Restoration of my 88 F-150

MindyMark

New member
I've been in possession of my Grandpa's 1988 Ford F-150 Custom that I remember him buying new in Dec 1987. It's a 4.9 straight 6 with a 5 speed manual 4 X 4. It's been in the family since then, but sat in a barn for roughly 7 years after he passed. I picked it up about two years ago and have slowly been fixing the mechanics on it. I've done fuel pump, plugs, wires, clutch, tie rods, steering shaft, and a push rod. It's currently getting a new steering box, repacked wheel bearings, lower ball joint and a new oil pan gasket.

After all that work is done, I'm shipping it to Mr Bill's Auto Restoration service. I'm providing the parts and he is providing the labor and paint. Here is a list of what he is doing:

· Replace truck bed – remove side molding and tailgate aluminum piece, fill any trim holes. Strip bed railings and coat with a durable coating like Rhino liner. Reuse the Ford OEM bed liner from the original bed.
· Clean under carriage and paint black
· Reseal front windshield and inspect for leaks
· Repair cab corners
· Replace bumpers
· Front rock skirt
· Replace doors (wire up for power door locks, power windows, replace door striker and door hinge pin/bushings)
· Repair driver side floorboard
· Replace seat
· Floor covering – will require modification for the shifter hole.
· Replace any remaining body parts may include but not limited to front fenders, hood
· Minor dent removal – specifically the top of the cab and tailgate, and anything else that’s needed
· Prep/prime/paint to the OEM Red factory color.
· Reapply the OEM vinyl FORD lettering on the tailgate and along the sides

Once this is done, it will be ready for a visit back to the farm where she faithfully served for about 20 years where Grandma and Grandpa can see the truck as they remembered it. I thought I would document the progress here. The work starts on Dec 1st.

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tixer

Lincoln Evangelist
What a great little project.

That truck has definitely seen better days, but it sounds like it'll be back to new in no time. That's a good configuration, too. Basic, and tough.

A buddy of mine had an.. '81? with that engine, but Ford had drilled large holes throughout the length of the frame for weight savings. Needless to say, the salt here didn't treat it well.

Good luck with the project. I'm looking forward to the updates!
 
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MindyMark

New member
I hope so, as I remember going through the fields in this truck, pretending to drive in when it was parked in the barn, and my grandma said they used to drive it around just to go look at corn.

However, they have both gone to better places and can't literally see it. But I'm still going to bring it to where they rest today so I can show them what I've done in their memory.
 

Lvnmarks

quandoomniflunkusmoritati
My Dad had that exact same truck, engine, stick shift, even the color. I have many memmories of my sister and I going up north camping in that truck. Sadly my Dad passed away a few years ago and I wasnt able to aquire it.

It was the reason I bought a 93 F150 with that same engine. Hope you can restore some life back in to her, I love the 70's & 80's F150's.
 

MindyMark

New member
I was able to obtain a donor truck off Craigslist for $1000. It ran and drove pretty good, just a tick in the 5.0 engine and an occasional harsh shift. I drove it 100 some miles home. It was a great looking truck, nearly flawless cosmetically too. Provided me with 95% of everything I needed. Many people asked why I would tear it apart to restore the other truck that was in much worse shape. Simple, it wasn't Grandpa's truck.

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Donor Truck Interior.jpg

Donor's Truck Passenger Side.jpg
 

MindyMark

New member
Nice Score!
It gets even better. I found someone else off Craigslist that wanted the 5.0 motor. We made a deal, they get the motor if they pull it and remove all the body parts I needed. They even paid me $50.

This is part of what the donor truck looks like today.

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enriquei

New member
Wow, that is a score. I remember my first car... an 1988 town car. I paid $500 for it in high school. I had it for a couple years before the transmission started slipping. A couple guys who wanted the engine gave me $750 for the car and drove off. The engine only had 65k on it.
 

MindyMark

New member
I"m going all out (as much as I can afford anyway), so I just got by year of manufacture plates for the truck this afternoon!

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Lvnmarks

quandoomniflunkusmoritati
Very nice! Will you be cleaning up the frame and painting that as well? I know personally if I start to fix a small 2" spot I end up doing a frame off restoration.
 

MindyMark

New member
Yep, the frame is getting all cleaned up and painted. It would be like putting lipstick on a pig if I didn't do that!
 
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