1978 non - rust pile

[chimp koose]

Well you missed out on my fenders but maybe you could "practice " on my T seat    . I suppose you may have to learn how to cut glass as that is the only thing I have not seen you do so far .

[kb426]

It was sprinkling today so that ended my cleaning project in the storage shed for a day. The only item not working on the truck was the windshield washer. I had 2 other units left over. Ford had chosen to use the same style of pump for years.  The 1st from the 76 was also dead. The pump from the 88 was good. A little patience and I had the keeper removed and the pump out to inspect. It had some dirt on it and the rest looked good. I installed it in the tank and put everything back together. I'm missing the tee that connects the pump to the sprayers. I ordered a couple and went back to work. Later in the day, I received an out of stock notice. I cancelled that order and went to another supplier. The passenger side vent was covered with gray tape when I got the truck. When I pulled the heater unit for service, I found one of the plastic pins broke off. I removed all the tape residue and made a steel bracket to replace the plastic part. I removed the saddle tanks. All the bolts are removed from the 5th wheel hitch. The bed will have to be removed to repair where the front panel is pulled loose at the bottom.

[kb426]

O&S was pretending to be a worker today. The new windshield got installed. After that, I removed the bed and did the repair on the front panel. In case anyone wonders why you need so many vise grips and c-clamps, here's one example. I clamped it together, hammer and dollied it flat, Ground the face and welded it. The panel is straightened. I may do a little more on it because it isn't perfectly straight all the way across. There is plenty left to do on this bed.

[kb426]

It was yoga day for O&S. I guess that's a fair description of being in unnatural positions for old guys. I think all the welding is done on the bed. All the holes around the perimeter have been filled. The gooseneck hole is plated. I removed the trim from the tailgate and welded up all the holes. There was a dent on the left side of the tailgate that was fairly deep. I drilled a hole on the back side of the tailgate and used a hammer and punch to knock it out. Part of the inner panel on the tailgate had pulled the spot welds loose. I clamped, hammered and welded it back together. T.B. has set in.

[Crosley.In.AZ]

Ah yes. that truck had a goose neck trailer ball in the bed.  It would have been interesting to watch that 6 cyl truck pull a goose neck trailer.   Out here  that design trailer is usually good sized & heavy

[kb426]

O&S got exercise without yoga today. I flipped the bed over. I had an idea to knock out the dents that were above the beltline. I found out that I could reach about half of them. Better than none. I'd much rather work standing than laying down. I grabbed the da and removed rock pits and sanded the very bottom of the bed sides. What I couldn't sand, I hit with a wire brush wheel. I flipped the bed back over and shot epoxy primer on the work area. The dust pan is all the dirt that came out again. I have washed it at least 6 times as well as twice after it was removed from the frame. I don't guess I'll ever get it clean.

[kb426]

O&S got real exercise today. I removed the front spring hangers and installed the left over drop kit from the 72. I had to drill all the holes to mount them. I lowered the rear 2". I intend to do the same to the front. That should make the top of the tire even with the fender opening. Removing rivets when it goes well isn't bad. When the holes didn't line up and the offset makes driving them out difficult, it isn't much fun.

[kb426]

O&S was experimenting today. I cut one coil from the front springs. That lowered the front by 1 inch. Measuring the removed portion shows a 1.5" height. I've heard many stories about cutting springs and getting a surprise. I may wait until the bed is back on to do any more cutting. I want 1 more inch of lowering before I quit. I wasn't able to find adequate spring rate info for the springs so a calculation wasn't a viable option.

[kb426]

It was an interesting day of discovery at O&S. The 88 5.0 engine had oil leaks on both ends. I pulled the harmonic balancer and found the cheap speedi sleeve was the problem. I installed a felpro and a new seal at least a month ago. The flywheel end was leaking on the half moon on the pan. This morning, I raised the engine up and set it on stands. I pulled the pan intending to put a one piece gasket on and be done. I looked at the half moons that I removed from the engine. The front had a very defined indention where it had sealed. The rear was tight on the sides but at least half of it showed no impression. I looked the pan in the light and the sealing area didn't look correct. It measures the same height as the front but it is flattened instead of a radius all the way around. I had a pan I've saved since 2008 that came of a stroker short block that I had in the 32 for about 500 miles. I dug the pan out of the shed and gave it a bath. The sealing lip was very defined. I installed the pan and filled it up with oil. I connected all the electrics again and primed the fuel system. It turned over about 3 times and fired up. I let it run for several minutes. It's dry everywhere. I hadn't seen a pan with a problem like that before. The glass man and I had a " failure to communicate" on the windshield. He used silicone on the rubber to make installation easier. I had a mess. I wiped the area with lacquer thinner, washed it with Dawn dish washing soap and was only making a little progress. I had the gasket cleaned up good enough for tape to stick to it. This afternoon, I started sanding around the windshield. I believe I have success. There is no sign of water beading up. I came inside and ordered paint supplies. Project creep has happened again. The classified ad I put up has many views but no offers. My plan at the moment is to install the 88 5.0 engine and efi. Then I will paint the truck. If it still won't sell, it may get Vintage Air. All subject to change.

[chimp koose]

Project creep .... I learned a new term today . I could apply it to almost everything i touch ! :oops:

[kb426]

I spent the afternoon working on the wiring harness from the 88. The pic is of the divorced harness from the main harness. The injector harness is still on the engine. It requires no attention. The coil of wires are the fuel pump and gauge wires going to the back of the truck. I only need one plug in but I'm not sure if both are good or not. I will use the best one to connect to the new fuel pump assembly once it's installed in the tank. I haven't removed the inertia switch from the chassis harness yet. I'm not a fan of fuseble link wires so I think I'll add a standalone 4 gang fuse panel to run this. O&S didn't suffer today.

[kb426]

O&S was really just that today. The brain never got out of low gear. I loomed up the harness and traced out the remaining wires to make sure of what they were. This leaves me with 5 wires to connect. A couple of power feeds, a start wire that runs to the coil, a CEL wire and a tach wire if I decide to install one.

[kb426]

O&S spent some time finishing up small stuff on the 5.0 engine. After doing some measuring, I may have to change to a front sump oil pan. Tie rod clearance will be the issue. The front accessory drive is finished with the correct belt. I drained the fuel tank on the 78 to just a few gallons. I broke all the bolts holding the tank in place loose to facilitate removal for the efi conversion. I removed the front fenders and the grille. All of those will need work before painting. I measured and found for sure that the engine mount brackets will have to be removed. They are several inches too far forward. Project creep is moving forward faster than I planned.

[kb426]

O&S exercise program in effect today. I have an embarrassing amount of time in metal working the 2 fenders and grille. The two layers of paint served as a guide coat to determine how many damaged spots there were. The left will need a coat of bondo over most of it. The right one is better. The gouges down the sides had bent the metal. I hammered and dollied until it was flat. Still has the gouge in the metal though. One corner of the grille was flattened. I removed all the little dents and repaired the corner. It's not good enough for a 63 vette. I sanded off all the over spray from the last paint job. T.B. has set in again.

[kb426]

I forgot to add, the glassman stopped by today. He apologized for the use of silicone and offered to remove and re-install the windshield at no cost while I'm painting. Project creep at it's best.