The Truck of Doom: An Occasional Build Thread

[Dorsai]

So this latest round of work is complete...what did I accomplish? Less than I wanted in some areas, and more in others:

• Originally the goal was to get under the cowl and apply sealant of some kind to fix my cabin water leak. After investigating, however, I determined that the water was coming in through the kick panel vents thanks to a buildup of dirt in the drains, and not (as far as I can tell) from a leak per se. So, no sealant applied.
• I did, however, remove the plastic drain spouts at the bottoms of the drains. While they let water out once upon a time, they had become so clogged with dirt that water was pooling and running into the cabin. With the spouts out I expect dirt and debris to wash out naturally.
• Because of this, I decided applying screening to the underside of the cowl was unnecessary. With the spouts out I expect the flow of air and water under the cowl to be sufficient to wash out most crud that gets in there...and what does make it in and stay can probably be cleaned out with a hose.
• I replaced the radio antenna. Oklahoma Man bungled the job when he installed it, and the coax has been damaged since day one...this explains why radio reception has always been so poor.
• I fixed the A/C ducting in the dashboard. In the process of bungling the radio install, Oklahoma Man shoved the radio into the slot without relocating the A/C ducting, forcing the corner of the radio into the duct and opening up a huge hole. Nice work, Cletus!
• Replaced the passenger side wiper blade that has been held on with zip ties since September.

So nothing major really, just several small items that needed doing. Overall, a worthwhile effort. Next stop, new tires! They're supposed to get to the shop tomorrow, so hopefully by the end of the week that will be taken care of as well.

[Gary Lewis]

Well done!  Lots of little things add up to major improvements.  

[ArdWrknTrk]

Keep chipping away Matthew!  
Or, as Gary says peeling the onion.

You might find you'll want to apply some body seam caulk down in those cavities.
Or if you had the fender liners loose perhaps spray in there with Leak Stop/Flex Seal?

Took me quite a while to figure out that my cowl was cracked.
Wet floors are frustrating.  

[Dorsai]

Dorsai wrote

Originally the goal was to get under the cowl and apply sealant of some kind to fix my cabin water leak.  After investigating, however, I determined that the water was coming in through the kick panel vents thanks to a buildup of dirt in the drains, and not (as far as I can tell) from a leak per se.  So, no sealant applied.

I haven't been doing much with the truck lately (aside from driving it), so not much posting from me here.  But we've had several hard and fast thunderstorms recently (this evening we got a full 1.5" of rain in the time it took us to eat dinner), and I'm happy to report that with the drain spouts removed and the dirt cleared, my cabin water issues are resolved.  It's been bone dry in there since May.  

[ArdWrknTrk]

That's great news Matthew!

Thank you for the follow up.  

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, that is great news!  And good to hear/see from you, Matthew!

[Dorsai]

So I mentioned in another thread that I was trying to get up the nerve to start working on my body panel alignment issues. The truck has never been in a significant accident that I am aware of, but I have some seriously janky panel gaps anyway. First up is the driver door: This is the most obvious problem from a visual perspective, my stylin' pinstripes are no longer aligned. Not only does the front edge of the door seem low, but (and it's hard to see in the photo) it also seems like it might be pulled outward from the cab just a touch. This is the problem that actually bothers me the most, the top forward corner of the door is so tight against the cab that it has rubbed through the cab paint and down into bare metal. While the top rear corner of the door isn't gouging into the cab structure, it also seems like it's pulled inward toward the cab. The one bit of good news here is that the rear edge of the door seems aligned properly. The door doesn't seem to rise or drop at all when I unlatch it, so that much is good. Also, I didn't take any photos of the bottom edge of the door, but I don't think there are any problems there. So if I had to summarize what I think I need to do, it's the following:

• Raise the forward edge of the door up slightly
• Push the forward edge of the door in slightly
• Bring the top edge of the door out a bit
• Don't mess with the rear edge, or the bottom, as much as possible

Is all this possible? The other possibility is that my door is somehow bent...I'm not sure how that would have happened. My grandfather did have a bad leg, though, and I recall him putting a good bit of weight on the door as he got in and out of the truck. I don't know if that was enough to have bent anything, though. Before moving on from the door, one last item: I have the older-style door hinge, with the large S-shaped spring in it. As you can see, no S here - that's because mine snapped a couple of years ago. I have a replacement spring, but how hard are they to install? If I'm going to have the door and/or fender off, now's the time to get that in there. Moving on from the door, let's look at where the fender meets the cab: This is the driver side...I can almost fit my thumb into that gap. On the passenger side, the fender is wedged up against the cowl, while still somehow having a huge gap away from the cab. I read Steve's writeup (http://www.fourdoorbronco.com/board/showthread.php?6884-Door-Alignment) about door alignment, which seems good. Does anyone know of a similar writeup on aligning the front fenders?

[Gary Lewis]

Matthew - I think what you outlined is possible.  Since you have two hinges you can:

Raise both hinges to raise the forward edge of the door up slightly

Move both hinges in slighty to push the forward edge of the door in slightly

Bring the top hinge back out smidge to bring the top edge of the door out a bit

That won't "mess with the rear edge" much, but some.  However you can pull the rear in or out with the striker bolt.

But, if you bring the top edge of the door out you will bring the bottom in some unless the whole door moves out.

[ArdWrknTrk]

That's a lot like we line up cabinet doors so a whole row will all sit straight with equal reveals.

But remember what Matthew said about his Grandpa.
With car doors you can also twist and bend the door itself.

No, it's not "Steve Approved", but it does work and is used all the time.

Also, putting some blue tape on the opening of the door jamb or pinch to save rubbing paint while you're getting the door adjusted is not cheating

[Dorsai]

Thanks, guys.  Depending on how things shake out, I may start fiddling with it this weekend.

[Dorsai]

As a random bit of trivia, it was 11 years ago today that my truck loaded up for the trip from Oklahoma to Georgia.  My dad and brother went out to get it, that's dad's truck pulling it home:

[Gary Lewis]

That's cool, Matthew!  And it's made it back.  

[1986F150Six]

Gary Lewis wrote

That's cool, Matthew!  And it's made it back.  

And, it has won trophies!

[mackendw]

I picked up 2 springs for 2.40 at crappy tire. using coathangers as the metal pieces to connect the spring to the latch mechanism.  7' of cable (1.25) + 2 cable stays (1.50).  ~10.00 for the fix.

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks for the response.  But you may have missed the email that Jim sent you asking you to post an introduction in the New Members Start Here folder before posting elsewhere.  That's because we have a copy of our guidelines posted there and want everyone to have an opportunity to see them since we hold everyone to them.

Plus, this is a community and we like to get to know each other.  So please go to the New Members Start Here folder and introduce yourself.

[Dorsai]

Time to bring this thread back from the grave! What with work, my son's high school robotics team, and other commitments I haven't done much with the truck in a couple of years aside from driving it. But with the truck show (hopefully) coming up in September, I need to get the truck in shape to make the 900 mile run to Skiatook. So what needs to be done? Let's make a list:

• Air and fuel filter replacement (done)
• Oil change
• Windshield wiper replacement
• Brake fluid check/possible replacement
• Engine coolant replacement
• Hood realignment
• Radio antenna repair
• Ignition switch & key cylinder replacement
• Duraspark module cleanup
• Carb adjustment/tuneup
• Tire check & rotation
• Anything else that pops up

The #1 thing that has to get done right away is the ignition switch and key cylinder. I described here and here the problems I've been having, and they're still going on. I needed the truck today to get mulch from Home Depot, and I was initially excited that my windshield wipers came on when I started the truck. Milliseconds later the excitement was gone, as the wipers stopped moving again at the worst possible place:

Fortunately I don't have a need to drive the truck again any time soon, so hopefully I can get a few of these items knocked out quickly.

[Gary Lewis]

Well, the truck show is a given, so you'd best get cracking on the list.  

I think you can knock the key/switch problem out pretty easily in an afternoon - assuming there's nothing more seriously wrong than a bad switch.  The other stuff can be done a couple at a time on an evening or Saturday.  You'll get there with time to spare.  

[Dorsai]

I actually tried starting on the ignition switch issue yesterday, but gave up for the evening when I found a strange wire running across the underside of the steering column, which would have prevented me from lowering the column.  I knew I needed the truck today, so I didn't want to get too involved in taking things apart last night.  Now that I think about it, the wire probably goes to either the dealer A/C controls or to the radio, both of which were installed by Cletus the Truck Molester when he worked at Don Thornton Ford back in the day.  I should have plenty of time this week to figure that out and then get the switch replaced.

[1986F150Six]

Good hearing from you, Matthew!

[Dorsai]

Good to be heard from!

I've realized I've missed working on the truck, and keeping up with all of you and your projects on here.  Hopefully I can strike a better balance going forward.