[Clayleen]

Hey all, my father is nearing retirement this year, and it's always been a dream of his to own a 37 Ford pickup, or another old pickup. He wants to do a completely stock cherry restore, but he's never done one before. I have a few questions:

1) Not to solicit traffic away from this site, but are there any other forums that would be good to check for good info about old pickup restorations?
2) We live in Houston, and it's very humid here. We have concrete slab barn, roughly 50x20 feet, insulated tin sides and top, no A/C or heat. Will it be OK to store the car in there? (The woodworking tools get a rust film on the steel tops that we have to keep buffed out and waxed.)
3) Where are our best options for locating a truck? We would prefer a partially restored model rather than a complete junk pile, as this is our first restoration. We have been scanning eBay for the last few months, but would like to know of other options.
4) Any other advice would be appreciated!

[trees]

Sign up for magazines. Hemming Motor News and Old Car Price Guide is two good ones to start with. The Old Car Price Guide tells you how to grade a car/truck :1,2,3,4,5, and lists the average known sales prices of these vehicles. It gives you and ideal as to how much to offer for a vehicle. The secrete is knowing how to grade the vehicle you are looking at; is this a 3 car as the seller says or is it really a 5. Most sellers over rate their vehicle so learn quick or you will get burned. Hemming Motor News has a lot of old vehicles for sale and are listed by make, model and year. For and old truck, think in terms of blocks of years, not just one year. For example, the 35, 36, and 37 have a lot of common parts that can be used, the 38, 39, 40 and 41 are like wise. However for the purist, a 35 part on a 37 will be detected by an expert because the part numbers are different. For a hobbyist, this may not be a big deal. Another thing to keep in mind is the availability of reproduced parts. Fortunately, the 37 Ford has a wealth of reproduced parts in comparison to a 37 Dodge, Plymouth or Chevy. How do you tell which years/models have reproduced parts: look at the adds in the hobby magazines!!!

An open shed/barn in the Houston is not conducive for a long drawn out restoration. First, the critters are going to feast on your body when working. The heat and humidity is going to sap your energy and enthusiasm quicker than a cow can swish her tail to stir flies. I would spend the bucks to close and insulate that barn and put in a good heat pump and a dehumidifier before bringing the first vehicle or tool into that environment. Good luck in your project. My son tells me on many occasions that he wished he had paid more attention when I had him out in the garage helping me on one of my projects. We just recently rebuilt the motor in his Land Rover and it was a great father-son event.

I personally would want to start with an intact vehicle that is drivable and only need a lot of attention to detail. It takes years of experience to get a body here, fender there, hood panel else where etc and end up with a complete vehicle. Same with replacing rusted out metal, or bumping out major dents, or replacing frame section, suspension components etc. Removing and replacing parts or rebuilding parts, or cleaning and painting can be learned as you go on your first project and you can finally reach your goal if you don't bite off to big a project to chew!!

Trees

[65Stanger]

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum41/

Ford Truck Enthusiasts is where I do my talkin' 'bout my '56! =D I'm 272VeeAte over there.

[Brian_B]

Get the straightest most complete vehicle you can possibly find. Pay more for one that is in better shape. It is well worth it in the long run.

The best bet is find a "project" that somone else has gotten tired of working on.

That is what I did with my 56. It is in a lot better shape than most of the basket cases I found. It is mostly original with the original drivetrain.


This forum has a classifieds, FTE (link above) has them (Brian_B over there too), Hemmings does, the hotrod hotline lists a ton of vehicles for sale.

http://www.hotrodhotline.com/

I found mine by word of mouth after months of searching online and magazines. . I told eveyone (both online and people I knew) what I was looking for. A member of FTE told me he knew where one was that was exactly what I was looking for.

[OneMoreTime]

You could place an add in our classifieds..Maybe one will turn up..Also get involved with the local car club swap meet deal and go to them ..lots of good ideas and around here I see some good procjet cars sold at swap meets. Probably the same there..

Sam