Picked this beast up at a friend's brother's house, been sitting outside for 19 years. Pressure washed it and got it running. Waiting now to throw parts at it to make it road worthy. Not really going to do much with the body right now, as I plan on using it as a truck. It's all stock except for the floor shifter.

Rob

_________________
KAKAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!

Awesome find with great potential!

Nice find! I'm jealous!

I'm getting ready to throw allot of new parts at it. The biggest issue that i have is finding rims for it, since the ones on it are rotted out and I don't trust them at all. I have to get a new radiator, the old one was too old and had allot of leaks in it, the water pump was clogged at the heater ports, and heater core was/is clogged or the valve is. Going to finish removing the heater box this weekend and fix it. Gas tank needs to be cleaned and fixed, due to some pin holes in it. The bed will get 2x8x8 pine boards in it, since it is the cheapest route for the bed and I will coat it with line-x anyway. I also have to remake all the brake lines and redo all the brakes (it has none right now, and it was FUN getting it off the trailer with no brakes).

Rob

_________________
KAKAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!

Rims are easy- just look for any Dodge or Ford rims that have the 5x4.5 bolt pattern. Since you have a truck you can use 14 or 15 inch rims, or even the 16 inch rims that came on the later Ford Crown Victorias/Mercury Grand Marquises/Lincoln Town Cars.

I say get a new gas tank. Once a gas tank rusts to the point you are seeing pinholes it really isn't worth messing with unless you absolutely can't find a new gas tank.

get new tank and move tank to under truck....much safer than behind seat in cab

Where would one find a new gas tank for this truck? I have looked and looked with no luck.

_________________
KAKAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!

You might need to get creative and use a tank from a later truck or van.

Nice project!

Keep us posted.

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

I'll take some more pics this weekend. The fossil has allot of parts off of it right now.

_________________
KAKAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!

New gas tanks are not available. Used gas tanks are hardly available. I'd sell you the only spare I have, but shipping from WA to Georgia would be ridiculous! I'd say clean it out real well, weld the pinholes up, and seal the inside with a POR15 gas tank kit.

Like Reed said, rims are pretty easy to come by. The 5x4.5" bolt pattern was common for many years. The aftermarket supports it heavily as well. Be careful on the newer Ford 16" rims (crown vic, ranger, explorer, etc), as they changed the offset in '06.

In the bed, if you want to use the factory strips to hold the boards down, I believe you'll need 1x material. If you're just going to fab something up, why not just fit a sheet of 3/4" plywood? Pine won't hold up well to the weather/moisture/heat/etc.

By the way, sweet truck man! Nice work on getting it running, too. It looks in way better shape than the last one I drug home after it had been sitting 15 years!

_________________

_________________
KAKAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!

Pressure washed in all it's patina glory.

_________________
KAKAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!

Tore apart. The whole cooling system is getting re-done. The radiator has 7 splits in it starting from the copper area on the left. Just rotted due to age. Manifolds are coming out too, has a cracked exhaust (have two good spares). Taking the exhaust pipe out and having it redone in 2 1/4 and will run a cherry bomb on it. Found my wheels I want as well and will attempt to repair the gas tank. If that fails I have plan b: A 16 gallon fuel cell. We will see.

_________________
KAKAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!

w w, that has the makings of a super truck,,

take your time,, go through the safety stuff,, brakes, steering..