Progress has been a little slow, due to other projects I've had going on.

History:

Bought the truck back in January, with what the owner claimed to be a dropped valve, and rotted transmission cooler lines. Didn't even try to start it due to the tranny lines, because the purchase price wasn't that high. If it needed a motor, it still would have been worth it.

What's been done:

Temporarily looped the trans cooler lines so I can drive the truck into and out of the shop, and also so I could run the engine to do diagnostics and repairs.

Upon getting the truck fired up, the initial cold idle was great. Skipped when hot, or when applying throttle. First thought: definitely not a burned valve. PO had already done plugs, cap and rotor. I took it one step further and did an MSD cap and coil, and Ford Racing wires. When putting the wires on, I found that three of the eight new plugs the PO installed had cracked insulators. Installed eight new Autolite copper plugs, and she runs smooth as glass. Also reset the timing, since I had all of this MSD stuff, I figured I'd bump the timing up to 14* BTDC. Found that the timing was way off, about 20* ATDC. No, that's not a typo. AFTER tdc. She runs great now, and fires right up.

In the process of getting the engine running correctly, the PS return line started leaking. It was original, rusty and crusty. I removed that, and plumbed in a small auxiliary trans cooler in place of the return line.

Now that she's running correctly, and I've driven her around the shop lot to verify the trans at least shifts, I feel more comfortable getting some more of the major work done.

The Plan:

The interior smelled like Mickey Mouse's personal latrine. This truck had sat at a farm for about a year, so there was some critter inhabitation at some point. Found that they had made a home in the blower fan for the heat/AC, so I removed that, cleaned it up, and cleaned up the fan housing and heater ductwork.

I've got the interior stripped out, so I can send the seats off to my detailer for de-smelling, and so I can fix some floor rot and surface rust. Carpet was tossed, new ones are relatively cheap. I need to repair the headliner board, and have new fabric installed. I'm also going to be re-doing some of the wiring that Centurion extended. It's all butt spliced crimp connectors, no loom, no tape. Everything works, but I figure while I've got it stripped out, I may as well do proper solder/heatshrink/loom/tape so I don't have to tear anything else out. The floors are rotted on both sides, right at the rocker. Fairly easy repairs, so I'll do that all myself with some sheet stock. The extension patch that Centurion welded in is just spot welded and seam sealed. I'll be cleaning that up, and stitch welding, when I do the floor repairs.


If you've read this far, thanks. On to the photos!

 

She looks great! Well except for the cab rot... but it sounds like you'll be taking care of that soon.

I am guessing you have a 351w in it????

It looks pretty clean outside and inside doesn't look bad... Febreeze does work good, but the best $200 I ever spent was on a Ozone Machine. Running extra ozone into a smelly cab takes almost 100% of the old musty/rotten smells out!

Keep us up to date! WE LOVE pics!

 

Thanks! I knew it had rot issues when I bought it, and to be honest I was expecting worse. Still... not my favorite thing to be doing, lol.

It is indeed a 351W, E4OD trans, 3.55 LS, pushbutton 4WD.

It's pretty clean outside, but the roof needs some rust repair. No panel replacement, but I'm going to have to do some sanding, filling, and painting. Front fenders have rot on the corners, so they'll be done, as well as the rear wheel arches. The truck is originally from upstate NY, I expected the rot to be worse. Glad it isn't!!

My detail guy has one of those ozone machines, and also said he has some stuff that he'll use to clean the seats that will get out most of the smell. The truck itself doesn't smell anymore, but I think once it's back together I'll have him run the ozone as he sees fit.

I most definitely will be updating as I go, I like seeing the progress too.

 

Not bad looking truck other than the rust. Still cant believe Centurian made a crew cab instead of just buying one from FORD.

Glad to hear it was just a tune-up to fix the missing issue

 

so how much did you give for it???

I would dump the push button 4x4 when the motor on the t-case goes out and get a older style floor shift t-case. I've been left stranded in snow and mud when those damn little shift motors just decided to quit... just my 2 cents though...

Also I've always thought it would be cool for someone to put 40-20-40 slpit seats (like your front one) in the front and rear so you have 4 buckets/captains setas effectively... just a thought to throw on the fire...

 

I was talking that over with a couple of buddies at the shop. Best we could figure is that somehow it was cheaper to do it this way, or replacing the cab may have affected the VIN somehow. One thing I can say for sure... everything lines up well, but they weren't the best fabricators going.

I was pretty thrilled about finding the broken plugs!

I paid $700 for it, plus maybe $40 in diesel to tow it to the shop. Score of the Centur(ion). lol.

I saved the trans and transfer case from my former 93 F150, which had the floor shift 4WD. That's exactly my thought, at some point, swap it out!

I agree about the seats, something different would be nice. I don't have a need for 6-passenger seating, and have access to countless Taurus SHO seats (SHOs are my other hobby). I've been toying around with the idea of SHO leather buckets in the front and rear, and Superduty consoles. A little welding, and maybe it could work!

 

my neighbor has a Lincoln Mark VIII out back without a motor and I am hoping some day he'll loose all interest and let me rob the flawless front leather seats out to put in my truck. The idea is to use the OEM metal frame that bolts to the floor; weld the leather seats to the frame, and bolt it in!

 

^^^^ this. I did a chevy 1/2 cc swb 4x4 a few years back. Crew cabs are the way to go. Thinking of doing a 4.9 2wd cruiser this way.

 

Looking at it quickly, it doesn't look like it would take much to do. The front has the steel pan, of course. The rear looks even easier.

Looks like I have another project.

 

Good deal. I would of paid at least double that

 

Wanna buy a truck?

Kidding, of course. At the deal I got, I don't think I'll ever get rid of this one.

 

Updated progress. Got the driver's side front and rear floor repairs done this past Saturday. Lost power at the shop on Sunday during the storm, so I worked on stuff that I didn't need power for.

Removed the old plow lighting harness, Tidied up some wiring under the hood, removed the old crusty PS return line (I have it plumbed into a trans cooler with rubber line), installed a painted grille/headlight bucket set I picked up at a swap meet for $10, adjusted the front bumper to the proper height (not shown in the pic). Then proceeded to talk about how cool it's going to be when it's done.

On to the photos:

 

Looking like a good start there!! My .02 (.08 w/tax) swap out the front fenders rather than just filling and patching them. All the work/effort you are putting into it, might as well avoid any possibility of future problems in the fender repair.

 

Thanks! Most definitely on the fenders. At $70 a fender, it makes absolutely no sense to try and fix the ones that are on there. That may wait until next year, though. I've still got a lot to do, and want to have this on the road this winter.

BTW, where did you get your carpet from? Were you happy with the quality?

 

ACC: your authority for custom automotive carpet, floor mats, and more No complaints about the quality, they shipped it quick, the molding lines for the trans hump, seat hump, etc were all very good. Only thing I had to do was lay it out flat to remove the shipping wrinkles, fit it in, and trim t-case opening and the edges where needed