1968 F-100 Ranger

[stockr]

looks like a good place to start a project...

[greenbank]

Very nice job. That looks great, like it was said, pretty damn good for a rattle-can job. ;D

[dcbullet]

OK, the next project that I tackled was switching out the rear axle. I have an F-100 and the previous owner had switched in a Dana 60 30 years ago because he had a camper on the truck. Now, I realize that the Dana 60 is a super tough rear end, but I just use my truck for bringing home stuff from Home Depot or moving a chest of drawers, that sort of thing. I don't tow anything or carry huge loads. So, for me a least, the D60 was overkill. I didn't like having 8 lug in back and 5 in front. I also didn't like the 16.5 inch wheels. The tire on their gave the truck a "jacked up" look that I didn't want.

I found a 9 inch rear end at the local pic-n-pull during one of their 1/2 price weekends, so it only cost about $75. I also decided to replace all the bearings and bushings (axle and leaf spring) and rebuild the brakes while I was at it. I don't really have an overall budget for my truck, more a monthly budget. I'll tell you, all those bearing and bushings, brakes parts, new U-bolts and particularly the machine shop time (for pressing off and on the bearings and bushings) really adds up. I don't keep receipts, and I did this project over several months, but I estimate all in I'm up to $650 - $700. That is with new everything except the springs and the axle itself. New shocks, new drums, etc, etc. etc.

As far as the difficulty of the project, I would say it's not too hard. This was the first time I had done this and I ran into the following problems:

1. I couldn't separate the two driveshafts. After years and years of no lubrication, they had fused together at the splined shaft. I ended up taking them to a machine shop and they separated them for $35

2. My parking brake cables that I bought are not long enough. I still haven't resolved this but plan to use extensions that I'll either buy from someone here or get from inlinetube.

Other than that it was just a lot of work. Removing the ubolt nuts took a long time and a lot of strength.

I should add that many people here helped me over the last few months and this website was invaluable.

On to the pictures!

Here is the 9 Inch I got from the junkyard.



Lots of sanding with the paint and rust removing wheel:



Done!



Painted



I learned that I would need a different driveshaft because the D60 driveshaft is shorter. I bought one of Keith's:



Stripped



All painted up and shown next to the D60 driveshaft, for reference.



I also bought some wheels from a junkyard.





I could not remove the brake hose without stripping the fitting so I replaced the brake line back to the center connector. I think it looks pretty good.





Here is the brake rebuild



A "before and after" shot



Here is the finished product:

Before with the D60



And after with the F 9Inch.



After reviewing some of my reference photos, I realized that I have the parking brake cable routed incorrectly. I will fix that when I get the extensions.





Last but not least, here are the before and after shots of my truck:

BEFORE:


AFTER





It might be hard to tell from the pictures but I really didn't like those big ol' tires that were on there before. I'm going for a very stock look and I'm really pleased with the results.

As you can tell, I'm not doing a frame off restoration, so I haven't touched the frame. I'm replacing all the deteriorated parts and just cleaning stuff up so it's no covered with 30 years of dirt. I hope to have a decent looking driver when I'm done.

Let me know what you think.

[Galaxie64]

Very nice, is there really no option for a normal 16" rim with the 8 stud hubs? I am stuck with them all the way around.

I think it looks much better with the new rims.

[jhannahokla]

the hole truck looks alot better good luck with your future projects

[stockr]

looks pretty good...keep up the good work....

[trukcrazy]

Very nice dc, I think it is coming right along. The new paint and rims really make a difference. Good "mod" .

[boots]

nice work man!!! When I pull my 9" out to put locker and gears in it Im going to paint it just like you did.

[dcbullet]

Just a quick update. I replaced my rusty old mirrors with a set of stainless steal mirrors I purchased off ebay. I had orginally wanted to put a set of the small car mirrors on, but I decided that since I had all the holes already for these I would just go ahead with the camper mirrors.

I think it makes a big improvement in the look of the truck.

You can see the "before" pics just a few posts up.

[GT-Racer]

Nice job. Quite an improvement.

[layedout72]

very nice

[Sharkdance]

That truck is looking Fantastic!
I realise the time and work you are putting into it and man I gotta tell ya. Your doin it right!

Great job dude. Keep it up

[trukcrazy]

You guys are making it look soooooooo........ easy. I cannot get over the amount of work all of you are getting done on your trucks.

[dablack00]

Wow, the mirrors and wheels/tires make a huge difference. Truck is really starting to come together.

Austin

[dcbullet]

Just a quick update here. I haven't yet decided whether to replace the bumper with a step or sport bumper, so in the meantime I decided to improve the look of the existing bumper. I used a 3M paint and rust remover pad to remove any flaky rust and chrome. I used Krylon Rust Tough enamel in Aluminum color.

I think it turned out pretty good. I still want to get a chrome bumper at some point because this one is bent down, which is hard to see from this angle.

BEFORE:



AFTER: