!!!!




If you want to see more pictures of anything I've done or have any questions just let me know or check out my photobucket album in my signature.

[Anthony]

nice ride!! Welcome to the slickest group on the web from West Virginia!! where do you call home Dave??

[ezernut9mm]

saaaaweeet! welcome to the big show dave.

[dotcentral]

Welcome to the site.

Looks like you have done a good job fixing up your wrong bed.

[unibody madness]

Great pictures,welcome to the site.
Boy does that color bring back memories. I am going back and forth between the original tourqois color, and a white yellow combo with that exact yellow.
Back in 74 my first uni had that exact shade of yellow. It really brightens up with Whites polishing compound and a whole lot of elbow grease, and whole lot smoother than a chrome yellow. Just under the fuzz radar if you know what I mean

[kstones63]

Welcome Dave, It's good to see you here.

Kevin

[WrongBedDave]

Thanks for the warm welcome guys! Home for me is Santa Barbara, CA, technically Isla Vista, CA the college town that goes along with UCSB where its weird to see anyone who drives something thats not an import car let alone an old truck. I had a girl come up to me the other day asking if I drove the truck every day (of course!) and then she complimented me on how "loud" it is. Apparently in the world of camrys and ricers hearing a truck idle from across the street classifies as loud.

[1965fordf100]

Nice ride! Welcome from Nevada!

[ironminer]

sweet truck, I've got a wrong bed and this gives me hope and inspiration! thanks and welcome

[foodstick]

You know I don't think I have ever seen a color on a wrong bed that works that well blending the two different body types..

[WrongBedDave]

You know I don't think I have ever seen a color on a wrong bed that works that well blending the two different body types..

That color is the color the truck was painted when I bought it. In the various conversations I've had with previous owners the truck has always been yellow of various shades (the color of the engine compartment was one). I plan on repainting the truck some day as the paint is chipped quite a bit, but the color will remain close to what it is now.

[Alan Mclennan]

G`Day! and Welcome aboard Dave!, looks like your`ve been busy fixing up the old girl! nice work!!!

[Greg D]

Welcome to Slick 60s.
I like your shaved drip rail,
I did that to my 62 Uni but ended up selling the truck.

[Toyz]

I've got to ask; did ya'll weld up the panels where the drip rails are attached? I finally finished mine, (over the windshield, still assessing the pros and cons of over the doors), but, being a rather poor welder, I don't know that I EVER will do that again. I detest body filler, and don't think that would be a good location for it anyway. Just curious what others have done. Maybe I just need to keep on practicing.
Paul

[mrgoob]

Welcome from North Carolina!

[WrongBedDave]

I've got to ask; did ya'll weld up the panels where the drip rails are attached? I finally finished mine, (over the windshield, still assessing the pros and cons of over the doors), but, being a rather poor welder, I don't know that I EVER will do that again. I detest body filler, and don't think that would be a good location for it anyway. Just curious what others have done. Maybe I just need to keep on practicing.
Paul

I didnt do the work but yes the shop that shaved the drip rails welded up the panels. If you have good weather stripping you shouldnt leak into the cab without the drip rails. That being said i do try to garage it whenever it rains just in case. However i noticed a crack where the body shop glazed over their work so it will be going back to them tomorrow for a fix. Seeing as it was done only 2 months ago Im kinda pissed about that so they better fix it without it coming out of my pocket seeing as it cost $1300 to get it done in the first place

[Greg D]

Paul,
I cut mine about 2" at a time.
I cut, cleaned, reshaped (the panels don't connect perfect), and spot welded a little at a time.
There are a few pics of how I did it in my a build thread on the 62;

viewtopic.php?f=32&t=9003

It's pretty tedious work but not really hard. BTW, I started it with a stick welder & 1/16 rod. The MIG allows you to work faster with less clean up is all. I have maybe moderate welding skills but I'm pretty good with a grinder!

[WrongBedDave]

Paul,
I cut mine about 2" at a time.
I cut, cleaned, reshaped (the panels don't connect perfect), and spot welded a little at a time.
There are a few pics of how I did it in my a build thread on the 62;

viewtopic.php?f=32&t=9003

It's pretty tedious work but not really hard. BTW, I started it with a stick welder & 1/16 rod. The MIG allows you to work faster with less clean up is all. I have maybe moderate welding skills but I'm pretty good with a grinder!

Thats how one of my neighbor did his but I remember something about a couple of sand bags to keep the roof down but that was a Chevy lol

[Gary Seymour]

That is a really nice little truck Wrong Bed Dave. I like the SB-wrong beds. Nice work you've done, too. The shaved drip rails is interesting. I might have to consider this mod.......

[WrongBedDave]

Thanks Gary. The drip rails were almost out of necessity. They were the cheaper option and the rust was getting to the point that I didnt want it to spread more. However I liked the look on other old cars and trucks so I thought I would give it a shot.