1966 F100 Short/Fleet Full Stock Resto Build Thread

[theastronaut]

Outside of the bed is painted. Still need to wetsand and reclear it to level out the mask lines, then wetsand/buff it. We'll paint the tailgate once we get a set of decals to mask the FORD letters.

[theastronaut]

Here are videos of the first start. The owner had his mechanic come over and set the timing and adjust the carb.

'66 F100 352 First Start Attempt - YouTube

'66 F100 352 First Start - YouTube

'66 F100 352 Engine Running - YouTube

'66 F100 352 Engine Running - YouTube

'66 F100 352 Engine Running - YouTube

[chevyrestoguy]

Ah, the first light-off of an engine. I never look forward to it, because you're always second-guessing everything you did up to that point. "Did I torque the flexplate, did I put enough break-in lube on the cam, and on and on and on. Once it lights off, it's the greatest feeling, like a huge weight was lifted off of your shoulders.

That 352 runs really smooth. Nice job!!

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by chevyrestoguy

Ah, the first light-off of an engine. I never look forward to it, because you're always second-guessing everything you did up to that point. "Did I torque the flexplate, did I put enough break-in lube on the cam, and on and on and on. Once it lights off, it's the greatest feeling, like a huge weight was lifted off of your shoulders.

That 352 runs really smooth. Nice job!!

Exactly!! I had the VW motor apart a couple years ago to fix a broken cam bearing flange. I've torn down a few engine so I knew what to expect inside, but never a good running engine that was expected to run again- just junkers for parts. I worried about that thing for the longest, hoping I did it all right and didn't forget anything. Even after starting it I didn't want to drive it hard, worrying about the rod bolt torque specs (enough?) and that kind of stuff. Took a couple weeks of grandma-driving to get comfortable with it again before I started beating on it like normal. Super nerve-racking!

[theastronaut]

The door locks were hazy so I buffed them with green, then white compound before installing them.






Installing the floor mat from ACC. The mat looks good and fits the shape of the floor very well. We still need to finish trimming around the door jambs and gas tank but it's fairly close for now. Dad wants to finish it up so I stopped trimming at this point. If you're going to be installing the floor mat and the firewall pad, you'll be way better off to install the floor mat first as it's tough to tuck the floor mat under the firewall pad around the pedals.

The padding they sent was too small so we added more padding around the edges and missing spots. We also cut reliefs in a few places since the padding is flat and not shaped to the pans already.




Roughly fitted. I'll post more pics once it's in and settled. The instrutions say it takes 48 hours for wrinkles to come out from being boxed up.




Extra length at the rear in case you moved the gas tank. Needs trimming in our case.




This is how much we removed from the front edge.

[Ol Blue K20]

Looks great. ..

[Palf70Step]

Very Nice!

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Looks great. ..

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Very Nice!

Thanks dudes!!

[theastronaut]

So the same day we install the floor mat, we find a NOS 65-66 tan/black, low hump floor mat... right here in town. What are the odds of that! He's going to dig it out of storage and check it's condition, and he's willing to part with it if it's in good shape still. He says it's never been exposed to heat so our fingers are crossed!


Shot the inside of the bed this morning.

[theastronaut]

We shot the bottom with red oxide epoxy, then added overspray around the edges with single stage.

[theastronaut]

The trim came back from King of Trim late Friday so we installed what we could Monday. They strip, straighten, buff, bright dip, and anodize the aluminum trim so that it looks better than new.





Correct black detailing around the headlights and upper/lower vertical bars in the grill.






Rechromed original door handles.






ACC floor mat after trimming and getting a few wrinkles out with a heat gun.

[Palf70Step]

Very Nice!

[Ol Blue K20]

Looks awesome, you're definitely paying a lot of attention to the details

[SamsAutoParts73-87]

I thought I would never say this about a F*rd , but that is one nice looking truck!
-Sam

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Very Nice!

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Looks awesome, you're definitely paying a lot of attention to the details

Originally Posted by SamsAutoParts73-87

I thought I would never say this about a F*rd , but that is one nice looking truck!
-Sam

Thanks dudes!! We weren't crazy about building a Ford either but it pays the bills... and it's turned out to be a good looking truck. Still wouldn't own one though!!

[theastronaut]

A few more pics. Had a couple leaks to fix, whoever built the engine didn't get the thermostat housing sealed up so we had to pull it off and resurface the housing to get it fixed. They also used a fiber washer on the drain plug that had split, so it was leaking too. Got those taken care of yesterday, changed the oil and filter, and pulled it out so it could run for awhile to check for leaks again. No wet spots underneath this morning.

Some daylight pictures.













Scott Drake headlight with Ford embossed from Mustangs Unlimited. They're halogen so they're brighter than the old style sealed beams.




Checking the park lights and headlights.

[theastronaut]

Some of today's progress. We a shooting to have the truck finished by June 14th for a local Father's Day show.


The armrest from Dennis Carpenter needed some finishing work before we dyed them to match the seat material.




After smoothing the edges with 500 grit.




Dad found a NOS seat bottom locally to use as a pattern.




Backrest vinyl from SMS with the correct heat stamped logo and pleats.




Fabric from SMS matches the imprinted pattern of the original material.

[theastronaut]

This time next Saturday we'll have it at it's first show... lots to do until then!!


Dad's been working on the seat bottom yesterday and today. It's mostly finished, he still has a little "fine tuning" to do.

For whatever reason SMS sent us pre-cut material for the seat face.... four inches too narrow!! Called them back and asked why they sent pre-cut sections and they said that that's all they had... and they cut the whole roll that way. Would be "awhile" before they made another run of the fabric in the correct width (60"). They didn't mention that when we ordered the material. So the boxing is a little taller than it should be on the sides, but what else do you do when you only have a week to finish it and no other known material source?






Backrest in place to mark the pattern so Dad can line up the back rest cover with the seat bottom.




Arm rests dyed to match the seat vinyl.




I have a matching pair of original paint '66 plates from my '66 C10 that I'm putting on temporarily for it's first show. I scuffed them and shot a few coats of clear to preserve the original paint.

[theastronaut]

Dad's nearly done with the backrest, these were some progress pics.






Heavier gauge steel rod for the adjusters. This won't ever stretch out of shape and become loose, and the cardboard wrap will keep it from rattling if the springs bottom out on it.






Rangoon Red and Whimbledon White sprayed. Letters are masked, I'll spray the Sahara Beige and a few coats of clear tonight.

[SamsAutoParts73-87]

Looking good!

-Sam

[Ol Blue K20]

Absolutely gorgeous. ...

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by SamsAutoParts73-87

Looking good!

-Sam

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Absolutely gorgeous. ...

Thanks!!!!


Truck is 99% finished now and we took it to it's first show today!! Had a great day at a local Father's Day show, took the F100 and the blue '65 C10 that I finished about three years ago. Can't wait to get the pair out again!

I'll go ahead and post the rest of the progress pics, then post pics from the show to keep things in order. Was a loonnnggg week getting it ready!!


Zinc plated tailgate handle bucket was hazy so I tried Mother's polish... helped but still didn't look good enough.




Used 0000 steel wool and Mother's to really shine it up.




Wetsanded and buffed the bedsides.




Also sanded and buffed the tail light lenses.




Bed and side trim back in place. Looking like a truck at this point!!




Interior mostly finished up.








Last piece of the puzzle. I finished wetsanding and buffing the tailgate late Friday night, then got it installed by about 9 pm. We bolted the bumper up after that and waited til this morning to adjust it level and tighten it down.

[theastronaut]

And pics from the show! We had a prime corner parking spot reserved right on the square downtown. The city closes main street all day for the show and they're are atleast 4-500 cars every year.

[dantimdad]

Incredible!

Steven

[Palf70Step]

Beautiful!!