Mods
Complete body swap from a teal 1994 f150 and complete Interior swap from red 1995 f150. New used wheels and 33 inch tires and diamond plate tool boxes. Kenwood stereo and sound system.
Build story
Back in the summer of 2015 I had just graduated high school and happen to stumble across a truck for sale on Craigslist. The guy did not know a lot about it besides that it was involved in a wreck of some sort in Washington by his son and was brought to Montana and left in his yard when his son went back to college. It had been sitting for awhile but still ran. It had a lift kit, visor, bald 31 inch tires, aftermarket taillights and a couple other goodies. The passenger side looked good in the photos but seeing the driver side is where the truck had been severely injured. The fender and box were both crushed in and the driver door had been ripped off completely and left in Washington. It had been replaced with a mesh cargo net held on by half a dozen carabiners. I believe the only thing that saved the truck from frame damage was the toolbox in the back that held stout in the collision and it bent the box on the passenger side but stopped whatever hit it from crushing into the frame. The interior was trashed from the door being gone and most of the dash was either dead or a Christmas tree of warning lamps. The guy wanted $1000 for it which I told him was too high for the condition the truck was in. He said he was willing to negotiate so my father and I went on the hour long drive to look at it. The guy met us with it and the 5.0 V8 sounded very healthy. We were even able to test drive it. However, during the drive the hood flew open and got bent and the brakes locked up on it. The guy said he wanted $600 for it bottom dollar or it was going to go to scrap where he thought he would get close to that for it. Knowing scrap prices and what the truck weighed I told him it would not be worth over $200 scrap but I would give him $250 for it to save it. He said he would think about it and so we headed back for home. About halfway home he called me and told me he would take my offer. I would say he called the scrap yard and they confirmed that it was not worth much. We went back and got it a couple days later and I was the proud owner of a cosmetically totaled 96 f150 with no title and a very sketchy history. The son said it was a hit and run but after getting the truck it appears to have rubbed a logging truck or something of that sort. Anyway, we got the truck home and it took me about a month to find a truck that could help get it back roadworthy. A red 1995 f150 with good doors, a usable tailgate and beautiful interior. The rest of that truck was structurally not sound as rust had eaten away at the leaf spring perches on the rear end. To get the door to close on the driver side I had to drill holes in the rear door pillar and pull it back out with another truck until the door would shut properly. The truck was now red and green and still very damaged but it was enough to get the local sheriff to sign off on the paperwork to get a title for it. By the end of that summer I had a clean Montana titled 96 f150 that was road legal and looked like a redneck Christmas going down the road. It took me a couple more years of searching before I stumbled upon a truck that could fix the majority of the body. A teal 1994 Ford F150 extra cab short box with a dead drivetrain. From that truck I was able to harvest the bed, tailgate, fenders, hood, grill, and both doors. All of these parts were in considerably better condition than my current parts and were all the same color which was a big relief after all the jokes from the mismatched and damaged panels the past couple years. This was easily one of the biggest projects I had taken on as I do not have a shop to work in and it was all done outside in the driveway by myself. The only help I had to ask for was a couple buddies to swap the bed onto the truck. After getting that done the truck was looking pretty sharp but was not done yet. I found a nice diamond plate toolbox and side box for it and this last summer I was able to locate a good used set of 33 inch tires on wheels to replace the bald 31 inch ones that had been on it since I got it. Besides some general maintenance like a water pump, ball joints, brakes, 4wd actuator, and some other small repairs it has been a very reliable truck. The 5.0 V8 has almost 200k on it and still runs great. All in on this build with the two parts trucks, initial purchase and add ons after I have less than $2000 in this truck and I would not trade it for anything. I know this is not the mechanical revival that you guys normally do on your channels but a lot of effort has gone into getting this truck back on the road. A lot of electrical and cosmetic/structural repairs to get it to where it is. I can proudly say that everything works in the truck including the cruise control, air conditioning, power windows, and power mirrors. The last two were a challenge as they cut the harnesses when they severed the door from the truck when it was wrecked. This truck has taught me a ton about working on vehicles and has given me a lot of confidence for jumping into and getting other projects like my lifted 1995 Miata and caring for other high mileage vehicles like my 2000 7.3 Powerstroke with 512,000 miles. Regardless, thank your consideration in this contest and for your time in reading the story about my 96 Ford F150 and how I saved it from going to the scrap yard and put back on the road!