The Truck of Doom: An Occasional Build Thread

[FuzzFace2]

OK, that's worth a try:

EDIT: Yep, that did it!

At first I thought that seat was mine

I have since replaced it from my parts truck that has a little rip on the drivers side.

No money to do it the (right) way you did it at this time.

I did not know dealer AC also had vents in the dash like factory AC did.

I took all the AC parts from the parts truck, even the firewall, and installed it in my truck.

Gary is right on the POR15 sticking to rust but I don't know how well it will stick to the painted areas.

I have used Eastwood's encapsultor and it goes not stick well to smooth surface like bare metal or painted areas. I would hit it with a hand wire brush, do a good cleaning and coat the rust areas and leave the rest.

My rust was so bad I had to replace the floors and more, treated the rust, seam sealed edges then 2 coats of brush on bed liner top & bottom. I plan on going with carpet & padding and then floor mats.

The rubber mat is nice for a work truck but those days are over for this truck.

I may add mats to the inside of the doors for noise like you did but I am up in the air on that at this time.

Nice job so far keep it up

Dave ----

[Dorsai]

At first I thought that seat was mine

I have since replaced it from my parts truck that has a little rip on the drivers side.

No money to do it the (right) way you did it at this time.

I did not know dealer AC also had vents in the dash like factory AC did.

I took all the AC parts from the parts truck, even the firewall, and installed it in my truck.

Gary is right on the POR15 sticking to rust but I don't know how well it will stick to the painted areas.

I have used Eastwood's encapsultor and it goes not stick well to smooth surface like bare metal or painted areas. I would hit it with a hand wire brush, do a good cleaning and coat the rust areas and leave the rest.

My rust was so bad I had to replace the floors and more, treated the rust, seam sealed edges then 2 coats of brush on bed liner top & bottom. I plan on going with carpet & padding and then floor mats.

The rubber mat is nice for a work truck but those days are over for this truck.

I may add mats to the inside of the doors for noise like you did but I am up in the air on that at this time.

Nice job so far keep it up

Dave ----

I imagine sooner or later, all those red vinyl seats begin to look alike.

I may go ahead and just POR15 the rusty area and call it good...besides being less work, I understand that stuff is expensive - although I haven't priced it out just yet. The channels under the door sills will probably get it too; they look suspicious, although at this point I can't tell whether it's rust or just decades of accumulated dirt.

[Gary Lewis]

I imagine sooner or later, all those red vinyl seats begin to look alike.

I may go ahead and just POR15 the rusty area and call it good...besides being less work, I understand that stuff is expensive - although I haven't priced it out just yet. The channels under the door sills will probably get it too; they look suspicious, although at this point I can't tell whether it's rust or just decades of accumulated dirt.

POR15 goes a really long ways. A pint will be way more than you need.

But heed the instructions. Use a paint can opener to open the can as it is easy to deform the can w/a screwdriver and then it won't seal. Do NOT paint out of the can. Pour a little bit into another container and then cap the can ASAP, but gently or the can folds. BUT, put wax paper or cling film between the cap and the can as ANY little bit of POR in the groove will glue the lid to the can otherwise, and it is really hard to mix it in the can w/o getting some in the groove.

And don't use a foam brush as it'll eat the brush. And don't put it in a styrofoam cup as it'll eat right through. Even many plastic cups will get soft. But the paint cups that you can get at Lowes or Home Depot stand up to it well.

Don't ask. I've done all of those things - and more.

[Dorsai]

POR15 goes a really long ways. A pint will be way more than you need.

But heed the instructions. Use a paint can opener to open the can as it is easy to deform the can w/a screwdriver and then it won't seal. Do NOT paint out of the can. Pour a little bit into another container and then cap the can ASAP, but gently or the can folds. BUT, put wax paper or cling film between the cap and the can as ANY little bit of POR in the groove will glue the lid to the can otherwise, and it is really hard to mix it in the can w/o getting some in the groove.

And don't use a foam brush as it'll eat the brush. And don't put it in a styrofoam cup as it'll eat right through. Even many plastic cups will get soft. But the paint cups that you can get at Lowes or Home Depot stand up to it well.

Don't ask. I've done all of those things - and more.

Dominic, being smarter than the average bear, had the foresight to schedule his first week of summer camp with the Boy Scouts for the very week that I am feeling motivated to do truck work...how he pulled that off I have no idea. So after dropping him and three other scouts off in Covington, I decided to make some more progress on the truck.

After applying a leaf blower, putty knife, wire brush, sponge and soapy water, the garden hose, and then the leaf blower again, I ended up with this:

This really isn't bad at all, especially as compared to some of the cabs I've seen people try to salvage. The driver's footwell rust isn't even that terrible:

The darker spots are where the water hadn't quite dried yet. The cancer is only just getting started, the metal is still strong and solid. I got my first good look at the passenger side today, however, and the same thing is beginning there:

The door channels are starting to rust as well, although again, not too badly. So I think what's going to happen is that the footwells and door channels are going to get the POR15, as will the area around the rear mounting holes for the bench seat and the seat belts, which is showing a few very small patches of rust. Any other bare spots will get rattle-canned with some Candy Apple Red I have laying around and called good.

Gary, thanks for the tips on the POR15 - I ordered it this morning, I'm glad going with the pint was the correct choice. It'll arrive tomorrow or Tuesday, and then hopefully by the end of the week I'll have it in the truck.

 

[grumpin]

Dominic, being smarter than the average bear, had the foresight to schedule his first week of summer camp with the Boy Scouts for the very week that I am feeling motivated to do truck work...how he pulled that off I have no idea. So after dropping him and three other scouts off in Covington, I decided to make some more progress on the truck.

After applying a leaf blower, putty knife, wire brush, sponge and soapy water, the garden hose, and then the leaf blower again, I ended up with this:

This really isn't bad at all, especially as compared to some of the cabs I've seen people try to salvage. The driver's footwell rust isn't even that terrible:

The darker spots are where the water hadn't quite dried yet. The cancer is only just getting started, the metal is still strong and solid. I got my first good look at the passenger side today, however, and the same thing is beginning there:

The door channels are starting to rust as well, although again, not too badly. So I think what's going to happen is that the footwells and door channels are going to get the POR15, as will the area around the rear mounting holes for the bench seat and the seat belts, which is showing a few very small patches of rust. Any other bare spots will get rattle-canned with some Candy Apple Red I have laying around and called good.

Gary, thanks for the tips on the POR15 - I ordered it this morning, I'm glad going with the pint was the correct choice. It'll arrive tomorrow or Tuesday, and then hopefully by the end of the week I'll have it in the truck.

Cleaned up nice!

"Dang Panky dat pretty!"

[Gary Lewis]

Dominic, being smarter than the average bear, had the foresight to schedule his first week of summer camp with the Boy Scouts for the very week that I am feeling motivated to do truck work...how he pulled that off I have no idea. So after dropping him and three other scouts off in Covington, I decided to make some more progress on the truck.

After applying a leaf blower, putty knife, wire brush, sponge and soapy water, the garden hose, and then the leaf blower again, I ended up with this:

This really isn't bad at all, especially as compared to some of the cabs I've seen people try to salvage. The driver's footwell rust isn't even that terrible:

The darker spots are where the water hadn't quite dried yet. The cancer is only just getting started, the metal is still strong and solid. I got my first good look at the passenger side today, however, and the same thing is beginning there:

The door channels are starting to rust as well, although again, not too badly. So I think what's going to happen is that the footwells and door channels are going to get the POR15, as will the area around the rear mounting holes for the bench seat and the seat belts, which is showing a few very small patches of rust. Any other bare spots will get rattle-canned with some Candy Apple Red I have laying around and called good.

Gary, thanks for the tips on the POR15 - I ordered it this morning, I'm glad going with the pint was the correct choice. It'll arrive tomorrow or Tuesday, and then hopefully by the end of the week I'll have it in the truck.

You'll have plenty of paint to do all of that.

Another tip - plastic/rubber gloves! Whatever gets on you will wear off in a few weeks.

And you can clean things up with lacquer thinner. But you probably won't get it all out of the brush, so use a cheap brush and throw it away.

I've been successful pouring less than I think I need into one of those paint cups from the hardware store, painting the first coat out of that, placing the brush in it and covering it with Press & Seal, and then coming back later for the 2nd coat. And I always have paint left over from what I poured out - it goes a looooooong way.

Edit: And you can coat the POR with the rattle can paint as long as the POR is still not hard.

[Dorsai]

While I'm waiting for my various orders to arrive, I've been daydreaming/thinking ahead to the time when I get the truck repainted. One of the things that has to happen is that the pinstriping needs to be reapplied; sure, it's just cheap (and poorly-applied) dealer striping, but it's part of the truck's character. A straight red truck would never look right to me.

If you squint, you may be able to tell that there are four widths of pinstriping tape used - 3/4", 1/2", 1/8", and 1/16". It looks like they're all available (the two narrow widths in a single double-stripe tape, even) from Custom Auto Trim. My question is, how hard is this stuff to apply? I'm not too worried about the long straight body line, but that curve around the wheel well, as well as around the front of the fender, has me concerned. Is this something I can reasonably expect to do myself? Or will I need to pay to have it done right?

Just for fun...why do I say the pinstriping was poorly applied? Look closely at this (dark - sorry, it's night here) picture of the dealer badge on my tailgate:

See the curved scratches to the left and right of the badge? Those are knife marks left by the mouth-breather who applied the tape. I suspect that same idiot was responsible for the rest of the dealer prep on my truck, as I've discovered crimes of similar magnitude elsewhere. Thanks, Don!

[Gary Lewis]

While I'm waiting for my various orders to arrive, I've been daydreaming/thinking ahead to the time when I get the truck repainted. One of the things that has to happen is that the pinstriping needs to be reapplied; sure, it's just cheap (and poorly-applied) dealer striping, but it's part of the truck's character. A straight red truck would never look right to me.

If you squint, you may be able to tell that there are four widths of pinstriping tape used - 3/4", 1/2", 1/8", and 1/16". It looks like they're all available (the two narrow widths in a single double-stripe tape, even) from Custom Auto Trim. My question is, how hard is this stuff to apply? I'm not too worried about the long straight body line, but that curve around the wheel well, as well as around the front of the fender, has me concerned. Is this something I can reasonably expect to do myself? Or will I need to pay to have it done right?

Just for fun...why do I say the pinstriping was poorly applied? Look closely at this (dark - sorry, it's night here) picture of the dealer badge on my tailgate:

See the curved scratches to the left and right of the badge? Those are knife marks left by the mouth-breather who applied the tape. I suspect that same idiot was responsible for the rest of the dealer prep on my truck, as I've discovered crimes of similar magnitude elsewhere. Thanks, Don!

I don't know how hard the pin striping is to apply, but I'm going to guess that having it done would be best. And, I'll bet that a pro will put the stripes on with paint instead of tape.

As for Don Thornton, he no longer sells Fords. Perhaps because of what you've seen? He now sells Audi, Caddy, Jag, Land Rover, Lexus, and VW.

[Dorsai]

I don't know how hard the pin striping is to apply, but I'm going to guess that having it done would be best. And, I'll bet that a pro will put the stripes on with paint instead of tape.

As for Don Thornton, he no longer sells Fords. Perhaps because of what you've seen? He now sells Audi, Caddy, Jag, Land Rover, Lexus, and VW.

Yeah, I'm going to ask whoever I end up getting the paint done by what they think of painted-on stripes. I suspect it will cost more than I'm willing to pay, but it never hurts to ask.

I knew Don was out of the Ford business...I remember my grandmother complaining about it when she went to buy a new car and he was gone. I don't think she knew about the tailgate, though.

Speaking of which...I just had an idea. I have a new tailgate arriving in the mail; it would be funny to pitch my old one through the front window of his Lexus dealership when I'm out there, with a note explaining why. I bet that would get a minute or two on the KOTV evening news.

Disclaimer: tailgate enfenestration is a crime, and should not be performed by anyone.

[Gary Lewis]

Disclaimer: tailgate enfenestration is a crime, and should not be performed by anyone.

Ooooh, there's a new word for me!

Defenestration (countable and uncountable, plural defenestrations)

• The act of throwing something or someone out of a window. [from c. 17th c.]

• (Britain) The high-profile removal of a person from an organization.

• (computing, humorous) The act of removing the Microsoft Windows operating system from a computer in order to install an alternative one.