Well, here she is after a few used fenders and a hood, some new grill and light parts, and a used radiator support. Threw on some primer and paint, and, voila. Took me 6 full evenings of working on it to get it to this point, but one thing is for sure, I am NOT an auto body professional. The paint looks okay from a distance, but it flat out sucks when you get close to it. I think I'll be able to sand it down a little and maybe throw some clearcoat on it, but, hey, it's driveable. The front bumper still droops a little, and the body seam lines are as good as they're gonna get. I took my wife, kids, and the dogs for a spin, they loved it. I'll still need to work on the hardtop, some of the seams need some work, but overall, it's ready to get inspected and registered at the Alaska DMV. Here's a couple of pics before:







Continued...

 

During the teardown:



And finally, the finished (sorta) pics:





I've called the local Ford auto body shop, and I'm getting the tape stripe ordered for both sides. I'm still debating on ordering new front and rear bumpers, not sure what I want to do. I'll be throwing a plow on it before snow flies, so I probably won't worry about the front one.

 

Here's a quick one of the drivers side, as you can see, the front bumper droops just a smidge:

 

Hell, I'm impressed!

Don't know if you're the person to ask or not, but looking at your work, I figure why not ask... Someone brushed up against my truck recently, and left a black rubber-like mark/line on my white paint. It didn't scratch, but it doesn't come off by rubbing it with a soapy rag. What's the best way to fix that?

 

how did u get it to roll down the hill without leavin any markes in the snow
i aint tryin to be smart

 

Thanks for the compliment, PKRWUD (where the heck did you come up with a name like that?) As for the paint mark, I would try a buffer and some compound, maybe? I've heard that that does the trick, but I've never tried it. I actually have the reverse problem on my 2003 F150, I've got a white mark made by one of those cheap hanger thingy's on the black part of my tailgate, and I'm looking at getting a buffer to remove it.

fordtough_k_w, my dad was actually driving it (he owned it at the time), and was coming up the road and lost control, sliding into the snowbank and rolling over the drivers side and resting on the passenger side. If you look at the picture of the front end, see the willows on the right, they are bent over from the truck rolling over it, that's the direction it came from.

The local dealer here in town hooked me up with the tape stripes, apparently they were discontinued, but he had three boxes of them collecting dust in the supply room, so he just gave them to me, sweet!! Here's a pic with the stripes on:

 

It's a long story, but in short, it's been a nickname since I was a kid. The name of my business is Peckerwoods Pit Stop.

 

ok i see , that makes since to me its just when i looked at the picture somethin didnt quite add up but it all adds up now

 

PKRWUD, I do a lot of auto cleaning and detailing. Rubbing compound is sometimes too abrasive for today's clearcoat finishes, and especially so if you have an older vehicle where the clearcoat has worn down a little! What I use to clean most of the vehicles I do is Maguier's #2 cleaner. #1 is usually too light an abrasive and takes a lot more elbow grease, but #2 is nice - not too coarse, but not too fine. I usually follow it up with #7 polish and then a good coat of wax.

Oh, and jdpollen, NICE JOB! I was following your previous pics during the process. Darn dogs.... Lookin good now!

 

Thanks for the tip! Do you apply it by hand, or with a buffer?

 

jdpollen... Check out eBay for bumpers. That puppy is held on by 4 nuts/bolts so it's a snap to take off on. You may even be able to "adjust" some of that tweak out to make is less noticeable ( I know this from my meeting with a deer a few years back..which sucked because she bent up my $100.00 PowerStroke bumper with the rub strip and holes in the front which helps here in the hot/humid South )

PKRWUD.. Go to Wally World..purchase NuFinish ( remember the polish they put on the car and then put through the car wash on the commercial ) it has
just enough cleaner in it that is should remove the rub mark you have. I use it on the belt-line down on my trucks and it's great. Just doesn't give enough shine for the upper panels.

 

Hey man, long time, no see! Thanks for the advice!

 

To do a whole vehicle, I usually use a buffer on the large areas and apply it by hand in the tight areas and around trim. I usually wipe it off by hand. Same with the polish. The wax I apply by hand and use a buffer to remove. Then hand rub the whole vehicle down.

For spot cleanup like your rub, I'd just apply it by hand. It'll come off within a very short time.

 

Thanks!

It just happened the other day at the grocery store. I was seriously pissed when I discovered it. My truck is my work truck, it's over 10 years old, it's parked outside all the time (won't fit in my garage), and I only wash and wax it once a year. BUT, it always cleans up nice (see pics)! Thanx for your tips!


These are before and after pics from the last time I washed and waxed it (It will be 1 year on Monday)

Before:






After:

 

PKRWUD, that truck cleans up REAL NICE! I'll have to get some pics of my baby on here sometime. I've been a fanatic about it since I got it. It's the first brand new vehicle I ever had and it's my baby. People still look at the inside and wonder how I drive it without being inside to get it dirty!