Bullnose Enthusiasts Forum › Projects

Salan's 1980 Something

Classic

List

Threaded

504 messages Options

1 ... 1920212223242526

salans7

Re: Salan's 1980 Something

Rembrant wrote

I don't think I'd worry too much about that whole area...you can't see it when the truck is all assembled anyway. Weld and then keep pulling and bending to get it all back into shape, and then weld again. Slather the seam sealer on it when you're done, and it'll be fine.

I have a set of those clamps that Gary posted above. They've come in handy a few times.

I think my worries about this area come from the belief that they initially cracked it in a few spots, but over time the weight of the front clip hanging on it just tugged on that area enough to spread the cracks around.

I may be wrong on that, so I will just focus on finding all of the cracks and making sure they are all welded up.

Clamps have been ordered, should be here Wednesday. Thanks guys!

salans7

Re: Salan's 1980 Something

This post was updated on .

Made some progress today. Got the cracked sections of the firewall/cowl cut out. Since there were so many spots that were broken, I opted to just remove the entire section and will graft the repair section back in.

But first I had to fix all of the lower sections that were also cracked/broken. One piece was broken in a zig-zag pattern right on the cab, so I just brought it to bare metal and welded it back to it's mate so that I would have something to weld to. Then, I had to make a piece for the upper part of the cowl to rest on since the other one had broken into four pieces.

That's about as far as I got before I lost daylight. I still need to make another piece for the lower section that is also broken. I will have to figure out the section right below the windshield because I'm not sure I have enough metal to weld to in that section. Worse comes to worst, I can pull the windshield since it's junk anyway. But then I'd have to cover the truck until I can get another one in, so I'd rather not if I can get away with it. We'll see.

As for my welding, it wasn't too bad, but I did fight blow through when I accidentally moved the voltage knob

. I think you can see it in the photo. I still might play with the settings because I think the welds could be better, but seam sealer is going to be my friend anyway, so as long as it holds, we're good. Penetration was fine for the most part, so it was a good test run at least.

ArdWrknTrk

Re: Salan's 1980 Something

Administrator

Good job Shaun!
You can stitch that hole up easy enough. Just tack, tack, tack your way across it.

If I were to make any further suggestion it would be to get yourself multiple 4 1/2" grinders. (even Horrid Fate ones should last if you add a little grease to the gear head)
I usually keep one with an .049 cutoff disc, one with a 36/40 grit flap wheel and one with a cup brush (for rust) or a red grinding disc for weld prep and flattening.

It is SOOO nice to have all the choices available without having to fiddle with a spanner or changing the guard.

Jim,
Lil'Red is a '87 F250 HD, 4.10's, 1356 4x4, Zf-5, 3G, PMGR, Saginaw PS, desmogged with a Holley 80508 and Performer intake.
Too much other stuff to mention.

salans7

Re: Salan's 1980 Something

Thanks Jim! It feels good to be able to tackle this because the rust on my F150 was a big reason for why I lost sight on that project. I refuse to let that happens with this one.

I have a Bauer 4-1/2" that has treated me well, but I can definitely see where multiple would help. I do have a bench grinder with a brush and stone, but obviously can't take that and use it on the truck. It is working great for prepping my small patch panels though.

Gary Lewis

Re: Salan's 1980 Something

Administrator

That does look good! Well done.

I had two 4 1/2" grinders for a while and that worked nicely. I kept a cutoff wheel on one and a flap disc on the other. Fortunately the hand-me-down didn't die until most of the big projects were done, but I'm down to one at this point and changing is a pain.

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

grumpin

Re: Salan's 1980 Something

In reply to this post by salans7

Nice job!

Keep on keeping on!

Dane
1986 F250HD SC XLT Lariat 4x4 460 C6-Sold
1992 Bronco XLT 4x4 351W E4OD
1998 GMC Sierra SLE K1500 350 4L60E
Arizona

ArdWrknTrk

Re: Salan's 1980 Something

Administrator

In reply to this post by Gary Lewis

Even the cheapie $20 angle grinder is okay for intermittent use like this.
I figure I spend well more than that on discs, flap wheels or a single knotted cup brush so I wouldn't hesitate to buy another if I didn't already have two DeWalts, a Hitachi and an old Metabo (both now HPT)

Jim,
Lil'Red is a '87 F250 HD, 4.10's, 1356 4x4, Zf-5, 3G, PMGR, Saginaw PS, desmogged with a Holley 80508 and Performer intake.
Too much other stuff to mention.

salans7

Re: Salan's 1980 Something

Thanks guys! I appreciate the encouragement.

If only daylight savings time wasn't fighting me and taking all of my daylight.

salans7

Re: Salan's 1980 Something

Got the lower "ledge" burned in. It's tough because of how thin the metal is. But I was able to close up the other burn through from last week too, so a pretty productive few hours.

Tomorrow I'll work on fitting the replacement firewall panel from the donor truck. I'll have to trim down the two "ledges" since I left them wider to help keep them from warping. Not sure if I'll get the upper firewall section on this weekend, but I should have it on by next weekend.

I also did some final welding on my dash mounts as well as the column/pedal assembly support, so the dash is ready to go back in once I fix the rust holes inside the cab and find a way to keep the rats and squirrels out of my A/C box.

Gary Lewis

Re: Salan's 1980 Something

Administrator

Looking good, Shaun. You are getting there.

As for the rats, I've heard they don't like mint or Pinesol smell. We've at times saturated cotton balls with Pinesol and it seemed to help.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

salans7

Re: Salan's 1980 Something

Gary Lewis wrote

Looking good, Shaun. You are getting there.

As for the rats, I've heard they don't like mint or Pinesol smell. We've at times saturated cotton balls with Pinesol and it seemed to help.

Thanks Gary!

I have some mint spray that I was using to keep them out until I pulled the interior apart.

But I'd like to do some sort of expanded metal at the A/C box entrances to not even allow them an entry. Something with small enough holes to keep them out, but large enough holes to not obstruct airflow. I wouldn't worry so much if I drove the truck often, but this one's going to be dormant for a couple more years and then probably sit for days at a time when I'm not driving it.

salans7

Re: Salan's 1980 Something

After searching for around two years, I finally found a set of white, rust-free doors for my truck. I originally sought out a set of 1992-1996 doors without the lower holes so I could drill my own holes for my mirrors. However, that has come with it's own challenges due to the upper mounting points for the aero mirrors being different than the swing arm type.

These specific doors are the 1995-1997 variant, so they have the extra reinforcement and are a little heavier than the older doors. I also discovered that the wiring boots in the door jam are different, as shown in the last photo from Steve83. I will have to deal with that at some point as well. Both the doors and the cab have larger holes in 1994-1997, so it is not as simple as switching out the boots.

I had maroon overspray on the door jambs from a previous respray. This truck was originally Colonial White, but the new doors (and the rest of my parts) are closer to Oxford White. I don't care for the eggshell shade of white that is Colonial White, so I brought the door jambs to match the doors and other body panels. I sanded both door jambs down to the original primer and colonial white, and then prepped for new primer, paint, and clear.

There are quite a few differences in the doors themselves, and it is important to note that 1987-1997HD doors may not fit a 1980-1986 cab. My truck is actually a 1990, so the doors fit without issue. I have decided to go with the 92-96 vent windows and door glass as they are in much better condition than the bullnose ones I had. I'm not worried about originality on this truck since nothing about it is original anymore anyway.

Gary Lewis

Re: Salan's 1980 Something

Administrator

It is amazing how many little details were changed along the way, many of which are a big deal when trying to swap parts.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

salans7

Re: Salan's 1980 Something

Gary Lewis wrote

It is amazing how many little details were changed along the way, many of which are a big deal when trying to swap parts.

I learn this the hard way just about every step I take on this truck. It's almost impossible to document them all and I surely don't remember them all.

One topic I forgot to mention is the cracking of the door skin below the door handle. 92-96 doors are susceptible to cracking due to the design of the handle "remote" and the cable used rather than a metal rod. Complete Performance sells a reinforcement kit to beef up this area and prevent the cracks from spreading, and that kit has been installed on the new doors.

salans7

Re: Salan's 1980 Something

Spent yesterday burning in patch panels to fix the spot where Florida Man cut the driver's door to get the window motor out. I will never understand why because I have removed window motors without doing any work on the door or it's internals, but Florida Man makes no sense so I'm not surprised they cut the door for such a simple task.

Luckily I have multiple rusty doors laying around. Unfortunately, my bullnose doors are slightly different than the aeronose doors, and the patch panel doesn't exactly line up with the indentations in the aeronose door. But this whole area will be covered by the door panel and map pockets, so I'm not worried about the difference on this old farm truck.

Gary Lewis

Re: Salan's 1980 Something

Administrator

Well done! The same guy cut out in that same area on Big Blue's doors to put speaker magnets there.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

salans7

Re: Salan's 1980 Something

Gary Lewis wrote

Well done! The same guy cut out in that same area on Big Blue's doors to put speaker magnets there.

I'm just glad Florida Man didn't cut into the bracing just to the right of the patched area.

salans7

Re: Salan's 1980 Something

Finished welding in my patch panels on Friday. The map pockets and door panel will cover these patches, so appearance of the welds does not matter to me.

Today I re-installed the door, and put everything back together such as the glass, the regulators, lock assemblies, etc.

The Oxford White on the doors doesn't quite match the bed or fenders, but it's close enough for this old farm truck. I intend to remove the trim molding on the doors since that style wasn't offered on 1980-1986 trucks. I will also address the mirror situation at a later date, but I have a plan to use the 92-96 style mirror reinforcement to help prevent the door metal from cracking.

Gary Lewis

Re: Salan's 1980 Something

Administrator

Looks great to me! Better than I did on Big Blue, that's for sure.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

salans7

Re: Salan's 1980 Something

Thanks Gary! I'm happy with it. Now I need to focus on finishing the firewall and then move on to the floors and back of the cab. After that it's the bed.

1 ... 1920212223242526