Meet Smokey, a '72 F100 Ranger XLT that I've owned since 2002. I purchased it from the original owner for $900 in Saskatchewan, and it had very little rust. Unfortunately, nearly everything was worn out mechanically.
Here is a shot of when I brought it home to the farm:
The original owner's barn caught fire, and Smokey caught some of the heat and flames:
Apparently, when the original owner saw the blaze, he drove the truck away from the burning barn, and it sat on that spot on his acreage until the day I bought it (sorry, I don't have a photo of the truck on fire, but that would be cool, eh?)
After scrounging for some parts to replace the melted ones, fixing the brakes, carb, exhaust, all rubber in the engine bay (melted or turned to charcoal), tune-up and new gas tank, we limped it back to my home in Alberta. It was a big ordeal, and the 8 hour drive saw about 8 litres of oil, and having to blow out the in-line gas filter every hour due to bugs that clogged up the old gas lines. Once at home in Alberta, I chipped away with small improvements on the truck, but the engine was very tired, and blew a LOT of oil smoke, hence we affectionately named it 'Smokey'. However, it was an excellent work truck and saw me through many many construction and landscaping projects on my house and property. It also helped in moving 3-4 buddies around, multiple trips to Costco for stuff, etc etc for all the useful stuff trucks can do!
Smokey this fall:
A few years ago, my buddy Cody took on the powertrain. I might have been more brave in my younger years, but with a couple of kids I knew it would take up space in my garage forever, and I thought better left to a licensed mechanic. Cody outsourced the trans rebuild to a local shop, and found a rebuild 390 that he picked up for cheap at the local hot rod shop. Turns out, a fellow lost his mind when that shop installed a 390 instead of a 352 into his '65 Thunderbird, and he just wouldn't have it! Worked out in the end, as I was the recipient of a very good deal. A few years of Cody chipping away at the project resulted in a truck that was like new mechanically...but I was getting tired of the patina rust / scratched up look, so this fall I took action. I lined up a bodyshop who agreed to take it on, provided I pull all trim and interior off which seems more than fair.
So my brother came for a visit and helped me take Smokey apart. It was a fairly big job, but was a lot of fun to work with my brother again on a project. All parts were bagged and tagged, and I was amazed of how much fits in 4 Rubbermaid tubs...
So at this point, it is out of my hands! I am likely going with wind blue / wimbleton white combination. The cab and box will be pulled off, and the inner fenders/rad support blasted and repainted as well. The shop says it will be done by spring, so in the meantime, I will be polishing stainless and aluminum trim over the long Canadian winter, and a few other projects that I will keep track of on this thread. I hope you'll find it interesting!
