Rembrant

Awesome, thanks. I'll grab some of these today. So you can install new ones with the door installed on the truck no problem? Maybe I'll do them in advance. I picked up a set of bushings this morning. The Dorman ones that say they're for tailgates but use to stop door rattles...lol. Anyway, I am clearly missing something here, but how exactly do you change the bushing? The washer does not come off...

That's a neat book.

I meant looking up & forward, from the wheelwell/steering box area. Nothing to see. It's completely normal.

Awesome, thanks. I'll grab some of these today. So you can install new ones with the door installed on the truck no problem? Maybe I'll do them in advance.

Actually, the door is coming off next week (and is going to the dump...lol) while we wait for the new door to arrive from LMC. Body shop is painting the door frame on the cab so I'll grab the hinges while they're off and tighten them up. Passenger side is OK and only needs the striker bushing.

Gary, I have now done it all...rebuilt steering column, all new ball joints and tie rods, tie-rod ends, etc. New axle beam bushings, new radius arms and radius arm bushings, and now a new tight steering box. The truck still wanders a little bit, and there is still a little play in the steering wheel. However, I don't think its the truck's fault. The wide rubber I'm running on the front wants to track with the ruts in the asphalt, and then a lot of the rural roads are excessively (and inconsistently) high centered, it makes the truck want to wander a little bit. If I was to switch from the 275/60/15 tires to something a little more road friendly like a 225/75/15 or a 235/75/15 (or the 215/75/15 that came on the truck) it would track much better on the road. Still, I did find some nice smooth and flat asphalt on the highway the other night, and the truck really did track/steer nicely with only one hand. I know a steering stabilizer is considered to be really unnecessary on a 2wd truck, but I'm wondering if it would help my truck be less sensitive to the ruts in the asphalt. For the price of a kit I may give it a try sometime...but it is low priority at the moment. The new rear swaybar has made some difference in the handling as well. The truck doesn't roll in the turns as bad as it did before. I think once the front one is installed it will help. Something I forgot about but need to go looking for today (or to order online) is new door striker post bushings and pins and bushings for at least one set of hinges. Has anybody done the hinge pins and bushings before, and is there a specific size I'm looking for? My passenger door hinges are tight as a drum but the door is loose on the striker, and the driver's door is just the opposite...it has a little play in the hinge(s) and seems fairly tight on the striker. Anyway, I'm want to fix up both. Recommendations or links on where to buy each that I can get fairly quick?

Ahh, OK, I assumed that like everything else around here that there had once been something there that had to be drilled out. I guess in that case I'll never know what it is and I'll just keep wondering.

Oh yes...I remember seeing the wider radiators when I ordered my replacement. I thought they were heavy duty rads? Or for trucks with AC?... Maybe there never was supposed to be a hole there and somebody drilled one for some unknown reason...

Can anybody tell me what was once mounted in this hole in my core support? It's one of those things that I've always wondered about but kept forgetting to ask. It looks like something was ripped out of there, or someone was working a drill bit up and down because the hole is actually bent in one angle (that you can't really see in the pic). Did somebody rip something off here?

No no...not those kinds of trinkets...I mean things I'd like to find better condition replacements for, like interior trim pieces, etc. Farkle...now there's a term I haven't heard in a while. It was so over-used at one point it was annoying...lol. Interesting that the write up on Urban Dictionary attributes it to a with an ST1300 rally. I always blamed it on the V-Strom crowd!!

Sold @ $5900!

I had to order one today for kicks since my truck will be mostly RE "Built" in a couple weeks. I'm already daydreaming about being a different kind of Bullnose enthusiast!! Instead of laying on my back under the truck drilling out bolts with hot filings falling on my arms and rust falling into my eyes, I can peruse catalogs for little plastic interior trinkets and spend my time on waxing and polishing!! WTF am I kidding?>... My new fuel gauge is already not working...lol.

80F here today and 70% humidity. We call this "Air you can wear". I know, I know...it would be a cool day for some of you...but this is hot for us.

Yup, and they do the same thing with tailgates. Drill a hole in the ends, and then run the wand back and forth through a few times to coat the inside. It's no big deal and you can't see the plugs with the gate closed anyway. It drips out the drains, but it does leave a nice film behind. It's funny...but after a while the drips stop, but then when the vehicle is sitting out in the hot sun, it will start to drip again...so it really is a commitment once you start doing this...lol. Glad the body guy is good with rustproofing. It really is important that the product (whatever it may be) get into the right places. A door, or a tailgate for that matter, is never going to rust from the middle out...they start at the edges and around openings where the seams are. It's a big enough business here that there are shops that only do rustproofing, and nothing else. Then there are lots of places that offer it up as an extra. In any case, good luck with it!

Oh, here...if you watch the video on their home page, you can actually see how they spray inside the doors. https://www.krown.com/en/

Yes, fenders are no problem. They're more or less open on the inside anyway. Normally just spray in the upper holes and let the stuff run down the inside. Yes, it is permanent in some areas, but we have it done annually for our cars since they're driven in the winter on heavily salted roads, and it does wash off after a while. The door panels aren't pulled, they actually drill holes in the ends of the doors and use long wands to spray inside, and then use little rubber plugs in the holes. This is especially good for things that are usually enclosed, like rocker panels and quarter panels, "dog legs", tailgates, etc. The key thing is getting the stuff in the right places, like into the seams and folds in the sheet metal, and behind fender lips, etc. This is why I prefer the runny stuff, but the down side is that it is messy, and you do have to drill holes in your vehicle which some people are very strongly opposed to, and I get that.

The real question is...how many Robertson screwdrivers do you guys have?...lol.

Haha...I thought mine was bad, and that was with the hole gone slightly egg shaped. I'd say you got your moneys/miles worth out of that one. I installed all new Dorman hangers and they seem to be decent. They fit well and everything lined up and worked OK>

I agree Gary. Also note that he rotated the crank CCW first until all the slack came out, and then rotated the crank CW. Even if everything is fine, there'd be a lot of slack to switch from CCW to CW. When I took my 302 apart, the factory chain was really loose, and that was with only 30k miles on it. Might be hard to tell in the picture below, but that chain was really loose.

I'm late today...mainly because I slept-in until 5:15am (Atlantic time) and then had to hook up my trailer to bring to work with me so that I can get somebody to weld a fender back on for me. I didn't have my normal coffee time at the computer this morning. Anyway... I'm a big fan of rustproofing spray...it is pretty much a necessity here if you want anything to last. I usually get our cars done annually, and I plan on having part of my truck done when it the painting is all finished (I'm dropping off the stripped cab/chassis next week). The rustproofing shops here even have body colored plugs they use now which aren't as obvious as just plain black. Now, there are two schools of thought on rustproofing around here. Some people prefer (and promote) the thick gooey stuff that you spray on and it pretty much stays where you put it. Then there are the guys that like the runny stuff that drips and creeps into every crack and crevice. The downside to the runny stuff is that it makes a mess...and of course it drips. I like the runny stuff myself. On my Bullnose, I'm going to be pretty selective on where I rustproof it...it is not a daily driver, and it likely won't get driven very often in any kind of bad weather, and certainly not in the winter. I'll be spraying the inside of the front fenders, the inside of the doors and cab corners, the underside of the cab, and the inside of the frame C-channel. I'll also do inside the tailgate (need to drill a couple hidden holes), and I'll spray the front and rear sills of the bed. I already rustproofed the areas where the wood is sitting...I did this just before I sat the wooden floor into place. I'm waiting until the whole truck is finished...likely in a couple weeks time, and I'll get the spraying done and then leave it outside for a few sunny days to let it drip.

Man that heat is brutal. I used to travel to the Middle East with a former employer, and the dash in the rental car would say 49C all day long (120F), and even then, I'm sure it was because that was as high as the temp sensor read.

High 80's here today and probably 65% humidity. May have even kissed 90 deg, not sure...but this is exceptionally hot for us. By the time I get back home closer to the ocean, it's foggy and more like 80F. Some people hate the fog...I kinda like it when it's hot....it's like shade...lol.

I replaced all four of mine, and the upper shock mounts, and removed the exhaust hanger. That was 23 rivets...drilled every one of them out. I was pretty sick of them in the end. New hangers are relatively inexpensive though. If you have rusty hanger issues, make sure to check the frame behind the shock mounts too. I had to weld in 2 patches...one behind a spring hanger, and one between the 3 bolts of the LH upper shock mount. Driver's side always rusts out first, in the areas where there is winter at least.

Is this the part? https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-80-81-82-83-84-85-86-87-88-89-Ford-Truck-Fuel-Tank-Crossmemeber-E0TZ-5035-C-/283252132653 It looks like this... There are round holes where the rear cab mounts sit. The angled gusset that drops down to the bottom of the frame on the driver's side has a "T" slot in it where the fuel tank strap fits into.

No, that is not it. That looks like it might be a crossmember for a rear mounted tank?