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I have been looking for a pickup truck. After working on newer trucks (i.e. 1998-up) I’d been looking through two avenues: either the closest thing to a farm tractor that I could find, or something like a Toyota Tacoma or T100, Nissan, etc with an extended 2-door cab and the longest possible bed. My son has moved in with his fiancée, who bought a house; my mother is slowly failing (dementia) and has a house full of stuff, as do other family members, and over the next 2-3 years, there’s going to be a lot of totin’ going on. The decent, solid, under-200K models of non-US pickups were at least $11K for not-great examples at least 500-miles away. So I’m perusing Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, when up pops this ad for a 1965 Ford Econoline pickup. He wants $7000. It’s sitting in a sandy yard in a wooded area in the Pine Barrens of NJ, so I’m fairly confident that it’ll be cheesy. But it actually looked pretty good. I’d post ad photos, but FB banned me from Marketplace for I don’t know what – happened right in the middle of messaging the seller, as well as another guy about a hood for my old Accord, and responding to the barbarians at the gate who all claimed to want my ’07 Versa with the hosed-up CVT. I finally reached the seller two days later (through my wife’s FB account) and went up to check it out. Behold, a 1965 Ford Econoline pickup with a weird SILVER – on –ORANGE paint job, bondo over rust; 170 inline six and three on the tree.   The underside: Looking up at the bed:  but the frame!    That header really helps. Nothing.  Spring perches are all solid:   Cabin floorboards:  The seller was extremely righteous. I was on the horns of a dilemma. I have a lot of stuff going on, - all good, but busy – and the last thing I needed was a new project. But it was apparent that there was nothing on this truck I could not fix, and that all of the truly gnarly issues – were not really issues with this one. The brakes don’t work; the wiring is a mess. BUT it runs. And drives, and will not take a while lot to make it road-worthy. I mean, with these things, there really isn’t a whole lot to them. They’re built on a Falcon pan with an F100 single I-beam front end, and it is only a slight exaggeration that you can repair nearly anything on them with a pair of pliers. I bought a ’66 Econoline window van in the spring of 1982 from a house painter for $125.00. It was a former Bell Telephone truck with 260,000 miles on it. Once I freed up the frozen king-pins, I drove it the entire summer and sold it before back issues and hemorrhoids could develop. There was nothing mechanical on it that couldn’t be repaired in two hours with hand tools. Hardly anything broke. I painted it red with house paint. I loved it, but it sucked for long-distance driving – which is not a problem with this one. So we struck a deal for $6000. He delivered it this morning (said he was righteous):  and I began the process of calculating the body issues    So here are the fun bits: Bed and sides are nothing too serious. The trickiest part will be the tail end of the bed at the tailgate    Which, by the way, is unobtainum. I will be completely rebuilding this.  The front will be the challenge. These curved bottom bits will be keeping me up nights the beaded bits…these parts are not reproduced. My best bet is to find them somewhere unrusted if dented.  Also there’s a fair bit of corrosion at the bottom of the windshield…it is possible that the 18-ga steel used has kept weakness at bay. This windshield will have to come out to gauge the depth of the issue.  These rocker beads are a known issue with all of the Econolines, including the first big ones that came out from the next series in 68 or 69. These panels are available :  The interior actually looks pretty good. At least I don’t have to reupholster anything.      but don’t look too close under the dashboard…gonna be some fun wiring sortage there. First thing I’ve ordered is a factory repro ignition key, switch,, mounting hardware, and door locks matched to the ignition key  Since this will be a work truck, I’ll be focusing on getting the mechanical bits sorted: brakes and exhaust, then lights and signals. Definitely going to get good at welding again. The sheet metal is reported to be 18-gauge; even so I will be practicing on scrap until my bacon-frying technique is improved. Good metal nibblers are also on the menu. I have my new cheap Harbor Freight Mig welder; definitely getting a bottle of argon. I am still researching what I can & can’t find. After the thing goes and stops reliably and I can communicate with surrounding traffic, The windshield pinchweld issues are the most pressing. I have removed and installed glass, but those corner windows are not easy to find. It’s going to sit until I deal with other issues. It’ll be powerwashed first, top & bottom (it had been sitting for a couple years); the carpeting removed carefully, the brakes repaired and a new ignition switch installed so it can be moved, and them we’ll see where this goes. I may remove the tailgate entirely to my garage, since even in this condition they’re worth over a grand. Body-wise, it could get interesting; this thing was re-painted, not a great prep job, ans there is abundant evidence of Bondo lurking in a number of spots. I can’t wait. This will be fun. But if the thread drops off from lack of activity, I may start another. PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 02:14 on Jul 14, 2021 |
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Jul 11, 2021 01:00
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Wow. That’s incredibly solid. I’m looking forward to seeing this one play out.
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Jul 11, 2021 01:50
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Krakkles fucked around with this message at 23:43 on Mar 15, 2022 |
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Jul 11, 2021 01:58
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This thing is solid as gently caress for its age. What an excellent findI love the hell out of these old econolines. A neighbor had a pair growing in the weeds when I was a kid and it forever imprinted me. Looking forward to seeing this thread progress.
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Jul 11, 2021 02:01
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Congrats! I'm so not good with rust, even my rusty 42, you can see nearly everything thats damaged - with these older paint jobs, you have a lot of hide and seek to play with them but... you know what you must do..... 
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Jul 11, 2021 06:43
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Awesome truck, more awesome that you bought it to do truck things. I don't think it will be of anything other than interest as it sounds like you know these things inside and out already but mustie1 got part way through a '65 restoration: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZJS6Md1UOg2cUKc9cz2wtHwvwQjfLb4 Bookmarked with great interest.
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Jul 11, 2021 08:50
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these are really interesting. there are lots of things that look the same as my '60 F100, and lots of things that... don't. it's weird to see, considering how lego they usually are. i will be keeping an eye on this thread to see what you do with it! Raluek fucked around with this message at 09:24 on Jul 11, 2021 |
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Jul 11, 2021 09:22
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Tried to start it to get it up into the driveway to wash it down. It has an undated battery that looks new but probably spent the last three winters dead. I charged it; cranking the engine turned into an adventure. There’s a generic ignition switch in it that has very poor contact - it has to be jiggled quite a bit before the starter comes to life. Cranked & cranked; no fire. The was a toggle switch on the dash; flipping it produced a horrible grating noise from somewhere aft. After communicating with the seller he confirmed that the toggle was for an electric fuel pump as well as ignition. He noted the buzzing should quiet as it pulled fuel. By this time, the battery was dying and the ignition switch was trying to catch fire so I benched the battery for more tasty amps and took a breather. I think it’s a 170 but need to count the freeze plugs. It’s absolutely filthy down in the doghouse, so we’ll look closer after it’s been gunked & power washed. What I did note: - original coil abandoned in place. New coil wire-tied to the… - original fuel line, also abandoned in place. A rubber hose attached to the carburetor disappears down the doghouse to parts unknown. Here’s hoping it joins a hardline somewhere. - 1-bbl carb choke was never adjusted. This explains the hard-start condition. The buzzing fuel pump told me that the tank is empty. Dumped three gallons of 2021 gas into it. Note to self: use fuel pump to drain gas tank before pulling same for cleaning My first repair was to replace a split vent / PCV hose. Put the battery back in a couple hours later & she fired right up. Now in the driveway. But too late for a bath. Yes, she has no brakes, but the e-brake is, fortunately, quite effective. I did probe the windshield gasket & the pinch-weld seems far more solid than expected. There are a few weak spots under the windshield, and I scraped a nice load of bondo that was holding moisture against the nose sheet metal. Also went around popping paint blisters to try to ventilate them. I will be going after this thing with an angle grinder probably sooner than later - I hate bondo mysteries and it’s apparent that whomever committed the crimes to this Ford was clueless about body work and now moisture is trapped against the original sheet metal. It’s gonna look like poo poo for awhile. It apparently had 24s on it when the PO bought it in 2015. If I didn’t know better I’d say it was a featured wheel on, ’Pimp My Ride,’ There’s a distinct lack, however, of flatscreens. Although the JVC head unit works great! So the short list: Clean Check oil New battery New ignition switch & keys Unfuck the weird fuel pump / kill switch Mount the coil properly Replace the totally useless radiator cap Diagnose and repair the brakes (betting a line rusted out) Back flush the engine Change the oil Install a proper exhaust manifold and new exhaust I would prefer to run it with a mechanical fuel pump. I suspect I need a new fuel line. Is there any advantage to leaving an electric fuel pump on the line? PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 03:11 on Jul 12, 2021 |
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Jul 12, 2021 03:03
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PainterofCrap posted:I would prefer to run it with a mechanical fuel pump. I suspect I need a new fuel line. Is there any advantage to leaving an electric fuel pump on the line? If you ever run it dry on gas, you can just let the pump refill the bowls before you crank it forever? That's about all I can think of.
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Jul 13, 2021 05:57
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i used mine once to empty the tank, but then the next time i had to be under there (a few years later) i pulled the pump. havent missed it.
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Jul 13, 2021 08:15
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Thank you; if fuel will pass through it when it's idle, my inclination is to leave it. However, whoever did mechanical work (and I use the term loosely) was an utter hack and I am amazed she still runs and has not exploded colorfully. I finally cleaned it with a pressure washer. Hoo boy, was there ever a lot of crap on it from sitting under trees. Got a few pounds of mulch out of the bed. I wound up removing the tailgate because just leaving it open, unsupported, while water & debris washed over it was enough to deform it so it wouldn't close right. It's in the garage now; doesn't really need one. The bed is somewhat cheesier with all the load-bearing crud removed. Enough so that I'm contemplating cutting the whole thing out & replacing it. Of course, beds for these are NLA, so I'd either need a donor van (ha!) or find some modern pickup bed that's larger and find a way to cut it to fit. That's the proper way. The improper way is to buy a 4x8 sheet of 18-ga from Fazzio's Metal in Williamstown & just drop it in on top of what is there, weld or rivet it down, and put a bed liner on it. Somewhere in the middle is cutting out the worst of the cheese, and welding in (flat) panels. I looked into getting a bead roller, but they are expensive. I am currently shopping around for metal fabrication shops that will do small jobs like mine: handing then marked-up sheets and having then beadroll them for me. Also shopping for period Ford pickup bed patch panels. I also have to get mirrors. Backing this thing out of the driveway and parallel-parking it using the hand brake while trying to look over my shoulder was...harrowing. My son noticed that it appears that the alternator is too big (hitting the doghouse), and that however it's mounted, the bracket is wrong or broken. It's cocked, and the pulley is not aligned properly with the other two. Also learned how to remove the doghouse for easier access to the engine. So: next outing, I'm pulling the seats and the doghouse to determine what engine I've got, and to access for the alternator, fuel line/pump, and that godawful rotted header. The skies opened up before I got photos. I have been plagued with buyer's remorse since yesterday afternoon. The punch list keeps growing...BUT there's plenty of time, I'll never lose money on this thing if I decide to punt. (I won't. It'll pass.) PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 14:10 on Jul 13, 2021 |
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Jul 13, 2021 14:05
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cakesmith handyman posted:Awesome truck, more awesome that you bought it to do truck things. This. I know these are worth a small fortune restored (or even rough), but it's awesome to see someone (planning on) using an old truck for actual truck stuff. Even 80s and early 90s trucks are rare to see being used for truck stuff these days - around here, they're all either parked and left to rot, or turned into some kind of "show truck" (loose definition of "show vehicle" used since to some people, that means bass boat paint and 50 inch rubber bands, to others it means chopped up with magnesium blocks under them).
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Jul 13, 2021 14:19
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Love these trucks, looking forward to seeing this get fixed up. How thick is the sheet metal for the bed? The generic bead rollers from Woodward/HF/Eastwood aren't that pricey and will do up to 18ga, more if you reinforce them.
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Jul 13, 2021 15:29
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So you said it's grey on white... I'm colorblind and I need to know if that's a joke? It looks red?
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Jul 13, 2021 20:58
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Krakkles fucked around with this message at 23:44 on Mar 15, 2022 |
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Jul 13, 2021 21:01
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Krakkles posted:ITT PainterofCrap finds out he's colorblind OK that's what I thought, the profile of the drivers side looked grey or silvery gold and that was very confusing. Looks like whatever color was on it is fading away. I skate by a lot of colors and getting contextual clues, and every once in a while I get my brain wrinkled on a wrong color.
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Jul 13, 2021 22:47
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PainterofCrap posted:Thank you; if fuel will pass through it when it's idle, my inclination is to leave it. However, whoever did mechanical work (and I use the term loosely) was an utter hack and I am amazed she still runs and has not exploded colorfully. Double posting cause I've been thinking on this. There are plenty of bed replacement sheets for other trucks, I'd be surprised if there isn't one you could easily cut down to size. Oh yeah and sweet project! Such a weird looking vehicle. I'd be tempted to go way over the top and paint it silly. Candy paint with the white on top. No Lamborghini doors or anything.
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Jul 13, 2021 22:53
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Krakkles fucked around with this message at 23:44 on Mar 15, 2022 |
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Jul 13, 2021 23:31
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Krakkles posted:You’re doing great! Now that you say that, it does look more silver than primer. Unlike you with a welding, I will never get better at seeing color. Thank you though.
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Jul 13, 2021 23:40
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StormDrain posted:So you said it's grey on white... I'm colorblind and I need to know if that's a joke? It looks red? I am getting old. Completely missed that. It's silvery-gray over metallic orange.  Also, in spite of the thread title, it is a '65. I remain puzzled. I don't think it's faded; it was intentionally painted this way. BUT no one bothered to remove what little brightwork this thing has (door handles, locks, gas cap) and just...painted over it. Who- or whatever worked on it mechanically did less than the bare minimum. BUT the interior - way more time and care, not to mention money - to have the seats re-covered, this (clearly) custom carpet & pad installed (and the carpet is relatively new and in excellent condition, as is the pad). I am really struggling to understand what the hell this poor truck has been through in the past ten years. Business ad? Like...make it look pretty, and just functional enough to move it now & then? PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 02:24 on Jul 14, 2021 |
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Jul 14, 2021 02:15
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PainterofCrap posted:I am getting old. Completely missed that. Sometimes it's as simple as those were the skills the person had. Maybe they had an eye/ skill for upholstery, but little mechanical and body skills.
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Jul 14, 2021 04:26
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the bed floor looks like a dead ringer for the '57-'66 fullsize ford beds. i just cut up the crashed remains of the original bed for my '60, or i would offer to send you what little straight pieces were left. i ended up recycling like a 5x5 ft square of what would have been a nice patch panel for you  but, the guy i got my replacement bed from was parting out a few trucks, and he had several beds to choose from. maybe you can find someone locally who has a bed that's too rough to save
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Jul 14, 2021 05:51
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Raluek posted:the bed floor looks like a dead ringer for the '57-'66 fullsize ford beds. i just cut up the crashed remains of the original bed for my '60, or i would offer to send you what little straight pieces were left...  Ja, I'll be looking for just about any truck bed that I might be able to drop in there with some cutting. Preferably 'new'. I presume that, like car trunk pans, that these are in sections. However, less than two miles from me is DeHart's, a local truck outfit that stores and services school buses. They also do commercial conversions - putting vacuum units, tanks, equipment etc on truck & van chassis. They usually have a few pickup bed units lying around - although they probably have a plan for them; also, removing 9,000 spotwelds from an 800-lb bed unit may not be fun. I have time. I have to get up into & walk around the bed to see how truly weak it is, and where. I want this thing ready to move stuff; the only bodywork I'll be doing at this stage is the bare minimum to arrest further corrosion (removing all of the Bondo that's blistering/I can find) and hitting it with paint. Where there are holes, particularly around the windshield, I'll be applying butyl tape after stripping the worst of the rust. Butyl tape is sticky (like used chewing gum) & waterproof and should buy me time. I may even (<gasp!>) pop-rivet some patch panels here & there, to be removed later for welding. e: welp, a brief search turned up the site FMC, which sells Ford truck bits. They have these 1965 F-150 bed patch panels that appear to be beaded the same as this truck. Each panel is 4' long and 16" wide; four would be more than enough to replace the entire bed, and they look easy to work with. I'm tempted to grab at least one (about $75 each with S&H) just for a test-fit. They store easy & don't take up much space. e2: Ordered one sheet for $65. Also ordered an exhaust manifold & bolt kit, fuel pump, gaskets...working on an exhaust system. I'm fairly sure after studying that any 170ci Mustang/Fairlane/Falcon system will be adaptable. There's not much going on under there behind the cab, so it should not be hideously difficult to adapt it to fit should any adaptation be necessary. PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 16:09 on Jul 14, 2021 |
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Jul 14, 2021 14:28
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I absolutely love it. I know you said no lambo doors but that got me thinking, and this is begging for suicide doors.
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Jul 15, 2021 23:44
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 Got her up into the driveway - backed in this time. I have got to get the brakes fixed, and a mirror on it, before I hit something. Jesus. Got the first parts today: ignition switch & full keyset, fuel pump, pedal pad covers & floor seals for the pedals  Bed now clean. There are rivets & screws all over the place, I assume to repair rusted / popped spotwelds. Who knows.  I may be able to just patch sections of it. It looks waaay better in these photos; haven't load-tested (i.e. walked around in it) yet. So the first thing is to check the master cylinder. the reservoir fill cap is located under this floor cap. The reservoir was wet with fluid, but empty. I filled it & pumped the brake pedal repeatedly; the level dropped a bit. No leaks from the master were seen. Tomorrow, I'll attempt to bleed the brakes. The front wheel cylinders and hoses are newer; the rears are rusty AF. I hit everything with PB Blaster & will hit them again tomorrow. The hard lines did not look too bad. Can't wait to find out where the fluid's going. Since the rears were uglier than 3-day-old sin, I pre-emptively ordered two new wheel cylinders. The one truck resto site had them for $35 apiece. A little digging, and found that these wheel cylinders have been in use since 1949, and that 1st generation Mustangs used them, so I bought them from a Mustang resto site for $11 each. I have a feeling that this is the way it will go with a lot of the mechanical parts.  The driver's window is lacking it's entire window channel, so the glass rattles around something awful. After discovering no steel access panels underneath the vinyl door covering, I had a good look inside the doors. Easy to service & repair. The window crank shaft and the door release shafts on bot doors are fairly stripped; it's going to be a challenge to get the handles to stay put and function. The window regulators work but are extremely stiff, so a clean/lube/rebuild makes the list. Ordered a window channel kit, does both front doors: $175. Yikes, but these are not parts one typically finds used / in a yard. The tires are 235/80/16s and they are all badly dry-rotted - which is a shame; they had plenty of tread left. On the list. Aaaannnnd the truck appears to sag a bit on the driver's side. The rear shocks are Monroe airlifts, with the lines still hooked up. Wonder if they're holding any air... may be shopping for leaf springs. PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 04:31 on Jul 16, 2021 |
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Jul 16, 2021 04:26
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This is in my collection of old ads -
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Jul 16, 2021 18:29
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Fornax Disaster posted:This is in my collection of old ads - Love these ads! I think 3/4-ton may be a bit optimistic... Late this afternoon after it dropped below 96-degrees, I went at the dead brakes. I couldn't get the left drum off, and it was too hot to struggle. The drum & backing plate are dry. The right rear looked...great, actually.  Miraculously, the bleeders cracked loose. I did a quick & dirty 1-man - couldn't see anything at the right rear from the driver's seat - but looped the hose up high to catch bubbles. Right bled, no problem. Driver's side, even wide open, the pedal got stiff, but nothing was moving. I finally stomped it good a couple times; something let go, and the fluid ran. After that, the brakes...worked, but the fronts still need to be bled; I drove it around the neighborhood and was able to row through all three gears. The clutch and shifter felt great, considering the latter needs to be lubed. The steering, however, is reeeaaalllly squirrelly. That'll get a look when the front end is in the air for the brakes. It's either the steering box, kingpins, or (pleasepleaseplease) tie rod ends, or a combo. I also solved the mystery of the steering clunk: there's a damper on the steering that's held onto the I-beam with, no poo poo, an exhaust clamp. Which, to no one's surprise, is loose. Still don't know why the master cylinder was empty. I imagine it'll show up at some point. Found a rust spot on the frame!  I'll weld a patch on it at some point. It's the only one - I checked more thoroughly after finding it - and it's not in a critical spot (like a mounting point). Also confirmed that the fuel line is, indeed, a hose all the way to the tank. Today: the log hath arrived.  Doghouse & seats coming out this weekend! PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 02:58 on Jul 17, 2021 |
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Jul 17, 2021 02:51
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That’s a nice looking manifold; is it a factory reproduction or an aftermarket performance unit?
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Jul 17, 2021 06:58
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I love the truck. Looks like a great project, and nice to get something that already drives. Is the whole body on that thing one section or are the cab and the rear bed separate (so can you pull the rear bed section off in order to work on it off the truck?).
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Jul 17, 2021 14:19
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Pretty sure it’s an aftermarket reproduction. The exhaust manifolds on the I-6s were prone to cracking, so there is a healthy aftermarket - unlike the steering box, which I’d have to rebuild. I did rebuild the one on my ‘66, back in ‘82- years of driving on frozen kingpins reduced the ball-bearings to something like orange seeds; I scored 40-60 replacement BBs at…a hardware store. The cab is integrated into the body. No separation. Technically, it’s unibody construction; the bed is spot-welded onto the frame. So it’s gonna be drill, baby, drill.
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Jul 17, 2021 17:47
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Worked on the brakes this past weekend.  Found the leak after bleeding the brakes: the master cylinder leaks at the front seal. Was going to try & install the new ignition switch, but the one I bought uses spade connectors; the generic it’s replacing used screws/lugs…the lugs look like factory wiring, but they’re going to have to be cut & spades crimped on. Also, the terminals on the new switch are not marked; found a couple of diagrams online, but they say different things BUT are consistent that the one terminal is BAT and the center terminal, which is threaded for lugs, is Accessory. Everything else will be tested with a probe light to see what’s what. I checked how the accessory switch was wired on the aftermarket, and as far as I can tell, it’s all wrong. I mean, they clearly got the starter momentary switch right, and maybe the coil wire…because it did crank when held over. Then again, the flip switch was both ignition as well as the fuel pump, so it looks like the previous gang of idiots wired it constant hot (the pump would run whether the ignition switch was turned or not). When I got done removing the flip switch, I happened to notice that two green wires lugged to the ACC lug went..nowhere. Just cut off. Also there’s a mystery black wire with a thinner black wire crimped on what looks like a factory lug, just floating around under the dash. Also two wires terminating in insulated spade connectors of each gender that also appear factory. Nothing electrical in the instrument cluster works. The speedo runs away & all over the place. I’ll try to repair it since (all together now) they’re NLA. TL;DR: the wiring looks like a nightmare but something tells me it’ll sort out easier than I think. Maybe later this week. Also: the fuse panel holds something like five fuses & it’s part of the headlamp switch. I have to remove the switch to get at it. Tomorrow I’m hitting Friendship Auto Salvage in Tabernacle, NJ. I’ve been going to this yard since 1985; they’ve been a going concern in the Pine Barrens for at least 75-years. They say that they have a couple Econolines in there; could be anything, or nothing. I have a list, tools & wasp spray. So I removed the seats & the passenger-side doghouse access panel to prepare for new exhaust & inspect the engine.   It has five freeze plugs, making it a 170. The VIN code says it came from the Lorain, OH plant with a 240. Maybe it’s a 240? Alternator is mounted on this…booger-welded homemade bracket set.   It’s dialed all the way out and still the belt is loose. Ordered a new bracket set, not sure if it’ll fit or not. There is only the one wire hooked up to the alternator; it also has a Jones plug, but it’s hanging loose. The F-150 bed patch arrived!   Unfortunately, the beading is different. If the entire bed is replaced, I suppose I could re-do it in these patches…but I can’t use it for section repair. Probably the single most important purchase I made came today:  Decoded the VIN. E100 standard pickup Dark Green 3-sp manual, 4:55 rear 240 engine VIN assigned September 1964 (don't think that that's the build date) Built in Lorain, OH from an order out of the Philadelphia district. Gross vehicle weight is 3600-lbs Oh, I forgot to mention the the driver's seat is broken at the slide rail. If I can't find another seat frame, I have to completely skin this one & figure out how to weld it back together again. :/ Gonna be doing a lot of welding PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 01:45 on Mar 28, 2023 |
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Jul 20, 2021 04:37
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If I was dealing with that bed I think i would chop the whole thing out (or at least a big rectangle including all of the profiled section on the inside of the wheel arches anyhow) and bolt a removeable flat sheet in for now. You can then revisit it later and fit a correctly profiled bed in at your leisure and once you have fixed everything else. If you chop it all out in one go you will gain easy access to clean up the frame and fix up and paint the sides of the bed too, and having a removable bed is really handy.
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Jul 20, 2021 10:28
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PainterofCrap posted:Nothing electrical in the instrument cluster works. The speedo runs away & all over the place. I’ll try to repair it since (all together now) they’re NLA. I'm sure you know this, but the speedo is cable driven, and when they go whacky wild speed racers on you, the cable is usually binding up. Pull the cable and generously lube it with lithium grease (you may need to even pull it out of its sleeve).
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Jul 20, 2021 11:13
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STR posted:I'm sure you know this, but the speedo is cable driven, and when they go whacky wild speed racers on you, the cable is usually binding up. Pull the cable and generously lube it with lithium grease (you may need to even pull it out of its sleeve). Here's to hopin' Tomarse posted:If I was dealing with that bed I think i would chop the whole thing out (or at least a big rectangle including all of the profiled section on the inside of the wheel arches anyhow) and bolt a removeable flat sheet in for now. I saw a restored one for sale, where it looks like they simply threw a flat sheet of 18-ga on top and hit it with Rhino Liner. It's an extremely appealing solution, not least because Fazzio's Metal sells 4x8 sheets of metal in a variety of gauges. I wince however at the thought of layering steel like that, and what would be going on between the layers. If I could figure out a way to seal between the layers, it might bother me less. On the other hand, I'll be driving it & using it. Most of my welding time should be spent patching other body holes before they grow much more, especially around the windshield. If at some distant future date I get hit on the head with a frying pan and decide to do a full restoration on this thing - then money will apparently not be an object anyway. What is more likely is that i will eventually sell the problem to someone else. In other news, between selling the Versa and getting a total-loss settlement for the CR-V, I'm getting back $5600. Good trade. Went to Friendship Auto Salvage today. It was very, very wet. Like, you should be wearing waders to get anywhere wet. Never seen it like this, I was climbing over wrecks to stay dry. No mosquitoes got me, but I found a deer tick later. I found one first-generation Econoline!  Uh. yeah. I might be able to score the driver's seat, if they remove what's on top and if it isn't flattened too far for me to wedge in there to get to the seat bolts. And that was it. Couldn't find any others; may try again next week, after the floodwaters recede. It's a unique experience:  https://i.imgur.com/yOwQLYN.mp4 PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 04:04 on Jul 21, 2021 |
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Jul 21, 2021 04:00
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Update: Last weekend: Got the master cylinder in. Replaced the ignition switch module. In order to have enough room to get at the back of the dash to do this, one needs to... Remove(d) the combined headlamp switch/fuse panel (four active fuses, including a 7.5-amp one I pigtailed off of for a radio). It's a weird setup: most of the harness wiring (such as it is) is bussed into the fuse panel, which is a plastic block with fuses on one side, and a series of captured female spade connectors on the back. The headlamp switch has all of the companion male spades; they're thus sandwiched together and held by a pair of spring-steel strap clamps. At some point, someone manhandled it & broke the plastic fuse casing that is the attachment point for one of the clamps, which allowed the two sections to sag & slip apart. I assembled them and substituted a wire tie. Strangely, after that, all of the lights & turn signals worked. Also the brake lights. The brake light switch is a 'wet' pressure switch screwed into the back of the distribution block on the master cylinder. I stuck the old one back on after bench-bleeding the new master; apparently it was stuck in the 'contact' position; I walked round back of the truck & found a light on when the key was out & the headlights were off. I crawled under and unplugged one of the wires...and they were quite warm. New switch was $8. After a few days' hiatus for other things as well as it being too damned hot, I finally went after the exhaust manifold bolts & nuts. I'd been hosing them for a week in PB Blaster (doubt any got into the head for the bolts, but what the hey) and to my utter amazement and delight, every single one of them turned! I was expecting to spend at least a couple days having a battle royale with these fasteners, and here they are, giving up without a fight...except that there was one hidden bolt I could not get a wrench on. I have no idea how they got it in, because the header tube curled back under it in such a way that the bolt head was too close to take a wrench. I wound up sawing off the rear two tubes to gain access to it.   The alternator has to come out, and the heater hoses & throttle linkage have to be moved, but I expect to have most of the Falcon exhaust installed by this time tomorrow. I say "most," because the company I bought the system from forgot to ship the long run with the hump in it. I can go ahead & install what I have - it'll just end under the bed - until they ship out the rest of it. But it'll be nice to be able to drive without earpro and monoxide poisoning. Bye, bye! 
PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 01:23 on Aug 2, 2021 |
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Jul 28, 2021 22:49
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I think I've finally hit bottom with this thing - in that I have finally exposed all of the obvious mechanical issues. I was getting ready to install the manifold and the alternator bracket (you can see it loosely installed in the photos I added above) and was figuring out where to set the alternator for pulley alignment when I noticed something amiss.  Thought 1: How the hell does this happen? How do you wind up with the water pump pulley & crank pulley misaligned? Thought 2: This thing must've been eating belts like crazy. Also: The rear panel on the doghouse has a bit of a corrosion issue:   Fortunately, the lip on the floor is stronger than it looks. Most of what is visible & chunky-looking there are remnants of the doghouse lip and a lot of factory butyl tape that was used as a water seal between the cabin floor & the doghouse. Still have to figure out how to install new capture nuts. However, it looks like I'll be welding sooner than later; I looked all over online but could not find anything, anywhere, to get a used doghouse. This is where we find a huge blind spot on the Internet: used/salvage-yard parts/inventory. The vast majority of salvage yards do not post their inventory. Some post newer vehicle stuff, but the only people posting car parts for the 70s back are usually asking insane money. Example:  So I'm back to what I did to source salvage-yard parts before the internet: working the phones & hitting yards. In a city the size of Philadelphia, there's bound to be a few Econolines here & there in yards that keep the old stuff. However, for the time being, I'll fab a patch out of 18-ga & weld it in so this thing can be reassembled when I'm done with the engine. I'll be getting a bottle of argon sooner than I thought. Not being certain which water pump pulley might line up with the crank, and with used ones topping $100, I checked the alignment and found the water pump studs to be about 1/2" too short; it has to come out about that far. I went to a local speed shop (Ben Pilla in Blackwood) and found that a set of carburetor studs would work. They had the correct threading; however, the fine thread needed to be in, and the coarse out - and the coarse was the short end of the stud. Since I therefore couldn't thread the nuts all the way to the stop, I used the nuts & lock washers that came with the set to set the studs at the proper depth (all the way through) in the water pump boss. The combined nuts & lockwashers happened to be the proper thickness to double as shims, so the pulley now will sit aligned, and attention can be turned to the alternator mount.   (yeah, I know the fan's on backwards) BUT have to clean up this mess first:  -abandoned-in-place fuel pump and coil, with replacement coil attached to the fuel line with a ziptie. Excellent! I'm debating on replacing the fuel pump at this time. The electric pump is working fine; and while I don't like the rubber hose as the fuel main, I can get at the pump from underneath. The new Falcon steel fuel line is here...guess I'll see how long it takes to repair the doghouse & get the coil sorted, exhaust manifold & alternator installed, etc & if I feel like it, spend a day running the new fuel hard-line. Have to wire-wheel the doghouse bits, and the cabin floor, and POR-15 it all; repair the doghouse; install all of the engine bits, and reinstall the doghouse with new butyl tape. PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 01:32 on Aug 2, 2021 |
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Aug 1, 2021 16:55
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How on earth was that belt fitted and not screaming when you got it delivered? I assume its got the wrong pulley on it or there should be a factory spacer that got misplaced in a previous pump replacement?
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Aug 1, 2021 21:44
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None of the three pulleys were aligned with each other. When I got it, it had the wrong belt on it - at least an inch too long; the alternator (the tensioner) was as far out as it could go, hard up against the doghouse panel, and I could move the belt with my hand. In the month I've had it, the longest I have driven it was around the block, maybe 4-6 minutes tops, and the engine has never been to operating temp. It's not going on any longer journeys until all of the fluids, including the diff & transmission oils, have been changed. I'm guessing it was something like that. Based on the condition of the bolts, capture nuts, and the factory butyl tape, the doghouse has never been removed. It's not clear that the radiator has ever been removed, but I'm skeptical that it has lasted 56-years and still be not only operational, but flowing well...it hasn't been touched in at least thirty years. That means working from above or below, and replacing the water pump without at least removing the passenger-side seat & panel, if not the radiator, would be a lot of fun - working down (or up) a dark hole with your arms extended & extremely limited visibility. So there could have been some fuckititis after that little nugget was discovered, and they sent it on its merry way with their fingers crossed. I wirewheeled & primed the rear doghouse panel and fan about an hour ago. I also took some random swipes at the body, and I'm hitting this Da-Glo-colored primer that must be an indicator coat for all of the Bondo I'm hitting. Bondo; Bondo everywhere. I'm going to have to use a heat gun or something because the amount of dust created by grinding is literally leaving drifts in my driveway and the truck bed. I'm a little concerned at what is being hidden, but the metal I have found so far under it, while buried deep, is not bad. It's a puzzle for another day. PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 14:41 on Aug 2, 2021 |
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Aug 2, 2021 01:47
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Not surprising to find a work truck mechanically fuckled, a little more surprising to find someone cared enough to fuckle the bodywork. More photos please, of anything you get into.
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Aug 2, 2021 09:47
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Progress since: Finally got around to repairing the doghouse via some truly lovely welding. I really have to get a bottle of argon and practice, practice, practice     Thankfully, it's a functional piece, located where no one can see it. Got the manifold and first header section installed. The belt finally lines up! Radiator back in; waiting on a correct bottom hose. There's about 2-feet of some cobbled-together ribbed generic thing flopping around down there.  Still have to figure out how to build a corrected throttle pushrod to replace that booger-weld. The problem is that the throttle crank on the Carter is too short, and the rod from the throttle bellcrank hits the intake manifold casting because they're off-plane about an inch. I may just try and bend something. I could bring the throttle crank on the carb out with a fabbed extension, but have to see how much that changes the geometry & affects the rotation of the throttle vs. the bellcrank.  On the driver's side, removed the dead coil and put the replacement where it belongs. I pulled the mechanical fuel pump. It's an odd one; the one I bought to replace it clearly won't go:  I ordered another, but it got me to thinking. What engine is in this thing? I've assumed it was a 170 based on the number of freeze plugs, and the cast-in intake manifold. I located the casting numbers:  "D"-1970; "8" is the year of the decade; "B" is Fairmont. "E" may be the engine plant. ...this is a 250ci out of a '78 Ford Fairmont. Oh, mighty beast. Well, it's the proper engine, and a good one...but, good to know when ordering engine parts! I was finally able to locate the exact type of fuel pump. Came right up with that year & model. As it cooled towards sunset, I wirewheeled and encapsulated the battery tray/box bottom.  Tomorrow's strip and seal: the battery box top and the rest of the doghouse panels, which will be getting discount Dynamat; Drill out the doghouse holes; install cage nuts for the doghouse bolts. When they arrive, gauges for temp, oil pressure & amps. Oil change, fluids, the rest of the exhaust. Rebuild the driver's seat. While installing the radiator from underneath, my eye happened to catch something previously missed: some PO / dingdong ran the rear axle brake feed hardline through the bulkhead - in a hole currently occupied by one of the transmission shift rods! Throw it on the pile. .
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Aug 11, 2021 04:42
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