grumpin Posted June 6, 2019 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...) Looks good! I got lucky, my horn pad is only a little worn below the cruise buttons. Hard to find good ones, especially ones you don’t need to get a loan for! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1986F150Six Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 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...) Gary will have to confirm this is the right piece: https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-1980-89-FORD-TRUCK-REAR-CAB-PANEL-F100-350/223125760396?epid=20021457856&hash=item33f354e98c:g:cTYAAOSwJRxbSmze How doe this compare to the horn pad you have? https://www.ebay.com/itm/78-86-F150-F250-Bronco-Steering-Wheel-Horn-Pad-F150-F250-Lariat-Cruise-e150/113741526941?hash=item1a7b85f79d:g:6X0AAOSwasRc0zXi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckuske Posted June 6, 2019 Author Share Posted June 6, 2019 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...) Gary will have to confirm this is the right piece: https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-1980-89-FORD-TRUCK-REAR-CAB-PANEL-F100-350/223125760396?epid=20021457856&hash=item33f354e98c:g:cTYAAOSwJRxbSmze How doe this compare to the horn pad you have? https://www.ebay.com/itm/78-86-F150-F250-Bronco-Steering-Wheel-Horn-Pad-F150-F250-Lariat-Cruise-e150/113741526941?hash=item1a7b85f79d:g:6X0AAOSwasRc0zXi It's better for sure! I'm actually already watching that one on eBay. The price is OK, I'm just biding my time to see if anything better comes along. I kinda doubt it though... I wrestle with buying something that's not what I really want, but is an improvement. I don't want to have a great one come by a week or month later, and wish I had waited. Thinking to myself... Am I the only one that plays these games with buying parts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuzzFace2 Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 It's better for sure! I'm actually already watching that one on eBay. The price is OK, I'm just biding my time to see if anything better comes along. I kinda doubt it though... I wrestle with buying something that's not what I really want, but is an improvement. I don't want to have a great one come by a week or month later, and wish I had waited. Thinking to myself... Am I the only one that plays these games with buying parts? The dash looks great and would be happy to have it in my truck. Take it you have LED bulbs in what color and did you remove the colored lenses? As for the wheel I have heard of others looking for parts better than they have on a car or truck and when that part come along they buy it and then sell the one it replaced. They may do this a few times till they get one they are happy with. The other day I was in Auto Zone and saw they sell rolls of wrap. I saw they had a wood grain wrap that I may look closer at to use on my dash parts. Project for another day LOL Dave ---- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 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...) Gary will have to confirm this is the right piece: https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-1980-89-FORD-TRUCK-REAR-CAB-PANEL-F100-350/223125760396?epid=20021457856&hash=item33f354e98c:g:cTYAAOSwJRxbSmze How doe this compare to the horn pad you have? https://www.ebay.com/itm/78-86-F150-F250-Bronco-Steering-Wheel-Horn-Pad-F150-F250-Lariat-Cruise-e150/113741526941?hash=item1a7b85f79d:g:6X0AAOSwasRc0zXi David - That is the right Panel (Back) for the bed. ckuske - It is looking good! Good job testing and fixing the gauges. And they look good as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckuske Posted June 7, 2019 Author Share Posted June 7, 2019 It's better for sure! I'm actually already watching that one on eBay. The price is OK, I'm just biding my time to see if anything better comes along. I kinda doubt it though... I wrestle with buying something that's not what I really want, but is an improvement. I don't want to have a great one come by a week or month later, and wish I had waited. Thinking to myself... Am I the only one that plays these games with buying parts? The dash looks great and would be happy to have it in my truck. Take it you have LED bulbs in what color and did you remove the colored lenses? As for the wheel I have heard of others looking for parts better than they have on a car or truck and when that part come along they buy it and then sell the one it replaced. They may do this a few times till they get one they are happy with. The other day I was in Auto Zone and saw they sell rolls of wrap. I saw they had a wood grain wrap that I may look closer at to use on my dash parts. Project for another day LOL Dave ---- Hi Dave - I left the blue colored lenses in, I just put blue LEDs in behind them to increase brightness. I didn't want neon blue, so I think it looks pretty good. On the Rosewood topic, I may order a yard of this and play around with cutting it to shape: https://www.customautotrim.com/vinyl-wrap/wood-grain-vinyl-wrap/dn-wgrwb/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckuske Posted June 7, 2019 Author Share Posted June 7, 2019 David - That is the right Panel (Back) for the bed. ckuske - It is looking good! Good job testing and fixing the gauges. And they look good as well. Thanks Gary! I'm trying bit by bit... not much time to work on things and I'm limited in space but a little here, a little there... I think I worded the bed issue incorrectly: I need to order (I've seen it on LMC) the front panel of the bed, not the rear panel of the cab. That being said, given I have no space to put take the fenders off and store them in my garage... can the bed wood and rails be replaced without taking the whole bed off? Kinda a silly question possibly, but trying to figure out what I can easily pull off in my workspace, and what I can't. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve83 Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 I wasn't brave enough to completely drain the front...No need. Simply use a squeeze bulb (turkey baster) to empty the reservoir. Then compress the front calipers, to return the majority of their fluid to the reservoir, and remove THAT fluid. Refill with fresh DOT3, pump the pedal to refill the calipers (making sure NOT to run the reservoir dry), then top up the reservoir one last time. The fluid can be nearly completely changed with NO risk of air in the system. Purging the rear wheel cylinders is slightly harder, but it can be done.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...Shop around for a local pro at wrapping vehicles, and ask him what he'd charge to install your film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 I think I worded the bed issue incorrectly: I need to order (I've seen it on LMC) the front panel of the bed, not the rear panel of the cab. I recently purchased this panel from Mar-K, and it's a nice piece and fits well. I'm sure the one from LMC is good too, and probably priced better (And it may also be a Mar-K piece anyway). They do sales from time to time...they recently had one on for Memorial Day. Not sure when the next one will be...likely Thanksgiving now. That being said, given I have no space to put take the fenders off and store them in my garage... can the bed wood and rails be replaced without taking the whole bed off? Kinda a silly question possibly, but trying to figure out what I can easily pull off in my workspace, and what I can't. Yes you can replace the wood and strips with the bed still on the truck. The whole thing can sit on the front and rear sills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1986F150Six Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 I think I worded the bed issue incorrectly: I need to order (I've seen it on LMC) the front panel of the bed, not the rear panel of the cab. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Front-Bed-Panel-Ford-1953-1987-Long-Bed-Stepside-Flareside-Pickup-Truck-Steel/362614886331?fits=Year%3A1980%7CMake%3AFord&epid=12003457458&hash=item546d880fbb:g:I1gAAOSwZtRb4Iro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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