To restore, use/part out or sell

[KulpFarm]

I received a 1979 Ford F-150 supercab ranger xlt with title for free. My current truck, 1972 f100 with 360, doesn’t have disc breaks, power breaks or power steering. The truck I got for free has all of these plus more.
The 79 has a 351 with 56,000 miles with a rusted cab that wouldn’t pass inspection. Frame is good and motor will start with fresh gas. Needs lots of metal work.

If you were in my shoes, what would you do?

[Ranchero50]

Anymore? Save up a couple bucks and ship one in from Cali. I will never do as much body work as I did to get mine back together again. A couple years on and it's looking tired already.

[DjangoFett]

Personally, I hate to see an original classic get parted out if it can be saved, particularly with such low mileage. However with that said, if the cab (and presumably other sheet metal) is in really bad shape & you start having to change out panels and maybe even the whole cab, it ceases to be truly "original" anymore, so it can be tough to decide where you draw that line between restore or part out. Obviously, getting rid of a lot of cancer in a truck can be a very tedious and expensive proposition, and it wouldn't take long to exceed the realistic value of the truck unless it was a particularly desirable model - I don't know enough about dents to know which ones are more sought after, though I do know the Supercabs are far more rare than anything regular cab

[sargentrs]

I would use it to upgrade my bump. Power steering, especially if it has tilt, front disc brakes, rear end swap, bench seat swap (dents are more comfortable), 351 swap, transmission?, A/C?, power window regulators?, etc. So many parts available to install on the bump. By the time I got through, I'd be scrapping a body and frame.

[KulpFarm]

Thanks for the inputs.
The cab needs driver floor, driver side dog leg and both cab corners. Mounts like good. In the bed, both wheel arches and main section of bed floor. Front end is good except for hood drip edges.

Got motor running rather easily. It also has auto transmission which moved but not fully tested since no brakes and bad tires.

Need more time to pick through it even more.

[KulpFarm]

For a rear end swap from the 79 into the 72, is this a direct swap or will modification be needed?

[cep62]

For a rear end swap from the 79 into the 72, is this a direct swap or will modification be needed?

'73 & up is wider by 4 ? inches , you'll need to relocate the spring perches on the axle.

[cep62]

with a rusted cab that wouldn’t pass inspection.

What kind of laws do they have in PA ?

[KulpFarm]

Laws in regards of what? The wheels sticking beyond a fender?

[cep62]

Rust inspection.

[KulpFarm]

In my area of the PA, it will never get inspected with the body rust. I could go the route of antique tags if I wanted to make it a driver. My wife would never go for that, haha.

[travlinjohn]

If you want to upgrade the "72" with parts from the "79 go to the fordification home site. There is a wealth of information on swapping out parts from year to another year.