Patina has become a hotly debated topic these days, some call it natural style while others simply call it rust. I guess there’s a little truth in both opinions, but inevitably it comes down to taste. Personally, I like the look of an old truck or car with some patina, but only as long as the rust isn’t serious. This ’63 F-100 has the right kind of patina and while there is a fair amount of surface rust, I don’t see any holes. Of course, if your in the camp that calls this rust, it looks solid enough to justify giving it a proper restoration. If you like the look or have been hunting for a solid short bed F-100, this one can be found here on eBay in Wylie, Texas with a BIN of $3,995.
I always like having choices and with this one, you have endless options. You could leave the exterior as is or you could repaint it. The original inline six engine block is there, but the head is gone. So you could either track down new parts and rebuild this engine or you could replace it with a V8. Personally, I’d go with either a 292 Y-block V8 or a 300 cui inline six, depending on which one is the easiest to find.
The interior is the one area of this truck that doesn’t leave you with a lot options. It’s going to need everything, as most of the interior is simply missing. The dash is there at least and has patina to match the exterior. I do spy some rust here though that is going to need work. Hopefully this is the worst of the rust, but it doesn’t look like the entire floor is going to need to be replaced. I would just cut out the bad areas and make my own patches, but replacement floors are available if you’d like to do the whole thing.
I really like the looks of this truck, but I do wish it were a bit more complete. The option to build it however you’d like is appealing, but it’s hard to beat all original. Of course, if you want something to tinker with, daily drive and even modify, this is the kind of rig you want to start out with. It’s not pristine, so you don’t have to feel bad about restoring or modifying it. Really the hardest choice will be deciding what exactly to do with it. So what would you do with it? Would you leave the patina or repaint it? And what would you do in the engine bay?
That’s neat…the cylinder walls have “patina” too. Patina always adds horsepower. I wish people would just call it what it is. Rust.
This truck is a perfect candidate for a modified street truck. Cool find.
Looks like another big block project too me. Fun, Fun, Fun.
For me patina is just a fancy word for ” I ran out of money and if I sent this thing to paint I might be living in it , hungry,cold ,alone , awaiting a call from a divorce lawyer so she can take half of everything I don’t have. ” Yeah, patina works for me.
Looks like the SWB from a 58-59 era. Body lines don’t match up and the tail light bezel/lenses are round.
patina nope just rust and a lot of $$$ to fix it.
302 auto buckets out of a full size car , some nice wheels ,new dash ,vintage air ,tinted glass ,flat black paint and cruise
Even though what color is there matches, I don’t think that bed goes with that truck. $4000 and it not even a complete truck? WOW.
I’ve been waiting for one of these to pop up just to ask “why did Ford NOT make a short/long bed that actually matched the body lines of the ’61-66 1/2 ton trucks??” The unibodys had nice swooping body lines–but Ford kept putting the fleet side beds on that matched up with the ’57-60 pickups.. I don’t get it..
http://downtownmotorcarsales.com/pics/1963-ford-f100-short-bed-pickup-swb-f-100-302-sbf-small-block-gasser-hot-rod-2.jpg
This example shows the bed that was designed for the cab design when new.
The early style beds were put on as warranty replacements for the early ’60s Ford pickups. That’s why you see trucks like this one where the lines don’t match up.
In most of Canada we have RUST. That ain’t rust.
I thought 1963 model years had the bed as part of the cab.
I just got this beauty tonight…at 8500 ft in a farm field..in Glenwood Springs Colorado she’s been sitting for 20 years 1964 F250 factory 4×4 w the 292 V8 and 4 speed…cant wait to restore her
Do you have any vin info for this truck i have one that looks just like it and was wondering if it could be the same