FuzzFace2

Here ya go, FuzzFace! 1 & 2 - Before and after trimming the styleside bracket. 3 - Finished bracket installed (Sorry for the shameless advertising for my boss, but the truck doesn't have plates yet... 4 - Worm's eye view of the light. Thanks for the reply. My parts truck did not have the plate bracket. It had a step bumper and the plate bolted to it. I am still waiting for the parts to show up. I hate to keep bugging my brother to get me the parts as he is sending them free of charge. Dave ----

What do they say, its not a tail gate if not held in place with chains Nice job on fixing the gate handle. I know if it was me and I had issues and could not fix it the gate handle the gate would be removed. Dave ---- ps at least you have a tail gate I have none

Nice score on the grille guard! Any one try to install nutserts with out the tool? A little looking on Youtube and I think I could install with out the tool. So I gave it a try and got the 2 I needed to install, installed. The side panels were on & off, on & off and repeat a few times all to get bolt holes to line up by making holes a little bigger as needed. Now with all the on & off I may have hurt 1 of the nutserts. Don't know if the bolt was not long enough and pulled the threads out or it is spinning? The sides will be off at least 1 more time if I am lucky but I think it will more than that and I will check it out then. I am still waiting for the tail gate and other parts my brother is sending me. Till then I will fit the left fender on and see what is needed to get the filler necks to work. Dave ----

When you can I would like to see a picture. I can tell you there was no such plate holder or light on my 81 style side parts truck or I would have found a way to make it work. Heck I made the style side metal floor work in place of the flare side wood floor the holder & light would be easy! Still waiting to see what all my brother found in the JY and is sending me beside the tail gate. Dave ----

Thanks for the plate reply Something else I will have to deal with when I get to it I guess. Dave ----

Well the truck got pulled apart today 1 to drill out the front header panel bolt holes and to see what I can do to fix 4 carriage bolts (2 each side) I cant get nuts on. The plan was to use U-nuts for the front header panel to floor. Thing is the way the metal floor is made and the front cross member is I cant use the U-nuts. Because of this and before I knew it when I drilled the holes I drilled them small and you the bolts in the picture above that will go thru the floor & cross member and should hold. Moving on to the side panel bolts I was going to use the U-nuts for 1 of the 2 I cant get nuts on. Put the U-nut on go to fit the panel and it will not fit! The U-nut hangs out too far so no U-nut and I drilled out the hold too large to do like I did for the front panel :( So I am looking into using a nutsert in the 5/16" size. I am not worried with a bolt head sticking up as it is in the front corner on each side. Not the one at the rear on each side I don't want to have a bolt head sticking up as it can catch on things going in or out of the bed. I was able to use the cut off wheel to cut slots in the cross member and bend it down to get the nut/washer on then can bent it back up. So till I can get the nutserts, could be hard the only place to get them local is closed weekends when I am off. So I am kind of stuck on putting the side panels back on. Dave ----

Thanks for the offer. I don't know what I need yet as I have the "L" assy. on my 300 and there is a plastic part that fits to the radiator support, I don't have installed yet, that the hose connects to. On the lights I need some. I have a set of them cheap trailer lights I am thinking of using with LED bulbs. Thing is now that I have the factory brackets coming the trailer lights I don't think would bolt to them and would need to make an adaptor, don't want to mod the factory brackets. Before the factory brackets I was going to make brackets to fit the trailer lights I have. Other than head lights, they will use a relay harness, the rest of the bulbs will be LED's. Do you have your plate under the left light or under the rear bed lip on the left side? Dave ----

Thanks A bed does make a truck. I almost don't want to pull it apart as I like it whole LOL I am hoping between today & tomorrow to have the bed done other than the tail gate fitment. Still don't know how I will get paint on the bed panels? Factory looked to have it together as I found no paint under the washers of the bolts and I don't like that at all. When I primed the sides I had them on horses and that will not work for painting. I thought of hanging them but would not get paint at the "hook site". I would use bolt holes down low and hang upside down. Then again I could "edge" the panels where they over lap, bolts/nuts are and the under side of the rolled lip of the bed sides. Then put it all together and then paint the whole thing. Time will tell! Dave ----

The mirrors I got thru LMC comes with the hardware. Also has extra hardware (bolt/nuts/washers) to install the nut serts. I have not installed them yet so cant say how well that works. And yes the upper mirror holes do line up to the factory holes. Dave ----

I should be getting the 2 stock flare side light brackets but told the lights them selves are NG so will need new ones. I have seen the LED ones on LMC but if I can find them cheaper then more money for other needed things! On the filter hose what filter housing do you have or should I say what motor first as all the v8's use the round housings. The 300 six uses 2 different filter housings, L shape and the round type. They say with out pictures it did not happen LOL Dave ----

Got to love rain, rain makes corn, corn makes........no I am not a singer but I played .........no no no! Because of the rain we have had here yesterday and today I did not have work. Being I was getting over hurting my back I took yesterday off from working on the truck. But did work on it today. I am mocking up the bed panels to the floor. I had to rework the front header panel and both side panels so they could be bolted together. All of that was fitted when the floor was on horses but the big part, before the lips were replaced. Once the front & side panels were bolted together I was able to line up the side panels to some holes on the floor so I could drill the rest of the holes for the side panels to floor. I still need to drill holes in the front panel to floor but being it is too close to the cab I cant get my hands in there. I am also thinking but need to see when I pull it apart again, I hope to use U-nuts on the floor side so I don't need to use normal nuts. I also hope to use that same u-nut assy. on the side panels because 2 of the bolts are in a place I cant get nuts on them. This is how I left the truck today. Besides getting the bed mocked up it made room so I could move the truck over to get the parts truck frame out of the garage. It is being picked up tomorrow for a member as his is rotten really bad. When waiting for the shipper to show up I will pull the bed off the trucks frame so I can see the header panel / floor to see if the U-nuts will work or not. I also checked with my brother and he has not had time to ship out the tail gate and some other parts he went back for so some work may have to wait till I get the gate. Dave ----

This is how you clean fuel tanks LOL If you have a tank you cannot get a replacement for I do know of a service that will cut it open clean the inside, weld it back up and they coat the inside, bake it, coat & bake a 2nd time then coat the outside and bake. Had it done to my 70 Javelin as they do not make a take for it and both of mine had rust holes. Dave ----

When I stripped the paint/rust off the bedside panels I saw rust hiding under the paint so today I took the panels down to bare metal to get to the rust. I also stripped the front header panel. A lot of sanding by hand as tools could not get to all the needed areas. Once everything was stripped, sanded and dusted off I hit the panels with this acid I will let that work to kill the rust and if it is set tomorrow and I feel up to working on it I have a little filler work that needs to be done before I can spray primer on them. Once in primer I will set them on the bed floor that is on the truck and recheck everything before I start drilling holes in the floor to bolt the sides down. I want to mock everything up like it will be when painted to see if there are any "GOT YOU'S!" and fix them now. After paint will be too late! I was also thinking of how I am going to get paint on them? I may try and hang them in a way I can get paint everywhere so the rust will not happen again (as fast!). When I prim them will be the test I guess. Sorry no pictures but they don't look much different than the last pictures of the side panels. Dave ----

The one I am using is a Dorman [or equivalent]. It is as you describe in that the throw is very short. I pull it out no more than 1/4 of the way. The cable was routed through the rubber plug which originally was used for the computer wires as they passed through the firewall. The choke cable runs parallel to the throttle cable and is secured to the throttle cable using small plastic wire ties. It works satisfactorily and does not interfere with the stock air cleaner. By the way, in warm to hot weather, absolutely no choke is needed to start. I first have to say I know of this "help" choke kit but have never really had much hands on with the it. If the arm is hitting the air filter housing and the other person dose not what filter housings are you 2 using? What filter housing is PetePony using that his clears? Can the housing be raised up a little to clear the arm? If the "help" black part is junk can you gut and drill a hole in the stock one and use it? Dave ----

When he was telling me how he got the fuel door I was crying a little and yes I did tell him they are hard to find and should not have cut it up. No not ship it as I don't need either fender (at this time). I only needed a fuel door and area to graft onto the rear part of my fender for the rear tank I added and was going to use 1 of the 2 from the parts truck. He said the only thing he saw wrong with the truck was it had no dash and the wood for the bed was rotten but the rest of the bed was in good shape. He did say the gate & fuel door was already boxed up and sitting in the back of his truck just needed my address. I told him no rush but he wants it out of his truck so he can get more parts! I will get pictures when it gets here. Dave ----

Oh when working on the panels I got a call from my brother in CA. He said he was at the pick-n-pull the other day and came across a 81 flare side. He got the tail gate & hinges for me. Little bad news, he also cut up a fender for the filler door as he knew I added a rear tank to my truck and would need a door. I told him I had 2 doors from the parts truck that I could use. He said it would be best to use the glass fender part over the metal one as I would be using fiber glass to make it happen and being the fender & the part he got are also glass would make for a better job. He would know as he is a licensed body man in CA. and being he already cut it out and it is packed up with the gate so I will use it. I also sent him back if the truck is there to get the tail light brackets ( said the lights were broken), the rear plate bracket if it has one(had a step bumper), the 4 rear fender braces if there and a AC compressor mounting bracket if he can find one. Fingers cross he can come up with the parts. Dave ----

Good to see Darin got a good roof. He wanted part from my roll over parts truck and told him it was not worth it. I even sent him pictures. As for me I was lazy this weekend and did not get a lot done. Had to get pictures and find parts for other members and 1 thing lead to another and got a little done. I bought a 90* 1/4" air grinder last week and put it to good use. Ground down the last weld and hit some spots a larger tool can not get to. Pulled out my larger air grinder with the Eastwood paint & rust removing pad and stripped down the insides of the 2 bed panels. Still have the outsides of them to do yet. Once the other sides are stripped I will spray them down with acid to kill the rust. They also need a little hammer & dolly work and some filler in spots then prim. Dave ----

I thank you for the offer but I have 2 from the parts truck I can use to make the rear tank look factory. Could I be wrong on the opening? I might be? I was going by a post someone made on the other site when replacing the qt panel on a 4 door Bronco and the fuel door opening being different. Could he have used a later part say 87/ part to fix the rust he had? Now why the different part number for the bed side if the openings are the same? Could it be the plastic part and/or the filler tube be different and why the panel is different? I know the Ford book is wrong and we know it is never wrong LOL The mystery continues Dave ----

I should back up a little here on the fuel filler door. Remember the flare sides only came with a 16 gal. side tank with the filler door on the front side of the left fender. I added the style side parts truck 19 gal. rear tank to my truck along with all the needed hardware to make it work. So I need to add the filler door to the rear side of my fender. Style side could come with 1 or 2 tanks even the short beds from what I have seen posted. If the truck had duel tanks the filler doors were mounted on the bed side panel 1 in front of the wheel and the other behind it. As for the doors & the opening: Depending on the year and I don't know what year this switch happened, they changed. The early years have flat doors and the opening had a "finger" cut out to open the door. Later years the door had the "finger" cut out and the opening was square/flat on all sides. Being both my trucks are 81's they have the early doors. And yes both the style side & flare side use the same door & opening from what I can tell. I will take 1 of the openings/doors and graft it on my fender and hold onto the 2nd assy.. Dave ----

It would be nice if I could by late spring or early summer before it gets too hot. Other wise it will be after summer when it cools down. I have the 2 rear fenders, 1 needs a 2nd fuel door, and the hood to do body work on yet. Then sand, sand and more sanding to prep for painting. Dave ----

Good to hear fixed it, fingers crossed Just like batt. cables rubber fuel line you cant tell if they are good or not by looking at the outside of them. The rubber lines can 'fall apart" inside and block the flow and cause issues. That is why I like to keep the rubber line as short as I can. Also that glass filter if it is the type you can take apart to clean throw it in the garbage can and get one of the some what clear plastic ones. The glass ones can break spilling/spraying gas all over a hot motor and guess what follows! Dave ----

Spent a few more hours in the garage today. Between my back hurting and needing to get up at 1am for work it was a short day. Got all the welding done on the 2 side panels. All but 1 weld ground down, could not get grinder in there so have to pull out the Dremal to do that one. Top side of lip Tail gate end Head board end Bottom side showing the panel extensions. I am not worried on the welds ground smooth as that will not be seen, behind fenders. What will be seen on the other side is maybe 2" to 3" between fenders & the bed up rights and they will get a little filler. I also need to drill and square think 3 holes on the lip that I filled in with weld to fix them. 2 in this picture. Next is to strip the panels down to a good base and treat the rust, little body work (filler) before they get primed. Dave ----

Got the other 2 lips welded on and the welds ground down on all 4 lips. I also welded up the other holes that were rusted or cracked. I was thinking of cutting them out and welding in a sheet metal patch and then drill for the square holes but went a different way. I used a copper spoon and built up the area with weld and then ground it down. Still need to drill & square the holes yet. I also cut and welded 2 of the 4 sheet metal strips that finish off the lower part of the side panel that the bottom of the fender bolts to. I still need to grind the welds a little but most of the patch is behind the fender and will hardly be seen so I don't have to go crazy on getting it smooth. Tomorrow when I do the other 2 sheet metal strips I will also weld out more holes the PO drilled in the bed sides, I have done so already. I also ordered the carriage bolts and flanged lock nuts thru McMaster-Carr that will hold the sides to the floor, should be here Tuesday. Sorry no pictures, will get some tomorrow after I get all the welding done and the welds ground down. Dave ----

Day off from work, rain & cement don't mix! First order was to flip the bed floor right side up and place it back on the truck to give me a bay to work on the bed sides. Made 3 more "lips" and squared the holes for the carriage bolts before I welded 2 of the 4 lips on the side panels. After I get the other 2 lips welded on I will make sheet metal strips to fit between the lips and the lower flat panels, see the 2nd picture, that were rusted out. I also took a picture of the front panel I welded a lip on the bottom. Need to clean the welds up a little more before I hit it with a little filler. Gary, a few days and it was dry. I did not re-coat as I felt the 1 heavy coat was good enough. By the time that floor rusts out I hope to have enough money for the right wood floor. LOL Dave ----

Same here on my 81 F100 single-tank flare side.............till I added the 2nd rear tank Dave ----