1981 F150 Blue. Named Walter, for now anyway

[Gsmblue]

Nice work!

[FuzzFace2]

Looks good
Remember once the seat is in you will not see most of the carpet.

I was given a used carpet for a std cab auto transmission.
Mine is a std cab but a manual transmission so the trans hump sticks up some.
I did try and make it as low as I could when I added the over drive but it is not like the auto.
If you look close you can see where it dose not fit well but once the used floor mats were install you can hardly see it.

I think a lot of people are looking if my truck is a 4x4 because of the 2 shifter handles so may not be looking at the carpet
Dave ----

[rcarlisle]

It's done!  Just need a seat now.  

[rcarlisle]

Seat is done!  FedEx has delivered my door panels to somewhere NOT in my neighborhood.  Dennis Carpenter lady said call her if my neighbors didn't have them or they weren't around my house somewhere.  

[rcarlisle]

Oh yeah did this too

[rcarlisle]

Neighbor wants to sell me a "top end kit" that supposedly bolts and to a stock bottom end and makes 339 HP.  I don't believe it and won't be buying it anyway.  

I am done for now.  Unless a sweet sweet of 5 hole mags comes along

[grumpin]

Seat looks nice!

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, the seat does look great!  

Bummer about the door panels.  Hopefully DC will send another set, soon.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Looks real nice, Randy!  

I'd be surprised if FedUp can't figure out what address your door panels went to.
With all the GPS tracking they do of their trucks and the way they scan packages as 'delivered' they have to know when and where the box went.

[rcarlisle]

IF fedex can be bothered.   I swear Amazon has it down.  They send me a photo of my package and an email almost as soon as they deliver.   It does minimize issues.   DC is going to start a claim with FedEx.  I have little faith in this.  THe FedEx drivers up here are all subcontracted and mad as hell with their bosses.   So I hold little hope of them figuring it out.  

Hopefully DC will do whatever it takes to make it right.  

[ArdWrknTrk]

Well, this is what I'm saying.
Given the systems in place there shouldn't be any question about when and where it was delivered.

It's frustrating that this should all have fallen into place, and now you have a delay beyond your (and Dennis Carpenter's) control.

Hope the situation is quickly resolved.  

[rcarlisle]

Yep, at this point there shouldn't be issues like this.  Too much tech in the world for stuff like this.  The humans are the weak link unfortunately.  

[rcarlisle]

So after calling Dennis Carpenter 4 times, they transferred me to the shipping person.  She said Fedex was investigating.   But she agreed to send me a new set.  Had them shipped to my office.   Received Friday afternoon.   Worked on them all weekend.  

Painted with Duplicolor blue vinyl/fabric paint.  Then went over top with duplicolor 1k clear matte to help negate the UV.   The shipping box makes a good holder while painting.  I did one at a time.

I reused the inside insulation stuff, the chrome, and the door handle grommets.   New armrests from LMC.  the black fabric over speaker holes is landscaping fabric - you can see through it so it works fine.  Not a lot of people will see the difference, but I can FEEL the difference.  And the truck is yet another level quieter.  I guess from having all the retainers installed and working.   New dew wipers with the panels, so those are refreshed and working as well.  

If you do this, be gentle with the retainers for the chrome or get new ones in advance - these are impossible to find locally.  

So short of a really cool deal on some 5 slot alloy mags, this version of truck is DONE!!!! The interior is completely refreshed or covered (dash pad).   The window post covers seem to be unicorn parts so we just ignore them - wife would like a grab handle on the post.  Nothing left to do in there except the post covers.  I can now hear the wind noise that is supposed to be eliminated by that upper run of weather stripping, and I have that.  Just not sure I want to mess with how the doors close again.  They still require a firm close to latch both latches.  And I have adjusted the strikers appropriately.  

I do have some wetsanding on body and shine juice left to do.   And I may spray paint the top because it may be showing the most rust of the whole truck and it would suck to have the ROOF rust through.  That 1k clear I bought may be handy for spotting in the bare metal showing - same gloss level as the existing paint.  

Dorman pull strap, masked and painted to match.   Wife said it had to come back.  Need one for the driver's door.  They do work well and make it more "high end luxury".  lol

 



Pre assembly with paint and 1k matter clear - kinda shiny.


Before the clear.  

[Gary Lewis]

Well done, Randy!  

[FuzzFace2]

Looks grate
One day I need to swap from slider lock to pin and get new door panels for my truck.
Dave ----

[nic55kel]

Looks great and I really like the pull strap.

[rcarlisle]

The pull strap works great.  2 big (#12?) in each end through the panel and into the door metal.   It's firm.  I think it may be better than that one screw inside the armrest.  

More photos - I shine juiced it last night.  

[rcarlisle]

Shine juice difference.   Shine juice is a mix of boiled linseed oil and paint thinner/mineral spirits.  More or less the Vice Grip Garage mix.  He used WD40 in his recently, but I might paint this thing someday.  I made less than a quart in June and still had enough to do truck then, now,  and 2 or 3 more times.   Just rub it in with an old rag.  The rag I used last night was and old drity greasy one.  The shine will settle down in a day or two to a nice sheen.  Water will bead for a while.  And you will have to reapply when it dries out.   I did it in June and again now - so 3 - 4 months on this mix.  I'm somehow hoping this will "Feed" the paint a little and keep it on the truck. DON'T SMOKE OR HAVE FLAMMABLES IN THE AREA.   Smells like it could go off easily, but I did keep my jar in storage bldg over the summer.

Here is half the hood with, half without.

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks for that definition.  I was going to ask what "shine juice" is, but you beat me to it.

And it does appear to work.  The hood sure looks better where you put it.  But does it attract dust?

[Nemesis F150]

Have to agree with everyone else that the door panel makeover looks really great, and the passenger door pull strap really does add class. Looks good as new!

The door panels on my truck are the same as yours (even the same color) but the plastic has “browned” where the sun has shone on it. The plastic panels need to be replaced because where it has discolored the plastic has also softened, consequently, your step-by-step write-up for this project is very helpful. Especially with regard to the little details.

As the old saying goes, “The devil is in the details”.
My wife likes the pull strap, too.