ckuske

Most of the Beach Boys were way more into cars than surfing, Mike Love especially. The only real surfer in the group was Dennis Wilson.

Not trying to argue at all, but my truck (well, my Dad's) wasn't two-tone off the lot. It had the Type 6 stripe kit on it. The "FORD" on the back was light blue, but only a single color (Dark Blue, Code 3L) on the rest of the truck (plus the stripe). But as you say, it wasn't a base model either. That's probably the difference. That's my plan to get it painted back to later this year (fingers crossed) I think there were lots of variations. I agree that the stripe would have made sense on the two-tone trucks to have a nice transition between the two colors.

No, I've not seen that, Chris. The master parts catalog is FPS-8472-A for the text section, and -B for the illustrations. But I've not heard of -TS. And I've searched for it in the MPC and cannot find it. Where did you hear about it? No worries, Gary. In the header for each tape stripe code, it says "Refer To Tape Stripe Color Chart Form FPS-8472-TS" (right under the illustrations)

Gary, while we are on this subject, have we ever run across this document number? FPS-8472-TS That document is supposed to more accurately identify the colors listed in the Tape Stripes page

The flaresides usually had a tape stripe, and at least on my truck, the outside color of the tape stripe would be the color of the FORD letters on the tailgate. For instance, my truck is Midnight Blue Metallic as the base color. The tape strips should be "Med Blue" (I think) on the outside of the stripe, with the center of the stripe being Dark Blue. Take a look in the documentation on the site (https://www.garysgaragemahal.com/exterior-paint-codes.html) to perhaps figure out your original color, and from there you can look at the stripe color combos (https://www.garysgaragemahal.com/tape-and-decal-application.html)

Let me know if you see any vendor markings or part numbers on the bumper, I'd be interested in finding a suitable step bumper for my flareside as well.

Thanks for handling this while I was on vacation, Gary. (Well, you're in charge anyways of course, but you know what I mean haha) No more time off for me for awhile, but I'm ready to help get stuff done. Regarding the old permalinks/URLs - if we can't support it out of the box with the InVision folks replacing Nabble URLs automagically within the thread I think we can probably figure out how to map them as long as there is some pattern/coherency to the URLs. It would be good to ask for that from the InVision folks if possible, Gary. It may be possible, it may not be really.

Regarding the pinstripe - have you seen this kit from Phoenix Graphix? Even though it sounds goofy, I'd prefer to keep the vinyl over a paint pinstripe.

Thanks Jeff! I'll check it out. I have to look into replacing the felt/track of my sliding rear window. The outer window gasket is pretty easy to find, but I need to rehab all the surface that the panes slide on as well if that makes sense.

I fully agree. Matter of time. Stripping doesn’t take so much time. But in my case, considering family and job, it took me several weeks to reinstall everything. So, matter of time… and patience. And at the end, it’s also matter of pride. Nope it doesn't, and if you don't want to strip it yourself you can pay a mobile blasting company and come out still ahead. I won't be using the paint shop local cause they are getting insane on pricing and the quality has gone down over the last 5 years to the point we weren't recommending them at the shop I used to work at. For me I plan on doing everything in steps so it allows me to schedule time that I know I will need for each stage. I hadn't thought about having it blasted at home! That is tempting, as I'd feel a lot better about having a fresh surface to get painted. A few questions about that: I'd probably only take the bed off (to get the back of the cab), and the maybe the front fenders. Good enough? I haven't taken the doors off before and don't necessarily want to try to be honest. After blasting, how much do I need to work about flash rust? Should I try to primer myself and deliver it to the painter like that? Or get it to them the next day sort of thing if I don't primer it? I have a flareside - is the blasting safe for the fiberglass bed flares?

Thanks for the feedback so far everyone. Yes, it was completely unexpected in the best possible way. I think I will probably try to supply the bed wood kit (Mar-K is the "gold standard", right?) and weather stripping and see if they are willing to install when they reassemble the truck. Any recommendations on a weatherstripping vendor? It seems none are perfect, but any hints would be appreciated.

Hi All, I imagine this thread will have some back and forth, but here is the basic story. The current color on my truck (Medium Blue?) is not the original. The original color is Midnight Blue Metallic (Code 3L, I think), with a light blue/dark blue stripe running down the fenders and bed flares. Mechanically, the truck is "almost there" (a few things, but nothing critical) It turns out my wife and kids have been squirreling money away for a couple years (because I'd tell them "no way" if I knew what they were doing) for me to get my truck painted and have it "finished" (again, is it ever really finished?). My wife finally couldn't take it more the other day and told me because she couldn't stand not telling me that she/they have saved up roughly 10K. I still honestly haven't made up my mind over pulling the trigger, as that is a good chunk of change and there is always somewhere else to put the money. The Dad in me is having a hard time with this part - but that's my own internal issue haha. That amount lines up with a quote I got about a year ago to have the truck painted (not strip to bare metal, but do some body work, and "paint over"). The shop would remove all the major pieces of the truck, address any dents/dings, and prep the current surface for a new layer of paint (sanding etc) and paint the items individually, and then reassemble and set the gaps on the panels. So, this is better than a Maaco or Earl Scheib sort of job. I would love to get it done the "right way" but I've had 20K/25K bids for that. That's just too much for me to justify. I think the 10K job will look good. I'm not hoping for a "Concours" paint job, and I don't want it to never be driven. I want a nice looking paint job for a weekend cruiser, and the paint guy I've worked with said that should be doable. Ok, all that said, I have a couple outstanding items. In what order should I do these things? Before or after the paint job? 1. Door weather stripping/rubber replacement 2. Rear window rehab (windows don't slide well, the rubber in the tracks needs to be replaced) 3. Replace wood/strips in bed (this is a flareside) I think #1 and #2 are "before"s. #3, I could see it either way. Is there anything else that should typically be done before paint as far as the exterior goes?

I’ll do that, thanks for the suggestion.

Are the females loose? If the pins are corroded try some De-Oxit D5 and work it on and off a few times then flush it out with the same tuner cleaner. Did you ever consider just running a ty-wrap around the connector, through the wires on each side? Thats what I have to do with my blower motor, because I've changed the pigtail twice and it keeps cracking the bail/latch off. Yep, the pins seem to be stable when you check for loose wires, etc. Now that you mention it, connector just doesn’t seem to accept much of the connection. There isn’t much depth in the pins before it seems to bottom out and not go together anymore, which is what the connector come apart easily. I guess I need to check the pins again, and make sure there isn’t some junk at the bottom of each connector shell. Good suggestion on the toes, that was going to be my backup plan. And yep, I’ll be giving all the pins a bath in contact cleaner!

I don't think the pins are bad necessarily, they're just sort of ugly. When I remove the pins from the current connector, I'll look at them and replace them as needed. If you send the connector with three or four inches of wire, that will allow for extra layers of the onion to be addressed if they present themselves. I think the main issue is I just need those retaining clips to keep everything mated and happy. Thank you!!!

2024 commentary aside, I see male pins in the side of the connector that is broken (in other words, the side of the connector that the switch pigtail plugs INTO). Even though the pins are male inside the connector, since they are recessed and "receive" the switch, that makes it female? Boy, these couple sentences have all sorts of unintended connotations. Short answer, yes, that's the one.

While working on my Speed Control, I noticed that the male (?) connector at C305A is not looking great. The retaining clips are broken off, and some of the male pins look damaged and slightly tarnished/corroded. While test driving my Speed Control the other day, I had to pull over because I signaled at a stop light and there was no "click" from the flasher, and the light didn't come on on the instrument cluster. I pulled over and pressed the connector together, and all was well. Right now, it is only working because of the friction in the connector holding it together, which is not good. All that being said, I can't find the part number for this connector. The female side of the connector is good because i put a new switch in last year. But I want to replace the male side of the connector, and I cannot find hide nor hair of it on the internet at all. I can't find the part number - maybe Gary will embarrass me and point me to it in the MPC , but I don't see it. Thanks!

It might be good to make sure you don't have any codes in the computer as well that could cause emissions problems. Make sure the engine and the cats are good and hot before it is tested, also.

Thanks to both of you! This definitely helps.

Yes, agreed on the measuring. I'd have to do some trial and error to get it right without a reference part, to be sure. If you wouldn't mind posting a picture of what you came up with, I would appreciate it.

I've started looking on Google. Not any hits yet, but I'll keep trying! Maybe it'll be another part I end up getting 3D printed for myself and others?

Hi Gary, Thanks for the part numbers. I did check the line - it didn't hold vacuum but of course after thinking about it and pulling the valve, the valve is supposed to hold vacuum when the button is pressed IN (which it seems to do). For some reason in my mind with the brake pedal I had the button being pressed in to release the vacuum, and not the other way around. I think the valve I have is ok (it holds vacuum when the button is depressed). Since I don't have the brake pedal adapter, the line is always "open" right now. I am going to run a new line from the servo to the valve in the cab - the line was in good shape on the inside but I didn't like the way it looked/felt in the engine bay. It seems to be 5/16" as well.

I capped the line that goes to the Vacuum Dump Valve at the servo and... Speed Control now works!!! . On, Off, Set Accel and Coast all work - I didn't try Resume yet (it won't work without the dump valve working, anyway). To determine if its the line or the dump valve itself, how would you guys go about testing it? I was thinking to just pinch the line near the valve, and see if the line holds vacuum from the servo to where it is being pinched off. Should I just buy a new valve as well since I'll be trying to put a new brake pedal adapter in too? This one has been driving me crazy, I'm happy to have the end in sight. Thank you again to Gary for the parts!

The line is connected to the servo, and looks to be good all the way through the firewall to the dump valve in the cab. But as a test, would capping the nipple for that hose at the servo work?

Well I hooked everything up, and did a road test. It didn't hold speed, or accelerate. I'll start running more tests, hopefully tomorrow.