Salan's 1980 Something

[grumpin]

Well, I decided to pull the interior back out of the truck. First reason is due to the rodent that chewed at the foam on my a/c doors (not the Detroit Muscle Kit thankfully) and second is because I need to repair the rust at the firewall base and one spot in the cowl. It's all just easier to do with the interior stripped down. I also want to weld out my dash mounts a little more because they were originally just tacked and bolted in, and I want them to be more secure. Plenty of work ahead of me, and I'm trying not to sleep on it.

I was doing some work on my red Ranger the other day, and it reminded me of an old photo I took years ago. Same spot, four different trucks. I still have the white Ranger (although it looks way different), but the F150 is long gone.

Cool! And your outbuilding is different. Moved the door?

[Rembrant]

Well, I decided to pull the interior back out of the truck. First reason is due to the rodent that chewed at the foam on my a/c doors (not the Detroit Muscle Kit thankfully) and second is because I need to repair the rust at the firewall base and one spot in the cowl. It's all just easier to do with the interior stripped down. I also want to weld out my dash mounts a little more because they were originally just tacked and bolted in, and I want them to be more secure. Plenty of work ahead of me, and I'm trying not to sleep on it.

I was doing some work on my red Ranger the other day, and it reminded me of an old photo I took years ago. Same spot, four different trucks. I still have the white Ranger (although it looks way different), but the F150 is long gone.

That Bullnose is a beast!

[Gary Lewis]

Well, I decided to pull the interior back out of the truck. First reason is due to the rodent that chewed at the foam on my a/c doors (not the Detroit Muscle Kit thankfully) and second is because I need to repair the rust at the firewall base and one spot in the cowl. It's all just easier to do with the interior stripped down. I also want to weld out my dash mounts a little more because they were originally just tacked and bolted in, and I want them to be more secure. Plenty of work ahead of me, and I'm trying not to sleep on it.

I was doing some work on my red Ranger the other day, and it reminded me of an old photo I took years ago. Same spot, four different trucks. I still have the white Ranger (although it looks way different), but the F150 is long gone.

Best to do it correctly and well the first time so you don't have to do it again. But it is also best not to lose sleep over how much work there is to do. Trust me, I speak from experience.

[mat in tn]

Best to do it correctly and well the first time so you don't have to do it again. But it is also best not to lose sleep over how much work there is to do. Trust me, I speak from experience.

be honest. you drove into the building didnt you?

[salans7]

Cool! And your outbuilding is different. Moved the door?

Thanks guys!

Gary, when I say sleeping, I mean doing things other than work on the truck like playing on my phone or watching Youtube videos.

Cool! And your outbuilding is different. Moved the door?

be honest. you drove into the building didnt you?

There is another door on the south side (the side you see is the east side). I didn't like the thought of two entrances, so broke it down to put in a window. Haven't gotten around to painting it but plan on it soon.

 

[salans7]

Thanks guys!

Gary, when I say sleeping, I mean doing things other than work on the truck like playing on my phone or watching Youtube videos.

Cool! And your outbuilding is different. Moved the door?

be honest. you drove into the building didnt you?

There is another door on the south side (the side you see is the east side). I didn't like the thought of two entrances, so broke it down to put in a window. Haven't gotten around to painting it but plan on it soon.

I've been dreading this since I first picked up my new hood, but finally decided to take the leap and I'm glad I did. I measured way too many times, double checked my measurements, and made sure I used a small center punch to keep the drill from jumping. It was well worth the extra effort because all the letters look aligned, and the little inserts fit the holes perfectly.

After that was done, I took the front clip and A/C box off of the truck so I can focus on the horror below. Somebody has lifted this cab up by the fender mount at one point, and unfortunately, they managed to crack the firewall in several places (Red circles denote areas of damage). This was prior to my ownership, and I missed it when I bought the truck, but I'm the guy who gets to fix it. Luckily, I noticed the damage while I still had the parts truck laying around, so I cut this entire section out of that cab and will use it for this repair.

Do you guys have any tips for the best way to fix this? I already drilled small holes at the end of the cracks to keep them from spreading. I'll have to butt weld the sections that I cut out, but should I "plate" the sections I weld together for added strength, or will butt welds suffice? I'll be spot welding the upper fender mount back on but may add some beads in the structural areas for added support as the fender mount is what will be pulling on the firewall. Any tips are much appreciated.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I've been dreading this since I first picked up my new hood, but finally decided to take the leap and I'm glad I did. I measured way too many times, double checked my measurements, and made sure I used a small center punch to keep the drill from jumping. It was well worth the extra effort because all the letters look aligned, and the little inserts fit the holes perfectly.

After that was done, I took the front clip and A/C box off of the truck so I can focus on the horror below. Somebody has lifted this cab up by the fender mount at one point, and unfortunately, they managed to crack the firewall in several places (Red circles denote areas of damage). This was prior to my ownership, and I missed it when I bought the truck, but I'm the guy who gets to fix it. Luckily, I noticed the damage while I still had the parts truck laying around, so I cut this entire section out of that cab and will use it for this repair.

Do you guys have any tips for the best way to fix this? I already drilled small holes at the end of the cracks to keep them from spreading. I'll have to butt weld the sections that I cut out, but should I "plate" the sections I weld together for added strength, or will butt welds suffice? I'll be spot welding the upper fender mount back on but may add some beads in the structural areas for added support as the fender mount is what will be pulling on the firewall. Any tips are much appreciated.

I can't offer a lot of advice.

Tack and tap, tack and tap...

Just work the seams together slowly and try to force any stretched metal back while it's still glowing hot.

If you need to gently pull some sheet metal into alignment and you don't own a stud gun, leftover pop rivet shanks work well as a stand-in and are easily ground off.

Coming from the salty northeast I'm not a fan of doublers because salty slush always seems to get in there and start cancer, but I might cut away that torn section where the fender brace was spot welded to the cowl drop and replace it.

Doesn't look like there's much worth saving there.

The hood lettering looks great! and you've even saved the hood ground strap from your parts truck 😉

 

[Gary Lewis]

I can't offer a lot of advice.

Tack and tap, tack and tap...

Just work the seams together slowly and try to force any stretched metal back while it's still glowing hot.

If you need to gently pull some sheet metal into alignment and you don't own a stud gun, leftover pop rivet shanks work well as a stand-in and are easily ground off.

Coming from the salty northeast I'm not a fan of doublers because salty slush always seems to get in there and start cancer, but I might cut away that torn section where the fender brace was spot welded to the cowl drop and replace it.

Doesn't look like there's much worth saving there.

The hood lettering looks great! and you've even saved the hood ground strap from your parts truck 😉

I think I'm with Jim. I usually like to fishplate things, but save for the fender brace there isn't much stress on any of it. So I'd go with butt welds.

Do you have some of the clamps like these? Those are from Eastwood but lots of people make them, and they sure help when holding a panel in place.

[salans7]

I think I'm with Jim. I usually like to fishplate things, but save for the fender brace there isn't much stress on any of it. So I'd go with butt welds.

Do you have some of the clamps like these? Those are from Eastwood but lots of people make them, and they sure help when holding a panel in place.

Thanks for the recommendations Jim. You're probably right, I definitely don't want to add any more spots for water to sit. This truck has enough as it is. As for the ground strap, I have a whole box of misc. straps from all three trucks that I've torn apart.

Gary, I have two magnets and some misc. vise clamps, but hadn't thought of those. I will surely look into them. Thanks!

 

[Rembrant]

Thanks for the recommendations Jim. You're probably right, I definitely don't want to add any more spots for water to sit. This truck has enough as it is. As for the ground strap, I have a whole box of misc. straps from all three trucks that I've torn apart.

Gary, I have two magnets and some misc. vise clamps, but hadn't thought of those. I will surely look into them. Thanks!

I don't think I'd worry too much about that whole area...you can't see it when the truck is all assembled anyway. Weld and then keep pulling and bending to get it all back into shape, and then weld again. Slather the seam sealer on it when you're done, and it'll be fine.

I have a set of those clamps that Gary posted above. They've come in handy a few times.