1981 Ford F100 Revival (Parked for 12 years)

[Gary Lewis]

Great thanks! That gives me a good starting point. At least I have a rough goal now.

Looks like 1.30"/33mm for the top of the box, and 1.58"/40mm at the bottom. I tried measuring those dimensions on Big Blue, but it ain't easy. However, they are different, top and bottom.

I don't think it is critical at all. And with my toolbox mounted I can't accurately measure at the top, but I'd bet mine is more like 1 3/4".

Anyway, hope you get those bolts in. You are doing a great job and I think you are going to be very happy with the results.

[Jonathan]

I don't think it is critical at all. And with my toolbox mounted I can't accurately measure at the top, but I'd bet mine is more like 1 3/4".

Anyway, hope you get those bolts in. You are doing a great job and I think you are going to be very happy with the results.

Thank you for your encouragement Gary. I worked on it after work yesterday for a few hours with little progress. This time I put one floor jack on each side and lifted the cab up enough to relieve the pressure so I can move it easier but it was binding on the front passenger side radiator bushing. I need to purchase another jack so I can lift at three points. I currently only have two working floor jacks and the 2nd one is very small and could hardly reach even with a 4x4. Today I will go to Harbor Freight and pick up another jack.

Last night before I slept I reviewed the issue and had an idea. I am going to take a long 2x4 which should be just about right at 1.5" width and lay it down between the cab and the truck bed. That way I won't need to keep fighting the gap. I will just push it back to the 2x4. Then my main concern will be side to side.

I don't think it is critical at all. And with my toolbox mounted I can't accurately measure at the top, but I'd bet mine is more like 1 3/4".

Anyway, hope you get those bolts in. You are doing a great job and I think you are going to be very happy with the results.

 

[Gary Lewis]

Thank you for your encouragement Gary. I worked on it after work yesterday for a few hours with little progress. This time I put one floor jack on each side and lifted the cab up enough to relieve the pressure so I can move it easier but it was binding on the front passenger side radiator bushing. I need to purchase another jack so I can lift at three points. I currently only have two working floor jacks and the 2nd one is very small and could hardly reach even with a 4x4. Today I will go to Harbor Freight and pick up another jack.

Last night before I slept I reviewed the issue and had an idea. I am going to take a long 2x4 which should be just about right at 1.5" width and lay it down between the cab and the truck bed. That way I won't need to keep fighting the gap. I will just push it back to the 2x4. Then my main concern will be side to side.

I don't think it is critical at all. And with my toolbox mounted I can't accurately measure at the top, but I'd bet mine is more like 1 3/4".

Anyway, hope you get those bolts in. You are doing a great job and I think you are going to be very happy with the results.

I think the 2x4 is an excellent idea. That should get you really close and let you worry about getting the bolts in w/o hitting the bed w/the cab.

I'm really surprised that you are having this much trouble. The two cabs I've done dropped down on the frame nicely. So I'm wondering if you don't have a bend somewhere in the frame - or the cab. I found that Big Blue had apparently been in an accident and the front of the frame had been bent. It took a come-along and several HD ratchet straps to get it back where it should be.

So in your case I think I would see which bolts go in nicely and then figure out how to move the frame enough to get the other bolt(s) in. If you have to pull the frame rails together then you'll need some way to do that. If you need to move the rails apart, then maybe a hydraulic ram like you can get at HF.

But you may want to take the frame past the point where things align to get it into alignment when released. And this can take considerable force. Be careful!

[ArdWrknTrk]

Thank you for your encouragement Gary. I worked on it after work yesterday for a few hours with little progress. This time I put one floor jack on each side and lifted the cab up enough to relieve the pressure so I can move it easier but it was binding on the front passenger side radiator bushing. I need to purchase another jack so I can lift at three points. I currently only have two working floor jacks and the 2nd one is very small and could hardly reach even with a 4x4. Today I will go to Harbor Freight and pick up another jack.

Last night before I slept I reviewed the issue and had an idea. I am going to take a long 2x4 which should be just about right at 1.5" width and lay it down between the cab and the truck bed. That way I won't need to keep fighting the gap. I will just push it back to the 2x4. Then my main concern will be side to side.

I don't think it is critical at all. And with my toolbox mounted I can't accurately measure at the top, but I'd bet mine is more like 1 3/4".

Anyway, hope you get those bolts in. You are doing a great job and I think you are going to be very happy with the results.

I get a chuckle out of you using an internal bore gauge to check the distance between cab and bed.

But you're doing great work and I'm sure the truck is thankful for the attention!

 

[Gary Lewis]

I get a chuckle out of you using an internal bore gauge to check the distance between cab and bed.

I thought "Now, why didn't I think of that???" The bore gauges are far easier to use than bending my tape to fit in there. Which didn't work at all.

[Jonathan]

I think the 2x4 is an excellent idea. That should get you really close and let you worry about getting the bolts in w/o hitting the bed w/the cab.

I'm really surprised that you are having this much trouble. The two cabs I've done dropped down on the frame nicely. So I'm wondering if you don't have a bend somewhere in the frame - or the cab. I found that Big Blue had apparently been in an accident and the front of the frame had been bent. It took a come-along and several HD ratchet straps to get it back where it should be.

So in your case I think I would see which bolts go in nicely and then figure out how to move the frame enough to get the other bolt(s) in. If you have to pull the frame rails together then you'll need some way to do that. If you need to move the rails apart, then maybe a hydraulic ram like you can get at HF.

But you may want to take the frame past the point where things align to get it into alignment when released. And this can take considerable force. Be careful!

I did find a strange bend in part of the frame that I am not sure is normal or not. I will get a picture of it and post for you to examine.

I think the 2x4 is an excellent idea. That should get you really close and let you worry about getting the bolts in w/o hitting the bed w/the cab.

I'm really surprised that you are having this much trouble. The two cabs I've done dropped down on the frame nicely. So I'm wondering if you don't have a bend somewhere in the frame - or the cab. I found that Big Blue had apparently been in an accident and the front of the frame had been bent. It took a come-along and several HD ratchet straps to get it back where it should be.

So in your case I think I would see which bolts go in nicely and then figure out how to move the frame enough to get the other bolt(s) in. If you have to pull the frame rails together then you'll need some way to do that. If you need to move the rails apart, then maybe a hydraulic ram like you can get at HF.

But you may want to take the frame past the point where things align to get it into alignment when released. And this can take considerable force. Be careful!

 

[Jonathan]

I get a chuckle out of you using an internal bore gauge to check the distance between cab and bed.

But you're doing great work and I'm sure the truck is thankful for the attention!

You should see what I use screwdrivers for.

Thanks, hopefully all the hard work will pay off soon. I really need to learn to weld to replace the cab corners.

I get a chuckle out of you using an internal bore gauge to check the distance between cab and bed.

But you're doing great work and I'm sure the truck is thankful for the attention!

 

[Jonathan]

Thank you for your encouragement Gary. I worked on it after work yesterday for a few hours with little progress. This time I put one floor jack on each side and lifted the cab up enough to relieve the pressure so I can move it easier but it was binding on the front passenger side radiator bushing. I need to purchase another jack so I can lift at three points. I currently only have two working floor jacks and the 2nd one is very small and could hardly reach even with a 4x4. Today I will go to Harbor Freight and pick up another jack.

Last night before I slept I reviewed the issue and had an idea. I am going to take a long 2x4 which should be just about right at 1.5" width and lay it down between the cab and the truck bed. That way I won't need to keep fighting the gap. I will just push it back to the 2x4. Then my main concern will be side to side.

I don't think it is critical at all. And with my toolbox mounted I can't accurately measure at the top, but I'd bet mine is more like 1 3/4".

Anyway, hope you get those bolts in. You are doing a great job and I think you are going to be very happy with the results.

I tried using a 2x4 as a cab to bed spacer but it was too thick and the rear cab mount holes were not lining up. I sadly also managed to dent in the back of the cab with the 2x4 which is not something I needed considering all the other dents. I switched to a slimmer deck board from repairing my rear deck. I purchased a floor jack that Ugly Puppy picked out but it was not enough to help me get the cab over. I had trouble moving the cab toward the passenger side. I even used my lawn tractor as an anchor point and kicking the heck out of the drivers side door jam to push it over and it still would not move over enough. The only thing it did was hurt my back which is still recovering. It is just is fighting me the whole way. I reached out to Randy feeling frustrated and he gave me some good advice to lock it down and move on. So that is what I did. I will need to try again when I can drive it to a flat surface or take it to a body shop. I also think I will need some shims. The drivers side is too low and the passenger side is too high which I don't understand because the mount is shorter and I tightened down as much as I could. I can't shorten it any more unless I modify the bushing. I also ordered some new washers for the rear cab bolts because the other was too thin and started to bend before reaching the torque spec.

See the last pictures of the radiator bushing bolts. It has to slide all the way to one side for the other cab bolts to line up. Something seems twisted.

[Jonathan]

I tried using a 2x4 as a cab to bed spacer but it was too thick and the rear cab mount holes were not lining up. I sadly also managed to dent in the back of the cab with the 2x4 which is not something I needed considering all the other dents. I switched to a slimmer deck board from repairing my rear deck. I purchased a floor jack that Ugly Puppy picked out but it was not enough to help me get the cab over. I had trouble moving the cab toward the passenger side. I even used my lawn tractor as an anchor point and kicking the heck out of the drivers side door jam to push it over and it still would not move over enough. The only thing it did was hurt my back which is still recovering. It is just is fighting me the whole way. I reached out to Randy feeling frustrated and he gave me some good advice to lock it down and move on. So that is what I did. I will need to try again when I can drive it to a flat surface or take it to a body shop. I also think I will need some shims. The drivers side is too low and the passenger side is too high which I don't understand because the mount is shorter and I tightened down as much as I could. I can't shorten it any more unless I modify the bushing. I also ordered some new washers for the rear cab bolts because the other was too thin and started to bend before reaching the torque spec.

See the last pictures of the radiator bushing bolts. It has to slide all the way to one side for the other cab bolts to line up. Something seems twisted.

Since the drivers side suspension is almost ready to go back together I needed to clean up all the years of crude on the mount for the bushing side of the control arm or whatever it is called. I didn't do a full paint restore but just removed the crude and put a protective coating on it.

I also picked up some rust remover to try. I tried it on a brake shield that I already polished off most of the rust already but for some reason it seemed to expose rust that I didn't know was there.

[Jonathan]

Since the drivers side suspension is almost ready to go back together I needed to clean up all the years of crude on the mount for the bushing side of the control arm or whatever it is called. I didn't do a full paint restore but just removed the crude and put a protective coating on it.

I also picked up some rust remover to try. I tried it on a brake shield that I already polished off most of the rust already but for some reason it seemed to expose rust that I didn't know was there.

The plan was to finish cleaning the hardware for the suspension and paint or treat most of the parts but my back was hurting too bad from the cab moving and had to put the painting on hold.

I thought I had some bad nuts at first for the suspension spring mount but from looking into it I believe the bolts are made like this on purpose. They are oblong and not a perfect circle. Based on the line on each side of the bolt it looks like it was squeezed with some sort of press when it was manufactured. So I will reuse the bolts because I think it is made like that.