So here is the 69 Highboy I bought a couple of months ago, a little history on the truck and what I have done to it so far and the plans for it.
Some History:
This truck was bought new by the grandfather of the guy I got it from. He was a logger and used it in the mountains around Bend Oregon for years, then his father had the truck and work at the saw mill and drove it everyday to work. The kid got it in High School and drove it some there but worked on it in auto mechanics in school mostly. His job supplied him with a new Ford truck so he never drove it much.
He said that in the late 80’s they put the 390 in it and it had had the front end rebuilt/replace a couple of times and the rearend had been replace before also.
He put new tires and wheels on it in 98 and still never drove it… He went to put a 4 barrel manifold and carb on it in 2003 and found the block was cracked next to the freeze plug. He ended up putting a new block in it with new pistons and had the heads gone through. When he put it back in the truck it got a new starter, alternator, fuel pump, and radiator… He also put a new front driveshaft and seat in it at that time… put the bed rails and tool box in the back also. He drove it a few times (100 miles maybe) after all this. He just didn’t need it and he had a 03 Ford F-150 4x4 that he drives all the time so he decided to get rid of it. He figures the truck has over 500,000 miles on it...
Pictures of it before I bought it from the seller, click to expand;
I bought it and the brakes were out of it so that is the first thing I had to fix. I put it on a trailer and took it to my buddy’s shop where I could work on it inside.
Pictures of getting it;
The Right rear wheel cylinder was leaking so that is part of why the brakes were not working to well. I replaced the rear wheel cylinders and rebuilt the fronts. I put new rubber brake lines on it front and back as those were getting bad. I also installed power brakes on it as I had the stuff on a parts truck, I was going to put this on my shorty but I will find another for it when the time comes… The booster wouldn’t hold vacuum so I had to replace it.
Replaced the front and rear diff oil and put new rear hub seals in it when I did the brakes.
Found the left tie rod was shot so replaced that, all the rest of the steering was great.
Had one front and rear light that didn’t work, found the front was just the bulb and dirty socket but the rear was a broken wire in the back. Got that all fixed and found the reverse lights didn’t work… another broken wire and another dirty socket, all the lights work now!
Replaced the 13 inch aftermarket steering wheel with the one off my shorty for know until I get Power Steering installed. That 13 inch with manual steering not a real good idea…
Checked the other drive shafts and the rear was good but the intermediate shaft needed new U-Joints, so got those and put them on.
Took it for a test drive, truck stops great now! When I got back the rear driveshaft seal on the transfercase was leaking. Whoever installed it last didn’t get it in there straight, so I replaced that.
Changed the oil and filter the other night and drove it home.
Here are pictures of it when I was woking on it in my buddy's shop.
Working on the brakes;
Front before work.
Front after work
Rear after work
Brake Booster installed
Some pics of the winch setup;
This is a 8000lb PTO driven Ramsey winch, it is driven off the Transmission PTO.
This shows the driveshaft for it, notus the exhaust modification for it
Driveshaft up under the radiator
Some interior shots;
Before replacing the stearing wheel
After putting in stock stearing wheel and the badly cracked dash pad
New Dome light by Jamie (Ranchero50) installed.
Some of the extra stuff that came in the back. A brand new tire off of his 03 f150 (as he put bigger tires on it), a bunch of sprinkler heads, a gas tank that mounts on the outside of the frame in front of the wheel opening, and some general junk
If you look at the left side of the bed under the tool box is the inside spare tire mount
I need to get a bigger spare mounted to match the size of the tires on it now, then relocate that mount to the back corner. 
Some other shots of the truck and parts;
The rear tailgate needs replaced, it looks ok on the outside but the left inside is mashed and it wont latch on the left.
This shows how bad the front springs are shot...
Tires and wheels
Dana 24 transfercase
My next thing is to get the springs re-arched and put new bushings in them as they are shot…
The list of things to do;
Build/fix the throttle linkage for it.
Put Power Steering on it, I got a new rebuilt 78-79 F250 4x4 box for it and new drag link, and drop pitman arm.
Build a new front bumper for the winch. (Yes, I decided to keep the winch) when I do this it looks like I can move it back about 3-4 inches from where it is now.
Install thef600 instrument panel and intermittent wiper switch I got for it.
Get it ready for paint and paint it
Install sound deadener and carpet inside
Rebuild/replace the heater controls
Take the dash pad out of my shorty that has one small crack in it and put it in the highboy (I’ll get a better one for the shorty)
Wire it for trailer lights and trailer brakes
New rubber seals for the windows and doors
I also got the trim for the front and rear windows and also the rear tail lights.
What ever else comes along the way...
S
Lookin' real good! Keep 'em coming!
