Conceding defeat

[vonburger]

Hey guys, I haven't been on here inna month or two, sorry about that. I've tried in that period to make enough money to try and restore my pickup. Unfortunately it has been a very discouraging experience, I only have $250 plus about 10 big ol' bags of cans. Not nearly enough to even start the restoration. The crankshaft needs balanced, and that alone will take up more than what i have. I'm seriously considering getting my uncles permission to sell the truck on this site and using the money to get a DD. What is you opinion? This is mildly of topic, but any advice on how to respond to a help wanted ad in the newspaper? Thanks in advance.

[averagef250]

The crankshaft was balanced from the factory. It does not require anything further. Put the $250 in your pocket, get the truck driving and drive it.

[vonburger]

The crankshaft was balanced from the factory. It does not require anything further. Put the $250 in your pocket, get the truck driving and drive it.

The previous owner (my uncle) is a mechanic and he says it needs balanced and i will have to change the tranny seal often if it isn't balanced. The truck needs someone more experienced to take the time and money to restore it, or even make it driveable.

[Ranchero50]

Motor not spinning to the moon doesn't really need anything better than a factory balance. Get the truck together and running, or push it out of the way. A full restoration is something old guys do on their days off.

Per replying to a job ad, just say you are willing to work and will show up on time every time. Too many folks are unwilling to work or show up so you'll be money ahead just saying you will. Of course you'll need to back it up with performance...

[68 Ford Stepside]

There is someone out there looking for a project truck such as you have. Advertise it & sell it. You'll be that much closer to getting a daily driver & someone else will be able to possibly fulfill thier lifelong dream of restoring a classic truck. You both win.

[Whateverman]

ignore your uncle cuz his diagnosis seems sounds like a load too me, i'd go find a job & get the sucker running when $$$ permitted

[68 Ford Stepside]

The crankshaft was balanced from the factory. It does not require anything further. Put the $250 in your pocket, get the truck driving and drive it.

The previous owner (my uncle) is a mechanic and he says it needs balanced and i will have to change the tranny seal often if it isn't balanced. The truck needs someone more experienced to take the time and money to restore it, or even make it driveable.

If the crankshaft is vibrating, there is a 95% chance it has the wrong harmonic balancer on it or the trans torque converter is out of balance.Have A Great Ford Day!

[Ranchero50]

http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... &sk=t&sd=a

[vonburger]

http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... &sk=t&sd=a

I honestly thought I could do it. I guess i was wrong.

[Chickenhawk368]

http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... &sk=t&sd=a

I honestly thought I could do it. I guess i was wrong.

This may seem harsh but with that attitude, your right you can't! I think it was Henry ford who said "If you think you can do something or think you can't do something then your right". If this is something you REALLY want then you'll figure out how. It will not be practical, it will not be easy. First things first you have time on your side, you can't drive legally so the fact that you only have $200 buck right now is no big deal, the fact that you have earned it is.

1) Decide if this is really what you want, and you better be sure.

2) Get mom on your side, no mom and this is dead in the water. This is where being dang sure it's what you want comes in, if your conceding defeat after 2 months then you have your mom, me and everyone else thinking you don't really want it that bad. How do you convince her and any one else you do??? No idea, my best advice is to, show determination, don't complain or wine.


I honestly hope to hear back from you because I have a few tried and tested ideas for you. Good luck

[tsherry]

Hey guys, I haven't been on here inna month or two, sorry about that. I've tried in that period to make enough money to try and restore my pickup. Unfortunately it has been a very discouraging experience, I only have $250 plus about 10 big ol' bags of cans. Not nearly enough to even start the restoration. The crankshaft needs balanced, and that alone will take up more than what i have. I'm seriously considering getting my uncles permission to sell the truck on this site and using the money to get a DD. What is you opinion? This is mildly of topic, but any advice on how to respond to a help wanted ad in the newspaper? Thanks in advance.

Factory balance on the crank is fine. There's no need to spend any money on it.

[sargentrs]

There is SO much work you can do on the truck that does not require any, or little, money at all. If you just take it apart, clean it, and rattle can paint it, you'll spend a couple of months and about $100 and make an impression on everyone, showing that you do have motivation and initiative. I've spent a year and a half on mine and don't even have an engine in it yet.

[Cipher43]

If your main issue is the restoration, don't worry about it because its not as hard as you think it will be. I restored a 1957 s-100 International Harvester and started when I was 14 and the only experience I had was from my uncle...... I will guarantee you that the information details you get on here will be better than that my uncle gave me at that age and I was able to do all the body work with nothing more than a torch, welder, hammer and dolly, some body putty, a paint sprayer, and some time.

As for the money part of it. If you don't think you have the funds right now to do a full resto then just get the motor back together and run it. If these guys think you can run it the way it is or need to change/check the balancer out like stepside said or something like that then you may want to try it before you do anything to the crank(If it were me I would start a new thread an ask a lot of questions and post pics of what you have wrong/right). Then later down the road you can do a full resto all at once or a piece at a time to keep the vehicle on the road.

If you are lacking the motivation just look at what everyone on this site has done or go to Google and Google image search 71 f100 and the pics usually inspire me to dream and at least if you have a dream you can work towards making it reality .

Also remember that Pictures of whats wrong or in question are worth 10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 words on a site like this where they know their bumps inside and out.

[sargentrs]

Also, while I know you probably hear it a lot from old farts like us, patience and preparation are key to a project like this. I started planning my project almost 4 years ago now. First year was nothing but research and figuring out exactly what I wanted to end up with and how I intended to get there. The second year I began putting aside money, $25/paycheck for a whole year. About 9 months later I upped that to $50/paycheck and started buying parts from craigslist, ebay, junkyards and forum members. That whole time I drove my truck, often as a daily driver. The next phase was to buy an economical car to use as a DD while I was working on the truck. I saved up $1200 over the course of a year and bought a 1990 Toyota Camry. That very month, I pulled my truck into the garage and started tear down. That was April 2011. Get your truck running, no matter how roughly and drive it as often as you can. Get to know it like an old friend. Within a few weeks you'll have a better feel for what you want to do with your project.

[averagef250]

A mechanic that believes engine balance and seal leakage are related shouldn't be a mechanic, sorry.