1980 F150 4x4 Flareside Project

[Gary Lewis]

And you are getting some of the extra parts sold. I've not done that and sure need to do so. Kudos for that.

But, have your plans morphed? What parts are going where now? The dust is starting to settle so you are now getting a better picture of what you have.

Speaking of getting some extra parts sold, I took the cats from the 1995 donor to the junkyard with me today, and darn it if they didn't pay me $90 bucks for them!! I knew that they were worth money, but I didn't know it was that much...lol. This old '95 donor truck is getting better all the time! (On the same topic of the parts, I have a buyer for a spare steering wheel I had hanging on the wall, so I should be shipping that this week.)

As for the plans morphing...yes, they have. As you've seen above, the entire body for the '95 F150 is now gone. Sold it to a guy I know that is into that gen trucks more so than the Bulls and bricks.

The little 5.0L is coming out and the 300/6 is going in, and then the Bullnose cab and front end is going on it. I think it's going to be a cool little truck. 300 six with a 5spd and 3.55 gears should work nicely together. I've been wanting a 4x4 Flareside with a 300 anyway, so I might as well do it the way I want it from the start (subject to my plans morphing again for unforseen reasons...lol).

So I went to the junkyard this afternoon and the old '86 gave up her frame horns so that they can be grafted on to my 1995 frame. I felt kind of bad ruining the frame on that truck, but it's been there forever and will no doubt be crushed soon as it has been picked pretty clean (which reminds me, I might have to scavenge the core support out of it...lol).

I scribed the horns so that I have a registration point for the height when welding them in place. I plan to do this before I put the body back on, so it has to be right. I'm going to install them as cleanly as possible so that they look (sort of) like they belong there. Don't want to ruffle any feathers during MVI.

Cory,

All I can say is IF you have at least 5 SCFM @ 90psi at work RUN (don't walk!) to get one of these mini needle scalers!

Jim,

I forgot to tell you, I found one at work. Seems I may have suggested that the shop buy one a while ago and I forgot about it...lol. I went digging for a big impact gun the other day and found it.

Let me tell ya, I am in love with this tool. It is so handy for removing scale and cleaning around rivet heads and layered edges, etc. I put a full hour on it today, and I'll be putting many more on it in the future. It's good because it is going to eliminate the need for sand blasting in a lot of areas. I'm going to needle scale, wire cup, and then go straight to the Ospho, then prime and paint. I can't wait!

The frame will look kind of nasty to you southern guys, but it's really not that bad for up here in the land of rust. I'm going to replace the spring hangers...definitely the rear set, and likely the fronts as well, and I'm going to have to repair a couple problem areas, but it's very very fixable. It will look like a million bucks when it's all cleaned up and painted.

Stay tuned for more. I'm going to enjoy this. This isn't going to happen over night of course, but I have a lot of work to do now that is very cheap, but is labor intensive...and I like that. Keeps me busy, and I enjoy renewing rusty stuff.

Sounds like a good plan, Cory. The truck you've been wanting!

And you going to have fun getting it all together. Lots of work, but it will be worth it.

As for the core support, those things are sometimes hard to find. And the six cylinder one is different due to the width of the radiator. I think the MPC says you are supposed to fill the extra area in with tire carcasses, so it can be done w/o changing them out.

How are you attaching the frame horns? Are you butt welding them or fish plating them?

[FuzzFace2]

Sounds like a good plan, Cory. The truck you've been wanting!

And you going to have fun getting it all together. Lots of work, but it will be worth it.

As for the core support, those things are sometimes hard to find. And the six cylinder one is different due to the width of the radiator. I think the MPC says you are supposed to fill the extra area in with tire carcasses, so it can be done w/o changing them out.

How are you attaching the frame horns? Are you butt welding them or fish plating them?

The only difference on my 81's were 1 had no AC (small opening) and the other with AC (large opening) for the condenser. If he was to get a large opening support he could then run the larger AC radiator. He could then add AC if he wanted down the road as it would have the larger opening for condenser. I think the supports are made to hold both radiators but the openings are different sizes and the smaller can be cut to open it up.

Oh also note there was a change on the radiators and how they bolt in.

Early sits in rubbers at the bottom tanks and brackets up top on the tanks that bolt to the support.

The later years use bolts thru brackets that are part of the tanks on the sides to the support.

I would have loved a 5sp in my truck if it had a low enough first gear for pulling loads.

It sounds like a nice little truck you are building.

BTW what you going to do with MVI when the VIN on the frame don't match the door & cowl?

Then again maybe they are like here and no one from DMV even looked at the truck to get the plate.

Dave ----

[Rembrant]

BTW what you going to do with MVI when the VIN on the frame don't match the door & cowl?

You can't read VIN's on the frame here and they don't check them anyway, so whatever the VIN on the dash is, is the VIN of the vehicle.

 

[Rembrant]

BTW what you going to do with MVI when the VIN on the frame don't match the door & cowl?

You can't read VIN's on the frame here and they don't check them anyway, so whatever the VIN on the dash is, is the VIN of the vehicle.

If you happen to know anything about the 1980-1996 trucks in the rust belt, you'll know that the frames have particular weak spots that rust badly (and quickly). Things like the upper shock mounts and rear leaf rear hangers are prone to rust and disintegrate. One of the worst spots (if not THEE worst) are the angle brackets at the ends of the crossmembers, particularly on the driver's side. I've looked at A LOT of these trucks and these brackets are often rotted out and broken. I needed one for the 1995 frame, and so off to the junkyard I went as I knew there was a 1996 F150 out there with what looked like a very nice solid frame under it. What a bloody hateful job it is to remove one of these at the junkyard...lol. I had to drop the fuel tank first, which was of course easy, but then you have to drill out the six rivets holding the bracket in place.

I don't think I want to do that again...lol.

Of course this bracket was not perfect itself...one edge was rusted and thin, so I did a little surgery on it last night.

Just need to clean it up and paint it now. I'm going to remove the two middle crossmembers so that they can properly cleaned up and fixed up. I'm going to be drilling rivets for a month...lol.

Anyway, it seems like WAY too much work for such a small part, but you can't buy them, can't find them, and it would be really difficult to replicate without a good example, and even then...still a pain.

 

[ArdWrknTrk]

If you happen to know anything about the 1980-1996 trucks in the rust belt, you'll know that the frames have particular weak spots that rust badly (and quickly). Things like the upper shock mounts and rear leaf rear hangers are prone to rust and disintegrate. One of the worst spots (if not THEE worst) are the angle brackets at the ends of the crossmembers, particularly on the driver's side. I've looked at A LOT of these trucks and these brackets are often rotted out and broken. I needed one for the 1995 frame, and so off to the junkyard I went as I knew there was a 1996 F150 out there with what looked like a very nice solid frame under it. What a bloody hateful job it is to remove one of these at the junkyard...lol. I had to drop the fuel tank first, which was of course easy, but then you have to drill out the six rivets holding the bracket in place.

I don't think I want to do that again...lol.

Of course this bracket was not perfect itself...one edge was rusted and thin, so I did a little surgery on it last night.

Just need to clean it up and paint it now. I'm going to remove the two middle crossmembers so that they can properly cleaned up and fixed up. I'm going to be drilling rivets for a month...lol.

Anyway, it seems like WAY too much work for such a small part, but you can't buy them, can't find them, and it would be really difficult to replicate without a good example, and even then...still a pain.

That's great work, Cory!

Surprised you can even fine a truck with a good frame up there.

Must have belonged to a snowbird.

[Rembrant]

That's great work, Cory!

Surprised you can even fine a truck with a good frame up there.

Must have belonged to a snowbird.

I certainly don't care to remove one of these brackets again, laying on my back in the gravel with hot metal chips and chunks of rust falling on my face...lol.

This particular truck had the frame replaced at some point, with a southern frame or parts of a southern frame. The frame had been welded together under the cab, and a fairly nice job was done as well. So somebody either shortened a longer frame, or they simply replaced the back-half of it. It's a huge job, but not that uncommon...at least back in that generation.

There are guys around that go down south and buy this stuff. A truck sitting in a southern junkyard, even if it has been picked clean to the bone still has a good frame;). Most of the time they're after truck beds, doors, and gas tanks, but the same guys will haul a whole frame back if they get one cheap enough.

[Gary Lewis]

That's great work, Cory!

Surprised you can even fine a truck with a good frame up there.

Must have belonged to a snowbird.

That really IS good work.

And I know what you mean about the rivets. But FoxFord33 taught me that an air chisel is the way to go on the rivets. Chisel the head off and then drill the remaining part to release the tension. Lots less drilling that way.

[Rembrant]

That really IS good work.

And I know what you mean about the rivets. But FoxFord33 taught me that an air chisel is the way to go on the rivets. Chisel the head off and then drill the remaining part to release the tension. Lots less drilling that way.

No air at the junkyard. Only option is drilling. If you can get them dead center of the hole, the heads will pop right off...and then you just hammer it out. I actually don't mind doing them terribly when they're easy to access. Doing them overhead under a rusty truck at the junkyard though is not much fun...lol.

[Gary Lewis]

That really IS good work.

And I know what you mean about the rivets. But FoxFord33 taught me that an air chisel is the way to go on the rivets. Chisel the head off and then drill the remaining part to release the tension. Lots less drilling that way.

No air at the junkyard. Only option is drilling. If you can get them dead center of the hole, the heads will pop right off...and then you just hammer it out. I actually don't mind doing them terribly when they're easy to access. Doing them overhead under a rusty truck at the junkyard though is not much fun...lol.

Sorry, I should have said this is a suggestion for this winter when you are working in the shop. You have air there, right?

[Rembrant]

Sorry, I should have said this is a suggestion for this winter when you are working in the shop. You have air there, right?

Oh yes sir, lots of air, and I think three air chisels. I have a lot of them to do, so I'll try the chisels and see how that works. Thanks for the tip Gary.