Old Blue - 1984 XL Flareside

From the Exterior/Beds, Tailgates, & Components page:

Reproduction:

https://www.npdlink.com/1948-1979-ford-truck/body-exterior/body-parts-accessories/bed-parts-1973-1979-styleside/front-bed-panel

NOS:

https://www.rearcounter.com/E7TZ-9900124-A-parts104112.html

1986F150Six wrote

Reproduction:

https://www.npdlink.com/1948-1979-ford-truck/body-exterior/body-parts-accessories/bed-parts-1973-1979-styleside/front-bed-panel

NOS:

https://www.rearcounter.com/E7TZ-9900124-A-parts104112.html

Six, that front panel is not the right one it is for a style side he needs a flare side panel.
I did not have the $$ for a new front panel I had a left over cross member from  a style side that I cut to fit after trimming the rusted part off the panel.



As for removing the bed to replace the wood & cross members it may work to set on the front & rear sills and try and to slide the parts in.
If you have exposed rafters in the garage you can support the bed from them with straps to make it easier to slide the parts in. You can just make out the orange straps I used when lifting the bed sides off the floor I was making.

I will be pulling the bed apart for painting and will also hang it from the straps to get all edges.

You can pull the sides off leaving the fender bolted to them to take up less room and lean them some place out of the way. Mine were stored behind the truck for a long bit.

I don't have to deal with the wood floor any more I went ribbed metal.

Dave ----

Thanks for all the feedback everyone!  You guys are awesome.

I went out and took some pictures of what I'm dealing with.  Obviously the wood needs to go.  The front bed panel is rusted out on the bottom (where water collected, I'm guessing).  

The crossmember (is this the same thing as a sill?) looks to have damage do it as well.  I've labeled the pictures below.  What assessment do you guys have of this damage?  My going in position is new front bed panel, and the crossmember needs to be replaced.

How far down the rabbit hole do you think I'll need to do on this repair?  Goal is all new wood and bed strips (and rust gone, obviously)





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Image 3:

IIRC LMC sells the sills & cross members and the front panel.

Sills are the vary front & rear cross members and the 3 or 4 between are called cross members.

When I was looking and the money wanted for the sills & cross members was more than I paid for the truck. Also not having that kind of bread I had to go a different way.

The way I under stand this all goes together is the sills & cross members sit on the trucks frame with wood blocks inside the channels of the sills & CM's to keep them from crushing when the bolts get tighten down.

Then the wood is added to the top of them and the side & front panel to the top of the wood.
It would then look like I did with the metal ribbed floor and the sides & front panel bolted to the top of the metal floor.
Then the metal strips are added to the wood joints to finish it off.

Speaking of the bed sides how is the bolt lip to the wood on yours?
Most of the time if the front panel was rotten so are the bed side lips.
I had to use flat stock that I cut off a card board pattern I made for each area that I had to fix.
Before welding them on the bed sides I drilled and then squared the holes for carriage bolts to look factory stock.

Between the bed sides and fitting the ribbed metal floor on mine I got a lot of work & time into it.
Dave ----

@fuzzface2 - Thankfully, mine *appear* to be decent.  No major damage at least.  In some areas there might be a little surface rust but nothing like the front panel/sill.

ckuske wrote

@fuzzface2 - Thankfully, mine *appear* to be decent.  No major damage at least.  In some areas there might be a little surface rust but nothing like the front panel/sill.

You are lucky.
My front sill was held together with angle alum. and the rest was in bad shape.
The rear sill had rust holes and 1 of the body bolt areas was gone.
I had no cross members, someone used 2"x2" square alum. tubing for them.
Then used 6"x1/2" boards for the wood on top of everything using self tapping screws.
I don't remember what was holding the bed to the frame of the truck? Maybe the 2 bolts thru the sills?

If your bed side bolt lips are in good shape, not rusted away, cut all the bolts off don't even try to undo them. What I can see happening is the carriage bolt turning and mess up the square holes so you cant install / use new carriage bolt as they will just spin.
Also if you don't need to remove the fenders for say painting don't. The nuts may break the studs off and they are tack welded to the sides and hear are a bear to change out. I have 1 broken 1 and this was after weeks of spraying with PB Blaster with the bed laying down so it could work in. Mine had to come off to fix rust on the bed side panels.

There are a few bolts thru the bed side into the rear sill, it will be hard to get spray up in there.
Same for the tail gate hinge bolts. Remove the front panel and the side will come off so you can get to the flooring.

When it is all apart you will see how easy it is to put back together. Heck if I can get it back together and had nothing to go by I am sure you can.
Cory has also rebuilt a bed using new bed side panels he had to finish off as they where not complete.
Dave ----

ckuske wrote

Thanks for all the feedback everyone!  You guys are awesome.

I went out and took some pictures of what I'm dealing with.  Obviously the wood needs to go.  The front bed panel is rusted out on the bottom (where water collected, I'm guessing).  

The crossmember (is this the same thing as a sill?) looks to have damage do it as well.  I've labeled the pictures below.  What assessment do you guys have of this damage?  My going in position is new front bed panel, and the crossmember needs to be replaced.

How far down the rabbit hole do you think I'll need to do on this repair?  Goal is all new wood and bed strips (and rust gone, obviously)

The head board and front and rear sills are all expensive pieces imho. I recently purchased all of them new. The crossmembers are cheap...but the sills are more complicated parts to make. The front sill is an important one because it is also where the step brackets attach to the bed.

I just got my new headboard for my '84 back from the body shop today:



If you want to know what the bottom lip is supposed to look like, see below. It attaches to the front sill all across the bottom.



You could have a sheet metal shop make a new flange and weld it into place, but it would be a fair amount of work. If you're handy with a MIG welder and a flap disk, then that would be the cheapest solution.

Here is a picture of the new headboard and front sill assembled with the step brackets before I took it all back apart again to be painted.

Rembrant wrote

ckuske wrote

Thanks for all the feedback everyone!  You guys are awesome.

I went out and took some pictures of what I'm dealing with.  Obviously the wood needs to go.  The front bed panel is rusted out on the bottom (where water collected, I'm guessing).  

The crossmember (is this the same thing as a sill?) looks to have damage do it as well.  I've labeled the pictures below.  What assessment do you guys have of this damage?  My going in position is new front bed panel, and the crossmember needs to be replaced.

How far down the rabbit hole do you think I'll need to do on this repair?  Goal is all new wood and bed strips (and rust gone, obviously)

The head board and front and rear sills are all expensive pieces imho. I recently purchased all of them new. The crossmembers are cheap...but the sills are more complicated parts to make. The front sill is an important one because it is also where the step brackets attach to the bed.

I just got my new headboard for my '84 back from the body shop today:



If you want to know what the bottom lip is supposed to look like, see below. It attaches to the front sill all across the bottom.



You could have a sheet metal shop make a new flange and weld it into place, but it would be a fair amount of work. If you're handy with a MIG welder and a flap disk, then that would be the cheapest solution.

Here is a picture of the new headboard and front sill assembled with the step brackets before I took it all back apart again to be painted.

Cory, I think you are about 2 years to late on that front panel picture of how it bolts up.
I had nothing to go by and thought it bolted to the top of the floor so that is how I made mine.
For mine I think it works good on top of the ribs, it lets dirt & water out the front where with the factory set up it is trapped.
Dave ----

Hi Guys,

So, I just ran a KOEO and KOER test after replacing my EGR/EVP.  The good news is, both tests pass now which is great.

But, I had something weird come up during the test.  I have Innova OBD-I code reader (I have EEC-IV)

During the KOER test, the Cylinder ID Code came out as '6'.  I was expecting a code of '8'.  I will re-run the test to make sure it wasn't an intermittent issue but any ideas?  I don't think the EEC has ever been replaced or anything.  

It first showed the '6', then I turned my wheel and hit the brake.  The reader then prompted a '10' which is the Dynamic Range test.  It then ran a bit and came back with a '11' which is good. (Pass code)

But, this code has me a little curious, any ideas?  Thanks!

Sorry for the late response.  But I'm not up to speed on those codes and am confused.

So, how's it driving?  And have you run the scan again?  If so, what codes did you get?

The first number after you hit test is the number of cylinders in the engine. 10 like you said is the code to start the dynamic test and 11 is all tests pass. Why it shows a 6 when you have a 8 cyl is a good question.

I did find a thread that shows that this is a common issue on 5.0 mustangs, so it must be just inherent to the 302 and EEC-IV. Basically, don't worry about it.

https://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/threads/93-mustang-gt-code-41-91-koer-cylinder-id-shows-6-and-not-8.909961/

@thescatch - Thanks for the reply.  Yep, agreed on all fronts.  Except not sure why a 6 came out instead of an 8 for the number of cylinders since I have a 302.  

I'll have to run the test again and see if it does it again at this point.

@Gary - haven't had a chance to drive it, but the idle is lower than before (200 or 300 RPM) after replacing the EGR/EVP.   The hesitation is still there, haven't had a chance to look at the linkage.  Work is getting the best of me right now...

I remember work getting the best of me.  Hope when you do get to check it out it drives well.

Well, no driving yet but I've been hard at work!  Since COVID, I've been working from home.  My wife is working from home and we are trying to get the kids through their online learning so it's been a busy house!  

My company is making us take a week off a month (unpaid) right now, so I have more freetime than I am used to.

I figured it'd try to get the interior finished, and I'm gonna paint all the plastic with SEM.

So, I've been pulling the dash (trying to at least)...

I almost have the bugger off, but I think there is one dang screw holding it in.  Pics attached.  How can I get this beast out of the dash?  It's right above the steering column, behind the area of the dash where the instruments go.  I have a stubby screwdriver, but I couldn't get a good enough angle on it to make it turn.  Help!

Current state:


The problem child:

You shouldn't need to remove that screw.

The dash is held in by two bolts on each side, two bolts for the support bars at the bottom, two screws at the top above the radio bezel, and one screw above the steering column (looks like you got this one already). After that the only thing that should be keeping the dash is the wiring harness, A/C connections, and zip ties. Sounds to me like the dash is caught on something.

I think he's trying to remove the dash from the dash frame, Shaun. Chris, they're designed to be removed as one. There are two screws on each side that you can't reach. If they're not super tight you can slide the dash off the frame once all other fasteners have been removed. If this is what you're trying to achieve and only have that one screw remaining, try one of the small ratchet screwdrivers you normally find near the counter at the parts stores.

I started with thinking I could just remove the dash off the frame.  I then decided that it'd probably be easier to take the dash off with it mounted to the frame still, so I've unbolted everything including (I think, but clearly I'm missing one) the bolts you mentioned.

The right hand side of the dash is free and clear.  The left hand side is free.  The only point of resistance is *right* above the steering column.  There is a little give there, but not much.  I could try to pull harder but I am nervous about damaging things so I'd rather take my time and do it right.

I can certainly try to drop the steering column per Shaun's suggestion, but I already removed one in that neighborhood.

Oh OK. Not sure why it's stuck there. You got the bolt from the brace to the right of the heater controls? And the two screws at the top either side of the radio/speaker. Also, the E-brake and hood release is attached to the bottom frame. It seems you've already moved it some as the frame sat on top of the steering column? If you're sure you've removed all the wires and the heater controls etc. I would give a harder tug, but if the sides are free and clear it shouldn't really stick in the center. Do you have more pictures? Of the entire dash maybe?