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Yep, the sand might get stuck between them but it will eventually work out or get ground to powder.
If it were me, I would stick with the old springs and clean them up. Save a few $$$
If they still have a good arch, I would keep 'em. Changing out springs later if you aren't satisfied will be just as easy then as it will be now.
So I'm finally back from my long overseas trip. Back to work I go!
I bought a ton of parts while I was gone. The boxes took over my kitchen. I took advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.
Sandblaster was too busy before I left so I talked to him when I got home. He suggested I removed the axles and springs so he could do a more thorough job. I had assumed a rolling chassis would be easier to work with. So I disassembled it further.
I had planned to use new Moog rubber OEM type leaf spring bushings. But holy buckets it's a nightmare to remove the old outer bushings shell!! I may quit while I have only destroyed 1 and order poly spring bushings.
Sawzall! Now that's an idea! I'll try that tomorrow.
So I was removing the bumper from the 79 F150 parts truck to get it sandblasted with the other parts. I assumed the mounting brackets were highboy specific due to the frame width difference. But I noticed that the bumper is different width on its mounting area.
79 F150 bumper 37.5" wide.
77 F250 34" wide.
I suppose I could make spacers to use it. So does anyone know if the step bumpers are highboy specific?
I had a bumper I took of a new '79 and stored it for 40 years. the other day I put it on my high boy and as you say it was too wide for my brackets. I made a couple spacers out of flat bar, 3/4" as I recall and when you install it the brackets move to the inside so it fit perfect.
If you want to go to modern super duty springs, I can cut you out brackets on a CNC table that let you bolt in modern (and cheap!) springs. Factory height SD springs give you the original highboy factory height. feel free to pm me.
Thanks for the sawzall idea! Worked great! Had all the fronts out in about 25 minutes or less. I still have to do the rears tomorrow but I needed a bigger hole saw. I used a 1" hole saw to remove the rubber from front spring bushings, but rear needed a 1 1/8" hole saw.
That's a cool setup for Super Duty springs! If I wasn't shooting for such originality that would be a good move!
Some parts came in yesterday for the project.
Big shout out to Blue Top Steering. They did a beautiful job rebuilding the power assist components. I sent the gearbox along as well and asked them to do what they think was necessary to it. He said it didnt need a rebuild and just resealed it and adjusted the gearbox. He saved me a chunk of $$$ for sure. Great customer service!
The other arrival was the fuel injection system from Hamilton Fuel Injection. He builds an awesome GM TBI fuel injection system catered towards your specific vehicle. New stand alone harness, troubleshooting just like a early 90s GM pickup, parts on the shelf as any auto parts store, and computer timing control.
I have his system on a couple of my IH trucks and it is great!
He specializes in the orphan vehicles like IH, AMC, Hudson etc but can do almost any. I had sent him a spare distributor to be converted.
Thanks for the sawzall idea! Worked great! Had all the fronts out in about 25 minutes or less. I still have to do the rears tomorrow but I needed a bigger hole saw. I used a 1" hole saw to remove the rubber from front spring bushings, but rear needed a 1 1/8" hole saw.
That's a cool setup for Super Duty springs! If I wasn't shooting for such originality that would be a good move!
Some parts came in yesterday for the project.
Big shout out to Blue Top Steering. They did a beautiful job rebuilding the power assist components. I sent the gearbox along as well and asked them to do what they think was necessary to it. He said it didnt need a rebuild and just resealed it and adjusted the gearbox. He saved me a chunk of $$$ for sure. Great customer service!
The other arrival was the fuel injection system from Hamilton Fuel Injection. He builds an awesome GM TBI fuel injection system catered towards your specific vehicle. New stand alone harness, troubleshooting just like a early 90s GM pickup, parts on the shelf as any auto parts store, and computer timing control.
I have his system on a couple of my IH trucks and it is great!
He specializes in the orphan vehicles like IH, AMC, Hudson etc but can do almost any. I had sent him a spare distributor to be converted.
My blue top parts should be here this week... I'm excited to see them cleaned up lol
Mike I sent you a PM asking for your zip or address to get you a shipping price. I'm not sure if the message sent. But please message me the info!
Picked up the drive shafts from the local machine shop today. He cleaned them up nicely and installed new Spicer U joints on all 3 shafts.
The jackshaft(transmission to transfer case) took 2 Spicer 5-153X, and the front and rear shafts took Spicer 5-134X joints on both ends.
Oops. I had bought 6 5-153X, but it's ok they fit my IH stuff too.
He said the front shaft was dented and bent. He offered to replace the tube but said he was confident he could straighten it and it would perform fine. So I had him straighten it. He repainted them too.
Sandblaster called and requested more paint supplies. He has never used KBS or POR-15 stuff before so he did a bunch of research and said he would need more paint and a special reducer to spray it. It's on order so hopefully next week it will be ready.
Man... those drive shafts sure look good.
Mine is still a rusted mess. It is straight but badly rusted. (My truck has only got one....dang it)
Not to derail the thread but mike pm me if you're looking to replace the driveshaft. I have quite a few that are in decent shape. If I have the length you need $25+ shipping and it's yours.
(I just shipped one that was 26" long and it was like $14 just to give you an idea)
Not to derail the thread but mike pm me if you're looking to replace the driveshaft. I have quite a few that are in decent shape. If I have the length you need $25+ shipping and it's yours.
(I just shipped one that was 26" long and it was like $14 just to give you an idea)
Thanks for the offer but mine is fine.... it just needs a cleaning and a good coat of POR.....
Picked up the chassis from the sandblaster yesterday. I had him do the painting. I had him use KBS Coatings Rust Seal over the blasted metal, and KBS Blacktop in chassis black color as a top coat.
Still waiting on axles, springs and miscellaneous parts. He does the blasting outside so since the weather here has not been cooperative he is behind.
My trailer was occupied so I had to borrow my friends trailer to bring it home.
Having a loader just makes life easier!
Chassis looks great! I am very happy with it. You can see a lot of the pitting from all the rust but it shouldn't ever rust again.
The blaster wasn't a fan of the KBS Coatings. He is used to regular paint and primer. But since I grew up in the rust belt and dont miss it a bit I insisted on the special coatings. For those that dont know KBS Coatings is very similar to POR-15, just a different brand.
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
