Every restoration does not have to be a Camaro or Mustang. This 1977 Ford F-150 is the perfect example. We started on the truck just a few months ago with some basic mechanical maintenance. Replacing tie rods, kingpins, resealing, and painting the engine. We had the transmission and rear end rebuilt to ensure long term reliability. The radio has been converted to AM/FM with an Mp3 jack. We removed the wiring and thoroughly inspected all plugs, terminals, and wires. This truck was in process of having an aftermarketair conditioning system installed when it was decided to repaint body. The old Ford truck started as a partial restoration and though the progression of work the job grew and grew.
Sometimes the stories and memories are what make an old car or truck priceless. Matthew is building this truck in memory of his late father. Matthew remembers this truck from his childhood. Camping trips, picking up materials for his Eagle Scout projects, and just riding next to dad on that bench seat are what Matthew remembers the most. He is not the first to attach sentimental feelings to a vehicle. He’s also not the first that has restored a vehicle for that reason. The memories of that old Ford are what make this truck special.
You can see from the photos where this truck started, with the greasy 300ci engine.
The difference show up after the engine was pulled, resealed, and painted. The 300ci six cylinder engine was still running strong, so we decided that a reseal, fresh gas, and a tune up will make the truck run like the day it was new.
We are now in the process of stripping the paint. We sould have the old faded red paint down to bare metal by the end of the week.
We know that Matthew is excited to get behind the wheel of his dad’s old Ford and we can’t wait to give him that opportunity. We want to thank Matthew and his family for preserving this truck and giving us the opportunity to get it back on the road again.
We’re moving right along with the body and paint work on the 1977 Ford F-150. This old truck was amazingly solid and straight. Old vehicles like this are usually pretty hard to come by especially trucks. Old trucks were used for work or hauling and for the most part not kept up as nice as a luxury sports car. By the looks of thebare metal body on this old Ford, you would think this was a high end sports car. Only just a few dents and dings along with some minor surface rust areas that were easily media blasted clean.
The truck has now made it into the booth to be acid etch primed and sealed. For best adhesion the etch primer is sprayed over the bare metal. Each material being sprayed posses different properties and used for differ applications. The acid etch primer is able to “bite” into the bare metal where the sealer alone is not able to do this. On the flip side, the etch primer remains rather pours while the urethane properties of the sealer do not. Since the sealer is not porous it does not allow moisture to penetrate to the metal cause flash or surface rust.
While the Ford was in the booth the owner Matthhew stoped in. As a shop we encourage this. It allows for everyone to be involved and to be a part of the process rather than just a bystander. We are not only restoring memories of vehicles of the past we are, creating new memories as we bring an old classic back to life.
During the next stages of the project the minor body work will be completed and the truck will be primed and sanded for paint. Only a few minor dents will need to be repaired and with a though block sanding, this truck will be ready for a fresh new coat of red.
One of the most exciting stages of any restoration is seeing the vehicle in paint. Well here it is, a fresh new paint job on the the F-150. It’s been etched, sealed, body worked, primed, painted, sanded and buffed.
You can see the many stages and steps that are involved in every paint job that we do. We first start off with stripping the old paint. Stripping is the only way we can really assure we were not going to run into paint problems down the road. The next step is the etch and sealing of the metal. The etch primer uses an acid to bond to the metal and the sealer creates a water proof coating as a good base for the body work.
Once the body work been completed, the truck is moved back into the booth for a few coats of primer. The high build primer fills imperfections and creates a uniform surface to sand and smooth for paint. The primer also gives another chance to find and fix another dents and dings you may find in the process.
After the vehicle has been completely sanded, it is once again ready for the paint booth. Finish sanding starts at around 220 grit and ends at around 500 to 600 grit with gradual steps along the way. It is remasked to avoid overspray on any unwanted parts. Another coat of sealer, 2-3 coats of color and 2-3 coats of clear give a vehicle and updated durable finish.
A high quality paint job would not be complete without sanding and buffing. The clear coat is sanded starting at 1000 to 1200 grit sand paper working your way up to 3000 grit. The clear is then buffed back to a shine using different combinations of compounds and buffing pads. This process is what can give a new paint job that look thats miles deep. A high quality product and a highly skilled painter will give any old car, truck, or hot rod a slick new finish.
It’s time for the 1977 Ford F-150 to make it’s way back home. After we went though this thing mechanically, include a new brake system, full engine reseal, transmission rebuild, rear end rebuild, new fuel system, new cooling system, and adding aftermarket upgrades like power locks and air conditioning. We had this old truck ready for the road. Since it was running so nice, why not paint it?
The truck was stripped down to bare metal, etched, sealed, body worked, primed, and painted. The exterior included new front and rear bumpers, new weather strip, new grill surround and inserts. All of these parts purchased from LMC.
The interior was very basic, only getting a seat cover from NPD and a new steering wheel.
The old truck drives just as good as it looks and the technicians here have done just a fantastic job with this one. We hope to see this truck on the road for years to come and we are happy to have had the opprotunity to restore the memories for another client.
