1980 F150 4x4 Flareside Project

[Gary Lewis]

I set out to move the old 1980 project truck from the shop at work to my house, and so I was rushing to get a bunch of stuff done yesterday and today, and then wouldn't ya know it the stupid thing wouldn't fit on my brother inlaw's trailer lol. Me and my 10" wide rims...

In any case, I cut 4 new hardwood blocks so that I could tighten the bed to the frame, I changed the rear diff fluid, installed the front park-brake cable, and installed a new 70am 1G alternator (did that yesterday). I even sand blasted the alternator bracket and shined up the bolt bosses on the block to make sure everything was grounded properly. Now I have a serious battery draining issue (I realized it before installing the new alternator). Going to try swapping in a spare voltage regulator as per my other thread, and see how that goes.

I also had to bump the idle up a little bit...first adjustment on my cheapo Amazon carb. Truck doesn't seem to smoke at all...and it starts right up.

But still...sooo much work to do. Mechanically it's all pretty close now...almost road ready. Need to build a wood floor for the bed, and then wire in the tail lights and fix all of the other lighting issues. I have a pile of new front end parts ready to go on (inner and outer tie-rods, etc.).

That's all. I'm having one of those weekends where I'm getting tired of working on it....really tired...but maybe just need a break. I have to swap summer tires on both our daily drivers tomorrow, so maybe I'll take a little break from old crusty. I don't think I'll be keeping this thing. I'll get it road ready and tested and then move it along.

You sure have done a lot in what seems, to me anyway, a short period of time. But I know that when you are in the thick of the battle it seems to go on forever.

Maybe it is time for a break. Has seemed to help me from time to time.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I set out to move the old 1980 project truck from the shop at work to my house, and so I was rushing to get a bunch of stuff done yesterday and today, and then wouldn't ya know it the stupid thing wouldn't fit on my brother inlaw's trailer lol. Me and my 10" wide rims...

In any case, I cut 4 new hardwood blocks so that I could tighten the bed to the frame, I changed the rear diff fluid, installed the front park-brake cable, and installed a new 70am 1G alternator (did that yesterday). I even sand blasted the alternator bracket and shined up the bolt bosses on the block to make sure everything was grounded properly. Now I have a serious battery draining issue (I realized it before installing the new alternator). Going to try swapping in a spare voltage regulator as per my other thread, and see how that goes.

I also had to bump the idle up a little bit...first adjustment on my cheapo Amazon carb. Truck doesn't seem to smoke at all...and it starts right up.

But still...sooo much work to do. Mechanically it's all pretty close now...almost road ready. Need to build a wood floor for the bed, and then wire in the tail lights and fix all of the other lighting issues. I have a pile of new front end parts ready to go on (inner and outer tie-rods, etc.).

That's all. I'm having one of those weekends where I'm getting tired of working on it....really tired...but maybe just need a break. I have to swap summer tires on both our daily drivers tomorrow, so maybe I'll take a little break from old crusty. I don't think I'll be keeping this thing. I'll get it road ready and tested and then move it along.

That's a whole lot of things done.

Progress is good!

Are you thinking of planks, or going with plywood like the later trucks?

I hope you keep it around long enough to give us some insight as to how well that YF clone carburetor drives.

Crusty has kept you out of Mrs Rembrandt's hair at least.

Hopefully you two will get to do some travel in the motorhome this year.

Not sure how the vaccine roll out is going in Canada.

I'm looking forward to being free to travel when the second shot kicks in .

[Rembrant]

That's a whole lot of things done.

Progress is good!

Are you thinking of planks, or going with plywood like the later trucks?

I hope you keep it around long enough to give us some insight as to how well that YF clone carburetor drives.

Crusty has kept you out of Mrs Rembrandt's hair at least.

Hopefully you two will get to do some travel in the motorhome this year.

Not sure how the vaccine roll out is going in Canada.

I'm looking forward to being free to travel when the second shot kicks in .

Jim,

Going with planks, I guess. Red Oak seems to be the cheapest hardwood option. Not sure about down your way, but regular lumber prices are insane here right now. A regular 2x4x8 is something like $10 right now. We have a specialty hardwood shop down the road that will sell me the required amount of red oak for about $325, which isn't so bad. I will still have to cut the strip grooves in it, but that's fine...either a table saw or a router table will do the trick.

The motorhome is gone...sold it late in the fall. Mrs Rembrant wanted to trade it for some back yard landscaping and a badly needed replacement deck. We actually did OK on the old thing...paid $13k for it, but sold it for $18k. Now, we probably spent a little more than the $5k difference fixing it up and renovating it, but it was a very welcome distraction during the early Covid days. Like everything else, we had more fun renovating it than we did actually using it. The other issue...gas prices have doubled here since this time last year when we bought the RV...lol. $5/gallon and more is a hard pill to swallow when you get 8mpg going downhill...lol. Still, the Mrs just said this morning that she wants another one, just not yet. Once we get the backyard work done, and all of the borders and lockdowns open up, I think it will become more enticing again. Still, god bless her little heart, she said she'd rather see me build a detached garage before we spent the money on an RV again.

The vaccines are rolling out. Several of my coworkers (over 55) got their first shots late last week. Here in Nova Scotia specifically, we have basically been Covid free for a long time. There are always a half a dozen cases or less province wide, but even in the peak of things last spring I think we still only hit a few hundred cases total. Everybody is behaving fairly well, and we had our own lockdowns that did seem to work, so all is good so far. Even my parents at 70 and 72 aren't too concerned about it...they said they'll get vaccinated, but they're waiting until after the rush when they don't have to wait in any line-ups, etc. Both of them detest crowds, so it's worth it to them to wait (he still makes it to the pub every day...lol, so he's doing fine).

I was supposed to move the truck home this weekend...finally moving out of my work shop, but it wouldn't fit on the trailer. I think I'm just going to bite the bullet and flat deck it today. I'm making a new list today of things to do and will tear back into it next weekend. A little bit each week, and maybe it will be on the road in May.

I have another itch I need to scratch besides a Bullnose: Being thoroughly stuck in the 80's, I have been lusting after a Jeep CJ-7 for 30+ years now. It's one of those things I've always wanted and need to scratch it off my bucket list. So I'm kind of on the hunt for one of those...preferrably and 80's model with the 258 inline 6 and 5spd. I've also been lusting after a four-eyed 5.0 fox Mustang, but not nearly as much...I love them, but I have a feeling that once I got one I would get bored with it quickly. Still, it's another itch that might have to get scratched someday...and I'm always planning ahead for winter projects to keep me busy.

 

[ArdWrknTrk]

That's a whole lot of things done.

Progress is good!

Are you thinking of planks, or going with plywood like the later trucks?

I hope you keep it around long enough to give us some insight as to how well that YF clone carburetor drives.

Crusty has kept you out of Mrs Rembrandt's hair at least.

Hopefully you two will get to do some travel in the motorhome this year.

Not sure how the vaccine roll out is going in Canada.

I'm looking forward to being free to travel when the second shot kicks in .

Jim,

Going with planks, I guess. Red Oak seems to be the cheapest hardwood option. Not sure about down your way, but regular lumber prices are insane here right now. A regular 2x4x8 is something like $10 right now. We have a specialty hardwood shop down the road that will sell me the required amount of red oak for about $325, which isn't so bad. I will still have to cut the strip grooves in it, but that's fine...either a table saw or a router table will do the trick.

The motorhome is gone...sold it late in the fall. Mrs Rembrant wanted to trade it for some back yard landscaping and a badly needed replacement deck. We actually did OK on the old thing...paid $13k for it, but sold it for $18k. Now, we probably spent a little more than the $5k difference fixing it up and renovating it, but it was a very welcome distraction during the early Covid days. Like everything else, we had more fun renovating it than we did actually using it. The other issue...gas prices have doubled here since this time last year when we bought the RV...lol. $5/gallon and more is a hard pill to swallow when you get 8mpg going downhill...lol. Still, the Mrs just said this morning that she wants another one, just not yet. Once we get the backyard work done, and all of the borders and lockdowns open up, I think it will become more enticing again. Still, god bless her little heart, she said she'd rather see me build a detached garage before we spent the money on an RV again.

The vaccines are rolling out. Several of my coworkers (over 55) got their first shots late last week. Here in Nova Scotia specifically, we have basically been Covid free for a long time. There are always a half a dozen cases or less province wide, but even in the peak of things last spring I think we still only hit a few hundred cases total. Everybody is behaving fairly well, and we had our own lockdowns that did seem to work, so all is good so far. Even my parents at 70 and 72 aren't too concerned about it...they said they'll get vaccinated, but they're waiting until after the rush when they don't have to wait in any line-ups, etc. Both of them detest crowds, so it's worth it to them to wait (he still makes it to the pub every day...lol, so he's doing fine).

I was supposed to move the truck home this weekend...finally moving out of my work shop, but it wouldn't fit on the trailer. I think I'm just going to bite the bullet and flat deck it today. I'm making a new list today of things to do and will tear back into it next weekend. A little bit each week, and maybe it will be on the road in May.

I have another itch I need to scratch besides a Bullnose: Being thoroughly stuck in the 80's, I have been lusting after a Jeep CJ-7 for 30+ years now. It's one of those things I've always wanted and need to scratch it off my bucket list. So I'm kind of on the hunt for one of those...preferrably and 80's model with the 258 inline 6 and 5spd. I've also been lusting after a four-eyed 5.0 fox Mustang, but not nearly as much...I love them, but I have a feeling that once I got one I would get bored with it quickly. Still, it's another itch that might have to get scratched someday...and I'm always planning ahead for winter projects to keep me busy.

See if the wood shop can get you White Oak.

Because of the cell structure (tyloses) it doesn't act like a wick -and why it is used for barrel staves.

It is much more resistant to water, cupping and rot while not costing premium for flatsawn boards.

If you choose rift and quartered you get that wild ray figure. But that may not be to your liking and definitely costs more in wider widths.

 

[Rembrant]

See if the wood shop can get you White Oak.

Because of the cell structure (tyloses) it doesn't act like a wick -and why it is used for barrel staves.

It is much more resistant to water, cupping and rot while not costing premium for flatsawn boards.

If you choose rift and quartered you get that wild ray figure. But that may not be to your liking and definitely costs more in wider widths.

White oak is double the price, so I was going to pass on that since I don't plan to keep the truck anyway. I would even go with a softwood if it was cheap enough, but it's not looking so good.

[ArdWrknTrk]

See if the wood shop can get you White Oak.

Because of the cell structure (tyloses) it doesn't act like a wick -and why it is used for barrel staves.

It is much more resistant to water, cupping and rot while not costing premium for flatsawn boards.

If you choose rift and quartered you get that wild ray figure. But that may not be to your liking and definitely costs more in wider widths.

White oak is double the price, so I was going to pass on that since I don't plan to keep the truck anyway. I would even go with a softwood if it was cheap enough, but it's not looking so good.

Really?

There's that much difference up there????

[Rembrant]

Really?

There's that much difference up there????

Yes sir, I believe both Ash and White Oak were almost double the price. I'll check again today but that is what they told me a few weeks ago.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Really?

There's that much difference up there????

Yes sir, I believe both Ash and White Oak were almost double the price. I'll check again today but that is what they told me a few weeks ago.

Ash is absolutely no good outdoors.

Rapidly spiking in price due to emerald ash borer.

It will be extinct in it's native range within a decade.

But a lot of premptive cutting on woodlots has lead to low prices, because it was better to harvest healthy trees than watch rotting ones fall down.

[Rembrant]

Ash is absolutely no good outdoors.

Rapidly spiking in price due to emerald ash borer.

It will be extinct in it's native range within a decade.

But a lot of premptive cutting on woodlots has lead to low prices, because it was better to harvest healthy trees than watch rotting ones fall down.

Finally back to working on the old 80 Flareside again! I had a friend up the road mill the grooves in my new oak boards, and just got them test fitted into the truck yesterday.

After that I installed my newly fabricated crossmembers (3x) that I made with 2x1"x 1/8" channel...I little heavier than the original stuff, but closest fit I could find.

Today's project is to get the 8 bed mounting holes cut, and the washers counter sunk a bit (Forstner bit). This is a real pain, because you have to get the bed all centered and squared away, and then come up from the bottom to mark the holes...through the frame, and then through the wood blocks which are 2.5" thick...and I'm using homemade wood blocks, so there's no holes in them currently. Anyway...it will be a day of getting in and out from under the truck about 500 times...lol.

I might try using a piece of 1/2" copper pipe to put up through the frame and wood blocks to score the bottoms of the oak boards.

 

[ArdWrknTrk]

Finally back to working on the old 80 Flareside again! I had a friend up the road mill the grooves in my new oak boards, and just got them test fitted into the truck yesterday.

After that I installed my newly fabricated crossmembers (3x) that I made with 2x1"x 1/8" channel...I little heavier than the original stuff, but closest fit I could find.

Today's project is to get the 8 bed mounting holes cut, and the washers counter sunk a bit (Forstner bit). This is a real pain, because you have to get the bed all centered and squared away, and then come up from the bottom to mark the holes...through the frame, and then through the wood blocks which are 2.5" thick...and I'm using homemade wood blocks, so there's no holes in them currently. Anyway...it will be a day of getting in and out from under the truck about 500 times...lol.

I might try using a piece of 1/2" copper pipe to put up through the frame and wood blocks to score the bottoms of the oak boards.

Your bed floor looks beautiful Cory! 😍

1/2" pipe is sized nominal ID so 5/8.

Tubing is sized OD.

(Gary is in the same predicament)

I have transfer punches, but I don't think they are the 8' long that Gary needs for his tool box.

But just a dab of grease on the end of one of your bolts should leave you a mark.

Drill through something tiny (like 1/16") so you can center up the pip on the front of a forstner bit and make the washer recess..