I'll start by saying that I'm a noob, not just to this website, but to Ford trucks and automobiles in general. I'm not a gearhead, so I'd appreciate it if you kept the name-calling towards me to a minimum if (when, really) I make mistakes.

I bought an '84 F150 4x4 recently and I'd like to do a little (I figured ~$5000-worth of) work to it.

It's a shortbox and has a 351W with a C6 and 9" rear. It has high mileage (~166kmi), but it runs great and I have very few problems with it. I think I got it for a pretty good deal off a fellow down the road from me for $1200.

It's an inland Florida truck, so it has practically no rust anywhere (there's a little surface rust on the cab corners that needs some attention). It's also pretty much stock except for the the wheels/tires, rear bumper, and driverside door (off a '92-'96).

To the exterior I'd like to start with a 4" Tuffcountry lift kit, American Racing Baja wheels, BFG All-Terrain tires (33x12.50R15), and a paint job. The stock paint is a dark blue and I think I'll stick with that color. I haven't decided whether I'm going to go with a spray-in bedliner or not. I'd also like some kind of push-bar or something for the front where I can mount a winch (I'd like to keep the stock bumper).

The interior needs ALOT of work. Between the humidity and sun down here in Tallahassee, these old interiors don't stand a chance. The foam dash pad is totally destroyed. When I bought the truck, I took it off because I was sick of looking at it. Now I can't find a replacement (I checked all the local junkyards and the internet).

I'm pretty happy with the drivetrain. In the not-too-distant future, I'd like to convert it to a flex-fuel vehicle so I can run E-85 when I want. I haven't done a whole lot of research on this. I know it'll be expensive. I'll convert to FI via Holley's Commander, and switch-out the fuel tank and lines with some that won't corrode.

I guess the only real question I have is: where is the best place to get aftermarket (or OEM) interior parts for this year body style? If anybody has any advice or comments, I'd love to hear them.

I'm going to take plenty of before-and-after pictures. That way, if anybody wants to see what I'm doing, I can just post them.

 

Good luck friend. I live in Eastern Kansas, and can recommend LMC for some stuff that you may want down the road for doing replacement/repairs to your truck. I hope to join you in a similar project.

Dave

 

Welcome to FTE!

Original dash pads are hard to find in good condition.Nobody makes a reproduction of them.However,the same dash was used from 1980-1999 in the F600,F700,and F800,so a few Ford dealers still have them in gray or black,but for quite the price,that nobody really wants to pay.

LMC and a few other places sell covers for them,but they're not a replacement for the entire dash pad.The cover is molded to the contour of the original pad,and sticks on with adhesive.

The Door Panels are reproduced by a few companies including LMC,NPD,and a couple others.You might still be able top get door panels from Ford too,however they would also be pricey.

I imagine your kick panels are in Horrible shape too.Those you'll have to restore yourself as they're not reproduced.If you have an XL or XLT,the back of cab trim pieces are not reproduced either.

Best of luck on the truck man,and if you can,be sure to post pics of it!

 

Welcome to FTE ...

I highly recommend pulling the floor mats and interior panels and give it a good clean up, those areas get neglected, dirt builds up and holds moister, thus causing rot.

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

Welcome to the club. Good luck on your truck. A couple of places for parts are:
Truck Parts and Truck Accessories for Chevy, GMC, Ford and Dodge Trucks from LMCTruck.com
NPDLink | National Parts Depot
Early Bronco Restoration Full Size Bronco Restoration Classic Ford Bronco Parts For Sale
to name a few, also try junkyards.
If you by chance find someplace that has some good dash pad replacements, I want one (color doesn't matter, I'll paint it).


To Fordzilla; do you know what that dash cover from LMC looks like? Is it a worthy replacement?

 

From what I understand,LMC and the others all get it from the same source(Coverlay Manufacturing?).Here's a link to their site.It has a pic of the cover.

80-86 Ford Truck SUV Dash Cover 12-108

I personally wouldn't put one on my truck,because the speaker hole design is in the shape of a square.But i'm picky with my trucks.It has to be original look.That and my dash pad is still in pretty good shape.I've heard of a couple people that have used them,and I haven't heard anything too negative,although I recall hearing something about the adhesive not being very strong.I also remember hearing something about a little bit of trimming that had to be done for a proper fit.I think it was to the holes for the heater ducts.

I actually want one of those carpet overlays that go over the dash for my truck.

 

That might be an even better idea. But how long before the carpet will fade?

 

That's what i'm kinda afraid of.But if you use one of those sun visors,you might be okay.Trouble is,I've tried both sizes of them,and neither one fits the way I want it to.The standard sun visor doesn't cover the outer edges of the dash,and the jumbo covers the outer edges,but it has excess,and it bunches up under the rear view mirror.

 

I guess it's time for a garage then. Lol.

If only I could afford one, or a double, or a triple.

 

One of those pole barn things might do the trick,i'm thinking about getting one for my truck.But not at the price they list.My neighbor has the kind with a tarp over her van,and every time it gets windy it breaks the straps and flips over.She said next time it happend she's ditching it.If it does,i'm gonna see if I can get it,and stick the posts in buckets of concrete to keep it from blowing over.


I might also build a carport like thing over the truck.That would work too.

 

Thanks, everybody, for all the replies. I hope you keep them coming.

With regards to the interior, I pretty much plan on doing what girlwithatruck did last year -- gut it, clean everything, refinish what I can and, what I can't, I'll replace. I think I can save everything except for the door panels (I only have the passenger's side, as the driver's is a '92-'96 door), the dash pad, and the floor padding/matting.

I'm not too worried about the door panels and the matting, they should be pretty easy to come-by. I also got lucky and called a local junkyard today and they happen to have a dash pad for $60, but it happens to be in gray (my interior's blue). Does anyone know if I can use a dye to get the color closer to blue?

Before I found this pad, I called Bondy's Ford in Alabama and they wanted $420 for the pad that would fit in the F600, F700, F800 as Fordzilla80 mentioned above.

In spite of all the crap I'm going to have to go through with the interior, I have a really good place to work on it. A friend of my dad's (his name's Ryan) got a really well-equipped garage with a full-size floor lift (not sure of the weight capacity, but it has easily lifted my truck). He's even got a dual-action sander and spray gun so I should be able to paint the truck myself (I have a little bit of experience doing this -- my first car was a wrecked Dodge Neon that I fixed/painted myself with not a little bit of help from my dad). If I do paint it myself, I think it'll be best to wait for winter when some dry air comes to town. Then, I don't know, I guess I could set-up a plastic booth in Ryan's garage with a bunch of heaters blowing. I'll have to see what he says.

Since Ryan also has a backhoe, I might be able to get him to help me lift the bed, cab, motor, etc., so I can paint the frame, axles, etc.

In the end, I should have all the tools I need to do most of the work myself. The only thing I (or Ryan) doesn't have is a spring compressor for the lift kit. I think I can borrow one from Advance Auto, though.

I'd like to post some "before" pictures, but I'm not sure what's the best way to do it. Could I just post a couple here, or should I post them elsewhere and give a link here? I'd make sure they were pretty small (small amount of digital info). Should I wait until I'm finished and post them all at once?

 

Do a search for SEM products.Alot of members here have used it and seem to have no complaints.

Most of us here like to see pics no matter what stage the truck is in.Most usually post pics as they go along in the project.

 

Thanks, Fordzilla80, for the heads-up on the SEM paint. I found a site online that sells a can of "SEM Vinyl And Plastic Color Coat" in the color I want for $10. That should do the trick. And thanks for the welcome. I joined a while back, but I should be a more regular member now that I'm going to start "The Project." I'll try and post a couple pics soon.

 

Sweet,can't wait to see the pics.Best of luck on the project!

 

Sorry, I just saw this and had to say something.

If you do get one, make sure its **** and if they don't offer it in pink, spray paint it. I even saw some really cool lowriders in town that used the same carpet in place of the headliner. Now there's an idea.

Just kidding. I don't mean to burn you guys, I just don't really like the whole dash-carpet thing. The OEM dash pad's good enough for me. But to each his/her own, right?

I should be able to post pics tomorrow sometime. When I do, I'm hoping some of you more learned guys (fordzilla80?) will let me know what's going on with the front-left. There's some crazy positive camber so that the tire wears really fast on the inside. Does it just need an alignment? I've heard aligning these trucks is pretty involved. That true?