My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

[Rembrant]

I put three coats of Spar Marine varnish on a test piece of wood just to check the color and finish, etc. It darkens it up nicely, but not too dark. I'm going to start drilling holes in the wood tomorrow, and I still have to cut out the fender areas with a jigsaw, so hopefully by tomorrow afternoon sometime I'll have the wood back out and ready to varnish.



The truck is starting to feel somewhat complete again. I was doing easy jobs tonight, like pulling the new rubber sleeves on the tailgate chains...lol, and cleaning up the garage. I'm off on vacation all week, so I'm hoping to get a whole bunch of stuff done to the truck.

Still have to install all new rear brakes. The rear drums are currently empty. Have to fill and bleed the brake system, and put some gas in the new tank/lines.



I've decided to retire the black wheels. I still love them, but I think with the truck having new paint and being all shiny, I'd like a set of new shiny wheels to compliment it. Not sure what wheels I want yet...I'm still kind of a sucker for chrome, and it would keep with the 1980's theme here. Maybe a set of old school Blades like on the truck below. We'll see. I'm still shopping;).

[Gary Lewis]

Ray - The terminology is "Before 7/82" and "From 7/82".  So, translating that says "before July" and "From July".  But, it doesn't say July 1st, or even 31st.

And, to complicate things, it doesn't say in what plant.  As we've found with the slider door locks and clear turn signal lenses, while the catalog says those changed in March of '81 they didn't actually change then.  In fact, we've found trucks that were built in June and July that still got the slide locks.

But it looks like what they did with the locks and turn signal lenses was to consolidate the old items to a couple of plants.  In other words, Ford threw nothing away.  And I'd bet the same was the case for the bed floors.

Cory - That's going to look really good in the bed.  How many coats do you think you'll apply?

And, at the end of this week you may have the truck back on the road!!!  

[Steve83]

Gary Lewis wrote

..."before July" and "From July".  But, it doesn't say July 1st, or even 31st.

"From July" would semantically mean the whole month - IOW, beginning July 1st.  But it's probably just shorthand because they didn't feel like the exact day was important enough to document.

Gary Lewis wrote

In other words, Ford threw nothing away.

Ford never had anything TO throw away.  Parts were never warehoused - they arrived each day and went onto the assembly line.  That was what Ford invented that made him so successful; the system of having parts delivered as-needed, rather than stocking things that had to be inventoried, sorted, handled, stored, searched, handled, & moved before they arrived on the assembly line.  So if trucks were built with old parts, it only means the documentation about when the running change occurred is wrong - not that the old-design parts were still trickling in, or being used up from a pile somewhere.

[Ray Cecil]

How do you explain NOS parts still in the packaging?

[Steve83]

Service parts (in packages) are an entirely different issue from production (OE) parts that went to the assembly line.  We're talking about how trucks got built - not about what might have been put on them later.

[Rembrant]

I meant to ask about this the other day....

My truck has been sitting since last fall...must be 8 months now, and I haven't started the engine in that time. I will be starting it again soon. At what point would one pull the distributor to spin the oil pump and prime the system? Or will winding it over with the starter get it primed enough anyway...it's not like it's going to start on the first crank. I'd rather not pull the distributor, but if I need to I will. (I don't have a shaft specifically for priming either, but I can order one quick enough).

I suppose I'm worrying about nothing....since these trucks sit in fields for years...decades even, and people still fire them up...lol. I think if it was a roller cam engine I wouldn't even care (psychologically speaking...lol).

[Rembrant]

It's SO nice to be on vacation...
It's SO nice to be on vacation and not have to go anywhere...lol.
Having a few days to myself for "garage therapy" does a lot to charge one's batteries I'd say.

So I test fitted the wood floor, and that ended up being more work than I expected. There are 59 carriage bolts in that floor, and there were only a small handful that fit into place without drilling holes.



In any case, I have it all removed again and as of last night I had two coats of Spar Urethane on the bottom sides now, with a 3rd coat going on this morning. By this afternoon I'll have the boards flipped over so I can get the first topside coat on.



I don't have any pictures yet, but locating and drilling the 8 mounting holes was a bit of a pain. I had to get under the truck and mark each hole with a pencil...up through the frame and the wooden mounting blocks. I didn't realize until after they were all done and drilled that they weren't all in a straight line. There's one hole on each side that is slightly out of step with the others due to the frame hole locations. It's not a problem...it's just something I hadn't noticed before.

The other thing I had to do was drill center holes in all 5 sills/crossmembers. All 5 are new pieces from Mar-K in Oklahoma...but they only manufacture them for the 1982 and older 7 board 6 strip installation (That is also the only configuration they sell the bed wood in). If one wants to do the 5 strip install same as the factory did, you're on your own to drill the center holes.

[Ray Cecil]

Cory, looking good!!! Ive got mine on the road again. Trying to get some saddle time to get to know her.

Yesterday at lunch I shut the door and heard something hit the exhaust manifold "ting".

Drove to lunch and had a hard time keeping it idling. Got home later and inspected thing. Idle set screw had fallen out and hit the exhaust. Lol. Dug through the screw bin and found another one. Put one layer of pipe tape on it this time to help it stay. Maybe there is supposed to be a spring on it too?

[FuzzFace2]

That will look sweet when done and with the metal strips who could tell it is only 3 pieces of ply wood?

Question? On the carriage bolts are you going to paint the heads or leave them as they are zinc plated?
I have been thinking of painting mine but would need to sand, prim, sand & paint and I am getting lazy now. I only have them down the bed sides and the front panel, no metal strips with the ribbed metal floor.
Thanks
Dave ----

[FuzzFace2]

Ray Cecil wrote

Cory, looking good!!! Ive got mine on the road again. Trying to get some saddle time to get to know her.

Yesterday at lunch I shut the door and heard something hit the exhaust manifold "ting".

Drove to lunch and had a hard time keeping it idling. Got home later and inspected thing. Idle set screw had fallen out and hit the exhaust. Lol. Dug through the screw bin and found another one. Put one layer of pipe tape on it this time to help it stay. Maybe there is supposed to be a spring on it too?

Yes there is a spring on it to keep it tight.
Good to hear you are getting "seat time". Only seat time I get in mine is moving it in / out of the garage  
Dave ----

[Gary Lewis]

Cory - That is coming together very, VERY nicely!  You are going to be PROUD!   

On the engine, I don't think sitting for eight months will be a problem on the oil.  Eight years, yes.  But let's see what the others say.

[FuzzFace2]

Gary Lewis wrote

Cory - That is coming together very, VERY nicely!  You are going to be PROUD!   

On the engine, I don't think sitting for eight months will be a problem on the oil.  Eight years, yes.  But let's see what the others say.

I forgot you asked I would not worry as you said it will crank some before it lights off.

Only thing I worry of is if the oil filter is mounted side ways and the anti-drain back valve does not work.
The filter drains, some over night, so when it fires up like the next morning you hear badness before oil gets pumped around.

If you did not have any issues like this before you will most likely not after it sat some.
Dave ----

[Rembrant]

FuzzFace2 wrote

Question? On the carriage bolts are you going to paint the heads or leave them as they are zinc plated?
I have been thinking of painting mine but would need to sand, prim, sand & paint and I am getting lazy now. I only have them down the bed sides and the front panel, no metal strips with the ribbed metal floor.
Thanks
Dave ----

Dave,

The floor carriage bolts are stainless. They're 5/16" x 1 1/2" long. The originals were metric (8mm) and almost exactly the same length. I bought a set of flat headed stainless bolts to mount the fenders with...they came from Mar-K also, and they look just like the originals as far as profile goes. I'm not sure if they're a custom ordered bolt that Mar-K sourced or if they're just carriage bolts with the heads machined flat...I dunno.

Oh...and no, I'm not painting any of the bolt heads. Just leaving them bare.

[1986F150Six]

Gary Lewis wrote

On the engine, I don't think sitting for eight months will be a problem on the oil.  Eight years, yes.  But let's see what the others say.

You could pull the coil wire and allow the starter motor to spin a bit. Let it cool and do it again. Then replace the coil wire and fire it up, and idle a bit. Listen well for any unusual sounds.

[Steve83]

Another option is to pull the distributor & prime the oil pump with a drill.  The drive rods are common & affordable at most parts stores, Amazon, eBay, Summit, JCWhitney...  Or you can just use a regular socket & extension by pulling the drive rod out of the distributor.

The best for the engine is to install an oil accumulator $y$tem, but it's bulky.

[FuzzFace2]

Rembrant wrote

FuzzFace2 wrote

Question? On the carriage bolts are you going to paint the heads or leave them as they are zinc plated?
I have been thinking of painting mine but would need to sand, prim, sand & paint and I am getting lazy now. I only have them down the bed sides and the front panel, no metal strips with the ribbed metal floor.
Thanks
Dave ----

Dave,

The floor carriage bolts are stainless. They're 5/16" x 1 1/2" long. The originals were metric (8mm) and almost exactly the same length. I bought a set of flat headed stainless bolts to mount the fenders with...they came from Mar-K also, and they look just like the originals as far as profile goes. I'm not sure if they're a custom ordered bolt that Mar-K sourced or if they're just carriage bolts with the heads machined flat...I dunno.

Oh...and no, I'm not painting any of the bolt heads. Just leaving them bare.

If I went with stainless I would not paint them either.
I have all the floor carriage bolts and the front panel to floor bolts that are zinc plated and I may just leave them that way. If the start to rust down the road I think I have enough I can paint and replace 1 at a time.
Who am I kidding they will stay rusty LOL
I will be painting the bed side to front panel bolts like the factory did.
Thanks
Dave ----

[Rembrant]

FuzzFace2 wrote

I will be painting the bed side to front panel bolts like the factory did.
Thanks
Dave ----

Dave,

I spent a lot of time thinking about how to assemble this bed with regards to what to paint and when. I had originally planned to try some painting myself, which I would have had to do in the shop at my work, but due to a large project we took on I had to vacate all my junk as all the free space disappeared...lol.

The main thing I wanted to do was to have every single square inch of the bed panels painted. I mean everything...there had to be zero exposed steel anywhere...inside or out. Because I did it this way, which means I had to assemble the bed after it was painted, there was no easy way for me to paint the bolts. I used stainless bolts between the head board and the side panels, and the front and rear sills as well...and I thought the bed was going to look too blingy with too many stainless bolts, but you can barely notice them anyway.

Oh well...simple mind, simple pleasures...lol.

[FuzzFace2]

Rembrant wrote

FuzzFace2 wrote

I will be painting the bed side to front panel bolts like the factory did.
Thanks
Dave ----

Dave,

I spent a lot of time thinking about how to assemble this bed with regards to what to paint and when. I had originally planned to try some painting myself, which I would have had to do in the shop at my work, but due to a large project we took on I had to vacate all my junk as all the free space disappeared...lol.

The main thing I wanted to do was to have every single square inch of the bed panels painted. I mean everything...there had to be zero exposed steel anywhere...inside or out. Because I did it this way, which means I had to assemble the bed after it was painted, there was no easy way for me to paint the bolts. I used stainless bolts between the head board and the side panels, and the front and rear sills as well...and I thought the bed was going to look too blingy with too many stainless bolts, but you can barely notice them anyway.

Oh well...simple mind, simple pleasures...lol.

I will also be painting mine apart to get paint every where and have been thinking what happens to the paint on the bolts like for the front panel and gate hinges.
I will paint the bolts when I do the panels and touch them up after the bed is bolted together or so the plan goes.

I never gave any thought to stainless  then again I am cheap and stainless is more money
Dave ----

[Gary Lewis]

I can tell you how much fun it is to touch up every fastener after installing them.  

I'm powder coating everything on Dad's truck, and the sockets/wrenches mess things up, as does the simple act of tightening.  Very tedious.

[Rembrant]

Finally, after sanding and varnishing all week, I have the wood floor all bolted down and locked in place. It looks alright for a plywood floor imho. I understand that it is not for everybody, but that is the beauty of these old Flaresides...we can finish the floors to our own tastes. I put three coats of Spar Varnish on each side, and somewhere between 5-6 coats on the edges and on the 10 wooden mounting blocks. All I need now is the 8 mounting bolts which are sitting in Maine waiting for me to pick them up next week.

Next up will be fitting and installing the tailgate and chains, rear bumper, and then back on to filling and bleeding brakes, etc. I'll soon be ready to turn the key in the old Mule. The way my schedule is going, I'll have it ready for the road right around the time I have to put it away for the winter...lol. Oh well. Patience is a virtue.






And, since it has been a while...I have to show some before pics of the bed...