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Was able to finally get the vent window frames painted to an acceptable finish (first two coats had runs and inconsistent spray patterns). Used 600 grit between coats to level them out and final coat. Will get the vent windows reassembled tomorrow and start sandblasting the rims.
On another note, I have finally settled on tires and will pick them up this weekend. As much as I wanted the 36" superlugs, I went with the 33" skinny-ish Falken Wildpeak A/T4W in LT255/85/R16. These were almost half the price (with a friends discount) and I figured if I change my mind, these will go on my 83' bronco I'm restoring.
Lastly, I was able to score an original in-bed spare tire carrier for $100 (heard these are pretty rare and hard to find?). It needs some fixing and I will sandblast, fix as best as I can and then have painted. Still can't decide if the rims will be painted boxwood green or to go with black gloss powder coat.
Those tires will look good on there. I just put 33x10.5 KO2 on my bronco and really like them. Those ones you have look super similar. Good find on the spare tire bracket. I need one of those also.
Got the vent windows assembled. Rivets were a pain, but went together OK. Now that I know how to do it, I could probably do it in a 1/4 of the time. Also got the spare tire mount sandblasted and fixed a couple dents in it. Just need to weld a small crack and then get it over to painter. Also picked up tires and I'm glad I went the direction I did. They will still be tall and relatively skinny.
Hoping to get everything picked up from painter by the end of the month and start reassembly, new wiring harness, under bed fuel tank and engine install so it can be tested on my buddy's dyno this summer before it comes back over to me for final assembly, speakers, sound deadening and interior.
Looking for opinions on power steering setups. I do not want to notch the frame at all and would prefer a bolt in option. The only options that I am aware of are the ones below:
I went with the steerman cycle EPS because I didn’t want to notch my core support. Otherwise I was going to go with benchworks.
I bought a new manual steering box from redhead and then did the steerman cycle kit. I like it and the owner is great and in fact hand delivered it to me and let me see the setup he had on his personal truck.
I liked the idea of the electric kit because if it goes out you are still good to go because of the manual box and you don’t have the increased pressure and required strength to turn the wheels since the hydraulic one isn’t moving.
Its hard to tell based on the angle of the picture, and you may have covered it already, but that brake line looks a bit short. still plenty of slack when at full lock in both directions?
Ordered the back glass sliding window, new headliner (which I will have covered once carpet and seats are in to get a feel for the look I want) and some other parts from LMC yesterday while they were doing 10% off and free shipping. Also went ahead and ordered their bucket seats, console and bracket. https://www.lmctruck.com/interior/se...buddy-consoles
I was originally toying with the idea of doing the interior kit from Fat Fender Garage, but they just reduced all the custom options and raised prices. Figured that if I don't like the seats from LMC I can end up selling later on and I'll have a shop do a custom seat in the future, or if I hit the loto, spring for the $10K kit from FFG. Now I need to get carpet ordered and figure out how I'm going to get speakers in this thing. I have been looking for kick panels with speakers, but not thrilled with the options I have seen. Also planning on putting a subwoofer and two speakers behind the seat now that the gas tank will be under the bed. If anyone has any recommendations let me know. I already have the AMD sound deadener that I ordered a while back. https://www.autometaldirect.com/sile...uFkdArLMVEZA9S
Also need to figure out which gas tank to go with that will fit between the frame rails, power steering setup and eventual A/C system. Fair to say that this project has blown through my original budget!
Rims should be back from powdercoater next week and will get the tires mounted and over to the shop so they can get the frame and axle work rolling along. Working on more small stuff at the moment. Soaked some of the small west coast mirror parts in evaporust this week and they cleaned some of the surface rust off the stainless hardware, but still can't rub some of it off. Any suggestions? Anyone know why 1 of the 4 mounting brackets has an additional hole? Can't seem to remember why one of them would have been dirfferent?
Also, got the first couple layers of paint on the steering wheel and will finish this weekend. Think im going to have to sand and have the horn ring re-coated since it has started to look like its delaminated...Toying with the idea of having it painted boxwood green, but might look to matchy-matchy...
Any tips for getting the rest of the rust off? Why does 1 have an extra hole? Horn ring needs some attention and a new center button.
SS brackets. If it had a carbon steel star washer it's embedded into the SS. The surface rust can be removed with a little elbow grease and a scotch bright pad. May try using some Naval Jelly, it's stronger than the evaporrust. Now when you assembled it it may be covered up and not show.
You can also try media blasting it with baking soda. I use to do this when I worked to clean rust off of corrosion samples. We used a gravity feed air brush. It's fine enough to get in the small tight areas. The other stuff I used you don't have access to and is real nasty hazardous to use.
Last edited by blue68f100; May 2, 2026 at 06:38 AM.
Reason: add content.
And of course because I have a problem turning down a good deal...I am picking up this 1973 f250 tomorrow. Getting it for $2500 with the truck cap and hubcaps seems like a no brainer and I can use it to just haul stuff around. Will sandblast the 4 good hubcaps and paint these for the highboy. May have to find another 2 with open ends for the lockouts.
Looking for opinions on power steering setups. I do not want to notch the frame at all and would prefer a bolt in option. The only options that I am aware of are the ones below:
I was thinking the electric route, but just want to see if anyone has done the battle born setup and had any major issues. I need to get this ordered ASAP so it can be welded before the frame goes to powder coating. Thanks!
SS brackets. If it had a carbon steel star washer it's embedded into the SS. The surface rust can be removed with a little elbow grease and a scotch bright pad. May try using some Naval Jelly, it's stronger than the evaporrust. Now when you assembled it it may be covered up and not show.
You can also try media blasting it with baking soda. I use to do this when I worked to clean rust off of corrosion samples. We used a gravity feed air brush. It's fine enough to get in the small tight areas. The other stuff I used you don't have access to and is real nasty hazardous to use.
Got some navel jelly and I think I will try and apply it with a Q tip and wipe off after 15 minutes. Says it can damage stainless otherwise. Thanks
