My new ride....1970

[taxreliever]

 

[mustangtoby]

Another vote for chucking the thornbirds, they aren't for crap. Just curious, how does it drive w/ those big tires and no power steering? The last highboy I had was a 72, and I had 33's on it. It was a bear. Even my 76 w/ power assist is tough w/ 35's on it, I went back to stock size and it drives so much better (just doesn't look as tough).

 

[taxreliever]

Another vote for chucking the thornbirds, they aren't for crap. Just curious, how does it drive w/ those big tires and no power steering? The last highboy I had was a 72, and I had 33's on it. It was a bear. Even my 76 w/ power assist is tough w/ 35's on it, I went back to stock size and it drives so much better (just doesn't look as tough).

Pretty difficult to turn with the thornbirds....it's not too bad when you're just driving, but when you're parking, it's tough. I took it for a long drive today to pick up my new (used) tires I was buying on craigslist and it drove fantastic.....man, as I was driving, I kept thinking I was back in 1970....this rig drives like a dream. I went about 80 miles round trip. I bought some BFG A/T's, 33's. I bet the ride will be 10 X's better. I want to finish cleaning up the original OEM wheels I bought from the PO...going to paint them white.

 

[mustangtoby]

That's gonna look good, and I bet you'll really be happy with how it drives. Keep the pics coming, love it!

 

[taxreliever]

That's gonna look good, and I bet you'll really be happy with how it drives. Keep the pics coming, love it!

I found these online...hoping it looks as good.....so my question is, do I use gloss or a flat white?

 

[LEB Ben]

I'm always a fan of gloss over flat...but I think rims should be a semi-gloss.

 

[taxreliever]

I'm always a fan of gloss over flat...but I think rims should be a semi-gloss.

Even with the old faded flat 40 year old paint job? That's what was causing me to lean towards flat...I didn't want it to clash....some day, I'll do a decent body restoration and redo the lettering on it, but the lettering was hand painted, so I want to leave that on there as long as I can before I can't stand the paint job.

 

[LEB Ben]

To me...it looks like that paint still has some luster and a good buff job could bring it back to life. Beyond that, I think a semi-gloss or even a gloos would look just fine. I wouldn't try to accessorize the paint oxidation with a flat rim color.

 

[taxreliever]

To me...it looks like that paint still has some luster and a good buff job could bring it back to life. Beyond that, I think a semi-gloss or even a gloos would look just fine. I wouldn't try to accessorize the paint oxidation with a flat rim color.

Yeah....I suppose so.....I'll pull out the old buffer this summer and see what it can do to it. Thanks Ben.

 

[LEB Ben]

No worries...and don't be sold on what I'm selling, alot of folks out there have better ideas than me.

 

[Austin]

I went with a gloss on my rims on my dent... then a coat of clear. Really stood out.

I miss that truck!

 

[fatherdoug]

Don't forget that red ring.

 

[mustangtoby]

To each his own, I think some chrome mods would really set that thing off... just my .02. I agree with Ben, do a little buffing and I bet that red will take on a whole new look. I personally would do away with the Fire Dept stuff, but that's just me.

On another note, a 71 highboy just came up for sale here locally. I stopped and looked at it today, but couldn't get any pics (maybe soon). It has fresh black paint, newer 7 lug hubcaps (?!?), no power steering or power brakes, and the guy wants $7500 for it. They didn't even paint inside the bed, just shot the outside and tinted the windows. The worst part is I'm pretty sure it'll sell quickly, which just drives the prices of these things up. I'm not to happy about it because I want every one I see, and they are getting priced out of my market.

 

[LEB Ben]

On another note, a 71 highboy just came up for sale here locally. I stopped and looked at it today, but couldn't get any pics (maybe soon). It has fresh black paint, newer 7 lug hubcaps (?!?), no power steering or power brakes, and the guy wants $7500 for it. They didn't even paint inside the bed, just shot the outside and tinted the windows. The worst part is I'm pretty sure it'll sell quickly, which just drives the prices of these things up. I'm not to happy about it because I want every one I see, and they are getting priced out of my market.

Dude...I have to admit, I'm seeing that same trend and not liking it one bit. Before the economy tanked, bump/dentsides were plentiful and a reasonable fair market value was supported. Then the economy tanked, and those same rides could be had for pennies on the dollar. However, over the last 6-12 months, I've seen trucks that woulda been 3k trucks before the tank, and 1500-2k trucks after the tank, now asking 5k. I absolutely can not believe it. I always make it a habit to hop out and take a look at trucks on the side of the road to see what kind of potential it has, if it could serve a purpose for me or if there's any money to be made on it (that's how I got my spending money in high school). Now, I hop out and hop back in as soon as I see a price. I don't think I've driven past what I would consider a 'deal' in about 8 months.

 

[taxreliever]

I went with a gloss on my rims on my dent... then a coat of clear. Really stood out.

I miss that truck!

Wow, that looks awesome.......now I'm in a quandary!

 

[Austin]

Wow, that looks awesome.......now I'm in a quandary!

Hehe, thanks. It really set it off with that contrast.

 

[ezernut9mm]

well, i'm a little late to the party, but that is one cool truck. steal one of your wife's cookie sheets and put it under the engine and start scraping and then hit it with a few cans of generic engine degreaser and i'll bet that engine will look tons better. typical fe oil leakage. once you get it cleaned it will be easy enough to keep it clean. again, that is a very cool truck!

 

[taxreliever]

well, i'm a little late to the party, but that is one cool truck. steal one of your wife's cookie sheets and put it under the engine and start scraping and then hit it with a few cans of generic engine degreaser and i'll bet that engine will look tons better. typical fe oil leakage. once you get it cleaned it will be easy enough to keep it clean. again, that is a very cool truck!

Definitely going to do that....thanks for the suggestion! A follow up to that: I was going to spray the engine down with some degreaser then take it to a car wash and hit it with a high pressure water hose. Would this be ok and should I stay away from some parts of the engine or is it ok just to go to town on the entire engine bay? Do I need to cover the carb or anything?

Other than working on the original factory wheels, which I hope to put on soon with my new A/T BFG 33's (35 thornbirds on there now - hate them), I bought a steering knob to make it easier to turn without P/S....the PO suggested that and told me that it made his life a ton easier when parking. I bet, once I take off those stupid thornbirds, it'll make it better.

 

[ezernut9mm]

i would just be careful around the distributor cap so not to get it wet. and maybe bring a can of wd-40 to spray in there if it does get to wet to start. other than that i would go to town.

 

[Austin]

Id suggest letting it cool down first. Avoid wires and the obvious.