By: John F. Daly III, aka "The TorqueKing".
I purchased this product from www.etruckaccessories.com, an
internet company out of Milwaukee, WI.
I chose the Lund product over those offered by other companies like LMC
Truck and JC Whitney because of the name brand, and I've heard many positive
stories of the overall fit and finish of the Lund products.
Project Total Price
$141.50,
delivered to my front door in 1 week, 5 working days
(Note: this is pending the paint, estimated to be
no more than $60)
Parts List
Lund P/N 20003, all necessary equipment included.
Tools List
Drill
1/8" and/or 5/32" drill bit
Ratchet (3/8" drive works best)
5/16" and 7/8" socket
13/16" combo or closed wrench
Sharpie marker or alternate marking device (scratch awl, etc.)
Skills required
Minor drilling
Basic fender alignment
A helper is recommended, but not necessary
There are five basic steps involved, as described and
illustrated below.
Step 1) Remove
old bumper. There are two bolts on
each framerail that will be holding your stock bumper. You'll need a ratchet to loosen the nut, and
a combo/closed end to hold the bolt on the other side. I found the nut to be a 7/8", and the bolt
is 13/16".
This one has seen better days, and many, many rear end
collisions by soccer moms not paying attention in their minivans. Beware, your classic will be vulnerable to
attack with the new fiberglass smoothie installed!
It's
tempting to just send the roll pan back, it looks just too sweet without a
bumper at all, sporting the chrome pipes and the ol 9", sending a visual
warning to those import kids that you've got command of 300+ ft*lbs of torque! (that is, the ones who actually know what
that means)
Fit roll pan in position. Make sure the
fiberglass piece fits correctly. You
may need to adjust a few out of place fender pieces in the undercarriage. Once you've found the correct position,
flush with the tailgate, support it with duct tape. I prefer the "Black" tape, aka "300 MPH" tape, as drag racers
refer to it, it's got super-thick vinyl backing and a killer adhesive. Now open and close the tailgate to ensure
that it's motion is not hindered by the new piece, and make sure they do not
make contact in any position.
You may need a helper here while you tape it in
position. Make sure you have it canted
correctly, flush with all body lines.
My "300 MPH" tape didn't leave any residue on my finish, and held it
perfectly in place.
Step 3) Mark the
position of the holes to be drilled.
There are two holes on each end that need to be drilled for. The instructions say to use a 1/8" drill
bit, but I found that drilling this small of a hole, only 1 of the 4
self-tapping screws would actually engage their threads. I think a 5/32" bit would work better.
My initial markings were �" too low on the
first try, so I had to drill it twice.
I used a Sharpie marker to mark the drill location, which barely fit
through the holes in the fiberglass. To
reach the metal through the holes on one side, I used a skinnier pencil dipped
in shoe edge dressing (Heel and Sole, for those military guys who are all too
familiar with this product), which made a distinct mark on the metal on the
other side. Make sure that once you're
done, the roll pan is still in the correct position, mine had slipped down
about a �" during the marking process, which I didn't realize until had
finished bolting it up.
Here you can see the holes for the self-tapping
screws. This was the difficult side to
mark, as my Sharpie marker couldn't reach through the smaller hole to mark the
metal. I used a pencil dipped in Heel
and Sole edge dressing.
Step 4) Drill. My Makita cordless didn't sweat biting
through the skimpy undercarriage skin of my truck.
Careful not to punch through to the rear lower skin that sits
just 4" behind where you'll have to drill.
Make sure you do step #3 (marking) correctly the first time so you won't
have to do this step twice like I did.
If you own a Dewalt drill, you might need to reserve an
extra hour for this step, as your battery will surely be dead after a few
seconds of this intense metal pounding (Chuck). Seriously, this is very easy drilling.
Step 5) Install
Roll Pan and bolt in. This would be
very easy if not for the inconvenient space limitations you have to work
with. If you can get the self-tapping
screws to engage, then just throw on a ratchet (5/16" socket), and bolt it down
until it's snug, and securing the position of your new roll pan.
If the screws won't engage and tap, then
repeat Step 4, except use a 5/32" drill bit.
There is a center support bracket that you'll need to drill for
on the last crossmember of the frame, behind the gas tank, and then bend the
strip that bolts to the center of the license plate area, underneath the plate
itself, as necessary.
The product comes in a white primer color, which isn't too
mismatched from my Oxford White finish.
I'll have it sprayed later this week, I'll post pictures once I get it
done. I really like the way it
showcases the exhaust pipes, but they're not clean in this photo, it was a
rainy weekend in Georgia!
In Conclusion, I'd
like to say that this was a somewhat time-consuming process, it took me
approximately two hours total, including all mishaps and lunch breaks.
The overall visual effect of the roll pan is
awesome, I can't express how much better it looks over the old generic pickup
bumper that used to live there. This is
moderately stressful, as is any project that involves marking, drilling, and
bolting in tight locations. The
alignment is critical, so don't rush through this, and have a helper nearby to
ensure that you've got it aligned correctly.
At $140 delivered to your front door, the custom look is hard to beat,
and it's a sure head-turner at the local cruise-in to see an old Ford Truck
sporting sleek-looking body panels! I'd
recommend keeping the old bumper in storage, in case your truck is called to
towing duty. This also eliminates the
license tag light, which may be illegal in your state, check all applicable
laws before installing, but I don't think too many policemen will have a
problem, and if they're glaring at you suspiciously, it's probably in awe (or
so we hope...). You'll have to drive
extra carefully with one of these installed, they offer no protection at all
against teenage female drivers, or the morning makeup appliers!
Overall, it's a good weekend bolt-on that
dramatically increases the overall look of your classic Ford.
I was impressed by the quality of the Lund
product, and the price was fair.
-TK
Glossary
Body, Bed, and Appearance
53-79 F-Series Parts & Accessories
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8-2-2004