50 shades of silver

[archie73]

I don’t know where this going to go just yet. I already have my 40-lifted & locked w/LS. It fills my wheeling & fun topless driver category. My commuter is an awd sienna- plush and utilitarian(sorta). My tow rig is an 08 tundra- plush and powerful enough for my needs. So what do I do with a 60? I don’t exactly know yet, but I have it.

The situation: is I was looking at another cruiser and had a deal worked out for it, when the seller mentioned he’d let this go too. Quick math said parts I could salvage would be worth the price- if I can’t get it running. The seller mentioned he bought it with the same intentions. Apparently the PPO said it had frame rot. I’ve only done a cursory inspection when it was parked in the tall grass. The rear most xmember has some speed holes, but that’s all I could see in the grass. I’ll need to take it to work and put it in the lift to do a more thorough inspection. Hopefully the Hotsy can get the chicken poop off as well. Maybe that would be considered protection?!?!?

Speaking of speed holes, the body is not pristine. I imagine it’s the usual suspects in this front:

1. Upper and lower tailgates
2. Wheel lips
3. Rear quarters showing spray foam!!!
4. Doors - not that bad, but they have a spot here and there.
5. Fair share of small dents and dings
6. The bumpers were thoroughly vetted through the years.
7. I haven’t pulled any carpet yet, but I’m assuming it’s got some rust there too

The paint is where the thread title comes from- it’s been touched up with whatever silver paint was on hand. I mean it fits the utilitarian aesthetic nicely. Just like the tailgate patch. And I’m not pointing fingers, it’s functional.

Mechanically- mostly unknown. The parking brake seems to work in a marginal manner. The wheels all turned freely. Brakes/clutch have no fluid. After confirming it had oil, I hooked up the jumper cables just to see if it would spin. The good news is yes. Slowly. Beyond that I just haven’t had time to find out. To my uninformed eye, everything looks to be there under the hood.

Interior- I’d give it 6/10. It seem to be all there minus the cargo area. Front seats match the odometer (195k), worn but functional. Rear bench looks pretty good. Same for door panels. Main issue here is the scent of mouse piss.

So what do I do with it? My vehicle “needs” are currently met. Getting the engine to run would kinda devalue the stripping of parts theory. It’s pretty impractical for my daily commute. It’s too big for the trails I like.

My boy today expressed some interest in it, which surprised me. He definitely has mixed feelings on the 40. He hates riding in the backseat (topless), but he’s the only kid that can drive a stick because of it. When he showed passing interest in the wagon, my cruiser head started spinning. It could be fleeting, but a dad can dream.

All this blathering is my way of saying hi and introducing the potential project. As usual this will be a long and drawn out build process- as life will dictate. Day after I brought it home I did this, so it’ll be a while before I get to the 60-

 

[88Retired62]

All righty then, you have some serious rehab on the horizon in more ways than one…body - boy - & badly abused LC. The clavicle (collarbone) multiple fracture looks rather complicated so an extended and uncomfortable rehab is assured..,I’d say begin with the boy!
Very nice 40 and Idaho state of mind. As a start, you seem to have your head screwed on properly for this fearless determination ahead of you. I’ll be cheering for you!

 

[cruisermatt]

How old is your kid? Looks like a great Cruiser to be a first car/project and it's in rough enough shape he can take it wheeling.

 

[SteveH]

Don't be in a hurry to part it out. More people than you think are interested in slightly battered cruisers, or can't afford a pristine one. Sounds like you need to park it on pavement with a good tarp over it until you heal. Get it out of the tall grass, at least.

 

[archie73]

All righty then, you have some serious rehab on the horizon in more ways than one…body - boy - & badly abused LC. The clavicle (collarbone) multiple fracture looks rather complicated so an extended and uncomfortable rehab is assured..,I’d say begin with the boy!
Very nice 40 and Idaho state of mind. As a start, you seem to have your head screwed on properly for this fearless determination ahead of you. I’ll be cheering for you!

Thanks for the kind words. When I see an old truck like this in this condition, I don’t necessarily think of it as abused. I think it was used in the manner that was built for. Life moves fast and sometimes we don’t correct the little dings that turn into these cancerous holes. Once a vehicle reaches a certain point, it’s easier to right off as a beater. All that is to say I don’t know how far I’d go to restore this one.

Fortunately, bodies heal. I have surgery tomorrow, so hopefully my recovery won’t be to long. Coincidentally, I’m a week ahead of my friend who did exactly the same thing. He’s 4 days out of surgery and claims to have near full motion and little pain/discomfort. Wish me luck.

 

[archie73]

How old is your kid? Looks like a great Cruiser to be a first car/project and it's in rough enough shape he can take it wheeling.

He just turned 13. In Idaho, that means he’ll have his permit in a year and half; his license at 15. Scary!!!
While I agree it would be a good first car, there are 3 points of view on this topic:

Mine-It’s big, cheap & to expensive (mpg) to drive far. Not to mention, he not gonna make it much worse
His-He is dreaming of a WRX (It’s all about the drift). NOT UNDER MY INSURANCE!!! .
Mama-She does want him to drive anything that’ll slip right under a 1 ton pickup. She also wants him to have airbags and it’s hard to argue against her logic.

 

[archie73]

Don't be in a hurry to part it out. More people than you think are interested in slightly battered cruisers, or can't afford a pristine one. Sounds like you need to park it on pavement with a good tarp over it until you heal. Get it out of the tall grass, at least.

Well given the x-ray and the doc saying I shouldn’t lift anything over 5# for a while- it’s safe. For now. On top of that I have a 59 f100 in line ahead of it- this is my father/"son" project. So the 60 is safe for a bit.

I wish I owned some pavement to park it on, but that’s not in the cards. I suppose I could put it up on Jack stands. I have considered a car cover, that might keep the neighbors at bay…

 

[TheDurangoKidd]

I like the father son project idea. Doubt the kid will hotrod it, so speed isn't an issue but the lack of ABS and airbags may be a concern....

How did you break yourself? I'm guessing I wasn't on a run to Starbucks. Hope your surgery and healing go smooth!

 

[archie73]

I like the father son project idea. Doubt the kid will hotrod it, so speed isn't an issue but the lack of ABS and airbags may be a concern....

How did you break yourself? I'm guessing I wasn't on a run to Starbucks. Hope your surgery and healing go smooth!

The ford is aiming to be a cruising style hotrod. Not the fastest, but should be fun. Not much in the way of safety hardware. This will not be a daily- rod and snow don’t fly around here.

I broke myself following the boy on mountain bikes. It’s a good time, until it’s not.

 

[Sethro60]

I keep my 60 as my camping rig. I romped all over Utah and Colorado in this thing for years, and we both look a bit well traveled. I keep the roof tent on it, and leave all my camping gear in it all summer. It's nice to jump in and romp around the mountains when an opportunity arises. Don't worry to much about muddy dogs or rust. I also think the 60 is a great driver, with some comforts like disk brakes and power steering, but still has some of the tractor feel of the 40.

 

[archie73]

The more I think about it, I need to check the frame rot first thing I guess. On the 40’s, common rust is the rear channel crossmember and right around the rear spring’s forward mount. Is this true of the 60s as well or is there somewhere else I should be looking?

I got out of surgery yesterday. I’m waiting for the nerve block to wear off, so I can use my right hand again- at least be able hold something, but I might be able to crawl on the trailer.

Edit-

I crawled under today. The back couple feet of the frame are pretty bad. This is the rear crossmember. It might be hard to see in the picture, but the metal is completely missing from the middle two feet. The rust you see is actually the backside of the bumper.

The inner C two feet before above xmember look like rolling hills. This frame would be an excellent candidate for a bob, it doesn’t look terrible from shackle hanger forward.

I had read that dropping the spare is a good idea for checking above it, but didn’t bother with the surrounding area already identified compromised.

With it on the trailer and my current condition, I wasn’t able to check cancer of the mid section. It’s possible the oil from the drivetrain saved it, but I’m not sure if it really matters given the above pictures.

It’s definitely not looking like a vehicle I would put a new driver in. This is looking more like a donor truck. I have a list of things I’m looking at for another project, but if anyone out there has something they want look for an ad in the classifieds section. All parts will be located in eastern Idaho, so keep that in mind for large pieces.

More edit-
I got it off the trailer today. The mid section is pretty crispy as well. Oh well, doesn’t really change much in the decision process.

Just for giggles I poured some gas in the carburetor. Watched it flow out the base. Tried to fire it anyway. Nada.