L'il Blue '83 F150 4x4

[tjmac]

Gary- remind me how to access the editable version of the word document you embedded above?

Looking forward to your visit- I've finally got a good list of what I want to try and get done!

[tjmac]

never mind- got it!

[Gary Lewis]

Looks like you got in, alright. I see the edits. We are in Owasso but will do some edits myself when we get home. May resort to colors to keep things straight.

Bringing the seat from Big Blue as the other one I have is UGLY. And lots of other things. So we need to have a priority list as there will be lots to do.

[Gary Lewis]

The loading has begun.  Originally the plan was to put Big Blue's seat, with the back off the bottom, in the bed.  But that took up most of the bed and left us with very little room to put the presents that Santa is sending, so the plan changed to put the seat in the rear seat section of the cab.  Turns out that the dimensions are TIGHT!

Here's a shot of the head of the rod that goes across the bottom of the back in relation to the plastic trim on Blue.  And the other side was the same.  




So two pieces of old heater hose cut to 3/4" long protects the plastic and creates a press fit.  And the seat is well and truly loaded, as shown below.

[grumpin]

Move 'em on, head 'em up
Head 'em up, move 'em on
Move 'em on, head 'em up
Rawhide!

[Gary Lewis]

This is what came to my mind when I read that:

[grumpin]

That’s great!

[ArdWrknTrk]

Have a safe trip.  

Enjoy your family and setting Lil Blue straight this holiday.

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks!  Not sure what all we are going to do, but I'm ready for a lot of things including installing the new steering box, installing the seat and repairing the nuts in the floor, installing a rear window, installing a Bullnose steering wheel, maybe replacing the master cylinder, & adjusting the carb.

But there's also the concern about the floor.  Apparently it is rusted and covered with a sheetmetal piece, as shown below.  But TJ mentioned that there's more damage than we thought and was asking about welding in floor pans.  However he's not welded before and doesn't own a welder, so I suggested that we glue floor pans in if we do that as learning to weld on rusty body panels isn't something I'd recommend.  We shall see what he has planned.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I saw you suggested glue.  💡
Welding rusty sheet metal just makes more holes.
Looks like he'll need that outer floor tip down to the flange, that Tabco doesn't make. (Raybuck is ok, but it's not galvanized or annealed)

Hopefully the seat support Z strips are okay.
Zirconia flap discs are on sale at Horrid Fate.
You'll certainly need a few to get a good bite.

[Gary Lewis]

Good point, Jim.  I'd not thought about needing flap wheels and the grinder.  I'll put one of the grinders in and what wheels I have, although we can get more there.  But HF is a long hike from their place on James Island, so we'll probably just hit up the local hardware store.

And since I have two right-angle grinders I'll leave that one with TJ.  Back when I was welding a lot I'd run a wire wheel on one and a flap wheel on the other.  But I've not done that in years so don't need two of them.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I have four (plus my cordless one).
I suggested to Shaun that he gets a second one for that very reason.

I don't know much about the area, but my sister's headed back down to Charleston today. (I know she's close to a Lowe's)
Still a good deal. Just don't buy the cheap Warrior ones.

[Gary Lewis]

Your sister lives on the north side of Charleston in Goose Creek if I remember correctly.  I saw that area when we pulled in last time on I-24 and there is a lot of stuff like Lowes, HF, etc up there.  But our kids live south of Charleston on James Island where there's not much of that kind of stuff.  But there is a very large Ace Hardware that should have flap wheels if we need more.

As for the number of grinders, I forgot the cordless one.  So I have three and certainly don't need that many.  Bought the Rigid cordless one to cut the floor pan piece out at the salvage to extend the hump on Dad's truck to clear the transfer case after installing that loooooong E4OD.  (Where I learned about gluing floor pans.)

[ArdWrknTrk]

Yes, you're right.
Doesn't your daughter work up that way?

I only know from a map.
But if course I don't think James Island is like that.

There's always Amazon if you don't need it right this minute
I can get stuff in the afternoon, or for $3 I can get it between 4-6 AM since they've opened a new hub near me.

[Gary Lewis]

Time for a brief update:

We have the seat out and the two floor nuts helicoiled, although after the Loctite sets up I need to go under and trim off the excess coil

The replacement rear window is in.  The directions the guy gave on Youtube are great.  We only had two issues.  First, he specified 3/16" rope and that's what we started with.  But by the time we pulled hard on it the diameter was smaller and it was hard on hands.  Perhaps something besides a nylon line would be better.

Second, his window didn't have the chrome lock strip, and we spent at least 10x more time getting that in than getting the window in.  Don't have any good guidance on that as it was a learning experience that we are still trying to understand.  

The old steering box, lower shaft, and lower steering column bearing are out.  And the hand-me-down lower steering column bearing from Big Blue did tighten up the steering column when it went in. So this afternoon the later model lower shaft and new Blue Top box go in.

But, we had fits getting the pitman arm off.  The bolt for the puller was up against the front diff and didn't allow getting the 3/4" socket on so we could use the impact.  We finally jacked the truck up to get the bolt away from the diff and were able to get the job done with a wrench and a cheater, but not without a lot of fiddling.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Okay
I replied to the AI thread before I read this.

I use the thickest braided pull starter cord I can find (or one ton kevlar braid)

A heat gun works wonders getting the chrome strip to flex.
"Personal lubricant" or silicone gel works way better than GoJoe or dish soap.
There is a tool specifically for installing them.
I use a bookbinders bone burnisher to work the corners because I'm not going to purchase a one time tool.

If you can get the bolt tight SMACK the pitman arm from the side, at the splines, with a 3-4 lb drilling hammer.
It should pop right off.

[BigBrother-84]

Gary Lewis wrote

Time for a brief update:
[...]seat
[...]rear window
[...]two issues
[...]old steering box, lower shaft, and lower steering column
[...]pitman arm off
[...]jacked the truck
[...]not without a lot of fiddling.

Wow.
All that not easy work, while having a cold...  And it's a brief update.
Imagine the rest.
Not sure Janey is really happy about you.

[Gary Lewis]

Jim - Now you tell me, probably again, about using something other than soap and water.  It doesn't work well at all.  My fingers hurt from all the pushing and prying to get that strip in.  

Jeff - Janey isn't mad, just cautioning me to take it easy.  But we are making progress.  The seat is in and the Blue Top is bolted in but not torqued yet.  Need to look up the spec's, but I'm pretty sure the pitman arm nut takes 200 lb-ft, although I don't remember what the frame bolts take.

And the later steering shaft is in, although that took a lot of work as well.  Had to spread the upper end a bit to get it to go over the steering column lower shaft, but finally got it on.

Man, I'm learning how easy it is to work on a lift!  Miss that thing, for sure.  Today we had to jack the truck up to get the pitman arm to align with the output of the box.  Tomorrow it goes up on stands to flush out the system and then connect everything up.  Hope to drive it tomorrow afternoon.  

[Gary Lewis]

And for the record, the pitman arm nut is 170 - 230 lb-ft and the frame bolts are 54 - 66 lb-ft.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Yeah, I sem to remember 200 '#
I may be doing that job soon, as my truck decided to lose all its fluid today.
I suspect the input seal.

Of course I can't find my crows foot wrenches.