Winter work and upgrades
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Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 22,415
Likes: 92
From: Denver Metro Area, CO
Thanks for the write-up, Lava! Reps for that!
I added it to the Sticky, too, although I have to say I've never heard it referred to as a "Level Door" before......?
Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums - View Single Post - '80-'86 Tech Tips, Tricks and Projects:
I added it to the Sticky, too, although I have to say I've never heard it referred to as a "Level Door" before......?
Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums - View Single Post - '80-'86 Tech Tips, Tricks and Projects:
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 997
Likes: 2
From: Rock Valley, IA
I'm not sure yet. That's a part of the reason I stopped. Now that I have the hinge on I can put the foam over it but I need to figure that out. I know it has to be some type of foam rubber but can't be too thick. My friend Chad is looking for some now at his parent's house so we'll see what he can dig up.
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 997
Likes: 2
From: Rock Valley, IA
Chris, I really don't know what else to call it. I call it the level door as that's what it does, directs air flow from the blower to either the vents or to the defrost. There is another door that goes to the floor a little farther down the channel.
I looked at the sticky and I understand your confusion. The blend door is behind this one and not the one I am repairing. There are a total of 3 doors. From the blower down the air flow is the blend door, the "level door" that I'm repairing now and then the floor selector door.
I'll be posting more photos later to show the assembly of the door into the housing.
I looked at the sticky and I understand your confusion. The blend door is behind this one and not the one I am repairing. There are a total of 3 doors. From the blower down the air flow is the blend door, the "level door" that I'm repairing now and then the floor selector door.
I'll be posting more photos later to show the assembly of the door into the housing.
Last edited by lavatan; Dec 23, 2012 at 05:47 PM. Reason: Clarification
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 997
Likes: 2
From: Rock Valley, IA
Level Door Repair Part 2
My friend and I continued the repair on the vent system.
We used weather stripping on the outside of the door as a seal:
We then realized that we would have to in fact separate the two halves (you were right Gary):
So, after removing several more rivets we got the halves separated. There were about 5 more rivets that needed to be removed some under the foam. You have to remove the vacuum canisters as well.
Anyway, back to the rebuild.
We put the hinge in place and marked it with a pain pen on the inside. Then we took a pick and hammered it through the plastic to mark it on the outside:
We then test fit the hinge to make sure we got the holes in the correct place:
While we were at it we decided to fix the foam on the other door in the ducting:
We got the upper part of the hinge riveted in.
However we're going to have to take them out again. The spacer needs to be thicker to provide the needed movement with the foam in place. The old hinge was offset by .375 and the washers we have on now are only .250 thick with the washers and hinge. We'll need 2 more washers to get it correct.
There will be a part three to this and hopefully I can take some video of it in working order.
We used weather stripping on the outside of the door as a seal:
We then realized that we would have to in fact separate the two halves (you were right Gary):
So, after removing several more rivets we got the halves separated. There were about 5 more rivets that needed to be removed some under the foam. You have to remove the vacuum canisters as well.
Anyway, back to the rebuild.
We put the hinge in place and marked it with a pain pen on the inside. Then we took a pick and hammered it through the plastic to mark it on the outside:
We then test fit the hinge to make sure we got the holes in the correct place:
While we were at it we decided to fix the foam on the other door in the ducting:
We got the upper part of the hinge riveted in.
However we're going to have to take them out again. The spacer needs to be thicker to provide the needed movement with the foam in place. The old hinge was offset by .375 and the washers we have on now are only .250 thick with the washers and hinge. We'll need 2 more washers to get it correct.
There will be a part three to this and hopefully I can take some video of it in working order.
FTE Legend
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 32,875
Likes: 48
From: Northeast, OK
Good progress. And, the weatherstrip foam was a good idea. As for the offset, I think I understand since I just had one of those contraptions apart, but the others might not. Can you take a picture of the offset?
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Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 997
Likes: 2
From: Rock Valley, IA
Level Door Repair Part 3
Like all great epics this one ends in a trilogy. I got the door back in and it works.
It's a little fuzzy but we used washers as spacers so the door would swing properly:
The door is back in and the halves almost put together:
We used pop rivets to join the two halves back together:
We realized that the bottom part of the hinge was causing the door to bind so we removed the two rivets:
For those of you out there that decide to repair something like this remember to put a washer on the back side so this doesn't happen:
We got the unit mounted back in the truck:
I hope this was helpful to someone out there and can maybe improve on this. Mine is in no way perfect but it is much better than before. Thanks.
It's a little fuzzy but we used washers as spacers so the door would swing properly:
The door is back in and the halves almost put together:
We used pop rivets to join the two halves back together:
We realized that the bottom part of the hinge was causing the door to bind so we removed the two rivets:
For those of you out there that decide to repair something like this remember to put a washer on the back side so this doesn't happen:
We got the unit mounted back in the truck:
I hope this was helpful to someone out there and can maybe improve on this. Mine is in no way perfect but it is much better than before. Thanks.
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 997
Likes: 2
From: Rock Valley, IA
I used 3/16" rivets and the washers were actually the tops of the same rivets that had to be drilled out of various parts. It's a trick we learned putting on the nosecone on the racecar.
It does make a big difference. I'll get a video of it working sometime soon.
It does make a big difference. I'll get a video of it working sometime soon.
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 997
Likes: 2
From: Rock Valley, IA
Dash fix-up
We started working on the dash tonight.
We took the frame out and decided to paint it:
We then started painting the dash after cleaning with vinyl prep:
This is directly after painting:
And this is dry:
I'm sorry the images aren't better quality.
More pics to come.
We took the frame out and decided to paint it:
We then started painting the dash after cleaning with vinyl prep:
This is directly after painting:
And this is dry:
I'm sorry the images aren't better quality.
More pics to come.