85lebaront2 Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 One thing I haven't really researched is whether the aftermarket taillights have a better design to fix those issues. You're correct in that the 80-86 taillights are always pretty dim compared to the newer trucks. The LKQs were identical to the original 1986 ones, the 1987-97 are much brighter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starliner Posted September 5 Share Posted September 5 I cut down this aluminum army chest by 6" to use as a tool box. I didnt want it higher than the gunwales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 5 Author Share Posted September 5 I cut down this aluminum army chest by 6" to use as a tool box. I didnt want it higher than the gunwales. Nice box, Joe. As for what I did, I glued the trim back on in many places on Big Blue today. With the shows coming, both ours as well as the one in my home town, I wanted the trim to be stuck down well. And today's the day 'cause I'm having the truck detailed on Saturday by the young man across the street, so I need the glue to be set up and the excess removed. So I'll do the untaping and cleaning up tomorrow. As for how I did it, I used 3M's 08061 Plastic And Emblem Adhesive. But before applying it I cleaned both the rubber trim & aluminum strip with a Q-Tip soaked with O'Reilly's Brake Cleaner. That got the old adhesive off and also cleans up the new adhesive after it dries on most thing - but not fingers so far. The tape (hull saver, Jim) is applied from the bottom and pulled up to ensure that the rubber is seated against the lip of the aluminum strip. I stretched it pretty tight and it seems to hold well. But tomorrow we will find out how well this "takes". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salans7 Posted September 5 Share Posted September 5 Nice box, Joe. As for what I did, I glued the trim back on in many places on Big Blue today. With the shows coming, both ours as well as the one in my home town, I wanted the trim to be stuck down well. And today's the day 'cause I'm having the truck detailed on Saturday by the young man across the street, so I need the glue to be set up and the excess removed. So I'll do the untaping and cleaning up tomorrow. As for how I did it, I used 3M's 08061 Plastic And Emblem Adhesive. But before applying it I cleaned both the rubber trim & aluminum strip with a Q-Tip soaked with O'Reilly's Brake Cleaner. That got the old adhesive off and also cleans up the new adhesive after it dries on most thing - but not fingers so far. The tape (hull saver, Jim) is applied from the bottom and pulled up to ensure that the rubber is seated against the lip of the aluminum strip. I stretched it pretty tight and it seems to hold well. But tomorrow we will find out how well this "takes". You would think Ford would have used some sort of screw to retain this stuff. The lower trim moldings aren't any better with their spike plates from the back. As for my truck, I switched out the door locks with a new set. I needed a lock for my old F150 door, so I put the newer ones into my F350 and one of the older ones in the F150 door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted September 6 Share Posted September 6 You would think Ford would have used some sort of screw to retain this stuff. The lower trim moldings aren't any better with their spike plates from the back.... From a manufacturing perspective fasteners that require turning are really expensive to install. I don't know how adhesives compare if they need to be held in place while they cure, but anything that can be pushed straight on/in is much quicker. At my company we really use no threaded fasteners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 6 Author Share Posted September 6 You would think Ford would have used some sort of screw to retain this stuff. The lower trim moldings aren't any better with their spike plates from the back.... From a manufacturing perspective fasteners that require turning are really expensive to install. I don't know how adhesives compare if they need to be held in place while they cure, but anything that can be pushed straight on/in is much quicker. At my company we really use no threaded fasteners. I'm sure Ford had a good reason for installing the trim the way they did, but it doesn't make it easy for us decades later. Anyway, I took the tape off the trim today and had a little bit of cleanup to do, like getting the excess off and out of the cracks as well as to get the tape's adhesive off the paint. But all that was done pretty easily and then I spotted something else to do - the rear bumper's rubber trim. Every since I got the truck the rear bumper's trim has been broken off before the front retainer slot on both sides. Today I decided to fix that. Fortunately Vernon had ordered in a NOS piece for the left side, but I had to use the one off Dad's rear bumper for the right side. Still, even that made a big difference - as you can see below.. So now Big Blue is ready for his detailing appointment tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordFETruck Posted September 7 Share Posted September 7 I'm sure Ford had a good reason for installing the trim the way they did, but it doesn't make it easy for us decades later. Anyway, I took the tape off the trim today and had a little bit of cleanup to do, like getting the excess off and out of the cracks as well as to get the tape's adhesive off the paint. But all that was done pretty easily and then I spotted something else to do - the rear bumper's rubber trim. Every since I got the truck the rear bumper's trim has been broken off before the front retainer slot on both sides. Today I decided to fix that. Fortunately Vernon had ordered in a NOS piece for the left side, but I had to use the one off Dad's rear bumper for the right side. Still, even that made a big difference - as you can see below.. So now Big Blue is ready for his detailing appointment tomorrow. Got my two camshafts back from Oregon Cam Grinding today, looks like they did a great job. I had them regrind the cams from my old engine and the new long block, plus the lifters that came out of the long block and I bought a new set of lifters so both cams have lifters. The XE250H from the old engine is now a 84-87 351W HO grind on 110 LSA instead of 115 like it would be stock. The cam from the long block is now the same thing as the Melling MTF5, Edelbrock performer plus and a few others. Need y'all to do a bit of a vote on which one to put in my old engine I'm rebuilding for a spare. I They did a great job, wait was only a month from the time I sent them in to having them back today. $99 for a cam regrind, $5.50? I think for each lifter reground and the new lifters were $10.75 each for USA Johnsons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat in tn Posted September 7 Share Posted September 7 Got my two camshafts back from Oregon Cam Grinding today, looks like they did a great job. I had them regrind the cams from my old engine and the new long block, plus the lifters that came out of the long block and I bought a new set of lifters so both cams have lifters. The XE250H from the old engine is now a 84-87 351W HO grind on 110 LSA instead of 115 like it would be stock. The cam from the long block is now the same thing as the Melling MTF5, Edelbrock performer plus and a few others. Need y'all to do a bit of a vote on which one to put in my old engine I'm rebuilding for a spare. I They did a great job, wait was only a month from the time I sent them in to having them back today. $99 for a cam regrind, $5.50? I think for each lifter reground and the new lifters were $10.75 each for USA Johnsons. the lifter surfaces look great. mtf5 is my vote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viven44 Posted September 7 Share Posted September 7 Easy enough Kick the inertia switch. I'm about to install a KCD3 rocker switch that will use the inertia switch input (Thanks for the idea Jim) to cut off the fuel pump before turning off the truck and help with the heat soak problem on BB 2WD. 3D printed an undermount bracket I found online for the switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordFETruck Posted September 8 Share Posted September 8 the lifter surfaces look great. mtf5 is my vote. Yeah, I was thinking of putting that cam in it myself. The lifters they reground look fantastic and they said that they grind more taper into the cam and lifters to promote rotation. The Johnson new lifters I bought from them are ground differently as per visual appearance but they definitely have more crown ground into them as well. It's noticeable compared to the OEM Ford lifters I put in the new engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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