Sold my T stuff recently and thought an old pickup might be cool. Today I looked at a '61 Ford shortbox, unibody Custom Cab. It's bone stock with the six-cylinder and three-speed column shift. Same owner since 1981 but it hasn't been licensed since '92. He has had it running since then though. When I stopped to look he was freshening up the ignition (coil, solenoid, and fresh battery) but I'd imagine it'll need the carb and tank flushed out. It sounds like a pretty good deal for $1,500 (non negotiable...I tried) since it looks like a good weekend of work would have it running, but the body has be a bit concerned. The lower front fenders have been patched and will need it again (which brings up a question: are these fenders 'special' like the doors?) the inner door jamb by what would normally be the cab corners are rotted out, and both door sills need quite a bit of work. Sorry I didn't get any pics to better illustrate my concerns, but does this still sound like an alright deal? My intention would be to lower it, do bodywork as I go, and have it as just a cruiser with the stock powertrain. Any suggestions from the unibody guys would be very much appreciated! Thanks, -Marc.
Front fenders hood and grille are 61 to 66, so no worries there. The floor/body mount areas are almost always rotted away, the defrost vent lets mud and leaves pile up in there. if the box isn't too bad, and the torque box (under the bed where it meets cab) aren't too gone you're in business. in my area a 1500 dollar truck is really hard to find, so I'd jump on it
Here in Texas I have never seen one below around $2500 needing floors replaced, etc. Id say $1500 is a great deal...for sure if it has the damn tailgate!
No tailgate unfortunately. It was a child of the '90s, so it has a 'Pro Net' where the tailgate should be. I'll have to double check the torque boxes. I'm a noob where these are concerned...are those the boxes basically where the cab corners would normally be? Yeah I think I've convinced myself I need it!
torque box will be obvious when you crawl under it. Not a cab corner, but a literall box running side to side under the bed where it attaches to the cab. usually filled with goop and rusted to all get out. I removed a good portion of mine, mostly to keep it from collecting more goop and causing future rust. If I ever pull the truck off the frame I'll replace it
Thanks Gearhead, in that case I think I already looked at it. There was a hole through the outside of the pickup box there, and another at the rear of the door jamb, and YES it was full of rust! So I'm guessing these were in place mostly to help prevent cracking between the cab and box? I looked at a couple suppliers and it seems all the sheet metal is available repro to patch her up with the exception of the holes near the drip rail and the aforementioned door jamb. It'll need lower door skins, lower front fenders, both front floors and both door sills. Aside from that it looks like mostly flat or lightly curved steel so I don't anticipate a big problem. I'm going back to talk to the owner within a few days, I'll see what he says. Thanks guys! -Marc.
https://royboyproductions.smugmug.com/Cars/2015-1/2015-Hot-Rod-Hundred/i-93mGdx9/A I helped a good friend get this one back on the road. It has a M2 and an axle flip with a notch. They are seriously fun trucks, draw a bunch of attention, and are pretty straightforward to work on. If they are rusty, they are RUSTY, so go in with both eyes open. This one has quite a backstory for us. The previous owner (Josh) was the life-long best friend of the current owner (Travis), and worked with me for about 15 years. He died at the age of 34 due to a tumor at the base of his brain. It was a huge loss to us that were his co-workers, but even more to Travis. The truck was Josh's first car, and was built like a 16 year old would build a first car in the 90s. Josh then commuted in it for the next 18 years or so. Travis wanted to buy the truck from Josh's parents, but hesitated because he didn't know how to ask, so another co worker broke the ice and a deal was struck. Travis elected to keep the truck cosmetically where Josh left it, but it was not built very well, so we pulled up a lot of the mechanicals to better condition and changed it to match Travis' style (the wheel/tire/lowering part). The whole build was done using "Joshtina" where we left it all a bit rough and in the style of the broke 16 year old Travis remembers. It is one of the cooler things I've had the privilege of working on, and a fitting tribute to our friend Josh.
Nostrebor that is one of the best memorials I think could have been done for your friend. Every time y'all see the truck you will see Josh.
Great builders, I have had two of them. The first thing you do is put in bear claw latches otherwise every bump has potential to pop open the doors.
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