ckuske Posted November 26, 2018 Share Posted November 26, 2018 Hi Guys/Gals, Some of you may have seen me posting occasionally about my '84 Flareside. I thought I'd create a post for people to follow along with. I've attached some pics of when I first got the truck again (long story, but people seem to like it). I'm starting off small... replacing the broken tail lights and getting clean wiring back to the connectors underneath the truck and I took the instrument cluster out and am going to be painting the gauges this week thanks to the posts I've seen here to inspire me. I also found a great looking rosewood bezel to replace the faded one (34 years in the sun will do it!) Lots of other work to be done, below is the current status. I'm sure I will be adding to the list as I discover more things. I'm pretty sure there's a vacuum leak to be found for instance... Hope you all are having fun out there. I'm getting into this kinda late, never worked on cars as a kid but I hope to learn as I go. A/C not working Bed light switch Left hand turn signal bulb in cluster Speed Control Hole in bed (wood+rust) Hesitation off the line Doors not aligned properly Wind noise Oil leak Paint Need original Wheels+Hubcaps Tailgate chains rusted Steering wheel wood missing Need new door panels Find replacement door map pockets Thanks, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted November 26, 2018 Share Posted November 26, 2018 Hi Chris, Nice truck ya got there! I also have a 1984 Blue Flareside. The paint code on mine is 3P which is the medium blue metallic...but it's all faded and spotty and blotchy...I can't really tell what it's supposed to look like, but if it cleans up like yours I'll be happy;). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckuske Posted November 26, 2018 Author Share Posted November 26, 2018 Hi Chris, Nice truck ya got there! I also have a 1984 Blue Flareside. The paint code on mine is 3P which is the medium blue metallic...but it's all faded and spotty and blotchy...I can't really tell what it's supposed to look like, but if it cleans up like yours I'll be happy;). Hey Rembrant! This isn't actually the original color, it was originally a Midnight Blue Metallic. It looked really sharp back in the day (when I was riding in it in my car seat as a 3 year old! haha). It also had light blue-dark blue-light blue tape stripes but those are long gone and I doubt I'll be able to find NOS of that. The previous owner got this color painted on and it looks pretty good but my aim is to get it back to midnight blue, original grille back on, stock wheels, etc. As stock as I can practically make it. I really like your truck as well, it looks sharp! - Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dyn Blin Posted November 26, 2018 Share Posted November 26, 2018 She's a beauty. Is that a soft box cover? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckuske Posted November 26, 2018 Author Share Posted November 26, 2018 She's a beauty. Is that a soft box cover? Hi Dyn, Yessir, it is. The PO installed that some time in the last 10 years or so. I think he put it on to hide the huge hole in the bed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford F834 Posted November 26, 2018 Share Posted November 26, 2018 Neat truck! I personally think it will look even nicer once you take it back to a more stock appearance. I look forward to updates as you go along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reamer Posted December 26, 2018 Share Posted December 26, 2018 Neat truck! I personally think it will look even nicer once you take it back to a more stock appearance. I look forward to updates as you go along. Here's medium Regatta blue... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckuske Posted December 27, 2018 Author Share Posted December 27, 2018 Here's medium Regatta blue... That's a nice color as well! I can't find an example on Google of an bullnose F-150 in the original color, but this Mustang looks pretty close: I'm pretty sure it's paint code 3L (see http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/exterior-paint-codes.html) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Cecil Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 Here's medium Regatta blue... reamer, That blue flareside is tough looking. That is what I am going after in 2019 after selling a rental house. If anyone finds a blue flareside, please keep me in mind!!! Well, any nice looking flareside I will investigate!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckuske Posted June 6, 2019 Author Share Posted June 6, 2019 Hello Bullnosers, I haven't posted any updates for quite awhile. Life outside of working on my truck has been keeping me quite busy. Late last year, I decided to start working on the interior a bit. My truck has the Rosewood interior which I really like, but it is a bear to find any decent looking replacement parts. Heat and sunlight is not kind to the Rosewood finish. Here is my instrument cluster and bezel before I started working on it: And during: I repainted the gauges with the Testors model paint color (posted on this forum somewhere), put in a new-ish plastic lens, and I got super lucky and found a nice bezel that looks much better than the original. I also found some silver airbrush paint to restore the edges of the cutouts of the bezel. Apply with a nail q-tip, works great. OK, so good to go! Project done! As we all know... NOT SO FAST... I climbed into my truck one day to hook the speedometer cable back into the cluster, plug in the power connector on the back of the cluster, and button it all up. I instinctively put my foot on the brake, and much to my surprise, the pedal went to the floor. Hence, this picture of the master cylinder: As you can see, there was ZERO fluid in the back brake lines. I hadn't opened the cylinder after buying the truck back... it had probably been that almost that bad for quite awhile but the tipping point finally came. Embarrasing... Long story short, I put new fluid in, bled the back system, and pumped and pumped. No fluid leaking out... so I'm not sure how it lost all the fluid in the first place. It's been a few months now, and the level still hasn't gone down. I also bailed out most of the fluid in the reservoir for the front half, and it looks much better. I wasn't brave enough to completely drain the front and then have possibly all the brakes screwed up. For another day. (I don't have much experience working on brakes) Now that the brakes are fixed, I went to button things up (again). Test the lights, gauges, etc... temperature gauge isn't working. ARGH! Ran the wire to ground, the gauge works. So, it's the temperature sending switch on the engine. Replaced it last night with a Motorcraft part I found on eBay. Now it works, and here's the result: Next big task is to start replacing parts of the bed (mainly the front panel near the cab). I'm also trying to find a Rosewood horn pad (with cruise) that is in good shape. You'll notice on the second pic that the previous owner peeled(!) the trim off the bottom of the horn pad. Striking out mightily so far in my hunt... To be continued (are any of us ever going to be "done"? Probably not...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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