Okay gents, here come the questions regarding my 54 F100...

1) Seat Repair
My seats are in avg to poor shape. I'd like to redo them. Some vendors sell new seat foam which I definitely need. Did these seats originally come with foam. The seat back appears to be spring loaded (but suspiciously there is no foam visible).

2) Hood hinges
I'm sick of these already and want to convert to a front hinge. Who makes the best kit for this?

3) 12V Conversion - bulbs?
Should I just use bulbs from a 56?

4) Okay, here is the "dumb" one. Why are there two rear brake lights on each side? Is one a brake & one a blinker?

I'm removing the front grille protector that bolts to the bumper. If any wants this, its free to a good home. Otherwise its going to the recycling center to eventually become a new Hundai chassis.

I'm hoping to drop the front axle and get the king pins done, front brakes & steering all straight this autumn. The plan then is to drop in a running 292 I located and get the truck moving under its own power.

(*** Please note: this will never happen by autumn but that's the plan for now!!!)

--Jack

 

What does the grill guard look like? I don't recall seeing one.

 

Its a horrid Mad Max-like metal guard that bolts onto the top of the front bumper. I think the pict in my gallery shows it.

 

grill gaurds work great on little Jap pieces of crap that cut in front on you...lol

 

Jack, hopefully somebody who has experience in the areas of your questions will be along to answer them individually. For now, I know most or all of those questions have been answered in previous threads. You might give the search engine a try and pull up some previous material.

 

jack71-

1. Seats - don't have any first hand experience but you should be able to add foam if you want. You might stop by an auto upholstery shop and get their opinion.
2. Hood Hinges - No Limit, MidFifty, Sacremento Vintage Ford, Bob's F100 all sell the front tilt hood kits. There have been some previous discussions on this so do a search on "front tilt hood" and see if it gives you any info. RandyJack, Fatfenders56, and probably some others have fabbed their own version. Look at their galleries for info.
3.12 Volt conversion- are you asking about the bulbs before or after changing to 12 Volt? There is more to it than just changing bulbs; battery, alternator/generator, starter, wiring, etc.
4.Extra lights- it appears someone added extra turn signal lights both front and rear to your truck.

 

Seats- in my opinion "restored" original seat will not compare to late model take out for comfort. I replaced mine with a 94 C---y. Allows more room and much more comfort. My 2 cents. Joe

 

As for the tilt hood, I recommend that you not use No Limit. I hope I have the name right. The manufacturers that use the billet alum pieces seem to have all the quality in their materials and not in their design. (I believe that there are two major brands utilizing the billet) I have the other type (see my gallery) with no billet and it works great. Sorry if I'm hurting anybody's feelings. Jag

 

Thats a good idea. I was hoping to do the work myself.
Excellent -- I'll look into all of these!
Really just wondering if the 56 bulbs will fit the 54. I'm okay with the other stuff -- battery, 12v coil, guages, etc.. Thanks for checking though! I'm actually putting a new harness in the truck.
Damn, Bubba has struck my truck!!!

 

Earl -- sorry about all the repeated questions. I've not had good luck with the search function during the busy times.

 

1. yes the original seat had foam padding.
2. Opinion is that no one makes the definitive front hood hinge kit. I built my own.
3. As far as lighting, yes just change the bulbs to 12V replacements, the 6V wiring is actually heavier than 12V wiring so it's OK to use if in good shape. There is plenty of info on the rest of what is needed for the conversion, try a search.
4. Does your truck have turnsignals? if so that's what the extra bulbs are likely for, otherwise they may be separate tail and brake lites.

 

Hood hinges:

After trying on and off for two years to get my No Limit system to work I sold it (I really hated that thing) and bought a Classic Performance Products kit.

My personal opinion is the Classic kit is much easier to install and works a lot smoother.

 

I love my "No limit front tilt" I gues that puts me in the minority around here.

But what do I know!

Wayne

 

I'm just finishing some way cool bracketry for my hood, pics shpuld be up in a few days, thanks for the compliment

 

I am also pleased with the one I bought from Mid 50's, easy install, works fine.