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so i decided a little while ago to enter my truck in a local show in august. if she wins hell froze over. im not looking at a show truck. my stipulations are she drives under her own power legally. as of now im balls deep. wiring is toast ripped out. paint is crap. not a patina not an old paint its crap paint and its red. as of now cab is coming off for full paint. not sure how much body work ill be doing. feeling overwhelmed. i just bought a sandblaster paint guns all the stuff im going to need but i feel there is so much to do and there is. i kmow that. but there is a bunch of little things and im loosing my motivation. with me stipulations i know i can do this. im just finding more things that i have too many decisions. my mirrors were drilled through the door, the ghetto hood ornament and i need to figure out am i welding all the wholes get the body painted and just drill new holes if i need them. motor swap and all that jazz is on the back burner. its got a 389 v8 from a catalina that runs decent so im going to run it. just feeling over whelmed. sorry for complaining. just looking for a kick in the [censored]. anyone in colorado springs CO wanna come help LOL

Wish I was closer,but I got more to do than I can handle,anyway! Rome wasn't built in a day,and same goes for our trucks. If she isn't ready for the show in August,She might be by next year. Take it a little at-a-time. Cab's coming off? No need to worry about the wiring,right now. It took me a while to get my "ducks in-a-row,too,but SLOW progression. I gave mine a "crap' paint job,just to keep the local authorities at-bay. I worked on mine in a farm field,for four years,before moving it into town,where it's 30 miles closer. now I'm painting the cab interior,as well as the engine bay,before installing my new wiring harness. "Hang in there,we're pullin' for ya"! "We're all in this together"! Quoted from "Red Green"

Don't loose hope! I'd just get the wiring and brakes working.
Since I don't think it's your daily driver, take time and pull the engine harnesses one at a time and rewire them your self. It feels real good when you don't have to worry about shorts and smoking/melting wiring
Get on or go to Harbor freight and buy a package of cheap electrical tape and wrap it all up nice. (on my '64 the starting harness wasn't that bad at all, and i HATE wiring) Next it to get a pertronix set-up for the distributor, check timing and vacuum of the distributor, run some diesel fuel in the motor oil and let it just idle at about 850-900. (its cheaper than Marvel mystery oil) and run a couple of old cheap oil filters on it like that until you feel like it runs a bit better, Then put some Shell Rotella 15w40 diesel motor oil just a bit over full. The diesel motor oil has a higher TBN rating to give more protection of the oil breaking down.

This is what happened to me more than a few times.
Pick up a vehicle that owner says "it's just sat about a year!"
You put in about 5-10gal of fresh gas, and it might run fine for a day or two. Then the fresh gas dissolves the varnish in the tank and turns all the fresh gas into crappy, sticky, smelly gas that coats the intake valves, piston heads and eventually behind the rings. I pulled one motor apart that supposedly 'ran' and it looked like someone painted the pistons and intake ports with GLOSS black paint..
I just bought three older vehicles and actually ran Amsoil 2-cycle mix in two of them just to lube the fuel system and in the 3rd, i mixed 3gal of diesel fuel with about 7gal of gas (just because I knew the owner and believed him on how long he said it sat) It smokes a little but hasn't seized the valves in the guides!
OH and don't forget to check the cooling system. I usually drill a few 1/8" holes in the thermostat so if it sticks, at least SOME water will be moving around and helps 'burp' the system too.
Calcium and rust have slowly settled in the bottom of the cylinders and radiator tubes, and once you know it won't freeze in your area, flush it and flush it again. To do it right it takes almost a whole day. drain, fill with flush, run til warm/hot, let cool to the touch, drain that, fill again with clean water, run til hot/warm, let cool again, drain, fill with water again and this time add more flush and (I like to let it sit over night) run it til hot, cool, drain by taking off lower rad hose for any large sediment to flow out, and finally give about 1.5-2gal of anti-freeze then the rest with clean water (distilled water if you can). There are 'anodes' that you can hang down in the radiator/coolant for motors that sit for long periods of time that help with corrosion.

NOW, sometimes you run the risk of cleaning corrosion out so well that some might be plugging a leak, so be prepared to find leaks if that's the case. (you never know what the backside of the pump/impeller looks like either) It might have a blade or two that are rusted/corroded off and not circulating much at all.

Next, I'd find some "Kroil" rust penetrant, and spray it on all your brake line junctions and connections. This is fantastic stuff! Just EXPENSIVE.. you only need a little every few days or so to let it creep in frozen/rusted stuff.

My '64's brake parts aren't cooperating whatsoever and might need heat. Once you brake a bleeder off or snap a line because it turned with the wrench, 'yer screwed' as they say down here..

Your truck looks really nice. I'd scuff off the scale with some scotch-brite/soapy water, clear coat it, and GO.
Keep that aged 'patina' look.

I usually have several projects going on at once, and when one get's me mad I just go to another and so on. It takes alot out of you by being frustrated and angry at one thing all the time.
That's how 'projects' usually get sold.. As basket cases.

Gotta run. Errol

I would just think that tackling the wiring is TONS lighter, easier to move around, and cheaper to 'mod' or restore than say that axle job in your pics.
WOW, how are you going to clean the inside of your axle tubes and third member? I'll be prayin for ya.
I'll be doing a fr/rr axle swap on mine and have had several injuries that came from lifting or things falling. So, I have some heavy duty help. (big "A" frame w/chain hoist, and a New Holland Loader) I DON'T need to get hurt again.


Plus, I like to just sit in the cab and pull on the lights and everything lights up, wipers wipe, blower blows and gauges ..well gauge what's going on!!
To me it's not going to start/run correctly without wiring. The other stuff can be looked at after you save up some $$$ and order parts.
Just sayin..
E

I got her running when I got her. It runs decent still has points. Rear brakes have been fully rebuilt already. I have a friend who is parting out a truck with hydroboost so I will be stealing that. Axle tubes haven't been cleaned yet. I'll probably drain refill warm it up then refrain and fill again. Wiring shouldn't be bad. I found a harness for about 200$. I just need to do a little at a time. I snapped the steering wheel removal bolt in the steering wheel. That's gonna suck to get out because my welder is not close to the truck. That's all I need to pull the cab off.

I want to meet the guy that bought a project and didn't get 'surprised'.

You can go over a truck with a fine toothed comb BEFORE you buy it and get it in your garage.... but when you start taking it apart you will always find 'things'.

If it was easy, everyone would do it.

i personally enjoy the " overwhelmed " phase, it always seems to get easier after that. got any kids / friends you can train to do simple tasks so that you can handle the more complex stuff yourself? i find that this saves me many hours, and getting the important stuff done myself, and having help on odds and ends really helps keep me from getting burned out. but then again, Ive been working on my truck sun up to sun down for a week now, and still feeling pretty good about it. budget is a mess, but im still loving it!

1. Make a list, post it on the wall and release it all from your mind. Work on one thing and you will have the pleasure of crossing it off. I use a "grease board" I got at Goodwill.

2. Do the body work, fill the holes, drill new as needed and get it painted, that will REALLY motivate you. You will see how neat it is going to be. Doing something big will do it.

3. Everybody loses interest and then regains it. Take a rest. If there are other things bothering you, work them out. Clean up the area. Put tools away. Label all the parts and put them away so you can't see all the parts. Get a roll around chair and a table and sit there where you can see your beauty and have a coke. Then do the list as you want to. You will cross things off and erase them and add new things as you "explore". It's all normal what you are doing and feeling. Don't buy a bunch of new parts until you really need them. There are two other times people buy parts: When they first get the truck and when they need motivation, both buying sprees are to be avoided.

4. We feel your pain(t).

That's a good idea.. get some 'wins' first... and hold some 'smaller' things back so you can break up the bigger phases.

I;m about to jump into driveline work (tranny/transfer/axles) and while not super hard, everything weighs a ton, and is caked with grease/dirt... so I have a month of work (getting fixtures, cleaning, getting parts) before I even get to work.

The payoff will be a rolling chassis all primed up!!! That means I can sit on the frame and make 'vroom vroom!' noises. AW YEAH!

a huge success today. my amazing wife told me to go outside and tinker on Charlotte. long story short i commute just under 100 miles one way to work. my family time is more limited than i want but you gotta do what you gotta do. i was bored and felt i needed to spend time with the family she told me "you're not going to meet you deadline if you are sitting here worrying about what we are going to do." so i tinkered. i originally got very stressed, i snapped my bolt for the steering wheel puller and halted all progress for removing the cab. I've spent hard earned money to buy a paint gun because i was understanding that a crappy paint gun job was better than a great rattle can job. needless to say i now have the tools. sand blaster, paint gun , primer gun, air dryer. i was getting frustrated with the little stuff. today the cab is now ready to pull off. all trim removed, steering column, heater, wiring, and i'm feeling a lot better now. thank you for the advice kind words and support.

Another one talked off the running board.