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Since I hadn't yet put the dashboard in my truck back together from last week's instrument cluster bulb replacement, I decided to take care of that little task.
But before I did, I decided to repaint the silver trim line around the radio, heater controls, and passenger A/C vents. While I had the leftmost passenger A/C vent out, I realized that the reason it never sat flush in its hole was that the A/C plenum (dealer A/C) had never been screwed down to the metal frame inside the dashboard. Given the slipshod quality of the A/C installation (the hole for the drain line to exit the cab looks like it was bored with a ball peen hammer) this came as no surprise...so I drilled a hole for the plenum bracket, screwed it down, and reinstalled the freshly painted vent.
Oh, and before reinstalling the dash pad I gave it a good cleaning, as well as a dose of Armor All. Now my dash is looking fresh and clean.
Ahhhhh, what is it I say???? Pics or it didn't happen!
What do you run in that? I have a parts washer designed for Simple Green and it'll heat the stuff up to 130 degrees, which does a wonderful job on parts. But it holds a min of 20 gallons and at 1:1 with water and $10/gallon for the right SG it gets pricey to refill.
Varsol, and I think it probably holds 20 gal too. It circulates or you can agitate with air.
I haven't been on here in close to a month, since I've been busy collecting parts to swap my Ranger over to 4x4 just like my F150.
But today is an important day, so here I am.
On this day, 35 years ago, my F150 rolled off of the assembly line at the now defunct San Jose Assembly Plant in Milpitas, California. Although she's not quite the same truck she was back then, I'm very grateful that she's still around for the great big three five. Happy Birthday to my favorite truck!!!
I've really missed working on my F150. I've been so busy that I've only managed to get one of the regulators installed, and just one of my quad shock towers installed.
Once I'm done with the 4x4 swap on the Ranger, I want to start getting some actual rebuild parts for the 400. I'm still hoping to have it finished by 2018.
I looked down in the cowl today and noticed all of the seam sealer has lifted up. I think that's the main cause of some of my water leaks. Good thing in the spring I'm going to remove the cowl cover, paint it, now I can re seal the seam and paint in there with some bed liner.
On this day, 35 years ago, my F150 rolled off of the assembly line at the now defunct San Jose Assembly Plant in Milpitas, California. Although she's not quite the same truck she was back then, I'm very grateful that she's still around for the great big three five. Happy Birthday to my favorite truck!!!
Happy birthday to your truck!
It's funny, I was idly wondering just the other day who had the oldest 1980 on here...mine was built March 26, 1980, so I was pretty sure there were older ones around. Sounds like it could be you.
Ahhhhh, what is it I say???? Pics or it didn't happen!
Ask and ye shall receive.
It's hard to tell the difference without a 'before' picture to compare to, but it is an improvement.
The little red square on the dash pad is a cover for the speaker grille that I cut out of a red carpet that the movers left behind a couple of months ago. Now that the truck lives outside, I'm worried about sun damage to the plastic.
Speaking of 'before' pictures...these will be good 'before' pics in their own right. I'm planning on 2015 being the year I get the interior done. Reupholster the seat, new door panels, new window rubber, and new floor covering. I might even toss in some sound deadening while I'm at it.
It's funny, I was idly wondering just the other day who had the oldest 1980 on here...mine was built March 26, 1980, so I was pretty sure there were older ones around. Sounds like it could be you.
I actually drove it about 5-6 miles to pick up a couch. When they said it was at the warehouse on the other side of town, I opted for delivery. Beast ran a bit rough, but that was due to timing being off. Quick tweak and it was better. Also took the boys on a quick ride around the block (with hearing protection). They loved it.
To-do list is now: exhaust, wheels and tires, brakes, shocks, et al.
I looked down in the cowl today and noticed all of the seam sealer has lifted up. I think that's the main cause of some of my water leaks. Good thing in the spring I'm going to remove the cowl cover, paint it, now I can re seal the seam and paint in there with some bed liner.
Matthew, my thread on resealing the cowl was made a sticky, and there were some more contributions made after that.
Matthew, my thread on resealing the cowl was made a sticky, and there were some more contributions made after that.
I'll have to check that out, thanks!
After checking it out, I have pretty much the same exact leaks you had. One on the drivers side that's a minor one. And one on the passenger side that runs along the corner of the floor and then runs out the side after it puddles up and floods over the pinch weld. How thick did you get the undercoating? I have a tube of seam sealer, but you see what that stuff does over time.
12-20-2014, 05:54 PM
