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A repost of my newbie thread, but figured I'd best introduce myself here as well.
I'm looking forward to being part of this community!
A little about me: I'm 31, live and work in Oakland. I work in the very prestigious field of wastewater treatment, at one of the larger treatment plants in California. I love camping, shooting, screwing around of my computer, and motorcycle track riding (now I can tow my own trailer!!)
I'm a huge guy, and have always loved stepside pickups. Yesterday my dream of owning one finally came true.
My new toy:
1982 F150 XLS, 351w, 4wd, 4 speed w/ granny first, 10k miles on rebuilt engine/tranny
It needs a couple little things: The steering wheel has a lot of slop in it, it idles like **** when it's cold, and it runs a little hot while sitting in traffic. Aside from that, its awesome! Can't wait to take it camping.
I'm sure I'll have lots of noob questions about how to repair and/or replace things as I go along, so I hope everyone can help me out!
They are fun little trucks...well, short boxes in general.
Looks pretty sweet!
Noticed the vent tube for the rear axle is missing. Might want to get one on there.
The idling could be as simple as a choke adjustment...if you need one in Cali.
For the cooling, first put in a Motorcraft thermostat, and check to make sure your fan is pulling enough air through the radiator. May be a bad fan clutch also.
Nice looking truck. I also did the miss name thing, step side/flare side when I first came here so don't feel bad.
Love the top & bottom bed pictures as it shows me how my bed should go back together. Someone before me butcher the bed to keep it on the frame.
The cold idle could be choke adjustment or not having warm air from the exh manifold heating the incoming air because of the open air filter.
Running hot, after checking Tstat and fan clutch check the flow thru radiator. Warm up motor and turn it off then feel the fins all across the face. It should feel hot across the whole face if you have some cool areas you are not getting flow thru that part.
Some shops can also do a flow test too.
[QUOTE=FuzzFace2;16082878
Love the top & bottom bed pictures as it shows me how my bed should go back together. Someone before me butcher the bed to keep it on the frame.
Dave ----[/QUOTE]
Someone replaced my whole bed with plywood. So his pictures are going to help me as well! Thanks OP!
They are fun little trucks...well, short boxes in general.
Looks pretty sweet!
Noticed the vent tube for the rear axle is missing. Might want to get one on there.
The idling could be as simple as a choke adjustment...if you need one in Cali.
For the cooling, first put in a Motorcraft thermostat, and check to make sure your fan is pulling enough air through the radiator. May be a bad fan clutch also.
Missing vent tube.... Whereabouts should that be located?
Regarding the poor idle: Yesterday I found a significant vacuum leak. I just taped over it for now (going to get some vacuum caps today) and the bad idle problem immediately went away. Now on a cold start up it fires up in about a half second and purrs along at ~800rpm.
There's a hodgepodge of vacuum lines and stuff all over this motor from smog related things. The guy I bought it from had a shop do all that so it could pass smog. I think I'll end up just taking most of it off (taking pictures so I can reverse it later).
Originally Posted by FuzzFace2
Nice looking truck. I also did the miss name thing, step side/flare side when I first came here so don't feel bad.
Love the top & bottom bed pictures as it shows me how my bed should go back together. Someone before me butcher the bed to keep it on the frame.
The cold idle could be choke adjustment or not having warm air from the exh manifold heating the incoming air because of the open air filter.
Running hot, after checking Tstat and fan clutch check the flow thru radiator. Warm up motor and turn it off then feel the fins all across the face. It should feel hot across the whole face if you have some cool areas you are not getting flow thru that part.
Some shops can also do a flow test too.
Oh welcome to the forum.
Dave ----
I flushed the radiator today and what came out was pretty nasty. Got that all taken care of and now it runs cool, with no noticeable problems so far. I'll keep an eye on it to see if the situation worsens over time.
Now my main goals are to get rid of the slop in the steering wheel, and repair a leaky power steering line.
Also, anyone have any good ideas for how to protect the wood in the bed from getting all sun bleached and nasty? Unfortunately the truck cannot be garaged. Maybe a tonneau cover?
There should be a hose that connects to the brake hose "bolt", circled in red. From there, it goes up to the frame and is held on by a metal clip. There is also a vented cap that pushes into the hose. That will help to keep any debris out of the axle, and let it vent without any leaks.
Good to hear it was a simple fix to get it running better and hopefully cleaning the radiator did the trick too.
Also, anyone have any good ideas for how to protect the wood in the bed from getting all sun bleached and nasty? Unfortunately the truck cannot be garaged. Maybe a tonneau cover?
Nice truck, I like the color, very similar to my bronco's color. Perhaps a rubber bed mat would work?
Nice truck, I like the color, very similar to my bronco's color. Perhaps a rubber bed mat would work?
Beautiful truck!!! I would not put a rubber mat down. It will trap water under it and rot the wood and rust the metal. Unfortunately the only way you are going to keep the wood looking nice is to keep it dry and also out of the sunlight... which means bed cover, camper shell etc.,
Sweet! My first truck was an '83 stepside. Brings back memories. Looks to be in pretty good shape, just iron out whatever bits PO overlooked and you're good to go.
For the bed, do you know what finish is on it currently? If it's Spar Varnish it may last quite a while... I've been thinking of doing mine with teak oil so that I can just keep reapplying it.
A rubber bed mat I agree is a bad idea. I've been thinking about a custom tonneau cover but have to figure out where to have one made . I can't seem to find them anywhere for our trucks any more
guy, and have always loved stepside pickups. Yesterday my dream of owning one finally came true.
. I can't seem to find them anywhere for our trucks any more