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My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

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Rembrant

Re: My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

Ooops...I see the forum does not like vertical pics...

1994 F150 4x2 Flareside. 5.0 w/MAF, 4R70W, stock.
1984 F150 4X2 Flareside. Mild 302 w/ 5spd. Sold.
1980 F150 4X4 Flareside. 300i6 w/ 5spd. Sold in 2021.
1980 F100 4X2 Flareside. 351w/2bbl w/NP435. Sold in 1995

Gary Lewis

Re: My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

Administrator

I guess you fixed it as it looks fine to me.

Anyway, my Terrapin brace fit pretty well, but that one obviously didn't. However, your approach appears to have fixed it well.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Dad's: '81 F150 Ranger XLT 4x4: Down for restomod: Full-roller "stroked 351M" w/Trick Flow heads & intake, EEC-V SEFI/E4OD/3.50 gears w/Kevlar clutches
Blue: 2015 F150 Platinum 4x4 SuperCrew wearing Blue Jeans & sporting a 3.5L EB & Max Tow
Big Blue: 1985 F250HD 4x4: 460/ZF5/3.55's, D60 w/Ox locker & 10.25 Sterling/Trutrac, Blue Top & Borgeson, & EEC-V MAF/SEFI

Rembrant

Re: My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

Got the 'modified' Terrapin brace installed and it fits very nicely. All bolted and torqued in place. I think the clutch master will be very well mounted now.

I took the whole pedal assembly out...I can't even remember why now, but part of my intention was to check/clean/lubricate all of the plastic pivot bushings. Surprisingly everything looked great...bushings were all tight, grease still visible, and they moved smoothly. I sanded and painted the rusty pedals, and re-installed:

Now, like we said in another thread on here...scratch one thing off the list and then add two more items TO the list...lol. Removing the cowl panel I found this old seal to be powdery dry...and crumbling into pieces. Guess I have to go hunting for a replacement for that...

Contacted the engine shop today and they still don't have my new pistons that were supposed to be there a week ago. Bugger. I want my engine back, but I guess it is not the end of the world as I still have a few other little projects to take care of.

Gary Lewis

Re: My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

Administrator

You are doing well! Things are going to be in very good shape when you get it back together.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Rembrant

Re: My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

I finally got this disassembled Flareside bed home yesterday. It went a long way to pick this thing up, and the condition is not as good as I thought it was, but that's OK, I can work with it. The seller was up in Northeastern Quebec, so he did not speak but a few words of English. I can deal with maps and menus in French, but that's about it...lol.

Somebody rebuild this bed before, and brazed the new pieces in. I didn't think anybody did that in decades, but it's there. Problem #2 is that the sides have dozens of holes in them...drilled holes...that I did not see in the pictures. I'll have to fill them in, which is not a big deal, but it is extra work.

Everything is there except the 3 middle crossmembers which I assume were too rusty to salvage. Fiberglass fenders are in really good condition, with most damage to them occurring during the drive home strapped on my trailer.

FuzzFace2

Re: My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

I think the 3 middle cross members are the cheaper ones, it is the front & rear sills that hurt the money pocket.

My bed also had drill holes in it. Copper spoon and MIG welder made short order of them.
Finish off with a flap wheel and you could never tell there was a hole there.

I take it the fenders have the metal lip at the front & rear the fender to bed bolts go thru as I think it was you that asked about them.

Did you get the step braces and the fender wheel opening to bed braces?
Dave ----

Dave G.
81 F100 flare side 300 six / AA OD / NP435 / 2.75 gear
http://cars.grantskingdom1.com/index.php/1980-Ford-F100?page=1
81 F100 style side 300 six/SROD parts truck -RIP
http://cars.grantskingdom1.com/index.php/1981-Ford-F100

Rembrant

Re: My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

Yes the fenders are in good condition and the metal lip is intact on both. (I also picked up another spare set of fenders for free, and they too have the metal lips intact).

This box came with both left and right steps and the brackets they attach too. Everything needs a little work, but I'm OK with that. Everything is there except the three middle cross members, and the gas door. Not sure what happened to that, but I loaded the stuff quickly, and in the rain, so I may have overlooked it.

The 16ga sheet metal should be nice to weld. I may pick up some scraps this week to practice my butt welds and angle welds on;).

And yes, I need to order a copper spoon. I happen to come across them today while searching for other stuff.

FuzzFace2

Re: My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

I think I got my spoon thru Eastwood but thinking a local welding store may have them also.

The other thing if you don't have them is pick up a few of them angle magnets (sorry no picture) to hold the metal in place to tack weld.
I also have a bunch of different types of welding clamps and long span pipe type clamps.
You can just see 2 long reach vice grip C clamps on the left and 1 of the pipe clamps (shorter 1 I have)

Dave ----

Rembrant

Re: My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

Dave,

How does the fuel door mechanism attach to the fender anyway?

I've got a couple clamps here and there, but I'm going to need a few more for this job. I'm going to lay the sides flat on a steel table at work and bolt it down using the fender studs. That will keep it all nice and flat while I'm welding the new lip on the bottom and patching holes. I went over the bedsides again today and unfortunately they need more work than I had planned on doing, but it's OK and will be good exercise for my welding skills.

I think I'll order one of those copper spoon kits and/or the little 2"x4" copper plate with the magnets in it.

I'll get some of the small angle magnets as well, but most of my repairs are going to be butt welds, so I may not even need them much.

I've got a big roll of the .023 wire in my welder now, so that will last me for ages. Maybe a little light for 16ga steel, but I'll try some sample pieces first to see how well it penetrates.

FuzzFace2

Re: My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

Here is the door the plastic box and filler pipe. I know the door & box are from a style side I don't remember about the filler but pretty sure it is also from a style side.

You can just make out the 4 screws in the box.
The box is on the inside of the fender or the inside of outside body panel of a style side.
2 of the 4 screws, other side from the door hinge, hold the box to the body, fender or body panel.
You then snake the door hinge in to the box from the outside and the other 2 screws go into the door hinge pulling the box up to the body panel or fender.
The filler pipe comes in to the box from the bottom and 3 screws & a ring hold the pipe to the box.

As I posted the style side & flare side assy. are different and I will make a post soon of how.
Dave ----

FuzzFace2

Re: My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

Check this out
http://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/Flare-side-amp-Style-side-fuel-filler-door-assy-td10571.html
Dave ----

Rembrant

Re: My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

In reply to this post by Rembrant

Got my M5R2 all fixed up this morning. New front and rear seals, new top cover seal, replaced the top cover rubber plugs with steel plugs (and silicone), and new shifter ball socket bushing kit. It's still a used transmission, but it should be leak free, and have a tight shift stick.

There is a little bit of play in the input shaft. Is that normal? It's not what I'd consider bad or anything...just a little wiggle in it. Transmission has about 100k miles on it.

Also got my steering column reassembled and installed.
Installed a new light switch, and put the dash back together.
Re-sealed and re-installed the cowl panel.
Picked up new M10 bolts for the bench seat to floor brackets.

My new 0.030 over pistons are supposed to be arriving tomorrow, so I'm hoping the guys have my engine assembly schedule for this week. Fingers crossed.

Gary Lewis

Re: My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

Administrator

That tranny looks great! And a little slop in the input shaft is normal.

Hope they get the engine together quickly and you get to finish the truck.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Rembrant

Re: My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

In reply to this post by Gary Lewis

Gary Lewis wrote

Are you going to pull the grille, radiator, and core support to pull the engine? I find that doing so allows you to bring the engine forward without having to go so high with it. But, it makes for more work, and you may find you have rust problems where the core support bolts to the frame. So, .....

I did have rust problems here. The core support brackets on the frame were bad, so I have new ones on the bench ready to install as soon as I get ambition enough to drill the rivets out of the originals.

Something else I've been meaning to ask: I don't have much room to work under the truck, and I wondering if, when the time comes to install the engine and trans (hopefully next week) can I put them together first and then install them in the truck together in one shot?

Any issues with doing it this way?
Any issues with the added weight of the trans hanging on the engine?
I'll be lifting the engine by the heads (chain across left front to right rear is what I did to remove it).

I have a low-pro transmission jack that I can use to catch the trans once I get it in there far enough.

Gary Lewis

Re: My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

Administrator

On getting the rivets out, I found that just chiseling the head off was no where near enough as I couldn't then drive them out. But, with the head off just drilling a small hole into the rivet the depth or more of the frame and mount relieves pressure and the rivet will drive out.

As for installing the engine and tranny in one go, maybe you can do it with a 302 as the pan is that much higher and smaller. And your tranny is smaller. So, w/o the radiator support it should work. And chains to the head will work, but you'll need to have the assembly at something like a 45 degree angle initially to get the tranny under the cab. Then, if you can catch the rear of the tranny with the tranny jack you can lower the engine and slide it all back.

Sounds like it'll work. Good luck!

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Rembrant

Re: My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

I picked up all new battery and starter cables today. I took all the old ones to a auto/electric shop 2 doors down from where I work, and they had them all done within a couple hours. Nicely done too, with heat shrink over the crimped ends, etc.

Next I stopped by the auto parts close to work and priced all new power steering stuff. My lines were bad, and while my pump did work fine, the shaft had way too much axial play for my liking. They asked if my truck had a power steering cooler or not?

I think whatever my truck did have when it was new had been removed. There was just a short piece of pipe on mine.

So, when were PS cooler lines installed on these trucks? Since mine is a plain Jane option-less F150, is it safe to assume that it never did have a PS cooler/line on it?

Gary Lewis

Re: My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

Administrator

Power steering coolers are shown here: http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/power-steering-illustrations.html. Scroll down until you see the tubes on the front crossmember. That's the cooler. And a plane Jane probably didn't have one.

And, good move on the new battery cables.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Rembrant

Re: My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

Gary Lewis wrote

Power steering coolers are shown here: http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/power-steering-illustrations.html. Scroll down until you see the tubes on the front crossmember. That's the cooler. And a plane Jane probably didn't have one.

Yeah, I was looking at those earlier. My truck didn't even have enough of a line to be considered what Ford called the NON-cooler line. I expect that the line rusted out at some point, and somebody just chopped off the bad part, bent the remainder of the tube, and re-attached it to the hose. I just took a look at the front crossmember, and there are no holes for the bolts/clips that would have held the cooler line on, so it must have been without. I'll order up the non-cooler line if that is all that was there originally.

Rembrant

Re: My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

I was cleaning up parts and junk last night and came across the two little chrome trim pieces that go at the top of the door windows. Were these things accessories added after the fact or were they factory Ford pieces installed on the assembly line? How do they attach? Mine just came with the truck loose in a box.

Gary Lewis

Re: My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

Administrator

These things? This is from Page 9 of the 1981 Accessories Catalog.

What is interesting is that the accessories catalog plainly says they are for the F-series, amoung others, but there's no listing for them! Apparently by 1994 when my catalog was "printed" they'd run out of them and removed them from the catalog.

But, judging from the van's part number being the same as that of the previous era's (D9UZ-A), I'll bet the pickup and Bronco's part number is D9TZ 18246-A.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

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