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The painter peeled the VIN label from our '84 F-150 and discarded it. Sales outlets like Streetside Classics won't touch it w/o the label/sticker. (See photo.)
Thankfully, I photographed it before leaving the truck with him.
Does anyone know if a replacement can be sourced?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Last edited by FADECBLC; Jul 27, 2023 at 12:10 PM.
Reason: Added comment.
I guess this is a good a place as any...maybe it will help others to learn something from your story.
I was lucky and had contacts that pointed me in the right direction to a great body shop. That at that time was a mile or so away. That was back in the early 90's, I still use them when needed.
I guess this is a good a place as any...maybe it will help others to learn something from your story.
I was lucky and had contacts that pointed me in the right direction to a great body shop. That at that time was a mile or so away. That was back in the early 90's, I still use them when needed.
Well, this was one of those deals where my partner in the truck had a guy who owed him BIG thousands. The ne'er-do-well owns a big-truck consignment lot with "paint shop" here in Shelbyville so that's where we wound up.
It was actually the prime reason for buying the pickup in the first place as my partner saw a paint job and a means to get part of his money back.
And that, my friends, is all the details I'll furnish as I owe no explanations beyond that. Well actually, I owe NO explanations, period. (Insert big grin here.)
This is what we started with two years ago. Mods, if I'm getting too far OT, just ****** me back. I won't take offense.
I can tell you that I buffed on that dadgum trim for DAYS.
Getting the old truck to where it is now took me a month of forming inner roof patch panels, cutting, welding, and grinding. Critters had nested between the inner and outer roof panels and created a bunch of blowout.
I have a pair of '48 Ford big trucks (F3 and F6) that I was going to build but since I'll be 75 on my birthday and derive MUCH more pleasure from building custom guitars, I'll end it with this one.
If anyone's interested, I can start a thread showing the roof repair process.
To help others on the sticker.
The sticker on mine had over spray on it when I got the truck.
Vary careful I used thinner on a rag to wipe it off.
You have to watch that the thinner dose not melt the sticker so go easy.
I then used masking tape to cover it when doing any work in the area and painting the door jambs.
How did the critter get between the roof panels?
Someone danced on the roof of my truck to the point the inner panel was also pushed down.
It was fun (not) pulling the outer panel, after taking all the body filler off, and then push the inner panel back up.
Dave ----
Dave, it's real easy for them to climb the dome light wire on the LH (driver) side of the cabin.
Once there, they can travel at will the entire area above the ceiling between the inner & outer panels.
They steal jute material from the floor mat underlayment for nesting material and once they've built the nest, they urinate in it, and who knows what else.
Gravity being gravity, that liquid migrates downward through the nest and is held in place against the unprotected metal, eventually resulting in blowout.
As you can see above the RH door, there's quite a bit of shape in the metal and while it's not immediately evident, the 10" pieces in the upper RH & LH corners of the rear window took a bit of doing as they required inner and outer patch panels.
Believe it or not, I got all of that cutting, grinding, and welding done WITHOUT scratching or etching the windshield, only to have the idiot painter break it when he re-installed the hood. Oh, there I go again. SAW-ree.
So, once I got the patch panels fab'd, it was time for fitting and welding. I was VERY pleased with the outcome and while it took a month overall, I only worked about 3-1/2 per week average as the shop is 22 miles from the house.
Where you see a piece of hanging green tape, that indicates a factory spot weld.
break (I'm learning)
Withe your patch panel clamped in place (this should go without saying but I'll mention it for those who've never attempted it B4), use one hand to push it tight to the parent metal and the other to make your first tack.
Continue in that fashion until you've made all your tacks, spaced a half inch or so apart. Then, as you might imagine, it's simply a process of ultimately connecting the dots by placing a VERY short weld between each tack, and finally, closing all the gaps.
Everybody who's done this more than once has his own method but mine was developed over 40 years of coachbuilding.
In the photo below, it was a perfect time to close up the old screw holes left behind by some long-ago gun rack, both upper and lower. Notice, however, that the bed rails are undamaged though the truck was 38 years old when I shot these pix.
That was a great help in terms of work saved.
Last edited by FADECBLC; Jul 30, 2023 at 04:52 PM.
Reason: typo
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