1978 non - rust pile

kb426 · January 15, 2020, 05:24:30 PM

This is the latest addition to the yard. This is a 1978 F150 standard cab long bed plain jane truck. It has a 300 six and a 4 speed, 3 fuel tanks, overload springs and a gooseneck hitch. It came from Arizona by way of Nebraska. It has been sitting in a shed for 6 years. No one knew why it was put in the shed. This was grandpas' truck.

While it does appear to be rust and hail dent free, it has dents in both front fenders and the tailgate where someone backed into the gooseneck. This was originally blue metallic. The tailgate is green on the inside which tells me it might not have been the 1st encounter with the hitch. The 76 rust pile is going to be a parts donor for this truck. I kept adding up a repair list for the 76 and didn't see a good ending. At this point, I don't know where I'm headed with this. I believe I'll see if the engine runs and try to find out how many surprised there are. LOL

WZ JUNK · January 15, 2020, 06:47:47 PM

Here we go again.

Looks like a good one to build on. It will be interesting to see what surprises lurk beneath what you can see.

Crosley.In.AZ · January 15, 2020, 10:37:38 PM

Cept for the long bed and few do-dads... it looks like a friends truck he had many years ago. He had a 1980s red Chevy truck, it was stolen twice, got it back once... So he bought the Ford when his insurance agent said fewer Fords were stolen. LOL

kb426 · January 20, 2020, 06:21:32 PM

I pulled it up close to the shop this afternoon. It got up to 55 degrees so I took advantage of it. I hooked up the battery charger and turned on the switch. The alternator light comes on and the fuel gauge moves. I think that's it.

It has headlights and nothing else in that department. The blower motor runs and most of what was in the housing has been relocated. LOL The solenoid clicks. I connected the water hose and gave it a bath. Then I used the leaf blower to dry it. The air ducts in the cowl drain water as they should so I think they may be all right. There are wires hanging under the dash that I thought were for the cb radio. Now I think there is a complete tear out waiting. What lurks in the shadows???

kb426 · January 22, 2020, 06:51:10 PM

This afternoon, I gave the inside another bath. The mouse smell became stronger after washing the other day. I used a wire brush and rag today. The 2nd pic is the floor in the middle of the driver's side under the steering column where the firewall angle hits the flat floor. It's an area 2" x 8" There were 2 pits that failed the ice pick test. This is where the damaged floor mat held moisture. There is no discoloring on the underneath side but it still will need to be cut out. That's all I have found at this point. The other spots that have no paint aren't pitted. So, the description has been revised to "almost " rust free.

I wonder how much more work it will take to remove the mice smell? Most of my projects have been outside and free of mice. I've helped on some others but wasn't around to see if we were 100% successful.

kb426 · February 01, 2020, 05:58:41 PM

I spent a full hour blowing feces out of the headliner area. I didn't quit until nothing else came out. That was with 125 lbs. of air also.

Until I start disturbing the really stuck particles, I believe I have it ok to start working on it.

idrivejunk · February 01, 2020, 10:17:19 PM

Fecal remnants trouble me. Cow chips not so much but those don't inhabit vehicles all that often. Get to the bottom of it safely!

chimp koose · February 02, 2020, 11:06:13 AM

A friend of mine works for the phone company . They have a hazmat kit for when they find mouse poop . There is a mouse called a deer mouse that can spread hantavirus from their poop . Be careful.

kb426 · February 02, 2020, 07:11:19 PM

^^^^
C. K., we have the same thing here.

It got up to 75 degrees this afternoon. Now, we have good news and bad news.

It will run and nothing is knocking. The bad news is that it will only run with the key in the start position. This has an antique anti-theft device on the firewall. It could be that. It could be the ignition switch or the messed up wiring hanging under the dash. I will tackle that on another day. I ran a fuel line from a small tank and used fresh fuel to start it. I removed the top of the carb and found it to be clean inside before attempting to start this. I'm satisfied that the engine does run.

Oh, it did blow the mouse nest out of the tail pipe while running.

kb426 · February 08, 2020, 05:32:57 PM

The new ignition switch is installed. It has a battery in the correct position so it's driveable. I connected an electric pump to the fuel line going to the mechanical pump and drained the fuel tank. I put a few gallons of gas in and let it pump enough to clear the old gas from the system as much as possible without removing the tank. I had to prime it to get it to start. So far, this is what I know works: starter, engine, throttle, heat and fuel gauges, alt. warning light and oil light sometimes.

Clutch and all gears in the trans. The not so good list: there are no brakes, the power steering doesn't work.

kb426 · February 09, 2020, 11:55:25 AM

It's cold here today without much hope of getting warmer. I raised the hood and did a little exploring. The rear side of the master cylinder was almost empty. The power steering was low. I filled both up. Steering is good, brakes not so much. This has drum brakes on the rear. I'm guessing there is nothing left of them. I found out that the speedo doesn't work. The accelerator pump on the carb is almost non-existent. It took about 30 pumps for anything to happen. It will start almost instantly after that.

The discovery phase is close to over. Many decisions to be made.

Crosley.In.AZ · February 09, 2020, 01:03:00 PM

Power steering does not function? Can you get some of your cash back? LOL

#sarcasm

Will be interesting what you end up doing here.

kb426 · February 15, 2020, 06:49:44 PM

A few days ago, I had the fuel tank from the 88 on the back of the 78. I was blowing dust and chunks out of the pump opening. The light hit it just right and I saw a pin hole in one spot. That put that idea of using that tank in the dumper. Then I thought I would just cut the opening out and fasten it to the tank in the 78 to adapt the efi if I go that direction. Today I pulled it in the shop and removed the old radio and the KCC lights on the top of the cab. There was a tool box bolted to the floor in the bed and I cut those bolts out. I crawled underneath to get a good look at a few things. I see no instant sign of brake fluid or power steering fluid leaking. What I did find is a wet spot on the bottom of the fuel tank. SO much for that idea.

I ran it out front and took the water hose to the underneath side. I may have got 5 lbs. of mud and dirt out. It's not clean but it has to be better when I start removing components. I found a spot of rust in the bed floor under the tool box. Besides the spot in the floor on the driver's side, that's all I have found, so far.

The shocks on all 4 corners are non-functioning. Bounce city. Enough fun for one afternoon.

kb426 · February 16, 2020, 06:21:03 PM

1st item today was to paint the new head for the 5.0 engine. Then I drove the 78 around to the drive. Because I found a leak on the original tank, I decided to use one of the side tanks. There wasn't enough left in it to pump out so I put in about 3 gallons and started the truck. I changed fuel tanks and it's still running so I think I'm ok. I removed the 75lb. cow guard and front bumper. The bumper has a slight bend it that I will try to straighten. I removed the seat and went to washing the inside again. This time I flushed from the headliner down. This wasn't for a weak stomach. I wouldn't say I got all of it but it sure is cleaner than it was. This time of year, it's very common to have a sunny day and then high cirrocumulous clouds. Once the sun went away, it wasn't near as nice playing in the water.

It is mid- February.

kb426 · February 17, 2020, 06:21:49 PM

O&S cycling along like there's a headwind.

I worked on the lights for a while today. Several bad sockets. I may pull part of the harness off the 76 to try before I order anything. The turn signal device in the column is toast. The flashers don't work. There maybe some wiring in the column that has problems. The wiring was spliced into for trailer lights so there be problems there. I removed the rear bumper and the front fender inner panels. I started straightening the left front fender where it was doubled under. I pulled the bent tailgate off. The one on the 76 is better so it may get used. I installed the front bumper from the 76. I think I went from one bent bumper to another.

I pulled the rear brake drums and was surprised to find the brakes to be serviceable. After driving it a little, they are better. That was enough exercise for today.