'83 F150 Short Box

[66gtk]

Finally got her home this weekend.  Lots of work done and plenty still to do.  Got to drive it for the first time since purchasing it in June.  Went for a short ride today and got some sunshine, rain, sleet and snow all in the same 10 minute drive.  Gotta love MN.

[Gary Lewis]

Congrat's!!!  That's a very nice looking truck.  And that first drive is such a wonderful feeling.  

[Danny G]

That's a good looking truck, I would love to find some of that lower molding for mine.

[1986F150Six]

Very nice!

[Rembrant]

Outstanding! Truck looks great. Love the colors.

[FuzzFace2]

What they all said
I would not mind having that parked in the garage next to my flare side.
Dave ----

[LARIAT 85]

Nice truck!

Those original style Ford wheels look 1000X better than the aftermarket wheels you had.

[66gtk]

Busy day today.  Worked almost non stop all day.  I had fun and it was peaceful.  Really, it was.
Started the morning by doing some detail work on the center instrument panel.  Painting the silver edges is time consuming.  It took much more time than anticipated.  It's going to take 3x the time to do the instrument cluster side, but I think it will turn out nice.  

I then buffed out the lens with meguiars ultimate compound.  There was some very stubborn etching of a liquid spill all over it and it was very difficult to get off, but it finally came off after several attempts and MANY hot passes with the PC.  I'm happy how it turned out.

I went to Michael's to get some paint for the gauge needles.  They had a flourescent orange that looks perfect to me.  Brushed it on and it all looks like new.  I'm electing to keep the original bulbs, which all still work.  I kind of like the dim blue glow.  It reminds me of how these trucks are supposed to be.  My '85 I had in highschool was the same way.

I yanked the clock and am looking for a working replacement.  Hopefully my harness is OK.  It took some effort to detach the connector on the back of the clock, but I finally got it off.  I also learned how to get off the wiper switch knob and light switch knob after quite a few failed attempts with the wrong tools.  I was patient and didn't break anything.  I got 'her.

I also popped the dash off and found a decent dash at the junk yard on Saturday.  It has a golf ball sized hole in the speaker grill, but the rest is good. Need to decide how to proceed with either repairing it or putting a coverlay plastic dash cover on it and call it good.  I don't need the speaker as I don't have a center speaker since I have stereo speakers factory.

I ordered tailgate letters from LMC, but the color was wrong.  I decided to paint and clear them to match my truck's blue perfectly.  I think it turned out nice.

Covered my ripping seat up with 2 blankets I purchased on Amazon.  I used some sheet clips - like suspenders - to pull things taut.  Turned out surprisingly well.  This was a $40 investment and it is much cheaper than reupholstering my seat for now.  I also get to keep the original interior still.

I got to take out the 'Bull for her first 2020 drive.  Picked up some supplies at Ace hardware.  

The last image is the HVAC fan resistor.  It didn't look all that bad, but I swapped it out for a new one and regained all my fan speeds.  Very happy about that simple fix.  

[Gary Lewis]

Wow!  That's a lot of work for one day!  Looks great!  

The paint is Testors, and in my testing it comes very close to the original color.  And it is what is on Big Blue's gauges.

The silver on the bezel looks good, as do the letters.  And the blower motor resistor is such an easy change and it can make a huge difference.  Did you need to clean out leaves in there?

[1986F150Six]

Very, very nice work!

[ETM]

Such a good looking truck, Has all the right colours and style. So you just got some blankets from Amazon? been looking for a cover for my bench like that for some time?

[Frank Wyatt]

The blankets look good on there. Which ones are they and what is your opinion of the quality and color options? I already found the sheet clips but I am wanting a somewhat heavy weight tan blanket to match my trucks interior.

[66gtk]

Thanks everybody.

Gary - No, I didn't have anything in the box such as leaves or pine needles.  It was clean.

Frank - here's the link: blanket

They have many various colors.  I researched a LOT, and these were the best I could find for under $30.  They are supposedly heavier than the rest, but this is a light weight, relatively cheap blanket.  You get what you pay for.  I have no idea how it will hold up.  This is a far cry from the blankets of this style I used to buy in the early 90s.  I still have those in use - they are heavy and well made (by hand).  These are not those.  Good luck finding those, and if you do - you will have to pay.

[Frank Wyatt]

Thanks. I looked at those and others like that as well and wondered how they compared to each other. I am also wondering how they compare to the saddle blanket seat covers. which I also believe to not be as good as they used to be. Of course though, being two separate blankets as opposed to a seat cover where the seat and back are one piece has its advantages, such as when tilting the back forward to get behind the seat, and the sheet clips make for a custom fit.

[66gtk]

More updates:

-Detailed instrument cluster bezel
-Found a great used dash pad from a new local Bullnose friend.  
-Installed new clock
-Realized fuse was missing to make it work so installed 15 amp fuse and walla!  Dome light came back, too.
-I also discovered a 5 amp fuse was in place were a 15 amp fuse was specified.  When I pulled it out discovered it was quite melted.  Glad it didn't start a fire
-Learned why fuse was likely pulled as clock buttons no longer responsive.  Good thing working on this at 11:45 PM, as I simply waited until Midnight to reinsert the fuse.  LOL
-Replaced busted up horn pad and detailed the lettering
-Went for a drive

[1986F150Six]

Looks great! You should be proud.

[ArdWrknTrk]

. I had this same problem with my aftermarket radio!

I would have to run out for lunch early, to reconnect my battery (at exactly noon) every time.....  

[66gtk]

This month....replaced both side mirrors with NOS assemblies.  No more wobbly LMC reproduction garbage.  removed steering wheel cover to find mint original wheel condition, polished tail light lenses.  I'm proud to say I have no reproduction parts on this truck yet. Non OEM floor mats (obviously) and an aftermarket parking brake pad.  Blankets cover the original seat covers right now.  Going to be installing some reproduction weather stripping soon, to replace the dry rotted originals.  Waiting for it to get warmer outside for that.

[1986F150Six]

Looks great!