This project may be the death of me

[Bob Kelly III]

Man I love old trucks like that ...their built out'a IRON ! the fenders ake a 3lb hammer to dent ! HAHAHAH tough an an old boot those guys are !
now ya need a flathead v-8 to go in it !
get ya some 80 grit and your DA-sander and take all the rust and old paint off that thing and it will look like its new !!!!!LOL
keep after it ! ECE !

 

[Doug79]

Man that truck brings back memories of my last, and final, pickup build. it was a 61 unibody that just about broke the bank to finish. Then it ended up being sold to finance the very last,I swear, car project. Those two are what got me into my 650 project.

 

[weaselbeak]

My brother gave my grandson his old 67 Chevy pickup. Ran when parked.......and I helped him get it going. Took a new fuel pump & new hoses all over the thing, a complete tuneup, got the old oil out of it. Shot a buttload of WD40 down the carb to lube the cylinders for startup. Surprisingly the carb was spotless inside and it sat for 4 years. The old 283 cranked right up & seems to run clear on all 8. No mosquito fogging. Now he's into the brakes. 3/4 ton with the old heavy duty 4 speed, body is "barnacled" but solid, one bad spot on the floor. The old tank is pretty cool and twice as interesting as the newer stuff. I like old trucks, too. My 74 flatbed is too new.

 

[pago cruiser]

Love them old Fords - Real steel!
Those hood lines are gorgeous.
I dunno about that flathead though... I'd be sorely tempted to drop in a crate hypo 351W with a C6. Modern drive train, figure out something for a front end (prolly too heavy for the old Mustang II trick) upgrade to 4w discs, but keep it a sleeper on the outside.

 

[Bob Kelly III]

I've never really been a Car man ...Trucks I like but their just for carrying old bikes in.... My real love is in Motorcycles !
I just love them all ! 2 wheels is the way to go when Your young and bounce well.... <grin> Now that I'm older I'm starting to re-think my stragity
as the old bones hurt on a good day yet alone a rainy cloudy day with lots of Low pressure ( something every old dinosaur knows brings on the pain everywhere !) I have made side cars and trikes before .... and I want very much to build a V-8 Trike I think I could do a good job of it and make it quite funtional ...if not purty ...(that takes tons of cash)
does anyone here have any experience in making a V-8 Trike ?
I seriously doubt I would have anywhere the amount of money needed to complete such a task now so I will probably never start it...but I can dream !
lol.....
Bob.....

 

[upthemaiden]

I'd love an old 40's truck project someday, but thinking about the immense amounts of money that would need to be dumped into one of them... would be hard to justify when I think about how many motorcycles I could buy with the same money. Not to mention by the time the kids are older and I have the time and money to start something like that, they're just going to be 20 years more rare and 20 years more expensive. On the upside with a project that looks that nice, you could spend a couple decades working on it slowly, and not even need the completed truck to feel satisfied, you'd get just as happy seeing it partially completed every time you pass it in the garage.

 

[Doug79]

What you are saying, makes sense. I went from doing cars and trucks to an xs-650 and am approaching it from the standpoint of maybe it gets finished and maybe it doesn't. It has spent the summer in the shed waiting for cold weather when it will move back into the garage. I know it is out there anytime I get the bug to putter around in the shop and it doesn't matter if that is every day or once a month. I did so many projects that were built on a schedule and had to be finished to the point of burning vacation time so I could work every day and part of the night on the final thrash. If I do nothing more than get the engine built this winter, I will be happy.

 

[upthemaiden]

I've done plenty of rushed house projects over the past few years, that were rushed both because it's a pain living without a kitchen, or when there are holes in the side of your house.... it'd be nice to have something I could work on at my own pace just for the enjoyment. Between a newborn, and only having one bike that I use to commute during the nicer months, the most I get is an hour here or there for rushed jobs that NEED done, but I'm really looking forward to ripping this thing into a million pieces so I can clean it up and put it back together. I feel like I'm finally getting a broad enough appreciation for motorcycles that lets me get just as much joy from working on them, as I do from riding them.

I actually get a little bored at the thought of owning an older bike that isn't going to need any real work done to it.(edit: except for a new indian scout, I'd gladly own one of those)