Restoration Manual? Shipping Option?

[wilgusj]

Hey guys,

I've always wanted to restore a car and finally have the project and the space. My grandpa owns a 1972 F 252 Camper Special that is the car I learned to drive in. I now have a 2.5 car garage that I has plenty of room for a project. Now "all" I need is the truck and a decent guide to get me started.

Issue 1: The truck is at my grandpa's in Southern CA. I'm in Southern Michigan. I've contacted a few shipping companies and it looks like it's going to cost about $1,000 to get it out here. Anyone know of a more cost effective way to get the beast to MI?

Issue 2: I'd like to read a decent "how-to" guide on restoring old trucks. I've found several on amazon that seem relevant, but nothing that seems to fit this model Ford exactly. Any recommendations on a good restoration guide or book to give me an overview of the basics?

Thanks guys. Much appreciated.

[hazelnut]

Wilgus, to the site. Shipping Cost don't sound bad for the distance it has to travel, Figure how much gas you would burn for the same trip.

Heres the restoration guide for these trucks http://www.fordification.com/siteindex.htm http://www.fordification.com/tech/technical-index.htm

After reading what you want out of that have a look at http://www.fordification.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=22

All that should help you get going in the right direction. Main thing in restoreing anything is haveing enuff money to finish what you start.

[wilgusj]

Thanks man - for the links and info. To your point about having enough money to finish the job, is there a ballpark figure of what a job like this would cost if it requires a total rebuild/restoration? In others words, this truck is going to need to be gutted and redone from the bottom up. It has all the original parts; it runs and rolls/drives, but it needs lots of work. Guess I was thinking that $5-10K over the course of a couple years would get me to a place that I like, recognizing that I could probably keep spending too my wallet's content much higher than that. That said, I'm not trying to create a show piece out of it. Just want to make it look nice so I can have around for a few years and possibly even turn over to my grandson one day.

Thanks again.

[hazelnut]

I would guess to do it right and go through everything you would be looking at $10k not including the drivetrain. $4-5k on the drivetrain.
Thats what i would figure if you were doing all the work yourself and not paying out labor.

[91Bear]

[Ranchero50]

For a price reference, go to NPD's website and download the current parts catalog. If you budget $40,000 you'll probably be ok.

Then there's the old saying, 'Time, money, quality. Pick two'

One thing I would do is have your grandpa take some really good pictures and post them up. Since the trucks already in Cali it would be well worth your while to have him pay someone to pull good rust free sheetmetal and ship it in the bed.

[wilgusj]

Thanks again guys. $10-15K sounds like something I could pull off over a few years. $40,000 makes me a bit squeamish about the undertaking. I was reading somewhere that some of the more basic restoration manuals provide some guidance about how to assess the cost of a project before beginning.

@91Bear: Does the manual that you pointed out above discuss pricing at all? I found that book on Amazon, but even the used ones are about $75. Is it worth it?

Thanks...

[colnago]

Hey, I just found the e-book version of that book at Google Play for fifteen bucks! That's actually quite tempting for me, but I will have to deal with not being able to make notes in the margins, etc.

As far as the shipping quote, that sounds pretty fair to me (I think I paid around $1200 to move an Excursion from Georgia to California a couple of years ago, and that was to have someone drive it out, not truck it out). You'd probably spend more than that for an equivalent truck in your area, and you have the added bonus of it being a "family member". I wish I had my dad's old Chevy, and I hope to steal his '28 Ford pickup from my brother in the not-so-distant future. Also, you can't beat those SoCal trucks for escaping rust and salt damage.

For fix-it estimates, get catalogs from NPD, LMC Trucks, Mac's Antique Auto Parts, and Dennis Carpenter. Ebay, Craig's List, and this forum are great sources of old stuff, too.

Oh, and

Joseph

[wilgusj]

Joseph - thanks for the warm welcome and useful tidbits. As you accurately imagine, having THIS truck rebuilt is the important part for me given my experience with it. Here's to hoping I can make it happen!

Thanks again...

Jay