Help me spend money to renovate my ugly truck.

So i3 goes back in about a month to BMW, its a lemon and I am paying the last three months to get rid of it before something terrible happens with it. Sold the SSR to a guy locally and the Cadillac has a deposit on it. Down to two cars and a truck, the cars are not DD compatible. Looking at leases on cars that I actually like would put me out of pocket about 600-700$ a month with gas and insurance. Truck runs me about 110$ a month on gas and about 25$ a month to maintain, insurance is a pitiful 22$ a month to DD it. Figure I drive it and it saves me 5-6K a year plus its paid off and the money is not going to BMW financial. I live in San Diego home of the worst drivers in the state, truck has been hit four times this year and I don't even DD it right now. Not worrying about wear and tear would be nice. FYI truck is so ugly I have never taken a picture.

So how can I take a horribly ugly 2001 F350 2WD XL pickup truck that I use to haul the race-car round and mulch, go wheeling, camping and DD the ugly beast. Truck has ~52K miles, all service records, the 5.4 gas motor, plugs were just done, revised intake manifold as well. 80% of the miles been hauling horse E36 M3 or race-cars so shocks and leaf springs are shot. Tires are GOONNNNEEE, like 1/16th of a inch of tread, wheels are the 8 lug 16's. Axle in rear 4.10 I think. Has the horrible no reclining XL seats inside and no carpet which I love.

So questions.

Complete 4 inch lift kits are out there for like 1K, about the same price I am going to pay for OEM springs and shock's. Getting higher up in the air would be great, seems reasonable right. Or go OEM and do a 3 inch body lift. I would like to get 5 inches higher; so it is easier to load up my wheelbarrows and throw compost over fences.

Can I can get 35x10.5x16 or even 37's street/dirt tires under a 2WD F350 with just a 4 inch lift.

I already have a headache bar, lift-gate and cage in the rear of the truck, does anybody make cheap tire mounts for a single tire in the rear bed because it sure as heck is not going to fit under the truck. Or just weld a hub to the headache bar and mount the tire.

Is there anyway to modify a stock Ford non reclining seat angle. It is straight up and down. The bench seat is in 100% perfect condition and everything that I see from say a similar year lariat is beat to tar. Don't mind the bench but another 1 inch back would take some load off my back. Front seats tend to go for about 700$ as well.

Is there a auxiliary fuel tank that will fit in the bed near the cap bulkhead, something around 20-30 gallon that I can buy off the shelf. Would love to be able to haul race fuel back to the house for the Vipers.

Clear coat is completely gone on the truck, whats a cheap army green paintjob going to be at macco if I do the prep and pull most of the dents mostly out. Thing is going to get marked by trees on trails all the time so I cannot do wras or plastidip I think.

If i have to get a drop ball for my trailer is 5 inches to much to drop it and still haul say 5.5K in weight.

Light bar is going to be a must or at least way better headlights, they are sealed beam and well you cannot even tell if they are on.

Thinking it would look something like this, but in army green or the crappy read paint. Anything else I need think about doing.

Guessing on price but
1200-1300 for the lift kit with supplies.
100$ for a tire mount
~400$ for tires off craigslist ~600 new Mounted.
700$ E36 M3ty macco paint job.
200-300$ for gas can's or jerries with mounts. 200 Used Light Bar.

Figure I would be in for like 2500$ which would put my total investment in the truck around 6000$ total to date including purchase.

? new ball hitch.

Anything else I should be doing while I am here.

Don't do a body lift (raises your CoG and only increases body clearance - consider cutting fenders instead), but don't go too high with a suspension lift either, because that's bad for towing capability - especially if you go with more offroad-oriented suspension.

I doubt the headache bar is strong enough to hold up to a huge wheel like that being bolted onto it in the long term, especially if you go offroad, but you're on the right track. You could build a frame to hold the spare onto the inside of the bed edge, Defender-style:

(This isn't stock, but stock is similar on some models, mounting ahead of the wheel well)

Another good option could be a swing-out spare tire carrier. This could also carry jerry cans and/or hi-lift jacks.

An LED light bar is a good idea. Put it on the nose of the truck or the top edge of the windshield, don't waste light by mounting it on the rear of the roof.

Plastidip + offroad = trashed so you might want to consider a full bedliner paintjob, or just embrace the decay and go ZAV style.

GBrmh

Bed-liner is a great idea, could care less how it looks just want to keep the rust off it. Wonder if I can get it in like a dirt color. The UV is burned off on the roof and a lot of the hood and don;t want to deal with surface rust in the future.

LED on the nose that would work. Maybe some small ones that I can put under the main headlights. Cannot do a swingout tire because of the liftgate but the side mount would work.

ZAV is not exactly what I was looking to build but the more that I think about it the more it is going to end up that way.

Suspension mods and a body swap:

Hey, you said "spend money"

i do know 31's will fit without a lift, that is what i have on mine. with a 4" lift a 33" tire will more then likely fit no problem, 35" tire might fit with some trimming, may just need some trimming, a 37" would probably be pushing it, but im just guessing. I also like the idea of the spare tire on the inside of the bed like pictured above.

here is how my 2wd sits with no lift on 31's

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: Suspension mods and a body swap: Hey, you said "spend money"

or save a little money and skip the body swap...

Can you shim the front bolt for the seat rails to change the seat back angle?

What are the spring rates on the lift kit?

You may be giving up payload for height. Although the lift kit combined with airbags might be the best option to get payload, height, and flex for off road.

If it's the black truck in the picture, it's perfect just the way it sits now. Maybe some better tunes, a more comfy seat and some stronger headlights and you're reaching perfection.

I know the 4wd F350s of that era came with 32s stock. IIRC, the 2wd ones did as well (either 235/85R16 or 265/75R16 depending on options, I think).

If it's been hit 4x in the last year as not your DD, why would you want to spend $ for a crappy MAACO/Earl Sheib's paint job? DIY bedliner or boat paint (IIRC, there was a thread on here about painting cars using a roller with some sort of boat paint?) for less than 1 Benjamin.

You want it big, visible, and ugly to make people think you don't care so they will be scared and keep their nicer car away...

Before you jump a whole bunch in tire size. Remember that bigger tires are worse for almost everything but looks and clearance. That already weak feeling 5.4 Triton will feel even weaker. The brakes will be less effective.

I had an '04 F150 that with a 2" "leveling" lift (just the front) and 33" tires had a near perfect stance (IMO)

I wouldn't put big wheels and tires on an underpowered truck you plan to continue to tow with. It could make your braking marginal to the point of being unsafe. I like the idea of a very minor lift and perhaps 33s. 235/85/16 is a ~32" tire and came stock so it would be little different in gearing, just weight and probably a major looks improvement.

Fiberwerx.com

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Agreed on the tires. Big fat tires kill the already abysmal joy of an HD truck as a DD. Width kills MPG, diameter and weight kill acceleration and put additional stress on already dubious transmissions. Not to mention the ride quality, noise, tread cupping, and price. I'm ditching my 265/75-16s in favor of some 215/85-16s to cut down on rolling resistance and help out snow and rain performance. The tiny reduction in flotation I will lose in mud will be offset by uummm... the fact that I never go mudding. Ever.

I think the best look is the most functional look. I see trucks with big mudder tires on the street and know they are just for looks. They will suck in inclement weather, heat up a PS pump, drain gas, and make you slow.

I see this and think "now THERE'S a guy who uses a truck."

I see this and think "Holy E36 M3 - how tiny is his hootus?"

Curtis thanks for the advise.

So talked with a couple local guys today and they are saying the same thing.

Basically they suggest a 2 inch front leveling kit, light-bar on top, cheap bolt on flairs with the wheel arches cut out and a 285/75/16 primarily street use tire (~32.8 inch), side mount tire kit like in the second post and 2 x 5 gallon Jerry cans with mounts to my headache bar in the bed. I told them where I hike and wheel and they don;t think a lift is even required for what I do, which I agree with. They think just replacing the leaking shocks would be fine and skip the springs and lift entirely.

They say a 1.5 inch body lift will make it look better but not perform better. Paint is out it is way to expensive. Since its just the hood and roof they suggested I just respray it in some black spray paint or have some red mixed up to match what I have. The factory 16's inch wheels are apparently really decent off-road and have enough streght to do what I want with the truck as well.

They are all for painting it camo though in the driveway, thing is going to look ZAV like I can tell you that. Also they showed me the upgraded battery to run a better winch so ordered that last night as it was going out anyway.

Sounds like everybody is in agreement.

Leveling kits are stupid, especially if you ever want to put anything in the bed. It makes it harder to see over the nose, makes it look saggy way too easily, etc. The trucks have rake for a reason...

rslifkin wrote: Leveling kits are stupid, especially if you ever want to put anything in the bed. It makes it harder to see over the nose, makes it look saggy way too easily, etc. The trucks have rake for a reason...

There's worse things you can do...

I replaced leaf springs last weekend because the PO removed the overload leafs to help level the truck .

The '05-'07 front end (headlights/grille/bumper) are a fairly bolt on affair and update the nose of the truck.

You can bolt on an '08-'11 style taillights on to update the tail.

As well as an '08+ style tailgate, and rear bumper if you wanted to be thorough.

...if it were my truck and it was a 2WD, I'd lower it to give it an aggressive look, but still leave some beefy tires. Think more muscle truck than minitruck/showtruck.

As for clearcoat gone? If you're budgeting $700, I bet you could get a fancy wrap job done rather than flat paint, and that opens up all kinds of cool colors. I'd do something tough/industrial looking like a machine gray. This is a local guy's truck that's actually black, that has a blue vinyl wrap on it:

wearymicrobe wrote: Curtis thanks for the advise.

You're welcome. Not sure it was advice as much as a snarky opinion, but I don't mince words when I'm typing

As far as seats go, you might do well to just hit a junkyard. My 98 F150 was an XL with vinyl seats and no recline. I found another XL with the cloth/recline option and bought the bench for $80. For some reason the 60/40 split bench commands big money, and some of the XL Fords aren't drilled/tapped for the 60/40 from the factory. (and truth be told, the 60/40 split bench in my 02 F150 isn't all that comfy)

The one I bought was a bit dirty, but not damaged or worn. Before I installed it, I sprayed some resolve on it and then used a hot dry day to pressure wash it. Turned out looking nearly new.

Is the paint bad? Dents? I'm asking because I'm wondering if its something that is salvageable in the future or if the body is now a beater. If its a beater, paint it with Rustoleum and a roller. They have gallons of it at HD. They'll tell you it isn't tintable, but it is if you find someone willing to go off their training recommendations. Colors won't be a perfect match, but close. Or they have yellow, grey, green, and white already tinted.

But, painting it that way means an actual quality repaint in the future will be a massive chore

Possibly a scuff-and-shoot with a matte clearcoat at home? That covers a multitude of sins. Especially if you touch up and sand chips and scratches first.

xflowgolf wrote: ...if it were my truck and it was a 2WD, I'd lower it to give it an aggressive look, but still leave some beefy tires. Think more muscle truck than minitruck/showtruck. />

If I couldn't think of about 12 different reasons not to, I'd convert my D350 to SRW and do this.

curtis73 wrote: If its a beater, paint it with Rustoleum and a roller. They have gallons of it at HD. They'll tell you it isn't tintable, but it is if you find someone willing to go off their training recommendations. Colors won't be a perfect match, but close. Or they have yellow, grey, green, and white already tinted.

Lowes sells a rustoleum knockoff (Valspar antirust armor) that they will tint however you like.

BrokenYugo wrote:

curtis73 wrote: If its a beater, paint it with Rustoleum and a roller. They have gallons of it at HD. They'll tell you it isn't tintable, but it is if you find someone willing to go off their training recommendations. Colors won't be a perfect match, but close. Or they have yellow, grey, green, and white already tinted.

Lowes sells a rustoleum knockoff (Valspar antirust armor) that they will tint however you like.

Bam. There you go. One gallon of sky blue and one quart of lime green for the rocker panels and fender flares.

Chadeux wrote:

xflowgolf wrote: ...if it were my truck and it was a 2WD, I'd lower it to give it an aggressive look, but still leave some beefy tires. Think more muscle truck than minitruck/showtruck. />

If I couldn't think of about 12 different reasons not to, I'd convert my D350 to SRW and do this.

I love this truck, do this!

jonnyd330 wrote:

Chadeux wrote:

xflowgolf wrote: ...if it were my truck and it was a 2WD, I'd lower it to give it an aggressive look, but still leave some beefy tires. Think more muscle truck than minitruck/showtruck. />

If I couldn't think of about 12 different reasons not to, I'd convert my D350 to SRW and do this.

I love this truck, do this!

Gets my vote as well!