1978 F-250

My first truck.

I bought this truck for $250 from a gentleman who just wanted it off his property. This is a 1978 F-250 with a 300 straight six and a four-speed T-18 transmission and as trucks go, this one was pretty indestructible. After sitting for eight years, the engine turned over without so much a hiccup and while that was great news, I definitely underestimated the amount of work that was needed to restore it.

And to clean it.

I replaced the bed with a better one I had shipped from Kansas (used Fastenal's 3PL shipping for this - huge savings) and get it towed home before the adventure could start.

There was a good deal of rust. If there was even metal left to be rusted.

After removing one part, I figured I had come this far, so I may as well remove the part beneath it.

And this is just about how that ended up, but it gave me a chance to make the truck last another 40 years.

A little primer and paint...

And a great deal of effort pulling the engine and transmission for some TLC.

Post valve job, new gaskets, oil sender, harmonic balancer, etc..

This carb is just one small example of what a testament this truck is to the way things were made then.

A little more priming and painting...

And we're pretty much done! I skipped a ton of pictures and fun stories, but this experience was as awesome as it was educational. Looking forward to the next one.