1980 F150 4x4 Flareside Project

[Gary Lewis]

Nice Bronco.  And I was tempted.  But Matthew 16:23 came to mind and, right then, FB did a refresh and that truck didn't come back up.  I took that as a blessing.  

Anyway, glad you found your colors!

[1986F150Six]

Gary Lewis wrote

Nice Bronco.  And I was tempted.  But Matthew 16:23 came to mind and, right then, FB did a refresh and that truck didn't come back up.  I took that as a blessing.  

Anyway, glad you found your colors!

1 Corinthians 10:13

13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

[salans7]

Rembrant wrote

Anyway, simple minds...simple pleasures, but I'll be trying the 3D and 3B paints to see how they match up.

Maybe this will help give you an idea, this is from my 1980 color options brochure, the version on the site here is a little too dark.

[ArdWrknTrk]

You should be able to find a buck tag on the radiator support, firewall, front of the bed, or something...

[Rembrant]

salans7 wrote

Maybe this will help give you an idea, this is from my 1980 color options brochure, the version on the site here is a little too dark.

Cool! Thanks Shaun. Saved in my "Color" file with the 1980 F150 project folder...lol.

[Rembrant]

ArdWrknTrk wrote

You should be able to find a buck tag on the radiator support, firewall, front of the bed, or something...

Yes, good point...I must check if it is there. I've only seen them at the top of the firewall and the fronts of the beds, but the front of the bed is long gone from this truck...so I'll check the firewall and see if it shows 3D and 3B...

[Bruce moose4x4]

I found this online, maybe it will help.

http://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorcodedisplay.cgi?manuf=Ford

[Rembrant]

I haven't updated the old '80 on a '95 Flareside project in a while, but I have been working on it almost every weekend....grinding, needle scaling, rust treating, and welding. As of today, I have the middle of the frame all fixed up. I welded in three patches today, installed the cab rear crossmember, and the 300/6 engine perches. I know it doesn't look like much yet, but it's a long way from where it was. I have some new cab and core support mount parts on the way from LMC, and I just received a bunch of stuff from RockAuto (300 flywheel, M5OD slave cylinder, 300 rear main seal, various gaskets, etc). Oh, and I also just received a hydraulic pedal set from Scott, thanks Scott!






Oh, and the crusty old 1980 cab and front clip collecting dust in the corner of the warehouse.



So the plan is to keep working on the frame until the new cab mount cushions arrive from LMC. I still need to rehab the core support brackets on the frame (they are welded to the frame on the '95, not riveted like the Bullnoses), and graft on the '86 frame horns I have so that the Bullnose front bumper can be installed.

The good news is that as of today, I can now set the cab on the frame. I almost said "back on the frame", but it never was on this frame...so I can't say that. Still need new cab mount cushions, but they are on the way.

I need to start getting the old 300/6 cleaned up. Rear main seal, oil pan gasket, etc. I also have a new trans mount, and a front input seal for the M5OD. So, I'll drop the engine and trans in there all in one shot, and then set the cab on afterwards. This should all happen this month...so fingers crossed.

I still need to work on the rear of the frame, but that will come after. I have new spring hangers, shackles, leaf eyelet bushings, etc.

That's it for new news. It's a long and dirty project...

[Gary Lewis]

That looks like a LOT of work to me!  Been there, sorta done that, and that is work.  Well done!

[salans7]

Yep, been there too, and I'm glad I've passed that stage.

Can't wait to see the cab on the new frame!

[grumpin]

Nice! That’s a lot of time consuming work!

[Rembrant]

Took care of the core support mounts this morning (it is Canadian Thanksgiving today so long weekend!).





This is not glamorous work lol, and nobody will see it when it is done. I will be cleaning up the rest of the rusty frame when time allows, but trying to focus on the areas that need repair first.

[Rembrant]

Oh, and to explain I welded in a 1/8” plate on the underside and then filled in the open area on the top with 16ga steel. Welded, ground smooth, and threw some paint on it so it wouldn’t flash rust. Strong as new.

[Gary Lewis]

Looks really good, Cory.

[grumpin]

Indeed! Nice job!

[Rembrant]

So I finally dug the old 300/6 out today and loaded it up on the engine stand. This thing hasn't run in years...and I have no idea how many years. The truck had been sitting somewhere between 3-5 or 6 years, and it wasn't running when he bought it. I'm guessing it has been a decade or more, but who knows. I started scraping the rust and dirt and grime off it, and will yank the manifolds tomorrow (fingers crossed for no broken bolts...ugh).





Before bolting it to the trans and mounting it all back in the truck, I'm going to change the oil pan gasket and rear main seal. I need to order a pushrod cover gasket as well as intake & exhaust manifold gaskets, carb gasket, etc. I have a new pilot bearing for the manual trans (engine was on an auto trans), as well as a new flywheel.

Question for you guys:

Best way to pull the rear main seal? Put screws in it? Is that how you guys do it?

[ETM]

Rembrant wrote

Best way to pull the rear main seal? Put screws in it? Is that how you guys do it?

Made my own tool only took a min to make an one to pull, Did dill a small hole to make it easier.

Just Scrap steel

[FuzzFace2]

Cory, why you pulling the manifolds?
Swapping on EFI exh manifolds?
When you have them off might want to check or even change out the freeze plugs on the block.
After I got the EFI manifolds on mine I found anti freeze on the floor and in checking it was 1 of the plugs.
In changing them found others that were close to leaking.
Dave ----

[Rembrant]

Dave,

I meant to order a set of core plugs for it and was planning on changing them. One of the plugs on the back of the block looked really rusty but when I hit it with a wire brush on the drill it cleaned up nicely. The plugs behind the exhaust manifold look pretty rusty, so I probably should change them out. Good call.

[Gary Lewis]

I've read about people using grease, bread, wet newspaper, etc to drive the bearing out.  Didn't work for me.  Instead, I used a very small gear puller with the legs turned around.