My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

ArdWrknTrk wrote

It may not be everyone's cup of tea, and is definitely rough around the edges.
I still like what he's got going on, and know I can learn more than a few tricks from him.

I like it when they get straight to the point, and keep it on point. Some of the people doing homegrown videos like to pontificate for the first half of each of their videos, and that turns me off instantly. If you're doing something technical, just go ahead and do it...lol.

Rembrant wrote

salans7 wrote

Love the interior Cory! You're making the base trim look oh so good!

Shaun, there is a upside to having a single color base model truck: They're easier and cheaper to restore/refinish! Chris and I were talking about it not too long ago. Finding all of the Lariat/XLT trim and interior pieces is a real chore around here. A truck with no headliner has it's benefits.

Both of my trucks now have started out as base models, although my new cab was a higher trim truck because it had the Lariat seat, woodgrain dash bezels, and full moldings with a headliner, and map pockets. But I've converted both of my trucks to higher trims, because as you say, there's an extra level of parts searching you have to do for higher trim trucks, and I've always liked the research and the chase of those parts. The nice thing about the higher end trucks of yesteryear is that they are nothing like the high end trucks of today, so they aren't too hard or expensive to replicate, if you can find the parts locally. I've been lucky that most of my parts came from local junkyards, but those wells are drying up big time here, and higher trim trucks weren't all the rage here in the 80's anyway.

So you're not completely satisfied/happy with the steering wheel? If not, keep me in mind, I'll gladly take it off your hands! It's not that I don't like the look of the skinny wheel, the 'feel' is just wrong for me. And the 'look' of that thicker wheel does not appear out of place to me. Maybe it's different in person, but in your picture it looks fine.

Sac79 wrote

So you're not completely satisfied/happy with the steering wheel?

Oh I'm happy with the steering wheel! I meant that I don't always like the look of the aftermarket steering wheels. I find sometimes they fit and look OK, and other times they do not and look out of place. The factory padded wheel is perfect though, and I'm happy with it.

Enjoy it!

Looking good!  Were you able to install those speakers without any modifications to the existing speaker hole or mounting screw holes?

66gtk wrote

Looking good!  Were you able to install those speakers without any modifications to the existing speaker hole or mounting screw holes?

Yes the speakers fit the hole in door just fine, but I did have to drill new screw holes.

I added a set of baffles as well, and just trimmed the excess from the flange once the speakers were installed.

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-CrCReliVFnX/p_237XT65/XTC-6-1-2-Speaker-Baffles-3-1-4-depth.html

I installed these speakers below.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_1131666S/Kenwood-KFC-1666S.html

I'm looking for speakers, but don't like the idea of screwing any more holes into my very original truck.  I know it's just a personal road block for me, but still....  

How do you like those speakers?  Is that brighter woofer cone visible through the door panel grill?  I wonder if a piece of grill cloth or something could be put over the door panel from the inside - does there seem to be plenty of clearance between the woofer and the door panel or is it really tight?  Will the speaker grills fit AND the door panel?  Sorry for all the questions

Troy

Absolutely wonderful job, Cory! You should be quite proud of the outcome!

66gtk wrote

I'm looking for speakers, but don't like the idea of screwing any more holes into my very original truck.  I know it's just a personal road block for me, but still....  

How do you like those speakers?  Is that brighter woofer cone visible through the door panel grill?  I wonder if a piece of grill cloth or something could be put over the door panel from the inside - does there seem to be plenty of clearance between the woofer and the door panel or is it really tight?  Will the speaker grills fit AND the door panel?  Sorry for all the questions

Troy

I'm  not Cory but what I found on my truck.
First do you know what ohm speakers your radio needs?
Cory's are 4 omh's but think the factory radios use 8 ohm speakers but check your radio first.

I don't remember the size of the speakers I installed but think 5.25".
They do fit behind the door panel and you DONT use the covers that come with the speakers.
Also know where the speaker fits in the door is recessed to give room between speakers & door panel.
I have not tried to look thru the door grille to see if I see the speaker but I cant see where you would see it.
My .02
Dave ----

66gtk wrote

How do you like those speakers?  Is that brighter woofer cone visible through the door panel grill?  I wonder if a piece of grill cloth or something could be put over the door panel from the inside - does there seem to be plenty of clearance between the woofer and the door panel or is it really tight?  Will the speaker grills fit AND the door panel?  Sorry for all the questions

Troy

I quite like the speakers. They sound fine for what I'm doing. I mostly listen to Podcasts via my iPhone/Bluetooth rather than music.

The brighter woofer cone is somewhat visible yes. I hadn't considered this previously and probably would have ordered a set of darker colored speakers had I thought of it. I'm sure you could put some cloth of some kind in there to hide them if need be.

I did not use the speaker grills, no.

There does seem to be lots of clearance between the speaker and the door panel, but because the speaker itself fits into a recessed area in the door, I don't think the grills would work anyway.

Thank you.  This is helpful.

Like Cory I have 6.5's in mine with the BoomMats. Previous owner had installed the same size so he took care of drilling the screw holes for me. Definitely recommend the baffles.

My door panels (xlt lariat) already have a piece of fabric behind the slots that hide the speaker. So if yours don't, you could easily add them.

1986F150Six wrote

Absolutely wonderful job, Cory! You should be quite proud of the outcome!

Thanks David! I'm pretty happy with the old truck these days. It gets lots of waves, thumbs up, and "hey buddy, what year is that?" when I'm out and about with it. It's really starting to feel finished, but I'm not quite there yet. I still have a list of things that need to be done to it. Part of it is procrastination, but I think it's also a means of having some tasks in the bank as it were for the rainy days.



I'm on a bit of a mission currently to get the interior finished up. It's actually not bad where it is now, but seeing how well that *correct Dark Harbor Blue interior paint matches on 66gtk's truck has given me a second wind of enthusiasm to get back at it. Making some calls about that today. Stay tuned.



Anyway, things are winding down with the old truck, and that's cool. Too bad all of the car nights and car shows have been cancelled for this season.

I'm still having some issues with some vibration on the road, and it feels like flat spots on the tires, but still working on diagnosing it. Truck is going back in for an alignment next week and another deep dive on the tire balancer. Stay tuned for the results of that one. I am just about ready to buy new tires for it.

truck looks great!

Thanks Snakebite!

Rembrant wrote

The best dash-lighting i have ever seen!

Dash lighting looks good, but I'm more interested in the 90MPH at under 2000RPM?!

Sac79 wrote

Dash lighting looks good, but I'm more interested in the 90MPH at under 2000RPM?!

Oh...I'm in Canada, so my speedometer is in Kilometers. That's 90 km/h, or about 55MPH?

With the 5spd and 3.08 rear diff, my truck is geared pretty tall. On the highway at 70MPH, I'm still only running at 2000 RPM.

 Of course, makes total sense now. Still, 70 at 2000 is great too.