I just spent a frustrating day with nothing going right. Have to vent a little! I was installing a Teflon-lined braided steel fuel line from my "new" 30 gal. sidesaddle tank up to the engine. I had an 8 ft. piece of line hooked up to the carb and was starting to feed it down the engine bay along the left frame rail. I even thought, "should I disconnect the battery? Why bother, the hot terminals are all on the other side of the engine".
You can probably see this coming, right? The slack in the line whipped over to the RIGHT inner fender, where the +12 terminal to the alternator is mounted, and shorted out to the horn relay case. Melted two holes in the braid and damaged the Teflon liner in that split second. Naturally the damage was EXACTLY in the middle of the 8 ft (at $5.50 a ft) length, which now is not long enough to reach the electric pump. So the project is stopped until I get a couple more fittings and a union.

So at this point I got busy on the next thing - starting to air-condition it. I was mounting the condenser in front of the radiator. Just remove the center grille and slide it in. Yeah right. Looked easy in the shop manual! 36 year old weld-nuts do NOT want to come loose (well, several came loose from the sheetmetal, not the bolt, and they are in blind corners where I can't even get a wrench, visegrips, or penetrating oil on them, and now I can't tighten them back up either! Couldn't get the upper or lower grille sections out either (same problem). Finally I gave in and pulled the radiator and mounted the condenser to its flanges instead. Forget the aux.fan, it would hit the hood lock braces anyway. But now I have several loose nuts with seized bolts. The most important ones are the upper right front pair that hold the upper grille panel to the fender, and one of the hood lock braces. Any thoughts as to how to fix this?

And while all this was going on it sounded like a World War I dogfight all afternoon (every idiot with a small plane now practices right over MY "remote area in the country" even though the Frederick Md. airport is at least 6 miles away on the other side of the city). My attorney says suing them is a waste of time, it's legal for them to do it as long as they stay above 500 feet (which is plenty loud if you live in farm country with NO other noises!)

OK I'll shut up now. Any ideas on the body nuts?

 

Oh man, STAY AWAY from me! Just kidding!! That sounds awful.
Here's some random thoughts, in no particular order.
Can you drill the heads off the bolts? Or maybe wedge a
screwdriver in between the head of the bolt and the panel?
Soak it, Soak it, Soak it! Do you have a torch? Even a small
propane jobby for plumbing would help. Just watch the paint
for heaven's sake! Use a heat shield to protect your valuables!
Good luck! Tim.

I'm gonna buy me a Mercury and
cruise it up 'n down the road!

 

I had the same problem when changing the grill on my truck. All four of the the nuts broke loose and caused me over 4 hours of knuckle busting, foul mouth swearing work. Then it dawned on me that the nuts were accessable from the under side of the fender.
I jacked up the truck, turned the wheels to the opposite side of the truck that I was working on and crawled underneath the fender with a flashlight and a pair of good vice-grips (make sure they have good sharp teeth). The nuts are all the way up in the front top corner and don't provide a lot of room to work. After securing the grips on the loose nut with the help of a an assistant pushing in on the bolt, I was able to remove the bolts from the nut with a ratchet in less than 30 minutes.
I recommend some good penetrate( I use PB Blaster)and long ratchet with a six point socket.


Krosati
Visit my homepage at ClubFTE
[link:www.clubfte.com/users/krosati/|My Homepage]

 

K that wrap around bumper rear bumper puts you out west, right?

John

jowilker
[link:www.ford-trucks.net/users/jowilker|Club FTE since 01 01] My FTE Page

[link:www.ford-trucks.net/users/jowilker/NCFTE.html|NC Truck Owners] NC Ford Truck owners group

66F100s Rule
In the cool still quiet of night you can hear chevies rusting away.

 

Uh..What??!

I guess you checked out my homepage. I couldn't figure out what you were asking at first but as my 4 year old says.. DOH!!! (Think Homer simpson)
No, I am in Texas about 100 miles north of Houston. I bought the truck from a friend here in town who purchased it from someone else here in town. I am not sure where the truck was originally titled but it was built in Kansas City.
Why do you ask? Is there another bumper available stock or were they all dealer installed like they are on the new trucks now?

Krosati
Visit my homepage at ClubFTE
[link:www.clubfte.com/users/krosati/|My Homepage]

 

K, You have been in the heat too long boy, Texas is out west from North Carolina.
I have noticed for a while now that a lot of trucks west of the Mississippi have wrap around rear bumpers.
Here is a link where you can see the rear of my truck http://photos.yahoo.com/jowilker1 "rear of my blue truck" shows a chrome bumper, that ends at the corner of the truck.


John

jowilker
[link:www.ford-trucks.net/users/jowilker|Club FTE since 01 01] My FTE Page

[link:www.ford-trucks.net/users/jowilker/NCFTE.html|NC Truck Owners] NC Ford Truck owners group

66F100s Rule
In the cool still quiet of night you can hear chevies rusting away.

 

When we talk about the West side, we generally refer to the rest of the country on the other side of the Rockies. I didn't realize you were refering to us in relation to the eastern seaboard. Again with the DOH!

Good lookin' truck your building. Did you find a supplier for that bumper? I want to replace mine with something like yours.

Krosati
Visit my homepage at ClubFTE
[link:www.clubfte.com/users/krosati/|My Homepage]