'71 F-100 Rehab

[grems4ever]

Hello everyone. I joined the forum last summer before I bought my '71 F-100. I've been working on making the necessary repairs to get it road worthy again. Since the Fordification.com has some of the best resources for these trucks I've yet to find, I decided to share the progress I've made thus far.

Here's what I'm starting with. A pretty much bone stock '71 F-100 Custom. The original 3 on the tree has been replaced with a mid 80's 4 speed overdrive manual and the points have been replaced with a DuraSpark ignition. Other than that, there haven't been many changes from stock. It doesn't look too bad for a truck that has sat since 2000.


Original 360 FE with late model DuraSpark ingnition.


It has the usual set of problems for Ford trucks of this era. Cab mounts are shot...



Floor boards rotted out...



Due to some family and career issues, its taken me a bit to get started on it, but in the last couple of weekends I've started tearing it down to gain access to the areas that need attention. So far I haven't found anything that has made me give up on it.


I'm trying to document the progress with pictures so I have some reference when I put it all back together so updates should be forth coming. I apologize if the pictures are a bit blurry - I have essential tremors that make taking a clear picture a bit of a challenge. I only usually get to work on it on weekends when the weather cooperates, but I'll update as often as possible.

[flyboy2610]

Looks like a pretty decent truck to start out with. For the cab mounts, I would strongly recommend getting them from Dennis Carpenter, http://www.dennis-carpenter.com/, as they sell the original style mounts. They are not cheap, they will cost at least twice what the stamped steel pie pans that some vendors pawn off as cab mounts will! But they are worth it. Order some floor pans while you're there also.
Keep the pics coming! We'll help however we can.

[grems4ever]

Overall its in great shape - it was driven up on the trailer I used to get it home. The guy I bought it from was getting ready to send it to the scrapper because he needed the cash. He sold it to me for scrap value because he didn't really want to crush it. He felt pretty bad that it had so much rust - he thought it was in better shape. I, on the other hand, am thrilled that none of the key structural elements of the cab were rusted out.

I've heard that the Dennis Carpenter mounts are superior, but my working budget is on life support. A relative sent me the stamped cab mounts he's had laying around for a while when he heard what I was up to. Funny thing is that he really doesn't know how he wound up with them as he's not fond of Ford trucks at all. I'm thinking about having another Ford enthusiast friend (who also is a top notch fabricator) look at them and see if he can reinforce bottom of them. I don't know if he can, but I'll run it by him anyway. When they fail on me - you have full permission to laugh, point your finger, and say "I told you so!"

[flyboy2610]

When they fail on me - you have full permission to laugh, point your finger, and say "I told you so!"

Nope. That is one thing I NEVER do. I read somewhere: "Never look down on someone, unless you are helping them up."

[grems4ever]

I follow that motto myself. I back it up with "Never take pleasure in someone else's woes for they might come knocking on your door." Karma is a killer sometimes.

Rainy and wet today, so I decided to go work on a fender. It looks like I'm going to be doing some metal work soon.

[jimmy828]

Looks like a pretty decent truck to start out with. For the cab mounts, I would strongly recommend getting them from Dennis Carpenter, http://www.dennis-carpenter.com/, as they sell the original style mounts. They are not cheap, they will cost at least twice what the stamped steel pie pans that some vendors pawn off as cab mounts will! But they are worth it. Order some floor pans while you're there also.
Keep the pics coming! We'll help however we can.

i agree with the DC parts. I'm not a experienced body man but choosing the DC cab mounts made my job go a lot easier. There was very little tweaking in the mounts.

[jimmy828]

Good luck with your project. Looks like you got some work to do but will be worth it when done. Mine was not as bad but i still replaced the parts u have in pics. Totally different truck now. Even though it took me forever.

[grems4ever]

I haven't been able to get much done this week - cold, wet weather, sick kids, and pay day weekend have kept me out of the garage. Going on a suggestion from a friend, I spent some time cleaning up the back sides of the fenders to look for rust. I also managed to knock a couple of small dents out of the passenger side. Other than rust right over the support bracket at the back of the fenders, they look pretty good for their age.



I'm hoping to get the rest of the front clip apart as soon as the weather and temperature cooperates. Once I have the inner fenders out, I'm going to have to decide if I'm going to try to find a decent set of used ones or have a friend of mine save the originals. I've looked at the price of new ones and I certainly can't afford to go that way.

[grems4ever]

Sorry friends - no new progress on the poor old Ford. I managed to catch the flu about a week after I posted that and its been down hill from there. I am finally beginning to feel better with the miracle of modern pharmaceuticals and lots of rest.

Does anyone know of a source for the bushings that mount between the frame and the cab? I've been looking for them, but I can only find them in the restoration catalogs. Thanks in advance for any information.

[flyboy2610]

I know LMC has them.

[Craigerf100]

rock auto i believe has em cheaper

[Calfdemon]

The original 3 on the tree has been replaced with a mid 80's 4 speed overdrive manual and the points have been replaced with a DuraSpark ignition.

Have you checked it out and can you tell us which 4 speed manual with overdrive transmission is actually in the truck? And can you see how they hooked it up to the FE motor? Finding an overdrive option for our trucks is something that A LOT of us are interested in and there really has not been a whole lot of successful findings posted. Would love to hear about the setup you have in this truck!

[grems4ever]

As far as I can tell its a T170-FS also known as a side rail overdrive found in 80-83 light duty trucks. Its a light duty 3 speed with 4th overdrive. I talked to the guy I bought it from and installed it and he says it bolted right in to the original FE manual bell housing. I can't say for certain if its that easy because I haven't pulled it out yet to change the clutch. Once I get to that point I'll be able to say for sure if it was that easy or not. One thing is certain - it is a light duty transmission and will work fine for cruising and occasional heavier work, but I don't think it will hold up too well in a heavy duty application.

One problem which has yet to be resolved is that the speedometer output spins in the wrong direction for the factory speedo. I thought I had it figured out, but I found some problems with the solution. I've decided to table that issue until I have the transmission on my work bench and I can evaluate it directly.

[grems4ever]

Just a quick update...

Sorry friends - between the flu and the weather, I haven't got much done on the truck lately. For my birthday this year, my wife let me go shopping at Harbor Freight for some of the tools and supplies I'm going to need in the next few months. While I may not have made any physical progress, I'll be ready when I finally can work on it.

[grems4ever]

I ordered parts this morning for the steering and brakes! I still need a clutch set, but I can get that cheaper locally than I can ordering it online due to shipping costs.

Wow, I'm running out of excuses for not having it back on the road...