Like a Phoenix from the ashes

[1 Crummyshooter]

This old girl is a long time member of the family. I bought her in Minnesota, in ’73, just before moving to Montana. At the time my kids were 2 and 6 so it’s been in the family as long as they remember. She is named Effie, for F 250. My son said he thought it was for the FE engine.

Stloen 1.jpg

We picked up a Bell 8’ camper, and spent the next 20 years or so hunting and camping in Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. When we moved to Oregon our house had wood heat only, so she added a new roll to her resume. I was able to take a month, off each fall, for hunting and cutting firewood. There is good wood within 10 miles, so I could hunt an hour or so then get a load of wood.

While he was in high school, some of my sons friends got 5 rigs stuck down in a hole, in 2 feet of snow. Blazers and ½ ton swb Chevys with big tires. Someone walked out and got the boy to come and help. I wasn’t home so he took Effie, without permission. My truck has a 8K Braden PTO winch, with 400’ of 5/16 wire on it. The boy drove in out of the hole 4 or 5 times to break a good trail, then winched out the Chevys. Needless to say, the truck is a legend among his friends.

She has been retired most of the last 10 years, and was stolen about a month ago. We got her back in about a week. The new owners decided to fix her up some. She was no beauty before (lots of rust) but she is so ugly, now I have to keep her out of sight.

I have been forced to give her some attention. I believe I’ll try my hand body work and painting. I hope I don’t make it worse.

I have found a good doner, but it comes with a problem of its own.

It may be too good to scavenge.

It's a '70 F250 Sport Custom LWB 2wd, with some mechanical problems, but near perfect sheet metal.

[Heirloom]

Great (snow) recovery story! Sorry it got messed up while being 'borrowed'. Looking forward to seeing progress!

[popeyes71]

So glad you were able to get her back. I think that donor truck will serve its purpose well in getting your truck back as she was in her glory days.

[67nukeford]

Man, that is one clean donor! And, that's a beast of a winch you have on her!!

[1 Crummyshooter]

Okay, I am at a point where I need to make some heavy duty decisions.

How much do I take from the doner before it ain't the same truck?

The finished product should be Boxwood Green.

All the way would be to strip all (cab and all) the doner sheet metal down and have a good shop prep and paint.

Next choice could be replace all the sheet metal, including cab, and repaint the outside in the origional doner color, baby **** yellow.

Then there is keep my cab, (lots of cancer, floor pans and front door posts) and just replace what shows. Fenders, doors, hood.

Or other ideas

I can't say "money is no object", but I would like opinions disregarding cost.

[1 Crummyshooter]

Man, that is one clean donor! And, that's a beast of a winch you have on her!!

The winch is big and heavy ( I added a leaf in the front springs) but it is really no more than a Warn 8000. It has a big spool. It came from a Korean war ambulance and had 1/2 inch wire on it. With that lash up it probably didn't have a 100 feet of wire. But it looks impressive.

[Heirloom]

Boxwood Green and use as much good metal from either as you can. As long as the VIN plates stay with their respective frames, then all is good IMO.

[1 Crummyshooter]

How is your day going?

Tried to retrieve the donor with the dump truck.

Now I'll have to wait till it dries out.

This is the Oregon Desert?

But the load of rock is already sold

stuck.jpg

[Mancar1]

Looks like a bunch of work. Or is that errrr fun.

[Ranchero50]

I'd swap the whole donor sheet metal and enjoy your 'new' truck. As long as the results are worth the effort who really cares how many trucks it took to build what you want?