AMT 1975 Ford F-250 highboy build and restoration

[Fordboy1975]

About a year ago I bought a AMT 1973-75 ford pickup off of eBay, and I got two super stones 1979 ford pickups just for the rear suspension on them, and proceeded to make a factory highboy (my dream truck) and I almost had it done... then one morning I was eating and watching tv, and I heard my dog chewing on something hard and crunchy and when I looked, it was my prized highboy I was making, well needless to say, he did a number to the bed and the front clip on the cab, but atleast some of it was repairable, but some of it wasn't, so now I am starting from scratch again trying to build my dream truck and this time i want to take more time, and focus on the details, and get it done when I get it done. 

Notice the damage on the cab, And the bed, and keep in mind I already had the bed sides glued back together at the time I took these pictures, so you will just have to look closely to see the "battle scars"

[disabled modeler]

At least you have the grilles even though one is damaged...there the hard part to get.  I have future project build for a 73-76 crew cab 2wd 3/4 ton with the factory bed camper top.

[Fordboy1975]

At least you have the grilles even though one is damaged...there the hard part to get.  I have future project build for a 73-76 crew cab 2wd 3/4 ton with the factory bed camper top.

yea, it took me a while to find mine, there are some on eBay right now for 10 bucks, which Is pretty cheap for what they can go for. The main thing you can't really get anywhere else is the bed I have for mine, because mine is a resin set that has been corrected from a super camper special wheelbase to the regular wheel base

Edited April 23, 2017 by Fordboy1975

[disabled modeler]

I hear that one...Ill probably just have to use the kit supplied bed on mine.

[Maindrian Pace]

Great project, I like where it's going. If you take a look at my thread on a '77 restoration/build, I show how to correct the bed to standard wheel base, and it's not very complicated.

 

[disabled modeler]

Great project, I like where it's going. If you take a look at my thread on a '77 restoration/build, I show how to correct the bed to standard wheel base, and it's not very complicated.

 

I might have to give that a try Mike.

[Fordboy1975]

Yea, it's easy, but on this build, I was lazy and decided to buy one off eBay, and I'm glad I did, I haven't seen one like it on eBay since

[Fordboy1975]

Have not been working on this hear in the past couple of days because, unfortunately I will have to make a trip to the hobby shop here soon after I save up some money, to get a new super stones kit, so I can cut up the cab, and repair the cab I have.

[Fordboy1975]

Got the cab corner repaired, and other things

[Fordboy1975]

Sorry guys, I've been caught up in other builds, I'll get back to this one as soon as I can.

[leafsprings]

Great idea for a build! Those Ford kits take a lot of research to get right. Not only did the grills change, the emblem location and trim moldings varied through the '73-'79 run, not to mention getting  the correct wheelbase set up for F 100 thru F 250s. Just curious, is there an easy way to remove the top mouldings  from the body?

[Fordboy1975]

Just curious, is there an easy way to remove the top mouldings  from the body?

what do you mean?

im willing to help, ive had MANY of these kits, I mean so many I can't even count them all.

Edited June 4, 2017 by Fordboy1975

[leafsprings]

sorry, should have been more specific, the belt line moulding, the area between the front ( amber)  and rear  (red ) side lamps.

[Fordboy1975]

sorry, should have been more specific, the belt line moulding, the area between the front ( amber)  and rear  (red ) side lamps.

the dent side chrome?

[leafsprings]

I want the look  on the left. Bottom moldings and wheel wells look like a simple sand job, but what is the easiest way to remove the top moldings between lamps?

[Atmobil]

I have also been trying to figure out a way to do that. I'm thinking that one has to sand it away (with sandpaper wrapped around a brushhandle or something similar maybe) but it will be easy to mess it up so one has to be careful.

[Fordboy1975]

I just used a finger nail file and made sure to keep it at the angle of the body line I'm sanding, unless it's the chrome in the "dent" , for that, I used my X-Acto knife, and finished it up with a piece of very course sandpaper, and then a very fine piece of sand paper to remove the deep scratches of the course sandpaper, then I would put putty over it, and sand it smooth with the fine sandpaper.

[Fordboy1975]

I rescribed the panel lines on the door, and added sheet stock filler for the openings on the back of the cab, and started to repair the fender, note the brace I put in place to keep the fender from braking while I'm working on it.

[Fordboy1975]

It's been a while since I've updated this, I lost interest in it for a while, so now I'm back on it, I made a lot of progress, the cab is nearly completed, and I've started working on the bed, and I figured out a better way to make the interior bedsides attach better to the bed floor, before there was just three tiny tabs, now there are two big pieces I made from sheet shock, way better this way in my book.

[impcon]

You certainly can;t be accused of not being persistent or being one to take the easy way out!! Wow! That's a huge amount of work. Just wondering why you are fixing this cab instead of just using a new one? Or am I missing something here? My hat is off to you for taking the time and effort to save the cab - sometimes, it's a matter of principal on a project like this - save as much of the original kit as possible just to prove to yourself that you can do it. As John Wayne once said, "Sometimes a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do".

[Fordboy1975]

You certainly can;t be accused of not being persistent or being one to take the easy way out!! Wow! That's a huge amount of work. Just wondering why you are fixing this cab instead of just using a new one? Or am I missing something here? My hat is off to you for taking the time and effort to save the cab - sometimes, it's a matter of principal on a project like this - save as much of the original kit as possible just to prove to yourself that you can do it. As John Wayne once said, "Sometimes a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do".

well, I don't have enough money to buy a whole new kit just to rob the cab, and also, it's the cab out of a star truk kit, even though I had to remove the F350 super camper special logo on the fender, it still is one of the star truk cabs.