I have a 2000 F-350 XLT SD CC LB DRW. It has a cloth interior with manual seats and electric windows and door locks. For a while now I've been looking to upgrade the interior.

I found an ad on CL for a part-out of a 2004 F-350 that has been wrecked. It has a Lariat interior, to include leather all-around with dual power front seats. I have a few questions:

1) Regarding the power seats. I have an existing wiring harness that runs to the driver's side, under the seat. I can't remember if I have one on the passenger side or not. If not, how difficult would it be to get the harness from the donor truck so I can include it on mine? Some context: prior to my son being born I did electronics as a hobby, so wiring something up shouldn't be difficult for me, but I'd prefer to get the original wiring and run it in my F-350 if possible.

2) Where do these wiring looms run to? I presume that there is a body module somewhere that provides power to all of these critters? If so, where is that module?

3) The donor truck has power and heated mirrors. Manual telescoping and folding, of course (I haven't heard of a pre-06 that had power telescoping and folding ... was that even an option or did it not come out until 2006 or later?). So where does the wiring for these mirrors run to? The body module? I presume that the mirror wiring runs from the door switch panel out through to the mirror itself, but where are the connectors? Ergo, is there somewhere inside my dash that I could look to see if I already have the wiring for this running to the door, but just no switches/power mirrors to connect it up to? That would be the ideal situation, don't know if that is what I have though, so I would like to check on it. Basic question is how do I do that?

4) Any other issues that come to mind regarding such an upgrade?

I ask because I haven't ever seen a Lariat interior other than in pictures and I'm not familiar with the differences in wiring harnesses, etc. However I'd really like to upgrade if I can.

Thanks,
Jerry

 

The wiring harnesses, connectors, pin outs, control modules, and network topology and protocols are different in the 2004 donor than the 2000.

Electrically, there will be no plug and play.

Electronically, the modules and the division of control responsibilities for said modules are not compatible between 2000 and 2004. It isn't as if you can just swap GEM modules. The 2004 doesn't have a GEM module, and the 2000 doesn't have certain instrument panel modules that the 2004 has.

Physically, the 2004 seats, both front and rear, as well as center consoles if equipped, will fit PERFECTLY in the 2000 without modification. The mounting holes will all line up without issue. Even if the rear seat from the 2004 has extra mounting feet in the center, the nut bosses for those feet are already welded to the underside of the floor pan of the 2000, and one need but only drill the floor pan sheetmetal (from underneath, to align through the bosses) and tap (metric) bolt threads from inside the cab through the freshly drilled holes into the welded bosses.

To add the Lariat level convenient of power operated and heated mirrors, plus power passenger seat, you will need complete wiring diagrams of both vehicles. A few pages on seats will not be enough, as the power distribution changed dramatically in 2002, so you will need to have a good understanding of both vehicles in order to make safe and balanced circuit choices for picking up power.

Some wire color coding is the same for certain circuits, so not everything changed. But a major part of the electrical architecture did change, so you'll want to be aware of the difference if you start putting in 2004 electrical components.

I wouldn't hesitate to update your seats if the newer ones are more comfortable. Not too excited about Ford leather though... If leather is all you are after you might be dollars ahead ordering full replacement leather covers for your current cloth seats from the likes of Katzskin or The Seat Shop.

If you are after the revised shape and sculpting of the newer seats, or want power seats, then yeah, popping in the 2004 seats makes sense... But be prepared to make up your own wiring, leave your existing 2000 wiring unmolested, and cannibalize as many wiring harnesses as you can from the donor 2004 for raw materials to work with, to save hunting down mating connectors and wedgelock pins and terminal retention assurance clips, etc.

 

Y2KW57-

Great feedback, thank you for the effort, I appreciate it. No, it isn't just leather that I'm after. I like the newer interior better for the shape and style; I like that the rear seat has head rests for example. That said I'm mostly interested in power seats and mirrors, as well as a center console.

The only palatable aspect of your commentary was the notion of integrating the interior via a separated inclusion of the almost-complete 2004 version of harnesses and modules; which is to say that the 2000 and the 2004 wiring should remain distinct and decoupled from each other. While that is conceptually trivial, I suspect that in practice it would be more difficult, with the tall pole in the tent being the ability to harvest everything you'd need from the 2004. I'm not certain that I'd be able to do that with the time that I'll have to take what I need. For that reason alone, I think it's better to pass on this opportunity. Unfortunate but likely the best decision.

Finally, it appears then that to make this type of upgrade somewhat do-able, I'd need to find a pre-2002 with the interior package that I like, since that was the year that the power distribution made the big changeover. Would that be accurate?

Many thanks, you likely saved me a good deal of $$$ as well as a lot of headache.
Jerry

 

"the tall pole in the tent"

Never heard that one before (probably indicates I don't get around much)

Model year 2002 was the big changeover. Even the fuse box that your 2000 has under the hood was eliminated in 2002, that's how significant the electrical changes were.

The connector shells to the mirrors changed, the seat and window switches changed, the fuse panel under the dash changed, etc etc.

None of that would stop me from getting newer seats, especially at a good deal, in non smoker, non pet, non fire, non rained on an open wreck in a dusty junk yard for six months condition. Adding power and ground to self contained seat motors isn't that difficult, but when it comes to passenger air bag deployment triggering, presence of occupant in passenger seat sensing, and the transfer of liability to you in the case you happen to be hauling an unrelated passenger whose family lawyers up and sues Ford for their loved one dying in your truck, and Ford's defense discovery scours your truck for an excuse to be summarily dismissed from culpability due to your modifications... now that's a tall pole, however unlikely it is to be raised.

All things to consider. I rather like the simpler and rounder 2000 shaped seats better than the rectangular and bulkier seat shapes that came in 2001 and beyond, except for the lack of rear headrests. I guess I shouldn't complain though, since I removed the rear seat altogether to creat more room for tools.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

 

Hmmmmm...well yeah, powering the seats would be the shortest pole in the tent. However I'd want everything to work, including the air bags. which was actually a concern of mine even prior to posting or reading your initial feedback. In the end I think the only way to make this work in a reliable manner would be to pull the entire interior from that 2004 donor, including the dash, pick it up and drop it lock-n-barrel into my 2000. Leaving the existing stuff alone and just supplying +/- to the new stuff. However even that notion seems flawed.

So in the end I've decided to pass. Just too much of an apples-n-oranges scenario for my tastes. The guy was reasonable in personality, though his price was a bit high I thought at $3000. But that included the mirrors and whatever wiring I would have needed. He likely would have included the dash too, but didn't want to dig that deep into the part-out (or so it seemed). That said, these interiors seem to be drawing that kind of cost these days, albeit from a rather limited search pool result.

All things considered I've decided to attempt a different approach. One that involves selling my 2000 and upgrading to a 2002-2003 that already has the interior 'n such that I have in mind. Or some type of trade possibly. There are issues with doing that however, not the least of which is in regard to simply the time required. I needed almost 2 years to find my 2000 and I suspect that any new search would end up requiring about the same. I say that because in the morning-long search that I've conducted thus far, I'm seeing a repeat of the criteria deficiency that I encountered way back when (circa 2011). Some trucks have this but not that, others the opposite. That type of thing.

But I digress. Thanks again, your feedback has been on-point and of high value to me.

Jerry

 

You are welcome, but I think I failed in conveying my point that you would not only have to take the entire interior from the 2002 and up donor, you would also have to collect all of the wiring in the engine compartment, as well as the ABS module. The powertrain control module family is different. Depending on whether or not you have auto or manual, there is an engine sensor in the 2002 and up that isn't in the 2000. And complicating matters more obviously, the diesel engine in the 2004 is entirely different than in the 2000.

So even if you were given the gifts of unlimited time, unlimited talent, and unlimited funds, you would not be able to make the electrical system of the 2004 properly control your 2000. I'm not trying to beat a dead horse, as you've already given up on the idea. I'm just trying to make the record clear that it isn't a matter of removing ALL of the in cab electrical in a 2004 and plopping into the cab of a 2000. Different PCMs, different engines, different injector driver modules, different sensors, different underhood wiring, different transmission... etc.

I'd still grab the seats though, if they were cheap enough.

Now, since my quarter isn't up in the shooting ducks carnival booth... on to your next plan. Selling your 2000 to find a 2002 or 2003 with the seats you like.

Do you seriously want to give up your model year 2000 FORGED ROD 7.3L (the most coveted 7.3L engine of them all) for a powdered rod 2002-2003 just to get power seats?

Think seriously for a moment. How many different people drive your truck? Just you? So what do you need power adjusting seats for? I have a Lariat 2000, and I haven't used the power seat but maybe 3 times in 18 years. No one drives the truck except me. My wife is most welcome to drive it whenever she wants to, and I encourage her to, but she has little interest in driving a crew cab long bed drw 4x4, which is what I have, similar to yours. The three times I did adjust the seat was when she drove it.

Power passenger seat? Why? Just roll the thing all the way back, kick back, and relax. Need your seat to have more lumbar support, or better thigh support, then pull the cover off and add foam when you replace the original cover with some Katzskin leather. Or get 2004 seats, or 2016 seats for that matter, and find the power and ground pins to jumper the seats where they are comfortable for you, and leave them be. Your truck isn't a rental car. I'll bet you are the one who drives it 95% of the time. Set the passenger seat up so that your spouse is comfortable and leave it be.

There isn't that much to Lariat trim level during this era. It is more marketing than anything else. The aftermarket of today provides better audio/info/tainment systems, better leather seat coatings, and really, there is nothing else, unless you want simulated wood grain on your door panels.

Manual 4x4 shift on the floor is more reliable than Electronic Shift on the Fly. Manual HVAC controls are more reliable than Electronic Air Temperature Control, which I don't think was available in the trucks until 2001 or 2002 LE's and the Platinum model exclusively marketed in Texas during that time period.

You've got power windows and locks... that's the main thing. If you don't have power adjusting mirrors, the wiring is likely there to make that happen (just not heat, but people have added that.) As far as the newer power fold and telescoping mirrors, those are cool and all, but the internal plastic gears break. The bigger spot mirror on the bottom is nice, but you can get all that without wiring and be functional.

Giving up a forged rod 2000 7.3L for simulated wood grain? You need to come on downstairs to the 1999-2003 Powerstroke Diesel forum so you can better appreciate the gem it took you two years to find.

 

 

Wow. I haven't been taken to school like that in years. Shows my level of inexperience with these trucks when it comes to the finer details.

First, you did convey your point regarding the wiring; when I said that I would need the entire dash, I didn't intend to state that this would be the limit of it; hell the two dashes aren't that different physically. No, it was all of the harnesses and wiring and modules that were the issue. And I knew that this would include going into the engine bay. The owner wasn't willing to include all of that stuff anyway. However he did try to get me to buy even after I conveyed all of this stuff. Funny. I passed.

Of course I understand that the engines were different; the 04 had the 6.0, which was something I intentionally avoided during my initial search. And of course that means different injectors, different control modules, etc. So I must have given you a really low impression of my understanding; what I intended to say regarding all of that was that it seemed somewhat plausible to get all of that cruft solely for the purpose of controlling the interior. That is, the 2000 and the 2004 stuff would not interact beyond sharing the same physical space. But as I stated, even that notion was inherently flawed. Hopefully that conveyed.

Regarding the forged rod pistons thing; well I confess that I had no idea. All of the 7.3L owners I have ever spoken with have failed to mention this fact. Therefore I was operating with the understanding that the 7.3L was pretty much unchanged through the end of its run. If I had known that, and now that I do, I wouldn't be willing to make that type of exchange. If I may ask, why did Ford (or was it International) do that?

Regarding 'the why' I would like power seats, it's mostly to-do with who I haul around. Mom is getting older and when she gets in, she likes to fiddle with the pax seat ad-nauseum until its to her liking. It ends up in pretty much the same place but there is a procedure to get there, much like how my neighbor's dog does three circles prior to lying down next to his favorite tree. Power would help with that. As for the power stuff in the big picture, I'd actually like power mirrors more than power seats. However they seem to come in a package arrangement, so ...

Anyway. Maybe I'll see if I can find a pre-2002 Lariat to swap the interior into mine, my cloth into it, then sell it to someone who doesn't care about that stuff, which admittedly most folk are likely to be. I'm just particular I suppose. And yes, I much prefer the manual 4x4 selection; I wouldn't have bought a 7.3L with the vacuum operated variant. I know because I had the opportunity to do that but turned it down. Same WRT manual temp controls. I would like to upgrade the radio to something with a moving map, but that is lower on the priority list than power mirrors for example.

Perhaps this has given you more fodder to chaff away with, but so be it. I'm still glad that I posted and that I have learned what I have learned during the past day. Thanks again.
Jerry

 

Ha ha, I'm glad you have a good sense of humor.

With a user name like av8or1, I entered into this conversation assuming that I was speaking with 4 stripes or two bars, and those marks don't come without quite a bit of nougen, so don't think that I'm selling you short, just setting you straight on this narrow and specific topic.

Like I said, come on downstairs to the diesel section of this forum, where all issues relating to your particular vintage of Ford truck are discussed, not just diesel engines. (1999-2003 Powerstroke forum on Ford Truck Enthusiasts).

Google "7.3L forged rods" to get a sense of the value that people place in the traditionally forged rod motors, versus the sintered powdered metal rods. You asked why International did this? At Ford's request. To reduce costs. And because the powdered rods proved to be "good enough" for the OEM power that the engines were originally rated for. But if you ever should be tempted to add a chip, or change injectors, or increase power beyond a certain point (I don't know exactly what that point is, as I run stock, but some say 350 HP) then you'll appreciate the durability of the traditionally forged rods, which were more expensive to manufacture.

That Road Runner of yours is also not lost on me. Along with the two P7x's. And not just one, not two, but three wankels? You're a hot rodder. You've already got what you need in a truck. Something you can build on. Stop chasing the word Lariat and just get after what you want in your truck. Power mirrors. That's doable. Lots of threads in both the 99-03 as well as the Excursion forum (don't neglect the Tech folders) on how to get all that retrofitted into your XLT.

As far as your Mom... that's deep. Says a lot about your character... that allowance that you afford for someone else to do whatever they need to do to feel better, even if the net result is no change. Obviously, I'm not as forgiving. :-)

 

Yeah no problem; I don't mind getting beat up when I don't know what I'm talking about; pain is often a good way to learn. The username thing is just because I'm a pilot and CFI, also a former airline type. Never been in the military, though I would have gone that way in a heartbeat if my vision had been good enough. It wasn't, so I didn't. I digress.

I've spent several a late night in the 1999-2003 7.3L Power Stroke Diesel forum, thank you for the pointer though. Last month I posted regarding the work I did with my friggin accelerator pedal issue (common problem with these critters). I ended up getting the integrated pedal assembly from a late model 2001 at a local salvage yard, cutting the existing wiring, soldering in the new stuff and then installing the new assy. Ended up being much cheaper than the $400+ that Ford wanted or even the $280+ that the aftermarket was demanding for an all-out replacement. The link to that thread if yo don't believe me (): https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...sor-fyi-7.html

FWIW, I do know the difference between forged and cast rods in the general case, but again, was not aware that this was applicable to the 7.3L. About when did that change take effect? 2001? 2002?

Not chasing Lariat whatsoever. In fact, if I find what I'm searching for I'm thinking that I might just have that removed during the re-cover. I'm not one for branding, etc. Nope, for me it's not about a name like that, it's about pride in ownership. I searched high-n-wide for my F-350 and I've done a considerable amount to it since becoming its owner. I didn't really ever plan on selling but didn't want to be one of those nuts who holds onto stuff unreasonably either. I take pride in my truck and want it to be top-of-the-line, even though it wasn't out of the factory. Perhaps that general notion failed to convey to you also, dunno. I need to replace the right rear dually fender for example, but haven't done so since I bought it simply because I'd prefer to find one from a parts truck to press into service on mine. But there are problems with that. Folk who sell dually beds or who part out duallys don't want to separate the bed components. I understand that but just haven't come around to feeling ok with buying an aftermarket variant. That too is perhaps a bit silly. The other problem is that they're just beat to hell and therefore unusable. So it's become an inside joke really. One day I'll get my act together and just get a figgin fender.

And my F-350 is a 6-speed BTW; I wanted that and it was the single largest limiting factor in my initial search. That and the manual 4x4 gear selector. Almost an impossible combination as it turned out, but I digress (again).

Yeah I've read some of those threads about modding your mirrors to add heat or what have you. Just preferred to find components that already had that, then bolt them in, along with whatever misc wiring needed to be done. Again, I can handle the electric stuff, generally speaking. If I had done the 2008 mirror deal, there would have been more to it than that, sure, but I wasn't really heading in that direction. I kinda prefer the mirrors I have, just want power. And in TEXAS, who needs heated mirrors anyway. Power telescoping and folding is more of a cool factor, and definitely something I could live without.

Yeah I have a definite vehicle habit. After my son was born it has slowed considerably. Not complaining, so don't you start, just sayin'. Point being that I have to pick my projects these days due to time constraints. And upgrading the interior of my F-350, despite your objections to the contrary, is at the top of that list. Along with doing the same in my primary CVPI!

Yes, I want to upgrade that interior too, so you might get a laugh out of that as well, but whichever. And I dread the day that my son begins to ask for the keys to the Roadrunner. Uuugggghhhh. But don't get me started.

Ok I'll end this long diatrabe. Thanks again for the direction, I appreciate it. Whatever I do, I'l share with the forum via this thread, even if there are peanuts coming from the gallery; broad shoulders on this end, no worries.
Jerry

 

Ok so I found answers to my own questions:

1) The forged rod thing began in 2001
2) HP recommendation not-to-exceed with the PM rods is 400.

FWIW.

 

Sorry, I fell asleep at the wheel there.


One cannot necessarily go by model year alone to determine whether or not a 2001 has forged rods or powdered rods. International ran a trial period of powdered rods, and then returned to forged rods for a while, prior to switching permanently to powdered rods. There is a lot of info around the net that goes into specific detail on what engine serial numbers were effected, and how to remove a threaded plug in the block and peer through it to see for yourself.


Yes, I've heard and read 400 hp is the cut off, and I subtracted a 50 hp margin of error. Most engines don't see more than 330 hp, even if tuned. But still, forged is forged and powdered ends up broken more than forged, as discovered by 17 years of collective reported experiences.


I'm not laughing at you, and never have been. I only wanted to guide you away from expecting plug and play, or thinking that merely a change in GEM module would do the trick, or trying to swap out the entire electrical system from a 2004 into your 2000, as your earlier posts suggested you were contemplating. And even then I wasn't laughing. How would anyone know or expect different, when the cabs are the exact same? I certainly wouldn't know if I hadn't been to the truck plant, the engine plant, and spent a decade and a half trying to keep my own 2000 together with just the parts that came with it.


There are lots of people that have added newer seats, all the way up to model year 2016, into their 1999-2001 model year trucks. They just made compromises... like living without the seat memory module, foregoing the heating and cooling, if equipped, and adding their own sources of power and ground to the appropriate seat circuits just to get some of the seat adjustment functions to work. That's doable. But getting every feature to work using factory wiring... that's one of those taller poles again.

 

Oh sure, model year isn't the means by which you can make the determination of PMR versus forged. Serial numbers are good, but the best means is to take a look, as you mentioned. I've read that several owners who thought that they had PMRs actually had forged, due to the trial that you also referred to. I've only found one case of the owner thinking he had forged but who actually had PMRs. I plan to take a look at mine just for the heck of it one day, though I feel relatively confident that I have the forged stuff. My manufacture date was late-summer/early-fall 99, IIRC, so that's well before the trial from what I've read. I'm just glad that my truck was manufactured after the injector business, but that's an entirely different subject, so I'll stop there.

I'm with you WRT the forged rods even if I won't ever make that much HP. I don't plan on going higher, what I have is plenty. Still, the purest in me likes the fact that I have forged...

Wow, you went to the plant? That's an enviable experience. I assume that it was back in the hey-day of the 7.3L? I would have liked to have joined ya! While I didn't ever really expect plug-n-play, at the outset I was hoping that cobbling up my own connectors, making my own harnesses and such would be enough. Again, glad you informed me otherwise. I also understood the compromise thing, though I wasn't crazy about not utilizing all of the features that the seat had to offer, such as heating and cooling. I was, however, willing to live with that though. That said, the pax airbag thing, for example, did make me nervous, but the conclusion I reached was that the one I had/have would continue to work as it does now, no need to attempt to integrate any type of sensing circuitry into its operational model. And that type of sensing was definitely something I could do without. And having said that, I dunno, I just didn't like the differences that you made me aware of; too messy, and too incongruent from an architectural perspective for my tastes. Adding components from a like design is one thing, integrating those from a distinctly different design is another.

Sorry to give the wrong impression; never thought you were laughing, but maybe getting just a little chuckle out of it. Nah, it's no big deal, I'm still glad-as-hell I posted, which I did in an effort to get-smart, which you enabled me to do. Hopefully this will help others who might have the same inexperienced notions in the future. Note that I posted in the 99-16 forum and not the 99-03 sub-forum simply because the donor under consideration was an 04. I suspected that those in the 99-03 sub-forum would have knowledge regarding the differences WRT the later trucks, but still posting here seemed like the correct thing to do, so...

Circling the wagons back to the notion of upgrading the interior. I've found a 99 in a neighboring state that has the same color interior, but it was/is a Lariat. So the idea is to buy that thing, take what I want off of it, swap in my interior and sell it on. If I come out a grand or two lighter in the process, so be it. It would be worth it since it has the interior I'm searching for. However it doesn't have the console; it has the fold down middle seat. So I'd need to grab a console somewhere. And of course the pax seat isn't powered, so I'd need to cobble something together myself to give mom an easier go during her now-ritualistic adjustment process. "I can't adjust the seat like I used to could, give me a minute..." and "ok mom take your time", that kind of thing. And naturally I take her where she wants to go and how she wants to go there, even though I know it's actually a few miles the other way.

I could make that pax seat conversion though, I've done the manual-to-power seats thing in the past. The trick would be getting it to "look factory", but with enough diligence that's do-able. This truck also has some other minor goodies that I would like to swap onto my truck, such as a clean right rear dually fender, and the truck is black in color, like mine, so it would be a somewhat reasonable direct swap, though it's likely that you could see the shade diff if you got close enough to take a look. The wheels have promise, though I'd need to learn more about them, I'm impressed with the truck generally speaking though, since it's also a 6-speed and has the manual 4x4 selector on the floor. Higher miles though at ~335K. Any idea of what something like that should go for, roughly?

Thanks!
Jerry

 

You would have been welcome to. I'm the one who organized the plant tour, in coordination with a retiring executive at Navistar. I had about 65 truck owners sign up, and we ran a "convoy" of Ford Super Duties along the same stretch of highway that conveyed the engines from the Indianapolis Engine plant to the Kentucky Truck plant, there and back again.

I was chauffeured in the factory rear Captain's chair (to give you another interior seat upgrade idea) of the lead truck, a black crew cab dually Lariat LE (Limited Edition... to give you yet more ideas to aspire your interior and exterior upgrades to... which I will summarily shoot down later, should you ask about them).

Anyway, yes, it was during the absolute peak equinox of Ford and International's hot, happy, and profitable romance... before the doom of the 6.0L tarnished the BlueDiamond. The heyday of the 7.3L. I stood next to the new PMR cracking machine and listened to the deafening thwack, as the machine split the wholly formed rod into two pieces, to be mated again when hugging a crank journal. Forged rods and powdered rods were passed around among us to compare. Saw a lot of different things there, and managed to keep my mouth shut about most of them for many years thereafter, and now it doesn't matter anymore, as the entire plant and foundry are gone.


No it isn't. The 99 is Medium Prairie Tan. The 2000 is Medium Parchment.

You'll know these colors are different when you start combining parts from both model years into the same cabin.

But yes, in photos, they both look sort of tan. But the 99 Prairie Tan interior is more of a browner tan, whereas the 2000 Parchment is more of a taupe tan.

And actually, it isn't that simple either. Just within the Parchment family (wasn't there a TV show in the '70's called the Parchment Family?) there is an entire range of Parchments. Have a look below at all the rattle cans I picked up from Ford back in the day to do my interior "upgrades" like pillar pod, APCM, tweeter bezels, mirror sail panels, etc.

Parchment, Medium Parchment, Medium Dark Parchment, Dark Parchment... ignore the Graphite cans on the right, those were for a different Ford. But hopefully you get the idea that tan isn't just tan.




Why? Consider having the coveted, convertible, (and more expensive to replace) 40/20/40 seat set up as good fortune, because it makes into a far more comfortable and much wider armrest, for both driver and Mom the passenger, than the flimsy flip down of the console style captains chairs. Also, the seat back to the center seat opens up to a more immediately accessible flat usable area for papers and small electronics, as opposed to a deep trash bin cramped cavern where stuff gets buried.

Add a JL Audio StealthBox powered subwoofer to the lower seat portion of the center seat for a very stealthy sound upgrade. (I have one in mine)



Shown above without the upholstery wrap, but know that you simply transfer the factory upholstery over to this base unit which is contoured to replicate exactly the lower seat contour, and is a tuned enclosure for the sub that JL ships it with. I added some extra foam between the factory upholstery wrap and the top of the StealthBox, to give a little more cush to the tush of whoever might sit there.

It is a nice alternative to bulky behind the seat or under seat subwoofers, in that it doesn't cannibalize tool storage behind the rear seat, or interfere with DuHa type locked rifle storage under the rear seat, and further frees up the space behind the rear seat for you to had a power rear sliding window to the back, which was a Ford Accessory upgrade back in 1999, or the Ford Accessory Tool tray system.

Here's what behind my rear seat looks like with the Ford tool trays:



You can even add handy big Gulp swallowing cup holders to the center seat...











That is super nice of you. The world would be a better place if all sons respected their mothers as you do.

Of course, by now you know that not even the Lariats had power passenger seats in 1999.. but the option was available by 2000 in the LE, and eventually available in all Lariats at some point thereafter... as in, after OUR trucks were built. (Ford calls this "late availablity). Mine was built at the end of 1999 also.

Like mine also. We can commiserate.

No they don't. That triangular hand hole design cracks, routinely, where the five leg aluminum spoke meets the rim. The design was discontinued. Alcoa won't even manufacture replacements. Alcoa actually pulled the replacements from their catalog, and virtually erased all printed evidence of their existence.

Done.

None.

 

That plant story is outstanding. I would have enjoyed that, especially being part of the convoy. Thumbs up!

Wow, I hope you realize that we're kinda cut from the same cloth here. I drive folk crazy with my preciseness like this too! Let me summarize: yes, I mis-spoke. I should have said "similar color". That is, they are both tan. Whatever the diff ends up being between the two, color matching between tans is an easier hill to climb IMHO than converting from say gray or black to a tan-ish color. I've done lots of dyeing over the years, so this should be cheese, provided I can find the correct version of tan. Does Ford still sell those interior paints as you showed in the picture, BTW?

That and the plan was/is to exchange the entire interior from one and put it in the other, to include trim pieces (a pillar, etc.). Ergo, not just the seats. The plan does not include a dash swap, so I suspect that if anything will need dyeing it will be my existing dash. And that's the mile-high plan anyway. We'll see how it evolves.

Finally, I checked my tag. Yup, I was correct regarding the man date: 08/99. My exterior paint is UD (Ebony) and the interior is 3H, which is 40/20/40 cloth with medium parchment for the color. I've asked what his codes are, but I'm guessing they're also UD and either 8X or 9X. We'll see. Point being that it isn't a quantum leap in color diff, so it should be a reasonable modification to get the match.

Reasonable argument. I dunno, I just prefer the console and arm rests. After flying for a number of years, operating any moving thing without arm rests feels ... I dunno, like something is missing. 'Spose you'd need to be a pilot to understand, though I'm certain there are pilots who would agree with your assessment. Mind you, I doubt I'll work to find what Ford calls Captain's seats/chairs. I'll likely do some browsing to determine if a center console can be had to fit between the seats that I'll inherit. If not, I'll leave it as-is. I suspect that the Captain's seats/chairs are slightly less-wide than those in the 40/20/40 arrangement?

I like the tool tray behind the rear seat thing. The picture of yours is great! Wait though ... didn't you remove your rear seat? And I'll definitely have to investigate that power rear sliding window thing. Is there a tech article regarding that installation/upgrade?

Yeah, I didn't even bother to ask if his pax seat was powered, knowing full-well that it wasn't. He sent a picture of it, so I verified that by happenstance regardless. What was your man date, just out of curiosity? You seem to not like the black/ebony paint color? Why not? There are others I'd like, but out of all of them I've seen, I'm glad mine was black.

I'm guessing that you're referring to the factory wheels, yeah? This is my truck the day after I purchased it:



I presume that these are the triangular hand hole design you were referring to? Have you seen any crack? Have yours cracked? Just curious if there are any stats on approximately how often that occurs. 'Guessing that the probability of failure increases with an increase in age and/or wear.

That said, here are the front and rear wheels on the truck that I'm considering:





Different animals, as you can see, and my plan was/is to exchange mine for these prior to selling the truck on. Are you familiar with these wheels? Know anything about them? I hadn't seen them previously. The fronts seem like those you'd find on a big-rig/semi.

Thanks much!
Jerry