Yep I have had shipping shenanigans with Amazon as of late. Their two day prime shipping has gone to the crapper. As for your truck... need more cowbell, I mean pics.

 

OK, here's the cowbell. Not really much to look at, but you asked....
Rear brakes and lowering brackets, front brakes, inside of cab emptied out, a new set of EFI exhaust manifolds, prepped and ready, and a swap meet score. A purty set of long tube stainless steel headers I found last Saturday. But I thing I'm gonna sell 'em on.

On the front beams, I haven't put the springs on yet. The stock beams had a little hook thing to limit the travel when weight is off the front. The DJM beams have no provision for that. So either I let the shock be the limiter, which can cause damage when I start doin' dukes of hazzard jumps with the truck, or I'll have to rig up some kind of travel limiter.

Aaaannnnddd, once again, my tie rods didn't show up today either. Delayed again.

 

Pretty good progress today. I really needed to get some primer on the bare metal to keep rust from getting out of control and having to do stuff all over again. So, I cleaned all the stripping and sanding debris out, scraped out the last of the tunnel cover goop, and scrubbed everything down nice and clean. Gave the bare metal a good scuffing and cleaning with metal prep, then squirted on some etching primer. This included the dash, windshield frame and door edges. That should hold it for a little while until I get some metal work done on the floor, and fill some unused switch holes. Then go over it with epoxy primer before I put color on it.

The Missing Link saga continues. After delay and more delays, my steering stuff showed up today. At least some of it did. The main center link is still MIA. I still have the piece that came off the truck, and it is usable. At least for now. I can at least put wheels on it and roll it in and out. It was funny. I ordered this stuff from a seller on Amazon, mostly because they claimed to have it in stock. Not many places did. Not NAPA, which is my preferred main supplier for general parts, not Rock Auto, and not Summit. So, FedEx guy rolls up and hands me a box that is way too short and way too light.....and it's from Rock Auto. I am confused. I did not order anything from Rock Auto lately. A tie rod end, an adjustment sleeve, and the left side link bar. So I go to FedEx, and sure enough, this is from the Amazon seller and show it to be delivered. So, I'm not happy. I let Amazon and the seller know it too. But far, all I hear is chirping crickets. But like I said, at least I can roll the truck around now.

 

Paint makes a huge difference. What are you going to do with the outside? Are you going to keep it two-tone?

 

While I do want the interior to be nice and comfortable, the outside will be a work in progress for quite some time I think. It's going wimbledon white with some light 50-60s style scallops......'Ventually!

Just single stage. No frills. This will be a driver. So I don't want to be too worried about nicks or scratches. I've been down the show quality paint road before. Too stressful for a driver.

 

Suspension and brakes are nearly done on the ol' F100. At least enough to put wheels on it so it can be rolled out for easier access. Cleaned and scrubbed the firewall in preparation to put some paint on it before the motor goes back in.
Also cut a section out where the original wiring pass-thru was for a modern wiring plug. You can see the rectangular hole just to the right (left) of the master cylinder mounting area. I'll weld in a patch panel and cut a single round hole for that
Kinda surprising to see how thin the paint was on the firewall. It's no woonder rust was such an issue. Scrubbing it with degreaser and coarse scotchbrite went thru the paint straight to metal....no primer.
Just about done with the motor. I should have checked the oil pump pick up earlier. I had it soaking in cleaner, and after I rinsed it out, there was still a bunch of crud stuck way inside. So sense in risking new bearings on a $20 part, even though it takes a few days to get. So, I'll have to wait a bit to close 'er up.

 

I'm at a stopping point on getting the motor completely buttoned up because nobody locally had a oil pump pick-up for a 300 inline 6. Unimaginable!
So I figured I might as well get started on the dash bezel for the instrument cluster. The factory bezel was plastic, and long past repairable. I tried fusing the cracks using a soldering iron, but other pieces just broke off it I looked at it the wrong way.
Yes, new ones are available. $150 to $200.
But, I have sheet metal in stock and a bitchin' set of tools! So, let's fab one up. It'll be for a standard six gauge set. Speedo, Tach, temp, oil pressure, volts and fuel gauge.
First step was using chip board to make a template for the surround, and once that was cut from steel sheet, it was fitted to the dash hole and the screw holes located. Then, a chipboard template was made for the face, and a piece of sheet metal was cut leaving a 3/4" margin around the edge. That same chipboard template was used to cut two pieces of 3/4" plywood to make an edge form. The sheet was clamped between the two plywood pieces, and the edge of the sheet was hammered down.
At the moment, the scribed lines for the gauges are marked, and I'll cut those before welding these two pieces together.
I'm also going to use a pieces of 1/4" round rod formed to fit the dash holes to use as edging for the bezel. That comes at a later time

 

Like Bill Murray says in Caddyshack...."It's in the hole!"
Quite a bit of work yet to do, but it's getting there

 

keep going because you know we are anxious to see the instruments in place.

 

Nice work Mikey, need more cow bell!!

 

These are what I'm planning on using. I found 'em at EZwiring, where I bought my wiring harness. Look like good no nonsense gauges.
There'll be three indicator lights, L & R turn, and hi beam. Switches under the panel will be minimal too. Other than the key switch on the left, there'll be the light switch, wipers, and a USB port. The other holes will be filled.
The Vintage Air unit for heat and air look to have the controls on the under dash unit, so no need for a heater switch on the dash.

 

I am running the Dolphin gauges too, 5" quad, tach and gps speedo. I have issues with the quad and speedo gauges as they do not light up. May have to improvise as the seller does not care to help. Purchased on Fleabay.

 

Hmm. That's odd. Do they have a standard light socket in the back?

The six gauge set looks like it does

 

A customer of mine has the Dolphin gauges installed in his Skylark and said he is pleased with them for what it's worth. Nice work on the dash Mikey, and I'm jealous of your garage, even if you have to share it with the laundry.

Dan TK65

 

Thanks Dan!
Yeah, it's not a big garage, and I have the laundry area contained. "Thou shalt not extend beyond these lines!"

A lot of stuff is on wheels. Of course the lathe, mill and main work bench are stationary. The TIG welder, MIG, Oxy/Acetylene rig and plasma are all on wheels, as is the welding table.
It's kinda funny actually. Whenever I have a big fab project, all this stuff gets wheeled out. So there are two motorcycles, a heavy metal table and at least one welder out in the driveway.
And with a 480 sq/ft garage, it is mandatory that there is a place for everything, and everything in its place. I can't afford become too disorganized or to let stuff pile up. I reckon it keeps me disciplined!

On the gauges, I was second guessing my choice for a while. I really wanted the Stewart Warner Green Line gauges. But they are out of stock with a vague delivery date, much like a lot of stuff. The $6-700 price tag was an eye opener as well. The Dolphins, at less than $250 I think are worth the gamble.