1981 Ford F100 Revival (Parked for 12 years)

[Jonathan]

Gary Lewis wrote

Jonathan - We have vendor reviews at Bullnose Forum/Marketplace/Vendor Reviews & Ratings.  LMC is in there, so you might want to post and give them a rating.

Thanks, I may be calm enough now to review.

[grumpin]

I did a post on putting in one of those battery trays. Because it’s plastic and years old they don’t line up.

I used a jack and 2x4’s to position it and get it lined up. I don’t think it’s anyone’s fault, just the material used.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I think Gary has gone to the '87+ battery tray that goes on top of the plastic fender and has a stay to the radiator support, like mine.
They seem a lot easier to deal with.

There also might be a review for Filler Neck Supply.
They probably have everything you need, from tank straps to the filler neck itself.
IME they're easy to deal with.

[Jonathan]

grumpin wrote

I did a post on putting in one of those battery trays. Because it’s plastic and years old they don’t line up.

I used a jack and 2x4’s to position it and get it lined up. I don’t think it’s anyone’s fault, just the material used.

Mine was metal, the only thing that was plastic was the wheel well.  The wheel well was not an issue but getting all the metal pieces to line up was. I had to remove it a few times to form the metal to get close enough to the screw holes to get them in.  And I still had to pry everything around to get it to work.

[Jonathan]

ArdWrknTrk wrote

I think Gary has gone to the '87+ battery tray that goes on top of the plastic fender and has a stay to the radiator support, like mine.
They seem a lot easier to deal with.

There also might be a review for Filler Neck Supply.
They probably have everything you need, from tank straps to the filler neck itself.
IME they're easy to deal with.

Thanks for the link.  Looks like they only have a two piece filler neck you have to assemble to get to work.  I got a tracking number created notice from FedEx for LMC.  If it really ships today I should get the filler neck on Saturday.  It is a one piece that is formed to fit like OEM hopefully. Also the vent seal and valve too.

https://www.fillernecksupply.com/1980-1981-1982-1983-1984-1985-1986-ford-f-series-stepside-outer-fuel-filler-hose-front-tank/

[ArdWrknTrk]

I believe Dane is saying that his inner fender well sagged over the years and he couldn't get the support up into place.

Sorry to hear you're having so much trouble getting LMC. parts to fit.
I've never run into that.

[grumpin]

Jonathan wrote

grumpin wrote

I did a post on putting in one of those battery trays. Because it’s plastic and years old they don’t line up.

I used a jack and 2x4’s to position it and get it lined up. I don’t think it’s anyone’s fault, just the material used.

Mine was metal, the only thing that was plastic was the wheel well.  The wheel well was not an issue but getting all the metal pieces to line up was. I had to remove it a few times to form the metal to get close enough to the screw holes to get them in.  And I still had to pry everything around to get it to work.

Yes, mine is also. That’s what I did. Used the jack and 2x4’s to manipulate it in to place.

Edit: I tried to find my post and could not. Could have been on another forum. Sorry.

[Jonathan]

grumpin wrote

Jonathan wrote

grumpin wrote

I did a post on putting in one of those battery trays. Because it’s plastic and years old they don’t line up.

I used a jack and 2x4’s to position it and get it lined up. I don’t think it’s anyone’s fault, just the material used.

Mine was metal, the only thing that was plastic was the wheel well.  The wheel well was not an issue but getting all the metal pieces to line up was. I had to remove it a few times to form the metal to get close enough to the screw holes to get them in.  And I still had to pry everything around to get it to work.

Yes, mine is also. That’s what I did. Used the jack and 2x4’s to manipulate it in to place.

Edit: I tried to find my post and could not. Could have been on another forum. Sorry.

Thanks for looking for your post I would like to see yours too.  Let me know if you find it. I was surprised my wheel well wasn't more damaged. The biggest challenge I had was the two front bolts for the side piece. I needed to pull it forward but was very hard to do that.  Finally I got a punch in the hole and was able to force it forward with that on the lower screw and insert the top screw.

[Jonathan]

Yesterday I installed the flexible air intake from LMC.  The quality was good but don't like the clips.  Too big and ugly.  Its too bad they didn't make it so both clips were on the bottom.  One clip will always be on top.  There is enough hose to cut off the end.  Any tactful resolutions to attach that will look good?

[Gary Lewis]

I don't think it looks that bad.  But if you really want you could use a black zip tie.  However, while it will be more discrete it will be a pain when you want to remove the hose.

[Jonathan]

Yesterday a fuel pump arrived from Rock Auto. I purchased the most expensive one they had from an ISO certified company.  The quality seemed good and it was heavy but just my luck it was defective.  The spring inside was rubbing on the plunger on every stroke so was very noisy.  I called the company to confirm it was defective and started a return with Rock Auto.  They gave me a return label and FedEx picked it up the same day.  It is already on its way back.  So I put an order in with AutoZone for two fuel pumps so I can compare.  I was shocked how light they were compared to the US Motor Works pump. So it was Spectra Premium vs. Delphi now.  The Spectra Premium was so light and felt like a toy.  The Delphi was much better so I went with the Delphi. Hats off to AutoZone for bringing both within 30 mins to my driveway!  I would of loved to keep the US Motor Works version if it wasn't defective but didn't want to chance it again.

[Gary Lewis]

You got Rock Auto to work with you?  Well done!  They are notorious for being hard to work with.

Yes, it seems like Auto Zone saved the day.  

Anyway, you have it fixed and running again?  

[Jonathan]

Lets see, what else happened yesterday?  Yeah I got my third fuel tank!  This one is a keeper.  It just has dog ears but no other crazy dents like the others.  I can live with that.  I just want to move on.  This one had strange stretch marks in one corner when it was stamped but I don't think that will cause an issue.

[Gary Lewis]

That one does look like a keeper.  The stretch marks aren't unusual from what I can see, and the bent corners are normal.  

[ArdWrknTrk]

You're always going to find some stretch marks on single stamped deep drawn sheet metal.
This isn't a body panel, and the manufacturers aren't going to run it through multiple (very expensive) press dies when it is never seen.
Just like the corners that are folded and not trimmed.

As long as the tank is not all banged up this is what you would find on the dealers floor in 1980

[Jonathan]

Gary Lewis wrote

I don't think it looks that bad.  But if you really want you could use a black zip tie.  However, while it will be more discrete it will be a pain when you want to remove the hose.

Maybe I can use a clip on one side so easier to remove the air cleaner and a zip tie on the other.  One side the clip can be down so not as bad.

[Jonathan]

ArdWrknTrk wrote

You're always going to find some stretch marks on single stamped deep drawn sheet metal.
This isn't a body panel, and the manufacturers aren't going to run it through multiple (very expensive) press dies when it is never seen.
Just like the corners that are folded and not trimmed.

As long as the tank is not all banged up this is what you would find on the dealers floor in 1980

Interesting.  Do you mean the corners are folded on purpose? Can I trim the corners with tin snips then?  I have time since I am still waiting on other parts for the fuel tank.

[rcarlisle]

I wouldn't trim those corners.  If you get inside the weld, it would ruin tank.  And if that is normal as said above, you will lose points at a concours event if you go messing about.  LOL.  

[Jonathan]

Gary Lewis wrote

You got Rock Auto to work with you?  Well done!  They are notorious for being hard to work with.

Yes, it seems like Auto Zone saved the day.  

Anyway, you have it fixed and running again?

RockAuto was easy to deal with.  You don't even have a real person to talk to.  Everything is done online with multiple choice questions.  The only hard part was scheduling FedEx to pick it up.

I haven't tried to start it yet.  I just started to tackle things I knew would need to be fixed first.  So far I replaced all the large conductor 12v cables and grounds.  The ground was so corroded that only half of the conductors were still connected.  The battery tray is now installed too so the lightning cube won't fly away.  I was not getting fuel when I did the compression tests so I started going down that road.  I am still waiting on fuel system parts to wrap that up.  I also want to make it dependable so I am replacing all the lightning components.  I already got a new lightning cube, and I have lightning hoses and a lightning whirler on order.  The brain box just arrived yesterday also along with the spark make it happener and sparkolaters. (Highly technical terms provided by VGG and Randy)

[rcarlisle]

A guy's just going ALL factree on this one.  

Oh yeah... BRING THE THUNDER!