Shared by @76FordCrew. The timeline and plans reflect the owner’s original account.
Manny bought his 1976 Ford after seeing it posted by @oldfordcrewcabs. He made the deal by phone, then flew with his son to San Diego to collect the truck from Baja and drive it home. In his original account he called it a Covid purchase and dated the trip to March 2019. Those are the details he supplied; the story does not resolve that timeline discrepancy.
The drive was wild. The leaf-spring bolts had no nuts, the radiator leaked and the steering was uncertain. Every 100 miles, Manny hammered the bolts back in and added water. They got home, but the truck was not safe for family cruising.
The work and the years behind it
He first pulled it apart to fix the steering. The job grew. Manny began fabricating suspension parts, then realized the geometry was beyond his experience. Once work became too busy, he brought in a fabrication shop and had it remove his work and rebuild it properly. He handled the work outside that fabrication himself.
When he shared the story, he had driven the Ford only three times. He was still repairing it, hoped to start it that weekend and hoped to drive it the following year. Those were goals at the time, rather than confirmation that the build is now finished. Follow the project at @76FordCrew.
Read the owner’s original account and build details
The memories behind the truck
Not much of a story other than a guy who spends way too much time and money working on a truck that he only drove 3 times and hopes to drive next year.
I had a fab shop do all the fabrication when I got too busy at work. It was a Covid purchase that I bought out of Baja. Drove it home. Realized it wasn't safe to cruise the family around in, so I pulled it apart to fix. . . . then snowballed into this.
I’ve been doing everything else. Hope to fire it up this weekend but not sure though.
Either way, It was definitely not safe to drive.
How the truck came home
No @oldfordcrewcabs posted it up. I called and bought it. My son and I flew down to San Diego to meet and purchase it in Mach of 2019. It was a wild drive home. Bolts with no nuts, leaking radiator, sketchy steering. I originally tore it apart to fix the steering but a whole lot of hackery went on so I started fabbing a new suspension with compromise with my suspension geometry skills. Once it went to a fab shop had them cut off everything I did and re-build it right.
The leaf spring bolts had not nuts so every 100 miles I would hit them back in and pour water in it.
All of it! I cut it all apart, and I'm still working on the repairs.
From the original story: @76FordCrew :, @oldfordcrewcabs.
Keep the old Ford story going
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