Hi all

[Jacksdad]

I've been lurking for a while, and figured it was time to say hello.
I have a motor home built on a '71 F350 chassis and cab. I bought the old girl almost ten years ago, and as time and the elements haven't been kind to the camper box, I've been planning on tearing it down to the chassis and rebuilding it. Recently I've been having second thoughts. I had a guy come to collect some scrap metal I'd advertised on Craigslist, and he showed up in an F250 bumpside. He was pretty impressed by my RV being an F350, and it got me thinking that it might serve me better as a flatbed, so recently I've been making plans to convert her.
Mechanically she's in great shape, and having lived her whole life in the southwest there's no rust other than the usual patches at the bottom of the trailing edges of the front fenders. The chassis is 100% solid and straight. The original motor (either a 360 or 390, I'm guessing) was taken out about 10,000 miles ago just before I bought it, and a rebuilt 352 dropped in. It stared misfiring a few years after I got it, and that's when I discovered it was an earlier motor without hardened valve seats. The valves on all the cylinders were recessed enough that I'm surprised she ran at all. There's still no ridge on the bores and the piston crowns were stamped +.040", so a pair of rebuilt later heads from a 390 had her running on all eight again. I switched out the radiator for a beauty I scored for $50 at the boneyard, and after years of fighting exhaust manifold leaks I finally got them sealed and ditched the crappy mix and match exhaust, welding up a two into one system with a 2 1/2" muffler instead. I also changed the door mirrors for a sturdier set up, and added a light bar from a later F250.
The bodywork isn't too bad at all for a 40 plus year old truck - just the two patches I mentioned and a few minor dents - but she's a bit patchwork right now because I replaced the hood and driver's door and never go around to painting them. Aside from that, she's extremely solid.
As I get pics, I'll post them. There's an pending ordinance here that will ban RVs, trailers and oversized vehicles on the streets, so I want to convert it before I have to pay storage on an RV I probably won't be using again.

[sargentrs]

from Georgia!

[1970FordTK]

Welcome from North Carolina.

[Mancar1]

Welcome aboard from Gerber, Calif.

[fireguywtc]

from Texas!

[tbone6]

Hello and welcome from Florida!

[TNPEEWEE55]

from Music City in Tennessee

[Calfdemon]

from SoCal...

And:

[lennyp]

from Massachusetts.

[Jacksdad]

Thanks for all the welcomes, guys. Much appreciated

[AZf100]

From AZ