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1968 Ford F-100...Wish someone made one in scale...


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This is the truck that Dad bought back in July to replace the grey S-10 that got crushed by the tree... The body is in wonderful condition considering it's 43 years old. There is very little rust on this one... The only thing we've done is overhaul the motor...The heads and valve seats were in bad shape, we think from running unleaded gas in an engine built for leaded (Soft valve seats)... The odometer is showing a little over 36,000 miles and the condition of the truck leads us to believe that it is the original mileage... When this truck was ordered, the only option added was the 360 2 barrel. When you look at the interior pics, notice the radio-delete plate and rubber floor mat... the three-on-the-tree... Manual-choke... Also, notice the lack of power steering pump and brake booster...

I'm posting these because this truck is a good example of an original 'survivor' and I know that some of you will appreciate it for what it is... It's a base model, all original, except for a freshly rebuilt motor and exhaust. It hasn't been butchered or cobbled up by any hotrodders, weekend racers, teenagers with more energy than smarts nor has it been left to rust away or kludged together in a vain attempt to keep it running... Shoot, it still sported the original steel wheels and caps... Enjoy!

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The only dent in the entire truck is on the top of the tailgate, probably the hardest part of the body to damage...

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Very clean interior. Just a couple of cracks in the dashpad. The only thing not stock is the aftermarket oil pressure gauge added to the left side of the instument panel... (This replaced the factory idiot light.)

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How many old trucks do you see with a bodyline this straight?

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The 360 got punched .030 over when it was rebuilt. We added an RV cam and ran new 2" dual exhaust with glasspacks... It purrs like a cream-filled kitty now... Even with a 2bbl, it'll lay rubber with ease... This guy's a real blast to drive!

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Edited by Wagoneer81
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Here's a few more...

As you can see, the truck has been used but not abused... Just normal wear in the bed, no rust holes at all...

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Like the rest of the interior, the headliner is original and in excellent shape... When we restore her, we will be installing shoulder belts out of a later model truck. This one only has lapbelts...

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Another shot of the engine bay... This was, by far, the easiest engine rebuild I ever had a hand in... Look at all that room! And this is a big-block truck!

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One of the four rust holes that need fixed... The inner fender on the passengers side is rusted in the same place. The '68-'72 F-series all rusted in the same places, the inner fenders at the hood hinges, the lower rear of the front fenders and the front cab-mounts... This is minor compared to some I've seen...

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Here's that lower rear of the front fender I mentioned. The drivers side is in a little better shape. These and the small holes in the inner fenders at the hood hinges are the ONLY rust damage on the entire truck, minus the tailgate. Everything else is just minor surface rust. The front cab mounts and floorboards are as solid as they day they left the factory

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Starting this spring, Dad and I plan on doing a complete restoration on this one. New paint, dashpad, tailgate, bedliner... I'd say we have a good base to start with. There are now three of these trucks in my family. My Brother owns a '72 F-250 with a 345-horsepower 390/automatic that used to be Dad's, and my nephew just bought a '69 F-250 with a 360/auto...

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And here's a few of my nephews '69 F-250. Notice the chrome trim package on this one compared to the Plain-Jane, base model '68... This is a 'Custom-Cab' truck.

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Here's a couple pics that show the difference between the base model that is the blue '68 and the Custom Cab option here... Lotsa chrome, nice 'woodgrain' trim... Original AM radio that still works...

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This was in the glovebox... The original 1969 owners manual... My nephew is the second owner of this truck...

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Edited by Wagoneer81
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Very cool Chris!

You better get scratchin' :lol:

I've thought about it... Lord knows I have a good reference source sittng in the back drive...lol!

Gray07, I emailed Blue Oval Resins about this... we shall see what we shall see... ^_^ I checked their site and saw several nice '73-'79's... I can't believe that no manufacturers or casters have popped one of these... I may just have to step up... <_<

And, while I was at it, I emailed Round2 expressing my interest at seeing the reissue of the '60 model Ford and any of the '61-'63 Unibody trucks...

Edited by Wagoneer81
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That's what I was thinking about doing... I like the one you built, how rough was the casting you started with?

ROUGH.

We're talking 1/16" pinholes in the bottom, some degree of warp in just about every part (it's not obvious in the pic, but I didn't quite straighten out the cab roof, there's an ever-so-slight 'dip' in the middle of the upper windsheild frame) and a second layer of resin had been poured in a few thin spots. The thickness of the casting was a bit inconsistent. Not a great deal of flash, though, and overall parts fit was okay, but all in all, far from great.

I should probably also point out that the interior is a '73-79 style, basically a straight repop of the AMT kits, and incorrect for a '67-72.

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  • 2 months later...

I picked up a 69 GMC 3/4 ton 4x4 long box stepside like that. Owned by the Univ. of Wyoming it had 40000 miles on it and clean except the seat and rear fenders wich had the tops caved in. But had, radio delete and power nothing except for pulling. 4.56 and super granny low 4 speed meant nothing could stop it even with the 305 I put in it temporarily. Until it got a 65 foot cottonwood on its head during a windstorm and that was the end of her. I about cried. Nice find though.

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The greenhouse is similar, but not the same. If you look at the '73 thru '79 trucks, the rear window slants forward. (The R&R still has this). The earlier generation had a near vertical rear window. The sheet metal around the rear window bowed in a little bit (look at photos above to see this). The R&R has flat sheetmetal around the rear window, just like the '73-'79 it is based on. While I believe the R&R to be a half-finished effort, I will also admit it's the best game in town that I know of. At least the R&R has the standard wheelbase!

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Its nice to see an all original and well cared for '68! I always loved the body style! Is that a 3-on-the-tree I spot?

Yes, it is! It's a blast to drive what with the 360 v8 and non-power assisted steering... You definitely have your hands full when behind the wheel of this one,

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  • 3 weeks later...

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