Great White

[Gary Lewis]

Early ‘85?  Guessing due to the upper side trim.

Anyway, looks good!  👍

[grumpin]

Looking good!

[Rembrant]

I really like this truck. Well done, and a nice original survivor.

My interior is very similar. Also blue, radio delete. Same dash panels (except my truck has no AC).

[1986F150Six]

They are only original, once!

[Darksidesm]

Looks good.

Almost identical to mine on the outside.

[Blacktop]

Great looking truck👍

[emunder]

Very nice! I need to swap out my steering wheel. These stock wheels are the most uncomfortable steering wheel I've ever seen lol. Looking at the Grants myself...yours looks good! Whole truck is looking great! Nice work.

[Quarterwave]

Thanks Emunder!

The wheel is a Grant steering wheel that was un-varnished. I took a couple of weeks to build up around 5 coats of marine varnish - the hardest part was keeping dust out of the finish long enough so it could dry.

A standard wheel-puller took off the old wheel - and it works for the Grant - but the setup on the Grant is a little different, where a three-prong puller would be better.

The adapter is also from Grant but they have a really weird way of getting the horn to work, so unfortunately, mine is not at the moment (the wiring and horn work, just not connected to the horn on the wheel).

I think all up it was about $220 plus my time to prep and paint the varnish.

[1986F150Six]

emunder wrote

Very nice! I need to swap out my steering wheel. These stock wheels are the most uncomfortable steering wheel I've ever seen lol. Looking at the Grants myself...yours looks good! Whole truck is looking great! Nice work.

I wonder if this would work?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-Ford-Mustang-Truck-Fairmont-Leather-Sport-Steering-Wheel-1978-1979-Button/143354445085?hash=item2160973d1d:g:oiMAAOSwPdNdUd0Q

[Rembrant]

Hey Quaterwave,

How did you mount the new radio/stereo? Did you use a kit of any kind? My truck is also radio delete and installing a radio is on my to-do list.

What did you do with the original grey weave dash bezels that you removed?

[kramttocs]

Did you remove the original jute from the headliner?

[Quarterwave]

Hi Rembrandt,

I used a mounting kit from Crutchfield.

I actually sold them some time ago.

LMK if you need any info on the install and if so, I'll write it all up here for future reference for other users as there were a few challenges along the way.

[Quarterwave]

Hi Kramttocs,

Yes, I re-used the jute as it was in ok condition. I figured the more insulation the better. Even with twin mufflers (I used to run straight pipes), it's still LOUD and shakes the cabin! This sound clip is how it sounds now...



The headliner itself was the fabric kind, that had the bonded foam type of material attached to it.

Apparently, the issue with the headliners sagging is actually the foam breaking down, not the material.

I took the headliner backing board out (there are some creases in the board that bend to help remove it from the cabin) and after removing what I could of the fabric, I used a combination of sandpaper and a plastic drywall putty knife to scrape the foam off. I think next time, I'll just use a wire brush attachment on a drill as that would be quicker.

NOTE - mine was a messy job, so you might want to do it outside where its not too windy.

[kramttocs]

Fortunately I don't have to redo my headliner but I wasn't sure if the jute plus the xmat would cause it to bulge in those doubled up areas as I assumed the jute was pressed up against the roof panel.

[Quarterwave]

No, it was all good.

[kramttocs]

Good deal. (Hopefully) final question - I see Eastwood offers a different pad for roofs/hoods. A lighter version it sounds like. Did you use that on the roof or did you use the standard xmat all around?

[Quarterwave]

I used the lighter version on the roof and the vertical panels of the cab. The floor was the only part that received the "regular" Xmat.

The stuff for the roof is kind of spongy and is really light (but way more expensive), whereas the regular stuff is like an asphalt sheet with the aluminum backing. The asphalt stuff is fairly heavy for what it is, but with a sharp Stanley knife and some good scissors, it's easy to manage.

Some tips:

Sharp scissors

Stanley knife with new blade

Work gloves - the aluminum on the sheets can be sharp

Buy the aluminum tape to seal the Xmat joints on the floor. Otherwise the asphalt material can ooze/spread a bit

Buy the hard plastic/rubber roller - it really helps to push the stuff down in the valleys and crevices of the cabin - esp. when applying to the door skins

Remember to cut out the Xmat where the seat and seatbelt mounting points are

I used two rolls of the roof insulation, which covered the roof of my Supercab, along with the rear panel behind the rear seat and both sides of the CABIN (not the doors).

I could have used another roll for the door skins, but ended up using the regular Xmat asphalt material, which has worked out good so far. Fiddly to get in as it's sticky and only has a small amount of room, but it can be done (cut up into about 3 medium-sized pieces, place in the door cavity and then peel away the backing as you stick it to the door skin).

I ordered 3 of the large boxes of Xmat flooring material (I believe they had about 8 or 9 large sheets folded over in each box), but only used a bit less than 2 boxes for the floor (Supercab) and the doors. I sold the other box to a guy working on an OBS Bronco.

If you feel inclined, so much of the interior has to come out, you might like to consider re-dying the plastic pieces. If you do, LMC has the paint and an adhesion promoter that so far, has been good in my application. You'll also need to order some of the plastic clips as they are brittle and mine tended to break when prying off the panels (I was using a trim removal tool). I got some replacement clips from Amazon for a few bucks per pack (there were about 10 in each pack if I recall correctly)

Hope this helps!

[kramttocs]

Very much appreciated! Especially the amount needed - since I am doing a supercab also.