WHYDTYTT: What Have You Done To Your Truck Today?

[GMACD]

Yeah I liked the 16.5s myself on the F250s but in the end it was cheaper and easier to buy new wheels. One thing I do miss though is those old Cooper LTs, they were awesome all around tires. I also prefer the flat face tread to give the tire a more square proportion than the rounder newer tires.

I've been trying to convince him to repaint the new wheels similarly to the old ones but he likes the black.

Good Morning All,

Being on the Covid-19 vacation plan I decided to clean up my valve covers.

I have an 80 302 (swap) that needs a bit of love. The PO didn't know the specs on the build, but it has a edelbrock 289 performer, and a 4 barrel, probably a mild cam...

I began with using a 3000 rpm drill and the typical black, rouge white compound progress. But that only got the oxidation off from 90's. Lots of oil staining, so I sanded it down 220, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500. To get between the fins I used a dremel wire wheel.And then about 5 passes using Mothers aluminum polish.

I probably have about 16 hours in on this. Yikes, I need to the other one now :(

Any ideas on how to clear coat these or put a some type of protectant on it?

[Gary Lewis]

Good Morning All,

Being on the Covid-19 vacation plan I decided to clean up my valve covers.

I have an 80 302 (swap) that needs a bit of love. The PO didn't know the specs on the build, but it has a edelbrock 289 performer, and a 4 barrel, probably a mild cam...

I began with using a 3000 rpm drill and the typical black, rouge white compound progress. But that only got the oxidation off from 90's. Lots of oil staining, so I sanded it down 220, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500. To get between the fins I used a dremel wire wheel.And then about 5 passes using Mothers aluminum polish.

I probably have about 16 hours in on this. Yikes, I need to the other one now :(

Any ideas on how to clear coat these or put a some type of protectant on it?

Morning, Gregg. Well done! But lots of work.

Several thoughts on protection. But first, as someone else pointed out, aluminum has pits or pores and holds yuk down in them. So if you paint over them, as the yuk heats up it can blow holes in the paint.

I learned that the hard way as I was powder coating. So what I do is to wash the part with brake cleaner after media blasting or sanding. Then heat the part up for an hour at 400 degrees. Then wash it with brake cleaner again, and then use a heat gun to warm it enough to ensure the brake cleaner has evaporated before painting or powder coating.

As for the coating itself, you could use a high-temp clear. But, what about painting it with a high-temp black and then sanding the ribs back to aluminum and coating them with the clear?

You can see how I did the ones for Dad's truck here. And, you can see how I did Bill's Chrysler valve cover here.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Morning, Gregg. Well done! But lots of work.

Several thoughts on protection. But first, as someone else pointed out, aluminum has pits or pores and holds yuk down in them. So if you paint over them, as the yuk heats up it can blow holes in the paint.

I learned that the hard way as I was powder coating. So what I do is to wash the part with brake cleaner after media blasting or sanding. Then heat the part up for an hour at 400 degrees. Then wash it with brake cleaner again, and then use a heat gun to warm it enough to ensure the brake cleaner has evaporated before painting or powder coating.

As for the coating itself, you could use a high-temp clear. But, what about painting it with a high-temp black and then sanding the ribs back to aluminum and coating them with the clear?

You can see how I did the ones for Dad's truck here. And, you can see how I did Bill's Chrysler valve cover here.

Looks fantastic Gregg!

You can see how I krinkle painted mine in the WDYDTYTT from a couple years back in September.

I used PJ1 high temp rattle can, as I've had good luck with it on air cooled motorcycle cylinders, and they are a lot harsher than a valve cover.

[Frank Wyatt]

Looks fantastic Gregg!

You can see how I krinkle painted mine in the WDYDTYTT from a couple years back in September.

I used PJ1 high temp rattle can, as I've had good luck with it on air cooled motorcycle cylinders, and they are a lot harsher than a valve cover.

Looks great but lots of work. There again though we have lots of time on our hands.

[Nothing Special]

Coupling nuts are long nuts that allow two bolts to be joined. How are you going to join the long bolts to the studs? Or?

Ah, Got it! The studs are just pressed into the mounting plate with a head on the back to keep them from pulling through. So I'm planning on knocking the studs out and just using bolts to go the full length.

(edit to add: this project picks up again about halfway down page 164)

A little more progress on the Bronco's brakes today. The hydroboost and master cylinder are now bolted in, and the pedal linkage is hooked up! I made a bronze bushing to make the Astro hydroboost pushrod fit the bellcrank that came with my aftermarket angle bracket and four spacers to mount the hydroboost to the angle bracket at the right place for the linkage to work out. And the lengths of everything seems pretty good! The pedal is essentially at the top of it's travel at rest, but there's just enough play that I know it isn't applying the brakes. The pedal does go all the way to the floor, so I'll have to see if I'm getting enough travel in the master to fully apply the brakes. I'd guess that I am, but I won't really know until the hydraulics are hooked up.

So now the next step is to figure out the hoses for the hydroboost. Then get brake lines hooked up (I'll need a new proportioning valve since I'm going from 4 wheel disks to disk/drum). And then it should be good to go! (or should I say "good to stop!"?)

Picture time. Here's a better picture of why I couldn't "just bolt it to the firewall." This is looking through the hole in the firewall that the rod from the pedal comes through. You can see part of the dash support / pedal assembly through the hole. There's another piece on the near side as well. Also you can see a flange bent out just to the far side of the hole. And it's not flat or smooth around the steering column either. I'm not saying it wouldn't be possible to bolt it directly to the firewall. But if it is possible it would be challenging to figure it all out without messing anything else up. And then there's the throttle linkage and clearance to the oil fill cap. So I'm happy with my choice to use the angle bracket.

Here's the bushing in the hole of the hydroboost pushrod

And here's the hydroboost and master cylinder mounted to the angle bracket. I did see in other threads now how others did this without the long spacers. They get a different bellcrank to allow the hydroboost rod to come back a lot farther. That would be cleaner, but I'm OK with how this is turning out. I shifted my power distribution box over about an inch and now everything clears.

(edit to add: this project picks up on the bottom of page 175)

[grumpin]

A little more progress on the Bronco's brakes today. The hydroboost and master cylinder are now bolted in, and the pedal linkage is hooked up! I made a bronze bushing to make the Astro hydroboost pushrod fit the bellcrank that came with my aftermarket angle bracket and four spacers to mount the hydroboost to the angle bracket at the right place for the linkage to work out. And the lengths of everything seems pretty good! The pedal is essentially at the top of it's travel at rest, but there's just enough play that I know it isn't applying the brakes. The pedal does go all the way to the floor, so I'll have to see if I'm getting enough travel in the master to fully apply the brakes. I'd guess that I am, but I won't really know until the hydraulics are hooked up.

So now the next step is to figure out the hoses for the hydroboost. Then get brake lines hooked up (I'll need a new proportioning valve since I'm going from 4 wheel disks to disk/drum). And then it should be good to go! (or should I say "good to stop!"?)

Picture time. Here's a better picture of why I couldn't "just bolt it to the firewall." This is looking through the hole in the firewall that the rod from the pedal comes through. You can see part of the dash support / pedal assembly through the hole. There's another piece on the near side as well. Also you can see a flange bent out just to the far side of the hole. And it's not flat or smooth around the steering column either. I'm not saying it wouldn't be possible to bolt it directly to the firewall. But if it is possible it would be challenging to figure it all out without messing anything else up. And then there's the throttle linkage and clearance to the oil fill cap. So I'm happy with my choice to use the angle bracket.

Here's the bushing in the hole of the hydroboost pushrod

And here's the hydroboost and master cylinder mounted to the angle bracket. I did see in other threads now how others did this without the long spacers. They get a different bellcrank to allow the hydroboost rod to come back a lot farther. That would be cleaner, but I'm OK with how this is turning out. I shifted my power distribution box over about an inch and now everything clears.

(edit to add: this project picks up on the bottom of page 175)

That’s cool! Good job!

[Gary Lewis]

A little more progress on the Bronco's brakes today. The hydroboost and master cylinder are now bolted in, and the pedal linkage is hooked up! I made a bronze bushing to make the Astro hydroboost pushrod fit the bellcrank that came with my aftermarket angle bracket and four spacers to mount the hydroboost to the angle bracket at the right place for the linkage to work out. And the lengths of everything seems pretty good! The pedal is essentially at the top of it's travel at rest, but there's just enough play that I know it isn't applying the brakes. The pedal does go all the way to the floor, so I'll have to see if I'm getting enough travel in the master to fully apply the brakes. I'd guess that I am, but I won't really know until the hydraulics are hooked up.

So now the next step is to figure out the hoses for the hydroboost. Then get brake lines hooked up (I'll need a new proportioning valve since I'm going from 4 wheel disks to disk/drum). And then it should be good to go! (or should I say "good to stop!"?)

Picture time. Here's a better picture of why I couldn't "just bolt it to the firewall." This is looking through the hole in the firewall that the rod from the pedal comes through. You can see part of the dash support / pedal assembly through the hole. There's another piece on the near side as well. Also you can see a flange bent out just to the far side of the hole. And it's not flat or smooth around the steering column either. I'm not saying it wouldn't be possible to bolt it directly to the firewall. But if it is possible it would be challenging to figure it all out without messing anything else up. And then there's the throttle linkage and clearance to the oil fill cap. So I'm happy with my choice to use the angle bracket.

Here's the bushing in the hole of the hydroboost pushrod

And here's the hydroboost and master cylinder mounted to the angle bracket. I did see in other threads now how others did this without the long spacers. They get a different bellcrank to allow the hydroboost rod to come back a lot farther. That would be cleaner, but I'm OK with how this is turning out. I shifted my power distribution box over about an inch and now everything clears.

(edit to add: this project picks up on the bottom of page 175)

Good job, Bob! It looks right at home. And I now see how the bell crank works.

And, I can see how a different bell crank could be helpful. But yours is in and should work just fine.

[salans7]

Good job, Bob! It looks right at home. And I now see how the bell crank works.

And, I can see how a different bell crank could be helpful. But yours is in and should work just fine.

Ordered some 80 mil sound deadening for the firewall, as well as the clutch pedal reinforcement plate from JBG. My cab was an auto so my firewall is in perfect shape, however I'm not interested in pulling the column out again so I'm just gonna install one now. Once I get those two things in I can re-install everything else that attaches to the firewall and then put the dash in for the final time.

[Bulletproof250]

Ordered some 80 mil sound deadening for the firewall, as well as the clutch pedal reinforcement plate from JBG. My cab was an auto so my firewall is in perfect shape, however I'm not interested in pulling the column out again so I'm just gonna install one now. Once I get those two things in I can re-install everything else that attaches to the firewall and then put the dash in for the final time.

I removed the rest of the old rotted Walker full exhaust kit and put in a new Y-Pipe and went with a little less conventional route.

[Gary Lewis]

I removed the rest of the old rotted Walker full exhaust kit and put in a new Y-Pipe and went with a little less conventional route.

Looks good, Alex. What muffler is that? How does it sound?