Frame off restore, questions!

Hey guys, I am looking at doing a frame off rebuild on the 84 and was curious what you guys look at frame and suspension/drive line wise when doing this?  I plan on replacing all the usual suspects, along with anything that is overly worn out....like fuel lines, hard brake lines, wiring that looks suspect, brake components, obvious worn suspension components, u-joints....that kind of stuff.  But are there any items, or parts of the frame, I should be paying special attention to and replace while its cab/bed off the frame that normally get overlooked?

I am very much a bullnose (and restore in general) greenhorn, thanks for the assistance and advice!

Also to note, the motor (351w) is being sent off to a shop for a professional rebuild and bore out....the transmission and rear end are not a worry to me right now.

My advice is to clean everything as much & as many times as possible.  It took at least 5 rounds (separate days, doing the whole frame each time) with the pressure washer to get this frame ready to undercoat:



Once it's clean, it'll be easy to see if there are any problems, and almost pleasant to fix them (compared to fighting through the grime).  After it's clean, a full undercoating will keep it & any fasteners in good condition for many years.  Salt, sand, & water won't get into any threads, so they'll be easy to R&I for decades, if needed.



Clean each part just as thoroughly, and you'll find what needs fixing!

I agree with Steve - cleanliness is next to Godliness. But, in my case I had the frame media blasted before being primed with an epoxy primer and then coated with a chassis black paint.

As for what to replace, you need to decide what you want the truck to look like and/or what you want to do with the truck when it is done. I'll suggest that there are roughly three categories of "restorations":

1. Trailer Queen: This is a truck that is so extensively done that you really don't want to drive it for fear of getting it dirty. In my case everything is either powder coated or painted. Many parts are stainless, like brake lines and some fasteners. The truck will be better than new when done as everything is new and many parts are better than new. The body has been restored by a master and all trim is new.
2. Well Done: This would be one that has been done really well, but not everything is painted or powder coated, and not all the parts are new. All bushings would probably be replaced, but the engine and transmission might not be rebuilt. The body will have been well done, but not all trim will be new. In any event, a truck in this category can be driven locally but not usually on long-distance trips.
3. Daily Driver: This is one that can be driven daily. Basically it has been put back into shape and anything wrong fixed, but not everything is replaced.

Bottom Line: Figure out what you want the truck to be and/or what you want to do with it before starting. And make every decision based on that goal.

I haven't done a complete frame off restoration, but I am doing sections at a time. This past winter was the rear end of the frame, and I also replaced the 4 cab mounts. I first had to remove all of the old grimey undercoating, and then I sanded the whole thing down mostly using wire cup wheels on an angle grinder, but I also used some flap wheels as well. I did an Ospho treatment on it, and then primed and painted using a black gloss rust paint.



I should note that I removed the rear end and leaf springs and had them sand blasted separately. Installed all new leaf spring bushings, leaf spring hangers/brackets, all new brake and fuel lines, and new fuel tank and straps, etc.

This thing is NOT a show truck...I'm just cleaning up 35 years of grime and rust in an attempt to make it more presentable.

Rembrant wrote

IThis thing is NOT a show truck...I'm just cleaning up 35 years of grime and rust in an attempt to make it more presentable.

You have certainly met that goal, Cory!

1986F150Six wrote

You have certainly met that goal, Cory!

Ha! Well, a man has to know his limitations! There are some things that I could have done more with (and spent more on) but at the end of the day, you have to decide just how far you're going to go. You could spend $100k restoring one of these trucks if you wanted to...lol. I'm not that guy. I think many of us in the Bullnose world are enthusiasts working with a limited budget.

Yes, on all points.  Set a goal from the start and stick to it or the scope creep will get you, and he's an expensive creep to hang around with.

And, you can sink $100K in anything by just throwing money at it.  That's why I preach buying a truck that is close to what you want rather than pulling one from a field.  You'll pay 1/2 the cost of the parts for someone else's "restoration", and the truck from the field will need everything.

Little late to the party
All vary good information and as said only YOU can decide just how far to take the build.
I also think a lot will have to do with how much of the work you can do or need to farm out.

I would have to say mine is (going to be) between well done and DD, got out of hand of a DD fix
I did not rebuild the motor, T18 trany or 9" rear as they all seamed ok on the short test drive I took when I bought it. I did replace the valve cover, oil pan & lifter cover gaskets as I am sure they were leaking based on all the dirt & oil on the truck.

Frame was stripped of all parts, cleaned, rust treated and oil base black paint sprayed on.
I was going to use the front suspension from my parts truck but ran into issues with wheels so I built the one from mine with new kingpins & bushing. The rear suspension springs & bushings looked good so I reused them.

After cleaning the motor, trany, front & rear suspension they all got a fresh coat of paint.
New clutch, pressure plate & throw out bearing and fixed the linkage as it was in bad shape.
I did look over the wiring from the parts truck as I was going to use it for the AC & duel tanks before it went in my truck. Fixed and painted the parts truck dash because of the AC.

For the brake & fuel lines I took the best from the 2 trucks to use and if any looked ? it was replaced.
Brakes everything out back was replaced, up front I reused the rotors but the rest is new, all new rubber hoses.
I still need to replace the master & booster as I found issues after installed from the parts truck, power for the non-power my truck had.

Body work is why it turned in to a frame off. I replaced floors, rockers, cab corners, lower rear door posts and the lower inner & outer left door. This was all easier with the cab off the truck.
I used the nose from the parts truck but had some dents, roll over, and molding holes I had to deal with.

I have a flare side and had nothing left of the wood or cross braces. I could not see spending $1000 just for them on an $800 truck so I used the 8' style side bed floor in place of the wood one.
This took a lot of work to pull off but looks factory when seen.
I also used all the parts, inside & outside, from the part trucks duel tanks to make a custom duel tank flare side, never a factory option but looks factory stock.

I started all this Dec of 2015 and this is how it looked last year on the 4th.

I have done more custom work to it and rear fenders body work is done and in primer.
Hope to get paint on it soon.

BTW I have done all the work myself other than the machine work for the kingpins and I should have tried as the shop did not do it right.
So how far do you want to take this rebuild?
Dave ----