Bob’s ’79: Six Years Back from Ground Zero

Owner story: Bob · 1979 Ford · Purchased in 2016 · @dodgeaford

Bob bought his ’79 Ford in 2016 with a straightforward plan: turn a project into a nice driver. Six years of restoration took it a whole lot further.

“A project I could make a nice driver,” he says. “Kinda went way beyond that.”

The long road back

The finished truck wears a clean two-tone paint job and bright trim. But Bob’s photos tell the other half of the story: a bare cab in the garage, the body off the chassis, and an engine waiting to go back in.

According to Bob, the truck no longer has a single piece of its original sheet metal. All the replacement panels are Ford except the aftermarket front fenders.

He did the bodywork and paint himself, in his own garage. It was his first attempt.

Bare cab of Bob’s 1979 Ford during restoration in his garage — Before the finished paint and trim: Bob’s cab during the restoration.

Asked for the one experience he would share, Bob points to what the project taught him about the work itself.

“I have a greater appreciation for people that do restoration work for a living. It's real easy to take apart but it's a long road back from ground zero.”

Bob’s painted 1979 Ford during reassembly in his garage — Fresh paint, with the front bodywork still waiting to go back on.

Stock character. A different story under the hood.

Bob describes the rest of the truck as basically stock, but restored. Most of the upgrades went into the engine.

His setup is a cast-iron 460 with a full-roller valvetrain and a custom, one-off Isky cam. He reports 650 lb-ft of torque at the rear wheels from a 9:1-compression gasoline engine.