I would not wast my time trying to fix that and just replace it.
LMC sells them and if you have gauges maybe get the one for a tach and add it later on.
Dave ----

 

My original speedo cluster's plastic is degrading so fast that it crumbles at the slightest touch. Luckily, I have an entire dash from an '85 Bronco. So, I just swapped the '80 wire tracing mat from the original speedo to the '85 speedo, which has plastic in very nice condition. So, I have the wire tracing mat from the '85 Bronco that I'm unable to use ('81 part #). @Shadow_D If you need that mat, let me know.
I wondered about that Karl. I'm not sure how tight that connector snaps into the back side of the instrument cluster. That may work but if Super Glue would hold those traces, I'd feel more comfortable fixing it that way.
Thanks Dave!
@FuzzFace2 Dave, was this meant for me or Darrin?

 

I used super glue and it worked great. I thought about buying a new one but I'm of the thought that if I can fix it , why buy new. I couldn't find them on LMC but JEGS sells them for around $60 + the ride.
I'm doing this build as cheaply as I can.

I haven't been doing anything with the truck the last week or so due in part to my shoulder still being messed up. The other part is my buddy got sick so...The only thing I've been doing is soaking the manifold bolts with an acetone / ATF mix. Tomorrow we'll get in there with the KROIL and hopefully by tomorrow afternoon they should be off. I'm already starting to plan for the worst but hoping for the best by looking up price and availability of head and intake gaskets. IF any of the bolts end up needing to be cut I'd rather work on them on a bench instead of trying to fix them in the truck. I really don't want to have to do that but I know how my luck runs. IF I need to do this, it'll give me the chance to sandblast/clean the intake and heads for repainting. It'll also allow me to inspect the valves and lap them if needed. At that point I would really need to think about the next steps. I had planned to pull the motor during phase 2 of this project to clean and paint the frame as well as fix the cab but I want to use this truck for plowing this winter. Pulling the motor would allow me to address the oil leaks I've found, RT side valve cover and rear main seal. One of the things I was also thinking about doing was re-ring the motor during phase 2 as well. If I end up pulling the motor early then I'll do that as well. I don't expect there to be too many issues as the motor is not knocking and has good vacuum. I would still send the block out for acid washing and have the crank & cam inspected.
Now y'all have an idea as to how my brain jumps down rabbit holes easily...

 

It was to anyone that has a trace falling off the plastic.
It is happened and you fix that one area it will only happen in another area.
So if they sell new ones and IIRC the price is not too bad just get new.

Also if it fails do you want to pull the dash plastic off again to get to the cluster?
I have 1 LED dash light that flickers and I been putting it off to fix as I dont want to deal with the plastics.
My trace was good, I used fine grit paper to clean all the contacts, did the same to the bulb holders and even bent the contacts out a little.
Dont know why it dose what it is doing? Maybe a bad LED?
Dave ----

 

Point taken but I don't even see them on Jeg's site. I wonder if they don't make one for the '80 trucks (as it's different from the 1981-86 trucks).

 

The cluster circuit leads a rough life where the large wiring plugs go in and out. That is the only place I have had to repair them with superglue. I have had the white plastic cluster assembly start to get crumbly. Nothing you can do there except be careful and get another used one if you have to.

 

https://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/19093/10002/-1

 

True if it is a 80 but his sig says 84? and I am not going back over 15 pages to find what it is he is working on

But it looks like he was able to glue it and it worked (for now )
Dave ----

 

I'm going to give that a try (Super Glue) as they don't make a circuit card for my truck. I was surprised that the plastic degraded in that manner. I was fortunate to have another on-hand.
Thanks Darrin but 1981-86, as I suspected.
My truck is an '80. Darrin's is an '84.

 

Start talking 15+ pages and I bounce to the other year trucks, 240 / 300 six motor area and my states area and cant keep all of it straight
Dave ----

 

No problem but I did put my truck's info in my signature, just for you.......

 

Just asking, can you please add, the info for the 1980 F150 is it 2wd or 4x4, and please tell us the engine and tranny... or do you want us to continue to be in the dark ?

Thanks

 

Yesterday was very productive however nothing was checked off the completed list.
All 16 manifold bolts came out without snapping!!! Some of them didn't take much effort at all. The only thing keeping the manifolds on are 2 bolts holding the "Y" pipe to them, I ran out of cutoff disks for my Dremel as that was the only thing I could get into the space. Once I cut those off everything will come out fairly easily.

Pulled the cap and wires off to make it easier getting at the manifold bolts and decided to clean and inspect the wires and found 1 with a large tear in it so I ordered a new set as well as new cap & rotor that way there is no question as to their reliability. The cap & rotor looked fine but I figured I may as well replace them and keep the old ones in the truck as spares.

Tried to remove the front bumper so that I can install the mount for the plow that will be used this winter but all 4 bolts would just spin. I'm sure there is a simple trick to get them out but I'll most likely end up either welding a nut on the face end or cut off the faces and drill or punch them out.

Did some work on one of the tailgates I have for the truck but the mounting surfaces for the driver side latch is rotted away so I need to figure out something for that. Yes I have a new aftermarket tailgate for it but I'd rather use the one that best matches the truck and is the correct color, it's also a factory tailgate. Maybe someone has a fix for this?

Today, after I finish my mowing gigs, I'm going to pay a visit to one of the local steel suppliers and see what they have in the way of scrap. I want to make a set of mounts for the headache rack & tool box I have along with a couple of antenna mounts and a mount for the yellow warning beacon. I'm sure I can buy a set of mounts for the rack but they cost in the $150 - $200 range, antenna mounts are around $50 each and the beacon mount is around $100. That seems to be way too much for a couple of pieces of steel. I have the tools and ability to make them myself and save some money.

Tomorrow I should be getting some parts I ordered for the exhaust so I'll assemble those and hopefully Sunday or Monday, depending on what the wife says, I should be able to get that wrapped up. Once the exhaust is fixed I can get the truck down to the inspection station and make it legal. I'd like to be able to drive it this week and bring it to a meet on Wednesday night but we'll see how it goes. I know how my luck has been with this project, it's so close to being done but little things keep popping up on me and it's driving me nuts.

 

I know it's been quite awhile since I've done an update and that's due in part to other projects needing to get done as well as the fact that I needed to give my shoulder a much needed break to heal. This will be short and sweet...

I did manage to get the headers installed and will be sending the truck to the muffler shop to mate them to the existing exhaust as that will be quicker and cheaper. In time I will be replacing the entire exhaust system from the headers back with duals.
We also got the plow frame mounted although it's still missing a couple of mounting brackets. It should be fine for the time being until I get those brackets.

One thing that has me stumped is the inside window felts. I ordered a set of new window motors as well as all gaskets / felts for both windows. I have the new tracks and outside felts installed but I just don't know how to install the inside felts. The originals were stapled to the door cards.
How have you installed these?
For reference, the LMC Truck part number for the kit is 49-7152

Thanks

 

1 of many reasons why I have not done mine is it is a job!

What I see posted is you can try and remove the old stapples trying not to hurt the door panels.
I dont think any were able to reuse the old stapples from what I remember reading?
I also dont remember anyone finding new stapples of the same size either?
I dont remember if the new felts have the holes in them or not but think not and this adds to the problem.
Dont think there is a easy way to mark the new felts to use the holes of the old stapples so kind out going that way.

So you would need to drill new holes in the new felts and in the panels that will line up.
Do you dill for new stapples if you can find any or do you make them from wire? Then you need to bend the back side over to hold them to the panels how do you do that?
Others have used vary small pan head bolts and nuts. Drill 1 hole for the bolt, head to the glass and nut to the inside, and tighten them down.
Cant remember if they used a washer on the door panel side to spread the load not to hurt the panel.

I think I would go with the bolt & nuts with washers.
Dave ----