"Rocky" - 1981 F250 Restoration

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks Keith! i can confirm this procedure definitely helped. I still wish the lens cover's "tabs" ("fingers"?) were a wee bit longer - the grip isn't very strong. But there's no doubt in the end this process is worth it. The clear cover is SO much brighter than the factory yellow one. Insert "night and day" joke here.

Just some text updates this morning, but after I get some morning work out of the way, I expect to be reporting back on a number of progress items. I got the cowl cover back on with minor scratching, avoidable now that I know the trick. So here's some advice. The cowl is flexible AND it also has two rounded areas on the left and right where the cowl "lip" doesn't go down as far. Those two details are the key.

With the hood raised ALMOST (but not quite) all the way I rested the cowl cover on the cowl. I attached the wiper fluid spray nozzle and fed the antenna wire up through the cowl cover. Then on the passenger side, I "torqued" the cowl cover clockwise so the front lip was down an inch or so. This changes the angle of both the cover itself and the hole where the wiper arm sticks through and I was able to "sneak it" under the hood there and drop it over the passenger side wiper hub.

The driver's side went the same way. Instead of sliding the cover forward to clear the wiper arm hub, I torqued it (counterclockwise this time). Again, this let me sneak the driver's side of the cowl forward under the hood without getting scratched. You can tell where this needs to be done because it's where the curved/shallower portions of the front lip of the cowl cover are.

Anyway that's all done and I also installed a new hood seal while I was at it. My old one disintegrated as I took it off. That actually turned out to be frustrating. Three of the screws didn't line up so I needed to drill some new screw holes. I didn't want metal shavings dropping down anywhere bad so I had to spread a drop cloth over the engine first... But job done.

Now I'm mounting my winch on my winch plate so I can start doing some test-fitting there. Today I also hope to refill the transmission gear oil (says it's "out for delivery") and fix my leaking radiator drain petcock.

Interesting. I wouldn't have thought of twisting the cover. Cool!

What hood seal did you use?

And I'm anxious to see the winch mounted. If I didn't have the Warn bumper...

[taskswap]

What hood seal did you use?

This one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/233614141302

I've been getting a lot of parts on eBay lately. I just use the "Fits your Vehicle" search and buy whatever looks closest to what's on the truck. So far it seems to work OK with some caveats. First, you have to pay close attention to shipping because lots of parts are free but a few are just crazy, stuff like small $5 parts costing $15 to ship. But also I've noticed vendors don't always do a great job listing parts in the right categories. This was the right part number but it's only listed as fitting the Bronco. But it fit fine in mine. The same part is on Amazon for $70 which I thought was crazy, so I just searched for the same part number. It seems to work about 70% of the time.

It was warm today and will be cold for the next week so I played a little hooky from work and got a ton of stuff done:

1. Windshield trim (mostly) reinstalled. Had trouble with two clips and couldn't find my trim-removal-tool to bend them the right way so I paused there. But it's close.

2. Antenna reinstalled on cowl. I THINK I screwed something up when removing this, the plug was very difficult to pull out of the bottom of the antenna and it looked like a raw-crimped connection, with shield braid kind of hanging out. But I couldn't find a replacement part for this and don't really listen to the radio that much anyway so I just pushed it back in and it seemed to seat OK. We'll see if it works at all. :)

3. Step bars installed. I went with the Westin kit and they look good, but I do wish the "step" portion extended about 6" further back but hey, better than nothing. The parts kit was super confusing, there were lots of unlabeled bolts with the same length and very close but NOT identical threads. It took some trial and error to figure out what went where. But it was definitely a no-drill installation. Not that that matters that much because...

4. Started installing the Torklift camper tie-downs. The old camper setup was tied right to the body panels via hooks bolted on there. I HATE that idea but also wanted something low-key for those times the camper wasn't in. The Torklift rang my bell here. This unfortunately IS a "drill the frame" type of installation and UPS rolled up with some of the above stuff as I was starting this, so I got distracted and didn't finish. :)

5. Transmission oil arrived. This time I got the right stuff, VP Classic 80W-90 GL-4 "for yellow metals". You can see below the old oil was black as night and there was definitely not 7 pints in there - more like 5. I found this task pretty stressful. I bought one of those "Slippery Pete" quart bottle pumps and definitely recommend any other product you can find. Just as the reviews say, the hose is too short and so is the pump stroke. But anyway I got the transmission refilled and closed up.

6. Painted the armrests. Since the "saddle" color isn't available anywhere, and apparently hasn't been for months, I bought the black ones from LMC. I actually did this a month ago and tried to paint them with the same paint I'd used on the dash - THAT was a mistake. It flaked off immediately. So I scrubbed all that off and this time I tried LMC's "adhesion promoter" and the saddle paint they sell from Coverlay just for this purpose. So far it seems to be adhering better though I haven't really rubbed on it yet (I'm giving it time to cure).

7. Got the radio bezel re-stickered. You may remember I'd done one already but I accidentally had the panel laser-cut not quite identically left-to-right - two slots have about a millimeter of offset. Also when I applied the sticker the first time I had a ton of air bubbles I couldn't get out. Well, it all worked out because I'd ordered five faceplates and ten stickers for experimentation (and to meet minimum order amounts) so I did another today from the correct side and with a spritz of water like they do for window tinting. Personally I think it looks great. Bear in mind this is still the prototype. I realized too late that I should have made the lettering white instead of clear, for example. But it looks so much better than the old cracked and scratched/faded one I had before. Really, the pic doesn't do it justice.

8. I need a new radiator. I had just enough time to replace my petcock but discovered I'd bought the wrong one (bought 1/4 NPT instead of 1/8 NPT as needed). But that's OK anyway because when I cleaned the whole area to prepare for the task I realized the leak is coming from the petcock weldment, not the petcock itself. So I guess I have to add a task to my board to replace that.

Advice from the crowd on radiators? I have a lot of confidence in "performing" the task but can't make up my mind which actual radiator to BUY. In another thread (on this forum I believe) the Champion was recommended (https://www.championradiators.com/Ford-F-series-truck-radiator-1980-1984) but it's out of stock. Summit and Jegs both have options, and I could get both OEM and aftermarket options from Advance Auto Parts as well. What's the latest opinion on an "ideal" (but drop-in, no modifications needed) radiator for this early-80's era?

[grumpin]

What hood seal did you use?

This one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/233614141302

I've been getting a lot of parts on eBay lately. I just use the "Fits your Vehicle" search and buy whatever looks closest to what's on the truck. So far it seems to work OK with some caveats. First, you have to pay close attention to shipping because lots of parts are free but a few are just crazy, stuff like small $5 parts costing $15 to ship. But also I've noticed vendors don't always do a great job listing parts in the right categories. This was the right part number but it's only listed as fitting the Bronco. But it fit fine in mine. The same part is on Amazon for $70 which I thought was crazy, so I just searched for the same part number. It seems to work about 70% of the time.

It was warm today and will be cold for the next week so I played a little hooky from work and got a ton of stuff done:

1. Windshield trim (mostly) reinstalled. Had trouble with two clips and couldn't find my trim-removal-tool to bend them the right way so I paused there. But it's close.

2. Antenna reinstalled on cowl. I THINK I screwed something up when removing this, the plug was very difficult to pull out of the bottom of the antenna and it looked like a raw-crimped connection, with shield braid kind of hanging out. But I couldn't find a replacement part for this and don't really listen to the radio that much anyway so I just pushed it back in and it seemed to seat OK. We'll see if it works at all. :)

3. Step bars installed. I went with the Westin kit and they look good, but I do wish the "step" portion extended about 6" further back but hey, better than nothing. The parts kit was super confusing, there were lots of unlabeled bolts with the same length and very close but NOT identical threads. It took some trial and error to figure out what went where. But it was definitely a no-drill installation. Not that that matters that much because...

4. Started installing the Torklift camper tie-downs. The old camper setup was tied right to the body panels via hooks bolted on there. I HATE that idea but also wanted something low-key for those times the camper wasn't in. The Torklift rang my bell here. This unfortunately IS a "drill the frame" type of installation and UPS rolled up with some of the above stuff as I was starting this, so I got distracted and didn't finish. :)

5. Transmission oil arrived. This time I got the right stuff, VP Classic 80W-90 GL-4 "for yellow metals". You can see below the old oil was black as night and there was definitely not 7 pints in there - more like 5. I found this task pretty stressful. I bought one of those "Slippery Pete" quart bottle pumps and definitely recommend any other product you can find. Just as the reviews say, the hose is too short and so is the pump stroke. But anyway I got the transmission refilled and closed up.

6. Painted the armrests. Since the "saddle" color isn't available anywhere, and apparently hasn't been for months, I bought the black ones from LMC. I actually did this a month ago and tried to paint them with the same paint I'd used on the dash - THAT was a mistake. It flaked off immediately. So I scrubbed all that off and this time I tried LMC's "adhesion promoter" and the saddle paint they sell from Coverlay just for this purpose. So far it seems to be adhering better though I haven't really rubbed on it yet (I'm giving it time to cure).

7. Got the radio bezel re-stickered. You may remember I'd done one already but I accidentally had the panel laser-cut not quite identically left-to-right - two slots have about a millimeter of offset. Also when I applied the sticker the first time I had a ton of air bubbles I couldn't get out. Well, it all worked out because I'd ordered five faceplates and ten stickers for experimentation (and to meet minimum order amounts) so I did another today from the correct side and with a spritz of water like they do for window tinting. Personally I think it looks great. Bear in mind this is still the prototype. I realized too late that I should have made the lettering white instead of clear, for example. But it looks so much better than the old cracked and scratched/faded one I had before. Really, the pic doesn't do it justice.

8. I need a new radiator. I had just enough time to replace my petcock but discovered I'd bought the wrong one (bought 1/4 NPT instead of 1/8 NPT as needed). But that's OK anyway because when I cleaned the whole area to prepare for the task I realized the leak is coming from the petcock weldment, not the petcock itself. So I guess I have to add a task to my board to replace that.

Advice from the crowd on radiators? I have a lot of confidence in "performing" the task but can't make up my mind which actual radiator to BUY. In another thread (on this forum I believe) the Champion was recommended (https://www.championradiators.com/Ford-F-series-truck-radiator-1980-1984) but it's out of stock. Summit and Jegs both have options, and I could get both OEM and aftermarket options from Advance Auto Parts as well. What's the latest opinion on an "ideal" (but drop-in, no modifications needed) radiator for this early-80's era?

On the radiator, I have a Champion 3 row in my truck. Fit well, easy install. So far I really like it.

I prefer aluminum, I’ve had enough problems with the plastic and aluminum ones. Leaks at seams, and cracking and breaking.

I’m doing less and less work on my vehicles, particularly in the winter. My Bronco is leaking and steaming at a seam. If it’s the original then it made it close to 30 years, so that’s darn good.

I scheduled it today and asked the shop what they thought, he said he doesn’t remember any aluminum ones coming back. So I gave him the width and he ordered a 4 row (found out through a Marti report I just got that my Bronco has “Super Cooling”).

It’s about $600 for the radiator but comes with a warranty. I think I paid around $300 for the 3 row Champion.

[Gary Lewis]

What hood seal did you use?

This one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/233614141302

I've been getting a lot of parts on eBay lately. I just use the "Fits your Vehicle" search and buy whatever looks closest to what's on the truck. So far it seems to work OK with some caveats. First, you have to pay close attention to shipping because lots of parts are free but a few are just crazy, stuff like small $5 parts costing $15 to ship. But also I've noticed vendors don't always do a great job listing parts in the right categories. This was the right part number but it's only listed as fitting the Bronco. But it fit fine in mine. The same part is on Amazon for $70 which I thought was crazy, so I just searched for the same part number. It seems to work about 70% of the time.

It was warm today and will be cold for the next week so I played a little hooky from work and got a ton of stuff done:

1. Windshield trim (mostly) reinstalled. Had trouble with two clips and couldn't find my trim-removal-tool to bend them the right way so I paused there. But it's close.

2. Antenna reinstalled on cowl. I THINK I screwed something up when removing this, the plug was very difficult to pull out of the bottom of the antenna and it looked like a raw-crimped connection, with shield braid kind of hanging out. But I couldn't find a replacement part for this and don't really listen to the radio that much anyway so I just pushed it back in and it seemed to seat OK. We'll see if it works at all. :)

3. Step bars installed. I went with the Westin kit and they look good, but I do wish the "step" portion extended about 6" further back but hey, better than nothing. The parts kit was super confusing, there were lots of unlabeled bolts with the same length and very close but NOT identical threads. It took some trial and error to figure out what went where. But it was definitely a no-drill installation. Not that that matters that much because...

4. Started installing the Torklift camper tie-downs. The old camper setup was tied right to the body panels via hooks bolted on there. I HATE that idea but also wanted something low-key for those times the camper wasn't in. The Torklift rang my bell here. This unfortunately IS a "drill the frame" type of installation and UPS rolled up with some of the above stuff as I was starting this, so I got distracted and didn't finish. :)

5. Transmission oil arrived. This time I got the right stuff, VP Classic 80W-90 GL-4 "for yellow metals". You can see below the old oil was black as night and there was definitely not 7 pints in there - more like 5. I found this task pretty stressful. I bought one of those "Slippery Pete" quart bottle pumps and definitely recommend any other product you can find. Just as the reviews say, the hose is too short and so is the pump stroke. But anyway I got the transmission refilled and closed up.

6. Painted the armrests. Since the "saddle" color isn't available anywhere, and apparently hasn't been for months, I bought the black ones from LMC. I actually did this a month ago and tried to paint them with the same paint I'd used on the dash - THAT was a mistake. It flaked off immediately. So I scrubbed all that off and this time I tried LMC's "adhesion promoter" and the saddle paint they sell from Coverlay just for this purpose. So far it seems to be adhering better though I haven't really rubbed on it yet (I'm giving it time to cure).

7. Got the radio bezel re-stickered. You may remember I'd done one already but I accidentally had the panel laser-cut not quite identically left-to-right - two slots have about a millimeter of offset. Also when I applied the sticker the first time I had a ton of air bubbles I couldn't get out. Well, it all worked out because I'd ordered five faceplates and ten stickers for experimentation (and to meet minimum order amounts) so I did another today from the correct side and with a spritz of water like they do for window tinting. Personally I think it looks great. Bear in mind this is still the prototype. I realized too late that I should have made the lettering white instead of clear, for example. But it looks so much better than the old cracked and scratched/faded one I had before. Really, the pic doesn't do it justice.

8. I need a new radiator. I had just enough time to replace my petcock but discovered I'd bought the wrong one (bought 1/4 NPT instead of 1/8 NPT as needed). But that's OK anyway because when I cleaned the whole area to prepare for the task I realized the leak is coming from the petcock weldment, not the petcock itself. So I guess I have to add a task to my board to replace that.

Advice from the crowd on radiators? I have a lot of confidence in "performing" the task but can't make up my mind which actual radiator to BUY. In another thread (on this forum I believe) the Champion was recommended (https://www.championradiators.com/Ford-F-series-truck-radiator-1980-1984) but it's out of stock. Summit and Jegs both have options, and I could get both OEM and aftermarket options from Advance Auto Parts as well. What's the latest opinion on an "ideal" (but drop-in, no modifications needed) radiator for this early-80's era?

Glad the cowl seal worked for you. Thought you might have used the one at Documentation/Underhood/Cowl Seal.

Sounds like you have a whole bunch going all at the same time. But you are making progress.

On the radiator, I went with a 4-row Champion and like it. However, it came with a horrible petcock that both leaked and dribbled all over everything when you tried to drain it. I replaced it with this one from Amazon on a recommendation from Scott.

[taskswap]

Glad the cowl seal worked for you. Thought you might have used the one at Documentation/Underhood/Cowl Seal.

Sounds like you have a whole bunch going all at the same time. But you are making progress.

On the radiator, I went with a 4-row Champion and like it. However, it came with a horrible petcock that both leaked and dribbled all over everything when you tried to drain it. I replaced it with this one from Amazon on a recommendation from Scott.

Yeah I ended up getting the 3-row Champion, seems like a lot of folks have had good success with it. I wanted to also to an electric-fan upgrade but decided to defer that. I still have a lot to finalize and don't want to add another project to the plate.The rad will be here next Thurs. So once again... waiting for parts!

Not waiting that much though. It's fit and finish time now. Today I only did one small task but it was an important one - getting my climate control (more or less) back into place. This required a lot of fiddling with push-pull cables, old plugs, identically-colored wires, etc. I have it probably 90% sorted out. All the controls seem to work and fans run when I do the things that should make them run. My ARA aftermarket A/C blower is SUPER loud, it sounds like it has a bad bearing. Hopefully I won't need it much. :)

The only thing that didn't quite work out is the temperature-selector slider. It definitely doesn't go as far right as it's supposed to. I'll adjust it later, it's not that critical right now.

Tomorrow I hope to install my windshield wipers finally, and then start digging into the doors (setting up the electric locks and replacing the window seals) and trailer wiring (all the wiring is there, I just need to finalize the plug).

[Gary Lewis]

Yeah I ended up getting the 3-row Champion, seems like a lot of folks have had good success with it. I wanted to also to an electric-fan upgrade but decided to defer that. I still have a lot to finalize and don't want to add another project to the plate.The rad will be here next Thurs. So once again... waiting for parts!

Not waiting that much though. It's fit and finish time now. Today I only did one small task but it was an important one - getting my climate control (more or less) back into place. This required a lot of fiddling with push-pull cables, old plugs, identically-colored wires, etc. I have it probably 90% sorted out. All the controls seem to work and fans run when I do the things that should make them run. My ARA aftermarket A/C blower is SUPER loud, it sounds like it has a bad bearing. Hopefully I won't need it much. :)

The only thing that didn't quite work out is the temperature-selector slider. It definitely doesn't go as far right as it's supposed to. I'll adjust it later, it's not that critical right now.

Tomorrow I hope to install my windshield wipers finally, and then start digging into the doors (setting up the electric locks and replacing the window seals) and trailer wiring (all the wiring is there, I just need to finalize the plug).

I think you'll be happy with the Champion. But I'd change out the drain valve before filling the system. Or at least make sure that one is sealed.

On the window "sweep" that goes at the top of the door panel, I don't recommend stapling them on. I've broken a door panel that way. Instead I drill and pop rivet them, with a washer spreading the load on the end of the rivet.

As for the blower motor, later see if you can pull it apart and lube the bearing. Worked on one motor for me.

[taskswap]

I think you'll be happy with the Champion. But I'd change out the drain valve before filling the system. Or at least make sure that one is sealed.

Will do, thanks for the tip. I have the right-angle one you and others recommended here that I'll be putting on. While I have the radiator out I may as well replace the thermostat and water pump too...

On the window "sweep" that goes at the top of the door panel, I don't recommend stapling them on. I've broken a door panel that way. Instead I drill and pop rivet them, with a washer spreading the load on the end of the rivet.

I was probably talking about the wrong part. I mean the felt-lined U shaped piece that installs in the top and sides of the door, that 6' or so long rubber piece. When I got the truck, one of them was missing and the other was in poor condition. As I cleaned the truck out I found the missing one stuffed behind the bench seat, so clearly the previous owner knew this was an issue. I was able to reinstall it but it was cracked in a few spots so I figured I'd just get new ones for both sides.

I'm trying to mix small and big jobs at this point to keep things moving. Up next:

1. Figure out how to permanently attach the radio. I got one of those Classic Car Stereos deals which is basically a standard 1-DIN radio with a custom front to look antique. My F250 has no side rails or carrier for it, and the radio came with just a metal bar you're supposed to attach to the back - which I have nowhere to attach it to on the truck. So I'll have to gin something up.

2. Sort out my trailer harness wiring. The cable's all there, I just need to add connectors. These things are cheaply made and I'm hard on them so I want it to be easy to replace. But my Weather-pack kit only goes up to 6 pin plugs. Probably I'll do a 5+2 arrangement (5 signal, 2 brake).

3. Mock up my winch mount. I have some cardboard I can use to template this out. Dry fitting very roughly, I think if I mount the winch on a 1" drop from the frame, and put the bumper on 1" standoffs, I can notch the bottom of the bumper instead of cutting a hole in it. That would keep it looking even more "stock". Since this isn't a rock crawler I'm not worried about entry clearance and I gained an inch of margin from my new tires anyway...

4. The great paint debate. I've always known this was going to be a "rattle can special". I'm just going to scratch it immediately anyway, I just prefer to scratch a red truck than a pale Pepto Bismol one. The trouble is I have stuff like bed rail caps and stick on replacement trim that I want to mount permanently, but I want to paint before I do. But it's 30F out... What to do... Obviously I have to wait. I just don't wanna!

[Gary Lewis]

I think you'll be happy with the Champion. But I'd change out the drain valve before filling the system. Or at least make sure that one is sealed.

Will do, thanks for the tip. I have the right-angle one you and others recommended here that I'll be putting on. While I have the radiator out I may as well replace the thermostat and water pump too...

On the window "sweep" that goes at the top of the door panel, I don't recommend stapling them on. I've broken a door panel that way. Instead I drill and pop rivet them, with a washer spreading the load on the end of the rivet.

I was probably talking about the wrong part. I mean the felt-lined U shaped piece that installs in the top and sides of the door, that 6' or so long rubber piece. When I got the truck, one of them was missing and the other was in poor condition. As I cleaned the truck out I found the missing one stuffed behind the bench seat, so clearly the previous owner knew this was an issue. I was able to reinstall it but it was cracked in a few spots so I figured I'd just get new ones for both sides.

I'm trying to mix small and big jobs at this point to keep things moving. Up next:

1. Figure out how to permanently attach the radio. I got one of those Classic Car Stereos deals which is basically a standard 1-DIN radio with a custom front to look antique. My F250 has no side rails or carrier for it, and the radio came with just a metal bar you're supposed to attach to the back - which I have nowhere to attach it to on the truck. So I'll have to gin something up.

2. Sort out my trailer harness wiring. The cable's all there, I just need to add connectors. These things are cheaply made and I'm hard on them so I want it to be easy to replace. But my Weather-pack kit only goes up to 6 pin plugs. Probably I'll do a 5+2 arrangement (5 signal, 2 brake).

3. Mock up my winch mount. I have some cardboard I can use to template this out. Dry fitting very roughly, I think if I mount the winch on a 1" drop from the frame, and put the bumper on 1" standoffs, I can notch the bottom of the bumper instead of cutting a hole in it. That would keep it looking even more "stock". Since this isn't a rock crawler I'm not worried about entry clearance and I gained an inch of margin from my new tires anyway...

4. The great paint debate. I've always known this was going to be a "rattle can special". I'm just going to scratch it immediately anyway, I just prefer to scratch a red truck than a pale Pepto Bismol one. The trouble is I have stuff like bed rail caps and stick on replacement trim that I want to mount permanently, but I want to paint before I do. But it's 30F out... What to do... Obviously I have to wait. I just don't wanna!

The window felt makes a huge difference on noise. Installing new is the way to go as it isn't expensive.

On the radio, Ford made a bracket to go at the rear of the radio, and I have one of them holding the back of my Sony, as shown in this thread.

Sounds like you have a good plan on both the trailer harness and the winch, but I'm wondering about the clearance on the winch so will have to see how that works out.

As for the paint, good luck. I understand the concern, but don't have any suggestions.

[Gsmblue]

I think you'll be happy with the Champion. But I'd change out the drain valve before filling the system. Or at least make sure that one is sealed.

Will do, thanks for the tip. I have the right-angle one you and others recommended here that I'll be putting on. While I have the radiator out I may as well replace the thermostat and water pump too...

On the window "sweep" that goes at the top of the door panel, I don't recommend stapling them on. I've broken a door panel that way. Instead I drill and pop rivet them, with a washer spreading the load on the end of the rivet.

I was probably talking about the wrong part. I mean the felt-lined U shaped piece that installs in the top and sides of the door, that 6' or so long rubber piece. When I got the truck, one of them was missing and the other was in poor condition. As I cleaned the truck out I found the missing one stuffed behind the bench seat, so clearly the previous owner knew this was an issue. I was able to reinstall it but it was cracked in a few spots so I figured I'd just get new ones for both sides.

I'm trying to mix small and big jobs at this point to keep things moving. Up next:

1. Figure out how to permanently attach the radio. I got one of those Classic Car Stereos deals which is basically a standard 1-DIN radio with a custom front to look antique. My F250 has no side rails or carrier for it, and the radio came with just a metal bar you're supposed to attach to the back - which I have nowhere to attach it to on the truck. So I'll have to gin something up.

2. Sort out my trailer harness wiring. The cable's all there, I just need to add connectors. These things are cheaply made and I'm hard on them so I want it to be easy to replace. But my Weather-pack kit only goes up to 6 pin plugs. Probably I'll do a 5+2 arrangement (5 signal, 2 brake).

3. Mock up my winch mount. I have some cardboard I can use to template this out. Dry fitting very roughly, I think if I mount the winch on a 1" drop from the frame, and put the bumper on 1" standoffs, I can notch the bottom of the bumper instead of cutting a hole in it. That would keep it looking even more "stock". Since this isn't a rock crawler I'm not worried about entry clearance and I gained an inch of margin from my new tires anyway...

4. The great paint debate. I've always known this was going to be a "rattle can special". I'm just going to scratch it immediately anyway, I just prefer to scratch a red truck than a pale Pepto Bismol one. The trouble is I have stuff like bed rail caps and stick on replacement trim that I want to mount permanently, but I want to paint before I do. But it's 30F out... What to do... Obviously I have to wait. I just don't wanna!

The great paint debate. I am there with you.

I sm going to have a stretch of 50 degree weather this week so i may finish the hood on the 350.. i have enouhh base and clear to make it happen.

[FuzzFace2]

2. Sort out my trailer harness wiring. The cable's all there, I just need to add connectors. These things are cheaply made and I'm hard on them so I want it to be easy to replace. But my Weather-pack kit only goes up to 6 pin plugs. Probably I'll do a 5+2 arrangement (5 signal, 2 brake).

Why do you need that many wires?

1-left turn / brake

2-Right turn / brake

3-Running lights

4-Ground

You may have a 5-electric brake wire and a 6-power wire to charge a battery on the trailer (break away battery)

If that is the case a 7 blade female on the truck side and a 7 blade on the trailer side, normal trailer plugs you can get anywhere, would be the way to go. (I forget what the 7th wire is for? think back up lights)

There is a Tee connector that goes between the trucks frame harness and the tail light harness that dose the first 5 wires you can get so you dont have to cut into the trucks harness. Run the other 2 wires down the frame to the rear into the 7 blade connector.

That is what I did for my trucks trailer light connector to hook up my car trailer.

You can get anything for the above at Etrailer.com and then some.

If the other 2 wires are for the winch, on a trailer? then it should run off the battery on the trailer and the power wire from the truck through the connector should recharge it.

Dave ----