I wanted to start a thread to help get some of us motivated to do those planned modifications and repairs. Sometimes I get a little overwhelmed or even confused when I have so many things on the burner. Occasionally I feel intimidated by something I havent done before or seems technical. Another purpose of the thread is to get others input and ideas on your planned weekend adventure of wrenching. I hope this will be helpful and informative to many of us too.

I will lead out on some things I need to do , but , dont know where to start:

1)The Bronco needs a good organizing under the hood such as the wiring is a birds nest and I burnt the coil wire on my brand new MSD module b/c of it.
I have a bunch of wire loom and a huge assortment of zip ties and electrical tape. If I get time I and Gary does as well I may take it out to his shop where he and I can get together and iron it out.

2)My fuel gauge is climbing up and down while the truck isnt moving too. I dont know what causes that or how to fix it. I do know my tank and sending unit is specific to 1987 and nobody makes an aftermarket part and Ford doesnt carry it anymore either. So hopefully it will be repairable.

3)The Bronco needs exhaust also. I got a quote that I though was unreasonable for just some 2-1/2" pipe and high end mufflers(no cats) around $400. I havent ever done any DIY exhaust, but, I hear they sell all kinds of stuff at the parts store for it.

4)My headliner has fallen from grace. I would like to think some spray glue and patience would fix it . However,I dont know this to bo the truth.


I am open to any suggestions as well as looking forward to hear about everybody elses pipe dreams and needed repairs.

 

I've got all the parts I need to repair my A/C as well as my heat. I'm slowly working up the nerve to open up that big scary black box on the firewall...

 

It seems never ending for me:
My 96 F150 is in the garage for some brake work, fluid changes, door pins, door locks, ignition key switch, and a complete rear end rebuild.
The 84 F250 is awaiting the installation of a Banks Sidewinder Turbo on the 6.9 IDI.
The 84 F150 has been in the garage since 2006 under going a complete frame-off restomod.
The 79 Bronco is awaiting a trans swap, engine mods, guages, seats, roll cage, the list goes on.
The 77 F250 is sitting in my buddy's back five acres dreaming of being restored.

That's it in a nutshell.

 

Did you get that A/C compressor off of the free parts thread?

I dont think there is that much to it Dorsai. I havent had one open , but , I have looked in a few from where the fan goes in. There should be an "A" coil in there. Which is like a heater core , but , for freon and cold air. You dont want to get abusive it or it will break and then leak. Probably wouldnt hurt to try and clean it out with a scrub brush or an old school hair brush. Maybe some cleaner or compressed air. That box is sort of like the plentum and I believe the duct work attaches to it to disperse the air.

Thats the little bit I know about it. I hope someone else that knows more will help out.

 

Pkman, My 96 F 250 had door problems. That yr in that model didnt have the hinge pin bushings that were replacable. The entire door hinge had to be replaced(both top and bottom). I dont know if the F 150 is the same or not.


Sounds to me like you need to pick a truck( I suggest the easiest with the least to do) and get started if you have the funds. Maybe do the turbo install first if its ready then move onto the 96 F 150. The 96 has a few thigs to do to it , but , they didnt sound that major compared to the frame off resto and the pipe dream resto of the 77.

Banks makes good quality stuff. They also have nice install packages that take a lot of the guess work out of it. If you were going to make a big Hp sled puller or dragster out of it I would say dont go with Banks. However, what you are doing with it sounds perfect for a Banks kit.

I bought a Banks Charge Air Cooler piping kit for my 96 7.3. It all fit together nice. The banks piping kit was top quality on the parts too.

 

My 84 F250 need the Holley 4180 on top of the 460 rebuilt (leaking gas at the front sat tooo long before i bought it), tachometer quit 2 days after I fixed the speedo , all gauges need help, rear tank in op, need front end parts before i put good tires on, no defrost so blend door needs help, need to figure out a way to fix switch or replace for passenger window, but she runs drives tows and hauls like a monster and 4 wheel drive works and the 4x4 light even comes on at the dash , she hauled 1763 pounds of scrap steal, copper and aluminum off today all by herself ( well i steered and changed gears) and made $317.90

 

No, my brother is a mechanic, and he's got a buddy who works for one of the major auto parts retailers; I got an excellent deal on new parts...

I've heard conflicting stories on that box...it doesn't help that I have dealer air, meaning it's (supposedly) much more difficult to do the work inside the cab. I've heard that it's easier if you take the dash pad off, which I will be doing...and while I've got *that* off, I'll be cleaning and repainting my instrument cluster; I've got what's supposedly the proper paint, so now my needles will be red-orange again, instead of a sickly green-white. Oh, and new green LED bulbs so I can see it all at night.

I forgot to mention it earlier, but I'll be sharing your fuel system adventures soon enough; my tank is full of rust, so I'll be replacing that, the dead sender, as well as my metal fuel lines sometime this winter. I've just got to space it all out so that the wife doesn't get too cranky about the finances.

 

Need to pull the cab off the frame. At that point the frame will be completely bare. Then I can tack up my rear four link and test the suspension prior to burning it in. Then dissassemble and send it off for sandblasting and powdercoating.

Ron

 

Hiredgun winters here. You need to get the tires and heater going for sure. Any plans as to what you want to tackle first?

 

When do you plan on doing that Ron?

 

Sheesh, talk about making someone feel depressed.

Here's my list of things to do... 80-86 Fords only (if I listed it all, you'd find me rocking in a corner).

1980 F350 - Drag it from one building to another, pull the 460/C6/d70, leaf springs, dually fenders, bumpers, hitch, and junk
1981 F150 - Pull complete body and put on F250 frame, swap in F350 leaf springs/D60/Sterling/460/C6/BW1356, junk what remains
1984 F150 - Swap in '71 351w, replace rear leaf springs, 9" axle swap, patch frame, finish aligning, roll cage, fab extended radius arms... I'm forgetting stuff, I know I am.
1985 F250 (frame) - mesh with the '81
1985 Bronco - Too much, I don't want to talk about it...
1986 F250 - Finish paying it off, pull heads and see what's up with the motor, I'm sure there's more I'm not aware of yet
1986 F350 - pull driveline and junk what remains

 

Got one part I am waiting on, but should have the cab off this weekend. The needed part, rear coilover mount should be in early next week. I still have to weld on some supports for the front four link mount, and oh yeah, c-notch the frame for a couple extra inches of rear axle clearance and box that portion of the frame. I am shooting for 1st part of Feb to have it ready to clean up and powdercoat.

 

Dang Chump, you have some stuff to do. I wish I was closer. I would like to help with the tear downs. That sounds like fun. You are going to have your own little salvage yard before too long. Everything you have to do is pretty major. I dont even know where to start with helping you put a plan together.

 

things to do beginning with the most pressing:

replace the broken bolt connecting the exhaust manifold to the exhaust pipe
replace spark plug wires
replace rotor
replace the broken interior driver's door handle
rebuild the carburetor
replace cracked dash pad

then comes the suspension and the front fenders

 

Jb-1, you are in pretty good shape compared to some of these guys. You might want to also look into the door hinges on your truck. That may be causing the handles to break. When they get worn you have to pull the handle harder and farther. That results in them breaking. I would grab ahold of the bottom of the door while its open and lift up on it see if there is a lot of travel. If so you are due for the hinges or hinge pin bushings to be replaced to keep the handles from breaking all the time.

I may need to get my psychologist buddy to join up here to maybe give Anthony and pkupman a counseling session or two in order to keep them from getting depression. I think maybe even with the right meds they could be done with their list in a couple of months.