pdx-sanity66

[pdxhall]

When my wife and I got married, we bought another house, which had a nice double garage and the truck was taken out of the weather and moved into it's new home. I was still raising kids and had a lot of other stuff going on at the time so the truck sat this way until the summer of 2008 when I finally had the chance to get serious on the tear down and rebuild. My plan was always to do a full frame off once I got started. I was limited on space because I had to share my garage with other "stuff" so I decided to tear down the front end first, then turn the truck around in the garage and do the rear suspension, etc., then rearrange things and pull the cab. Then I could complete the frame. Once the frame was pretty much complete, I would then start on rust repair and body work.
I managed to get the front end torn down to bare frame and the frame rails painted. I used Eastwoods Rust Encapsulator with a top coat of their Extreme Chassis Black satin paint. All new ball joints and control arm bushings were installed.

[pdxhall]

Just as I was going strong, in November of '08 I was laid off from my job. I knew in order to be able to get another reasonable job in this lousy economy I was going to have to get in school and get a degree in something, so in January of 2009, at the young age of 56, I was enrolled in college. With all the homework and classes the truck had to pretty much go on hold again. I did have some money saved for truck stuff so I got the okay from the wife to go ahead and purchase a complete Grand Slam Kit from CPP which included 2 1/2" dropped spindles, front discs, 1" dropped springs, front and rear dropped shocks, and 5" dropped rear springs. But it was going to be very slow going on getting anything done for the next couple of years.
Finally in the spring of 2011 my class load was lessening as I was close to graduation so I was able to get started on the truck again. I started assembly of the front end parts. I hung the manual steering box back on but the plan was for power steering.

[pdxhall]

During last summer I was finally done with school so I got quite a bit accomplished. I decided on a name for the truck and this build thread. Through all the stress of unemployment, going to school, and still having trouble getting employment after I finished school, the thing that kept me grounded and kept me going was my ability to go out to the garage and work on the truck and forget everything else for a while. I feel the truck kept me sane (well as sane as I can claim to be ) so it is officially the Sanity66.
The next thing to do was get some wheels on Sanity and get her turned around in the garage to start on the rear end.

[pdxhall]

Bed and rear suspension removed. Cleaning things up.

[pdxhall]

Rear clean up and painting continued. I also bought and installed new 5 lug chrome moly axles from Dutchman Axles and new seals and gaskets for the rear end.

[pdxhall]

I relocated the rear shocks using an idea that member FrizzleFry came up with. I also fabbed up the rear fuel tank before painting the frame rails. I am using a 64-66 f#$d mustang tank. I relocated the rear crossmember and trimmed the top of the frame rails slightly for fit. Very little hang down with this set up. Completing the rear suspension build was a new adjustable track bar and new trailing arm bushings.

[pdxhall]

At this point the front and rear ends are done except finishing up the brakes and installing the power steering gear. So I put the wheels back on and gave Sanity66 a breath of fresh air before the cab removal was started.
There's still some more catch up to do. To be continued.....

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by pdxhall

Through all the stress of unemployment, going to school, and still having trouble getting employment after I finished school, the thing that kept me grounded and kept me going was my ability to go out to the garage and work on the truck and forget everything else for a while. I feel the truck kept me sane (well as sane as I can claim to be ) so it is officially the Sanity66.

Stress of my Father-in-Law in major accident and death of mother-in-law and all the crap that goes with it just about took me over the edge. That's when the search for my lost 65 began. I knew I needed an outlet. So I sympathize with the name you've chosen. Many in these forums have stated their truck is therapy.

Thanks for giving us a peek into your personal life.

[pdxhall]

Thanks guys. I was real happy that the weather cooperated so I could get the last of the frame painted. It was keeping me from moving forward with my plans so now that it's done I can finish brake lines, crossmember, etc. My plan for the summer is to get the cab floor finished so I can coat the bottom of the cab and set it back on the frame. That will give me more room in the garage to start body work and fitting fenders and panels.