Long road to where it is today. I purchased it in 2017 and 97% completed in 2024… I originally had a 1981 F150 4×4 stepside, but before I completed it, I was t-boned and the truck was totaled… The guys who worked with me, unknown to me, spent the next few years searching for another one for me. They knew how much I loved the ’81 and how much work I put into it. In 2017, I was contacted by one of my workers on Facebook stating that he had found me ‘my truck”… I wasn’t really sure what he was talking about. “The one that got wrecked?” He proceeded to explain to me about the search and that he had located one, not far from me, that someone was trying to sell. He sent me the link. I also had been looking, but most of them were automatics, which I did not want. Okay, so I called the guy and setup a time to go and look at it. It was pretty rusty and needed a lot of work, but drivable. I took it for a spin down to the highway… I came back and asked why he was selling, he had purchased it with the intent on restoring it, but finances were unavailable and he didn’t think he would ever get it done. So, he posted it hoping to find someone who could restore it. Well, I was that person. Made him an offer of $2,500 and drove it home. Then I contacted my brother, who had a lot of input on the ’81, as he does restorations as a hobby. Okay, starting all over with another F150… First, I had my mechanic go completely through the entire truck and letting me know what I needed asap and what could wait. I had him remove all the air conditioning (not needed where I live, just roll down the windows) first, then go through the motor. Not much had to be replaced up front, but over time one thing after another. I had purchased a lot from LMC for the first truck, so I made a list and started marking things off as I was able to purchase them. My brother always said, “buy what you want when you can and keep it in the garage until you are ready to install.” Good advice. After the motor was in good condition and ready to drive, I took it to the muffler shop and had complete flowmaster installed. Then, new tires and wheels… Then off to the paint shop, that took a while as the guy worked most of the time alone. No hurry… I was sent to him as “the go-to guy” for paint, anyway there were other things to gather and have ready when it was returned. When that was done, it was suggested that I go to the local car shows to meet other guys/gals doing restorations. There, I met many open to assisting me. While working on the list, I had to install new breaks, rotors, flywheel and clutch… Everyday, I drive out with it, I say a quick prayer… It gets me there and back without anything falling off or going wrong. BUT, it is 40 years old so not surprised when there is ONE more thing to fix:):)…… Okay, at the local car show I was introduced to a guy that did the interiors on many of the vehicles. He gave me a card, looked at my truck, quoted an amount to do it in the future. I found that he lived three houses from me where his shop was… Perfect… Saving for all the things I wanted, kinda got slowed down when I retired… More time to work on it, but limited funds… The interior guy stopped by one day to visit and discuss the truck, met my husband and they went off to converse. SO, later on, I was told that he needed firewood and noticed my husband taking down trees. He said if we gave him the firewood he would do my interior… YES!!! He did an excellent job. I purchased a seat cover a few months prior, so he installed that along with a new headliner, the door panels I purchased, new carpet and the new floor mats I had waited on… okay… Done yet? No, hard to find the interior trim and a few other things. I joined Ford Enthusiasts and they were great help. I wanted a bumper, this one did not come with one, so one of the guys on the site with the same truck had a bumper. After contacting him about it, he told me where to get one. I ordered one. I took it to the guy at the paint shop to install, but he mentioned that my truck did not have brackets for one?? Okay, back to the Ford site to ask about brackets, I was referred to a person back east who made them in his shop… I ordered and received it within a week… We installed the brackets and bumper before paint was complete. If it ain’t one thing, it’s another, but always able to resolve. My father always said “can’t means I don’t want to”. If you really want to do something, you can figure it out… True and today, Youtube is a great help:) Story is a bit mixed, my apologies… I also had new windows installed, removed the slider window in the back and replaced with straight windows, remembering that the slider on the ’81 made it easy to get into the truck, which I had to do a few times after locking my keys inside. Only thing left is the interior trim and as I stated above, kinda hard to find, BUT, another guy on enthusiasts emailed me that he goes to the pick and pull up north from me every month and would keep an eye out for me. I received pics of just what I needed from him and made a trip up to get them. Still need the inside trim in the front that connects to the dash… in time. Anyway, I think that’s about it for now. It is my daily driver retirement gift to me:) I was also told I needed a name for it. None yet.. ahh, wait, I also replaced the front grille, which was black, with the chrome one from LMC, looks awesome!!