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This was the condition of the truck when I purchased it. It had been recently painted, but over poor body work. It is an F250 Custom with few options. It will be upgraded to a Ranger model with more chrome trim. The 351M engine will be swapped out for a 400, the 4 speed manual transmission will be swapped out for a ZF 5 speed manual. It has the NP 235 divorced transfer case.
All the body (cab, box, fenders, hood) will be replaced with rust free pieces. This cab and door were picked up on a trip to Arizona. The bottom of the cab will be sandblasted to remove the heavy undercoating.
This dent is being pulled out with studs.
The aftermarket A/C was removed and the holes are welded closed as well as other holes that will not be used.
Paint is chemically stripped from all the body panels.
After stripping the paint and sandblasting the bottom and firewall of the cab, body filler is used to fill any low spots.
All panels are aligned and door gaps set at this time. This is basically a dry fit of all sheet metal to establish a proper fit of everything.
The front fenders and new grille shell are also fitted. In this case the rear of the front fender needed some filler to align with the door.
The hood is also test fitted. In this instance it fit very well with no modifications being needed.
Notice that the radio antenna has been removed. A powered hidden antenna will be installed under the dash.
This truck was running on propane and will be converted back to gasoline. A custom fuel tank was fabricated to fit between the frame at the back. Highboy trucks had a narrow frame width and a gas tank was never located in the frame, it was always behind the seat. This one will fit in the frame and have a capacity of 35 gallons.
Here is the donor 400 engine prior to rebuilding.
After the fit of the fenders and hood is confirmed they are removed and the bodywork can continue. The body was mounted on a rotisserie to make work easier.
A custom mix of waterborne paint is mixed to get a one-off color. We will call this color "Baltic Blue". Clear is three coats of House of Kolor Show Klear USC.
Now on to the box...
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