This is my 1979 F100 Ranger. Dad bought it in 1980 when it was practically new. It’s what I learned to drive in the late 80’s. Although it had always been in the family, I didn’t actually own it till 2015. It got its name “Pete” from mom, who had a nickname for all of their vehicles, so I thought I would just dedicate this build in her memory. Here it is almost 40 years later and nearly 3 years of work.
It had all the typical rust issues that these trucks have and the paint was old and tired. It’s not perfect by any means, but being my first project and doing all the work myself, it turned out satisfactory.
A special shout out to LMC Truck! They had all the parts I needed for this project. New bed side panels, bumpers, glass, and trim just to mention a few. All the videos posted on the internet from other people’s projects were a huge help too. All the welding, body work and people’s techniques with their projects shed lots of light. And finally, Tammy from Tamco paints gave a ton of advice when I built a temporary booth and sprayed it in my garage. She not only guided me on what to buy, but how to spray it. There is a coat of epoxy primer on the bare metal, then a coat of sand-able primer under the 2 coats of paint and 3 coats of clear on top of that.
Definitely a fun project! Since all of my birthday and Christmas gifts from the family have been geared towards getting this done for the past 3 years, I think I will keep their momentum going as I turn my focus towards the engine.
Hopefully my wife and I will get to enjoy this for many years to come. Who knows, 40 years from now, maybe one of our sons will get to restore it again?