Thanks Chris. That makes sense about the wires. I might connect them again to see if I have the 'headlights on' option, that would be useful! I'll probably just leave the small one disconnected, I've noticed the light does not turn on when I open the passenger side door, but that suits me.

As for the paint, I did go to paint stores, the one was actually an automotive specialist, but they only offered me the Pacific Blue... not very helpful.

I guess the dash was too good to be true, so probably replaced some time ago... Definitely not recent though, as the speaker area was rotten! But it was the diamond shaped speaker area, so maybe a 'factory' replacement? But why would the color not match?

 

No prob, am bored at work today and need something to do.

Ford went through several different shades of colors over the years, it's the easiest change they can make to make something appear "new and improved."

I would try calling some other paint stores to find one who can mix your paint to match, I understand some of 'em will even put it into spray cans for ya if you want (while others will say SEM paint is already thin enough and packaging it in spray cans presents certain problems but I'm no expert in the area so I'll just leave it at that).

The same dash pad (and, oddly enough, much of the entire dash itself) was used until the mid/late 90s on the Medium-duty trucks (e.g. F600, F700, F900, whatever) so there is no telling from what year or model your pad came from....

 

Yeah, there's a few more stores I could try. And I guess if I get enough of a certain color, whether it's SEM Pacific Blue or blue from another brand, I could just paint all the panels to get them the same...

I'm just looking for something to do to avoid assembling the Christmas tree! At least it's not one of those fake ones, actually made from driftwood, looks different, but a pain to put together!

Good luck with the boredom at work!

 

So I've done the door panels at last, or at least one of them... Will start the other after Christmas. Oh yes, merry Christmas to everyone.

I couldn't find the correct SEM paint, their website indicates it should be Harbor blue, but the automotive paint stores here can only order 'midnight' or 'pacific' blue. So I just went for cheap Walmart paint, seeing as it's only a trial project.

I followed Gary's advice with the wet sanding and it all went according to plan.


I used a block and paper first, but these sponges proved to be the best.


I washed and scrubbed the panel down before priming and painting with about 3-4 coats of each.


Unfortunately it's gloss, it took a few trips to Walmart to get a color that I was happy with, it's navy, so a bit darker than the other trim, but the result is not bad.

 

I decided to put some P&S in the door like some experts on here have done... I think it's made a difference, not really sure.


I then made a lame attempt at 'waterproofing' the gaps... I consider it an improvement on the factory stuff, but not exactly perfect, especially since you can see the white through the speaker grill!! So that needs to change.


And then the refurbed door panel in place. There is a before pic earlier in the thread.

 

Good find on the sponges. I'll have to try those. Is the paint on the panel the color shown right in the center and the left edge? Or are they light spots?

 

I took Eddy down to Savannah recently to stretch his legs. A really smooth and trouble free drive, apart from the speedo having a life of its own!

It started to make a scratching noise while jumping up by between 10-15mph.

So when we came back I jumped on here and asked for some advice. BTW I got around 14.5 MPG on the drive down and back, not bad considering I've not touched the motor.

Anyway, so I took the instrument cluster apart after getting some more advice on how to do that and then lubed the speedo cable. I also took the cable(which looks almost brand new) out of the transfer case, it's got a plastic gear(aftermarket?) and looked well lubricated(by the transfer case oil?).

Seeing as I had the cluster apart I took the opportunity to brighten it up.


Looks a lot better and upon my test drive the sound is gone and the speedo is behaving. I did notice that the oil pressure and water temp is reading higher, could it be the fact that the needles were disturbed/bent?

I also had the truck loaded for the first time this past weekend, only with some furniture(not ours btw, we were doing a favor for someone), maybe 300lb, but I was amazed at how much smoother the ride was! I might just leave a weight back there...


OK, that's me for now, I'll be back with some questions in the new year, I need to figure out exactly what setup I have on my motor before I take it apart.

 

Yeah, they are really handy. Rinse them out at the end of the day and then re-use them the next day! They were from HF, but you can get them anywhere I think, definitely saw them at Lowes too. And you get them in medium and fine grit.

The gloss makes it hard to get a good representative picture, but the color on the area underneath the armrest on the fitted panel is about right.

Hope you're enjoying the time with your family Gary, especially with the 'heatwave' we've had! Perfect BBQ weather!

 

Absolutely enjoying the time with the family. Can't wait to see the two year old twins open presents on Christmas!

On the oil pressure and water temp, are you saying you un-bent the needles? But it is possible you cleaned up a ground by removing and reinstalling the gauges, which would change the reading. Anyway, the gauges look good.

And, the P&S in the doors looks good as well. I'll bet it helped the sound while driving to some extent. And those door panels look very good on there. Isn't it amazing how much that cleans up the cab?

 

I didn't knowingly bend the needles, but they are so flimsy, that it's possible, but I guess it's more likely that I just cleaned something like you said. It's only a minor shift anyway, the oil is reading in the middle of the 'M' where it was between the 'R' and 'M' before. And the temp is on the 'O' where it was left of the 'N'. So not really worried about either.

And yes, doing the door panel was well worth it. I did the trim around the seatbelt too, now it's just the drivers side. Once that's done the cab will be very presentable indeed and all for about $40!

I'll give the paint about 6 months to prove its worth, before either doing it over with a different paint if it proves rubbish or doing the rest of the trim to get it all the same color. And then I have dreams of bucket seats and a LMC headliner with built-in speakers and a stereo bracket/slot...

 

Thanks for sharing! These old trucks are relatively easy to work on. I used some vinyl and trim paint from Walmart on mine.

 

The bucket seats can be problematic, as I've found out. I'm going with the Bronco buckets and they really require a 92-96 seat pan to bolt in neatly. And then the backs hit the rear window if the seats go back very far. But, Ford also made low-back buckets tha might fit easier.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing what your seats look like when it's all done. I saw the pics with the back window out, so that could be interesting to make it work.

I wouldn't go for the short back seats as that to me defeats the purpose, I want headrests. And I realise I'd probably have to get a seat pan, but can't afford to sit much higher without adjusting the wheel, which isn't adjustable! I'll have to have a look at all the obstacles again when I eventually tackle that part of the project.

 

It's a pleasure. I'm doing basic things, so probably not much help to anyone, apart from the guy who is bored at work and wants to look at some Ford pictures!

How long ago did you paint yours and how is the paint holding up?

 

Like what you're doing here! Great work!