Seapine - 1972 F350 flatbed build

[SeapineF37]

the time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things, of shoes and ships and sealing wax, and the bumpside that i bought sight-unseen from the other side of the country and have been slowly fixing up - a Seapine Green 1972 F350 ranger xlt flatbed camper spcial DRW 390fe NP435 Dana70 w 4.11 gears

so i've been a member here on fordification for almost two years now and appreciate all the help i have gotten from the forums. you guys are great and my project has been slow in the makings and i never felt like i had enough done to post, but all of the dualies of late in this project section have made me feel like i'm overdue for starting my own thread. so here goes...

one day back in 1980... no just kidding. lets get to the pictures!

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here she is upon arrival. seriously though, i looked long and hard for this truck. bought her sight-unseen from a guy in Idaho (minimal rust high desert truck) and had her shipped to Florida. love so many things about this bumpside - the basic wiring system w no computer, power disc brakes, power steering, the 390 motor w a towing 4-speed and did i mention hardly any rust? only thing missing was AC but i figured i could add it easy enough. looks a bit rough at the start but this girl is going to be a good looking workhorse.

general plan:
drivetrain go-over to bring it back to a dependable distance hauler / daily driver
mild upgrades to engine including intake, carb, headers and exhaust, and electric fan
minor bodywork and trim elimination, then paint her back to the original color
upgrade the original flatbed to include strong gooseneck hitch
clean up the wiring and upgrade in areas to include additional relays for electric fan, winch, trailer connections, driving lights, etc moving batteries to side box
consolidate 2 small gas tanks to one large tank driver side under flatbed
restore the interior similar to original but with minor "improvements" / creature comforts

ok so thats a start. thanks guys for all your ongoing help and for following along on my adventure. hope you enjoy and that its helpful to others as well. more to follow shortly to get caught up on all i've done thus far...

[Madman]

Looks like you have a nice project to start with, look forward to seeing your progress!

[popeyes71]

Nice truck! I wouldn't think there are to many Ranger XLT camper special dualies out there. Enjoy the truck, I'm looking forward to seeing more pics. and progress of the truck.

[Jacksdad]

A DRW build
Looking forward to seeing your progress

[Canonman67]

Sweet looking ride, can't wait to see what you do with it.

[SeapineF37]

thanks guys! feel luck to have found her. drove off the transport under her own power, but not running well. late nigh trip around the block but status assessment was first priority...

initial issues:

interior
no horn or turn signals and temp gauge not moving
radio aftermarket older style but not working
dark green dash pad in bad shape
headliner falling
seat ripped and duct taped and blanket covered
carpet worn out (and smells like old fritos are hidden in here somewhere)

exterior
front bumper bent and rear bumper a welded up mess of odd farm steel
flatbed was decked over with diamond plate but old wood left underneath and rotten
tiny single exhaust poorly redone at some point
wires in engine bay jumped and twist tied and randomly modified
looks like plenty of temp farm "repairs" that were never correctly addressed
only rust spot is hole under battery on inner fender (battery held in place w rope)
upon close inspection seems that repaint was due to hail damage but done long ago
looks like original west coast mirrors were relaced w newer style ciba at time of repaint
NP435 grinds into 3rd gear and then pops out - guessing flat tow damage

anyway, got my work cut out for me. i'm sure i will find more as the project progresses
here are a few more interior pics.

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[freaknajeep]

looks so weird with all the trim...

[Jacksdad]

I was thinking the same thing. It's awesome to see a work truck decked out like that - pretty neat find.

[SeapineF37]

haha yes love so many of the special details of this truck, but the exterior trim... not so much. plus, while the body work in general is in good condition, the trim looks like it went into battle against a dozen ball-peen hammers and barely came out alive. and it rained and lots of dirt ran out from behind there so probably not the best idea to have that much trim on a work truck.

anyway, so much grime first step is some cleanup before i can start sorting out the issues. engine bay up first...

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might not look to bad up on the intake, but lots of thick oil and dirt buildup around the block and tranny so engine degrease and pressure wash first up.
see how this girl cleans up...

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[SeapineF37]

got to the interior cleanup next. old carpet out. removed the cracked up dash pad plus a few lbs of dirt. coating everything behind the dash too. but small price to pay for not much rust!

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also transmission is pretty bad shape so first actual repair work is a rebuild kit from novak for the np435 and new carrier bearing and u-joints. also trying to identify the source of a bunch of leaks around the engine now that its cleaned up a bit. did find that the plug wires were not correctly ordered so that helped it run a bit smoother.

[SeapineF37]

looks like oil leaks at the pan gasket, valve covers, and a HUGE one at the rear of the intake. running down the bellhousing and all over the tranny. time to pull the np235 and decide how far to go into the motor. for now i think replace the cast intake with an edelbrock performer, new plugs, wires, and points, plus a new holley 4160 and see how that goes for a while. more motor upgrades planned, but not quite yet. and have to get the tranny and drivetrain in shape so this can be a daily driver while i work at fixing her up...

here are a few photos from getting ready to pull the transmission.

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[SeapineF37]

so 3 small photos is the limit for uploading right from your computer without hosting?
going to have to figure this out or my whole thread is going to be 3 photo posts

[SeapineF37]

novak rebuild kit came for the NP435 so pulled and brought the transmission down the street to manny's transmission and they has it rebuilt in no time flat. some more cleanup and paint and ready to put her back in along with new carrier bearing and u-joints...

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also started pulling the beat up exterior trim. can see where the repaint stopped at pulling the clips.

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[Ranchero50]

Good looking truck. Get a photobucket account and use it for pics. You'll be able to post them larger (640x480 is forum standard) and you can even rotate them.

I do agree that it's odd to see a loaded dually.

[SeapineF37]

Good looking truck. Get a photobucket account and use it for pics. You'll be able to post them larger (640x480 is forum standard) and you can even rotate them.

I do agree that it's odd to see a loaded dually.

thanks Ranchero50!

got the grivetrain back together. lots less slop now.
also swapping in some halogen headlights. temp relay setup until i redo the battery an wiring but need some good light for early morning driving!
lets try this photobucket linking thing!