So time to see what I have let myself in for.
Last MOT shows brakes, oil leak, tires, exhaust. ( no rust yet )
so lets start there and clean some bits along the way so I don't always need a change of clothes from just looking. The truck is not at my home for this bit as I didn't have the space, which means picking a few bits at a time to take with me and clean/sort
Interior
Inline with my first impression it does appear to be complete, just very dirty and worn in the high hands traffic areas, will get back to this as it's all MOT good. will take some leather bits home for cleaning/refurb tests
Leather colour restorer from amazon, kinda worked. My hands went yellow, but it came off my hands. Skin is basically leather so im not expecting it to last and the yellow is off tint. Might put that idea to sleep and aim for replacing the leather in the future.
Bodywork
Here comes the rust. Front arches have some in the 'normal' places so nothing new yet. Still can't get to the rear turrets as it has a moulded plastic liner from a caddy. Rear wheel arch on the drivers side seems crunchy under the fiberglass moulding. Tailgate has a very tow bar shaped dent in the middle. paint looks to be in great condition, just needs a polish
Engine
It still runs, but oil is coming out from the rocker cover probably as fast as you can put it in. new gaskets ordered. Most of the pipes have deteriorated, bit of part number tracking and hit the bay for replacements
Brakes
very spongy, but work better than I expected. new pads and disks ordered, the pipes don't appear to be as bad as the MOT claims so might just clean some of them up for now
Wheels
Yellow,, tires are well past any prime so a new set all round, my tyre guru (brother) said the one good tyre I had is a good tyre for the car, so 3 more ordered. took the front wheels home for a clean, and they cleaned up well
Truckman Top
Honestly im not a fan of it, does remind me of thunderbird 4 though and I like thunderbirds. Maybe a carnival float in the future. I like the pickup look and on my ideas page ive already added a fabric alternative for when I need one, it'll be easier to store. So this one will be getting a clean and be available to anyone that's interested in collecting it
Initial summary
So far im still very happy with my purchase, told my dad to charge admission as people keep heading over to view what ive tasked myself with. And he keeps offering help and access to tools so either he is liking it, or wants it out of the way