FuzzFace2

That is a bummer on loosing the shop but when you said it had new owners I could see that coming, it always does. Do we see a work slow down coming because you guys lost the space At least you got most of the big parts done on the truck. On the pockets I hear you. Mine don't have lips so you cant hook hooks in them to hold stuff in the bed with out them things that go into the pockets first. I do have a set but I don't like the look of them installed so they sit in storage behind the seat just in case I need them. Dave ----

So from your post we know its a 4x4 with a 460 think that all we know. What year is the truck, auto or stick transmission? What size tires on the truck or you plan to run as this will dictate the gearing you need. Suspension or body lift on it or planed? A gear swap is not cheap and you have it x2. I can tell you if you have not done a gear swap and you will need to do it 2 times it is not something for some one that has never done it before to do. I have done a few (5) over the years with help from a buddy and only now would I even try it by my self, would have to as buddy is many miles away from me now. Do you know what rear axle you have in the truck now? If a 9" you can get a center section already set up so you pop the axles out, drive shaft and the center section out and pop the new one back in. Then all you need to deal with would be the front axle gears and you could send it out for that at 1/2 the cost as you are only getting 1 axle gears swapped. Just my .02 Dave ----

Nice job on the bed You going to seam seal the lower bed extensions to the main walls to stop rust like they like to do? When I patched mine I welded and filled in the split so it would not rust again. Beside the fenders cover most of the area so you can see it anyway. Also not having the "wheel well" on the bed sides how much clearance will toy have between tire and wall? At least you wont have to fuss with the wood. Cutting out the squares for the stake pockets or leaving them covered? Dave ----

It's a summer time driver, kind of like 79. Jump in and take it out whenever I feel like it. Might even become a summer daily. I loved my 300, but I need a little more power than that especially in this thing. I've got enough stuff laying around that I can make a reasonably powerful engine out of spare parts. I'd go Windsor route, but considering I have a handful of 400s already....:nabble_thinking-26_orig: If I had that many parts for a 400 and for something different I would go 400. Uncle had one in and older 70's 4x4 and I used it to pull the 2 car trailer with the cars loaded and the 8 foot bed also loaded with no problems. Dave ----

If it is like most of the controllers I have dealt with there should not be a need to "tap in" to anything if he was to remove it. Power all the time and ground should be stand alone and just removed from were they tie into the trucks system like fuse box for power & dash frame ground. The trailer brake wire is also stand alone from controller to rear trailer light hook up socket. Could just be cut at the controller and tied up out of the way as it is not "hot". The brake light wire should use a scotch block to pick up the brake lights. Remove the block & wire and you are done. I also want to know why he added the rod to the cooling system? What is he trying to save? When I worked at the hospital we had them in the 2 drinking foutian water coolers to save the tanks from rusting along with the piping of the system. Water was pumped through out the hospital and returned back to the chillers to be re-cooled and filtered before doing the loop again. Now that I think of it the hot water loops did not have a rod in the 2 systems so I wonder if the rod only works in cold water? Forgot the kitchen loop did not have a rod either. Dave ----

Oh I can appreciate hard work and more over the skill it takes to do it not only on our projects but most everything. But I guess that comes from doing all the work myself as I did on my truck. How about plumbers, carpenters, computer techs, etc. as I have done a little in each field. What they say "don't talk till you walked in their shoes". I also loved the car they had in the article looked like a Alpine Tiger - a go cart with a factory 260 Ford SB and a 4sp. Had a customer that had one could not drive it well as my boots were to wide to work the pedals, vary small pedal box LOL Dave ----

The site I found said if you don't have a stick machine now and want to do TIG just get a TIG machine as you will get a lot more adjustability & better welds for your money. Being I don't have a stick machine to start with if I want TIG I will get a TIG only machine just don't need it at this time. Dave ----

I thought you could add the pedal I have not looked into this for a long time now so could be wrong too? Dave ---- ps just did a quick search and you are right no pedal and you may not be able to turn down the machine to weld thin metal.

They say if you have a stick welder you can turn it into a TIG welder pretty easy, do a Google search. With TIG you should be able to turn it down low enough to do body work. I don't have a stick welder so have not tried the TIG part. Dave ----

I was wondering how powder coat would hold up? The other thing would be Jet Hot coatings if they would even do parts other than headers. Dave ----

So what is this anode going to do for you? I know the rod is to take the punishment and not part of the system so what part are you trying to save? What line do you want to "tap into" and why? The controller should have 2 adjustments if you want to call them that. 1 is how much total power goes to the trailer. A heavy trailer would have more total power to the brakes than a empty trailer. This may also tell the controller how fast to "ramp up" if it is the cheaper time based controller. The other is a manual lever or slide to applies the trailer brakes with out touching the brake pedal. IIRC there are 4 wires power in ground brake light and line to the trailer brakes. Now the only wire the rheostat controls is the line to the trailer brakes why would you want to tap into it? Me I would not. The trailer brake controller is just for the trailer and nothing else gets put on the wires for it in my book. If it warms up enough to day maybe I will finish my controller install? Dave ----

Do you know what the Spectra number is? Have you looked on Amazon & Ebay? Dave ----

FYI All short bed trucks with a front / mid ship / side tank would be a 16 gallon. Only the style side long bed got the 19 gallon front / mid ship / side tank and will NOT fir where a 16 gallon was as I tried. Dave ----

I just looked on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/s?k=electric+fuel+switching+valve&ref=nb_sb_noss_2 and the first 2 were the 3 port type $49 & $30. I cant remember where I got 2 if Amazon or Ebay but I got 2 just in case. Dave ----

The NAPA I go to has a wall with different rubber M/FM connections from I think 1 up to 7 IIRC. I would go with that over a direct wire setup. Dave ----

I think I got my step from HF and has worked fine for me. The only other place I would have gotten it from would be Northern Tool but I don't think so. Dave ----

So short bed and "you think" its a 16 gallon? Is it at the rear or up front on the side? See the rear would be 19 gallon front a 16 gallon What year & motor size will also play into the tanks used. In tank electric pumps would have a large opening where the non in tank pump would be small. Dave ----

Les, What made you change out the rear wheel bearings on that 9"? Were they making noise and / or had a lot of play in them? My 02 Durango when new you could feel the rear end "jump out" on you over bumps because the springs were new and stiff but now with 240K+ I don't feel it or I got use to it but would say it does not do it. My 81 F100 really does not have bump steer but more of a wondering issue. All the front end parts are tight and the kingpins maybe too tight as the steering wheel will not return center. When I have some time I want to run the kingpin reamer through the bushings and see if that helps. Dave ----

What you have going for you is it is black and a easy color to paint with SEM semi gloss black. You will need to remove that part for any kind of fix. From the back side I would glue them together with a backer or fish plate as posted. Now on the front side there is a product called Plastex https://www.plastex.net/ that comes with silicon chunks you can heat in hot water and press it to the texture of the area to get texture on it. You use the chunk and when you use the plastex to fill in the crack you press the texture back in to the crack to blend it in. Then you wash the full part with soap & water a few times and let dry. Once dry you can use the SEM products and paint it to look new and bolt it back in. I used the Plastex on my door panels to repair some cracks and built a forum to fill in a area that was missing by the slider lock. I first used it on the dash of my 70 AMC Javelin. Dave ---- ps for glue on the back side you can use fiber glass & rosin. I used it to "glue" in the HVAC part I took from 1 dash to fix the AC dash in my truck.

Nice job and look great installed in your truck. My truck had nothing for either door so don't even know what they look like other than on the web. They are also out of my price range and being LMC no longer has them and if they did they may have the same issues as the factory ones. I think I am going with the door top push / pull but keep my latch so they work backwards. Oh I also need to replace the door panels and why the door lock change. Dave ---- ps they would look great left alum on red door panels

Go by the paint code for the year your truck is. As you see with the non-year of your truck the code is not the same and the color is a little off. Car / truck manf. will change the color a little and that is why the different code. As for the color names being different with the same codes different paint manf. called them by different names for the same code / year and why you are seeing the different name & same code for your color. If painting the whole truck then you don't need to worry on color matching as it will all match when painted. If you are only painting panels and not the whole truck then you would want to keep the 2 panels not next to each other. Like fender to hood are not really next to each other to see the difference but the fender to door you would. Also note on medal flake colors you can change the color a little by the air psi used to spray with. Lower psi darker the color, higher the psi the lighter the color. On either metal flake or solid colors just painting in a different manf. than what the paint on the truck was done in can be a little off too. Factory don't in say RM and you use Dizzler then add in the air PSI and you have the making for fun! BTW our trucks were painted in single stage - read no clear coat! I would say let the shop do what they do day in and day out - fix & paint! You can ask them if there is anything you can do to help but I would say other wise let them be. Just my .02 Dave ----

Dave I know they made Mercury pickups that were sold only in Canada...something like 20 years, from 48-68. I see them out on the car cruise-ins every now and then. I know of the Lincoln pickups in more recent years...I've seen them as well, but I believe they turned into what is now called the "Platinum" version of the F-series. There are lots of them on the roads up here. Dave, I have this machine set-up with gas, it's just that it has a small Albee tank in the back that you couldn't see in the other picture. Buying one of these tanks is one way to get around needing a contract here, which is what the larger tanks require. This little tank lasts me a long time. I'm running the small 0.023" wire, and it has worked great up to at least 1/8" plate, which I weld all the time. We have a stick and flux-core machine at work, but I've never used the MIG side of it...only the stick. This little Lincoln welds like a dream. http://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/file/n89302/IMG_3866.jpg I paid a lot of money for this little welder...it's actually one of the commercial machines, although it looks pretty much like the ones at Home Depot. It is 120v (20amp) and I bought it specifically for doing thin stuff (auto sheet metal, and whatever else), but it has proven to work well on thicker stuff. :nabble_smiley_blush:you are right on the Merc. I get thinking back in the Lincoln/ Merc were at the same dealers. My Lincoln is also 120 volts with gas bought for doing sheet metal work too. Dave ---- I could not see renting a tank and have it sit so I bought mine. Don't remember the size but it not that small and not the larger one ....yes just right size I also don't remember what I paid to have it filled you need it you pay! Dave ----

Dave I know they made Mercury pickups that were sold only in Canada...something like 20 years, from 48-68. I see them out on the car cruise-ins every now and then. I know of the Lincoln pickups in more recent years...I've seen them as well, but I believe they turned into what is now called the "Platinum" version of the F-series. There are lots of them on the roads up here. Dave, I have this machine set-up with gas, it's just that it has a small Albee tank in the back that you couldn't see in the other picture. Buying one of these tanks is one way to get around needing a contract here, which is what the larger tanks require. This little tank lasts me a long time. I'm running the small 0.023" wire, and it has worked great up to at least 1/8" plate, which I weld all the time. We have a stick and flux-core machine at work, but I've never used the MIG side of it...only the stick. This little Lincoln welds like a dream. http://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/file/n89302/IMG_3866.jpg I paid a lot of money for this little welder...it's actually one of the commercial machines, although it looks pretty much like the ones at Home Depot. It is 120v (20amp) and I bought it specifically for doing thin stuff (auto sheet metal, and whatever else), but it has proven to work well on thicker stuff. :nabble_smiley_blush:you are right on the Merc. I get thinking back in the Lincoln/ Merc were at the same dealers. My Lincoln is also 120 volts with gas bought for doing sheet metal work too. Dave ----

It was strange that the short bed had the large pattern wheels and non-power brakes and the long bed just the other way around. Funny you say that about the bed and fitting sheet goods. I told my wife if I ever got a pick up it had to be a long bed for the same reason and what did I end up with ........ a short bed truck Dave ----

It just a little bit of work Lincoln Flareside is a good name after all the work it took to get it where it is. Did you know Lincoln made a pick up truck back in the day that was used north of the boarder but not Ford IIRC. We got the Ford and not the Lincoln here. I hear it is really hard getting parts for them when restoring. Is that a gas or flux wire welder? I don't see a tank and why I asked. If flux have you used flux wire for sheet metal work yet? Dave ----