1972 F-250 2wd to 4wd build

['84 Bronco II]

Awesome to see the truck doing some work

I can only imagine what it is like feeding a 460 truck on 40s while towing with gas prices these days

 

[rattle_snake]

Compared to the Mrs' horses, gas is cheap in any quantity.

 

[Snowracer]

been over a month so there should be some updates for us ?

 

[rattle_snake]

Yes, after having it on the road for a year/2000 miles I am blowing it apart for paint. Not really sure what I am doing, project has already snowballed way beyond original intent. Plan is to paint all but the roof back to the original lime green. 10' paint job, going to drive it through the brush.

 

[rattle_snake]

Slowly puttering away on 72 Ford paint job. I usually try to have a plan before I start, but as I disassemble I find more things that will take time and need attention. So scope has blown out completely and I'm just bouncing around on random tasks. Some are not even related to paint.
Going to take a few months to get it done, but I'm supposed to enjoy this right?

There is some rust where the seam sealer has failed on drip rail. I was hoping to limit scope of job to just one color and not paint roof at this time, however considering doing repair to both sides/colors. But then I should remove the back glass and windshield, where does it stop?

For example, during door disassembly I am reminded of the past speaker hackery that I can't quite ignore any more. So I welded all the holes shut for a fresh start.

Doors had several types of mirrors over the decades so lots of holes to fill. I think right side mirror got hit, some damage to door skin on that side.

A battery exploded so wanting to address rust spots on the underside of hood. Gave it a scuff with scotchbrite pad and ground out the rusty spots. Too much time spent here but I want the paint to stick and look decent next to the new motor.

So truck is back in 100 pieces, but still drivable. I have accepted that I enjoy the build aspect more than the end product, even though I want it done right away. I have removed every nut and bolt at this point. Glad I didn't try to paint when I did main build as it would have taken a lot longer and I was getting burned out. As far as I have to go on paint I can look at the rest of the finished product and it puts things into perspective.

 

[rattle_snake]

Bouncing around on various metal and body work tasks but list is getting longer as I go. I seem to prefer welding, sanding not so much.
Got some new DeWalt cordless tools for Christmas, another angle grinder and a palm sander. The new grinder is much lighter tand the old 18v NiMH, but tools both plow through batteries. I have five, 2 Ah batteries and three chargers. They seem to be enough to do whatever task I need to do.
One item is in-cab fuel filler hole. Body line from door ends in this spot.

Cut a rough shape and fit. Got curve in one plane OK both not the other so will need some filler.

Got the drip rail mouldings off and found that the 50 year old seam sealer has dried and failed. This allowed seams to rust all the way around the cab. So need to deal with it all, common sense would indicate painting roof now would be a good idea. Just time and money

 

[rattle_snake]

Just the bed itself has had 122 holes drilled in it over the years. A few tantrums with a drill and probably excessive whiskey consumption. So slowly hammering them flat, filling them, and doing others repairs. The bed sheet metal is quite thick so they are easy to fill compared to the doors. About 50 in each bed rail and some large ones in the bed floor from 5th wheel setup. Don't plan to paint inside of bed at this time.
The right bed rail had some very heavy dropped on it and smashed it in. Got the rail decent-ish with dolly and hammer, then used jack to press larger bend out. Made a block of wood with a grove to work around lip.
Didn't get it perfect, 90/10 like the rest of the job. Goal is minimal filler anywhere, especially bed rails that will get abused.

Right bed end cap had 3 bad dents right a stake pocket. So I made a slide hammer out of remnants. Tapped business end 8/32 to use a screw through a hole in the sheet metal. Got 90% out so happy enough.

Filled reflector holes and finished hackery to the lower bed corners. The guy who made the bumper makes all of them way to tight fitting and it hit the sheet metal on one side. So back them just cut a pie slice out and hammered in clearance. Welded the seam shut and prettied it up even though it cannot be seem with bumper on.

As I learn better techniques and get more experience, I can't seem to leave my old work alone. Each fender section got a bit better, so going back over them all to bring it up to my current level of hackery. Also the bed fuel fill, I found large dent below it after I painted, so going back over and working with hammer to minimize filler.

 

[Deleted Member]

Kicking butt man!

 

[Levigarrett76]

The exhaust video doesnt work any more, do you have any more videos of her running?

 

[rattle_snake]

I updated the link in that post and here it is again

Google Photos

 

[Loki89t]

Looking good.

 

[rattle_snake]

Spent a fair amount of time this Saturday working on bed bodywork. Metal work is done. I went back over fender mods and did a better job blending seams. Got primer on it so bodywork is mostly complete. Still have work on cab rust and preping the rest of cab, jams and so on. I think bed is about ready to come off. Break down tailgate, toolbox ect.

Drove it around like this for some fun. Much more scooty with 600 pounds removed! Reminds me a bit of my 77 bronco, as I usually had no top and/or doors on it. But now I'm old and soft, and want a comfortable ride, AC, quiet.

Body work is not my favorite. Dirty, dusty and paint boogers even with mask.

 

[rattle_snake]

Getting deeper into rabbit hole in several aspects. Decided I needed to go ahead a paint cab/roof to properly deal with rust. I went through the scenario in my feeble mind and it seemed more work to try and half ass now and half ass later. Windshield gasket and trim is in the way to properly address rust on drip rail. Gasket is shot. Windshield glass is is rough shape. And I don't really like the wintergreen color in relation to the lime.


So went back to local auto paint store to spend more money. Picked up a quart of single stage Wimbledon white with 50% duller added. Given severe schedule slip, I was concerned with temp/speed of hardener/reducer I had, so swapped out fast for medium on the gallon of green.

I also decided to do a sealer, given that most panels are 3+. Sealer is a 1/5th of the cost of top color and I was afraid I would go heavy with top color to cover... I was going to reduce a high build 2k but ended up going with a gallon of a 1k product for cost and ease of use. Also got a rattle can of some high build for the few areas that need it, like weld seams in troughs that are hard sand the filler. So full circle using 3 type of primers.


So although I feels like I'm going backwards and doesn't help get any green paint on anything, I went ahead and sanded roof. Found a few dents, not bad, and worked the rust seam above the rear window. Then went on to dig out all the failed seam sealer, no fun how it is wedged into the tapered groove.

Couldn't access rust on bottom of drip rail so pulled out the windshield. Just cut off inside lip as gasket was beyond done. Terrible mess of butyl goo, so got to work cleaning it up so mask tape will stick properly when painting.

Also removed back glass as gasket is dried out, and need to prep properly. Should be easier to paint the roof first, less masking. But first bed need to come off after cab is about ready for sealer.

 

[gump1376]

Lookin good. I need to get back to working on my crewcab. But then again I'm still playing with some of my other hobbies. I think I'll work on getting this site up to date on my crew. I'm guessing the peeps in here will appreciate it.

 

[rattle_snake]

Continuing to break down the old ford. I think tailgate and toolbox were the last few bolts I had not touched. Almost done with primary sanding. Got all the cab seams sealed. Wish I would have had self leveling for drip rail but made what I had work. Have some clean up to do once dry enough to work.

Trying to align where in the process all the different panels are. As I learn and improve I bring then all up to the same quality/level. Finish prep of all the jams and put etch on as needed. Then put down some 1k high build over repairs.
Tailgate was pretty beat up from years of use and abuse, so I turd polished a few areas. My outdoor workbench happens to be same tailgate.

With cab, bed and panels almost ready for sealer, it was time to remove the bed to access back of cab. I welded e-brake mount to bed so had to remove cables, will cut that off and do properly on frame. But bed was off quick and easy with lift.

Just a quick down and dirt paint job he said...
With bed off I can re-do the fuel system. Move lines to left frame rail, away from exhaust to address fuel boiling in tank issue. What's one more little project?

Plan to clean and rattle can underside of bed, then set it on my fab table with wheels. Then I can move it around and paint on it. center bay is big enough to park truck and still work the parts and pieces.

 

[rattle_snake]

Finally put some paint on the truck this weekend. Decided to just keep it simple and paint outside. I could spend months designing and building a booth inside my shop (been there done that) plus engineering an fan system. So instead I just used that time to paint and move forward. I was able to put sealer on the cab, hood, tailgate and a few other items. Rolling rack worked well enough. Was windy at times so had to just deal with it. Waited until sun went over building, was about 75 F and extremely low humidity. Sealer flashed very quickly. Did 2 coats.

Been awhile since my cheap HF paint gun had been filled up. Have had this turd over 20 years and it works well enough. Got it dialed in on cardboard and went at it. I think an important part of painting is consistent hand motion (beyond basic setup) much like welding. A little forethought and getting in the comfortable position is helpful, as apposed to being in too much of a hurry.

Not easy to access roof up at 7' and have a easy range of gun motion. Used a ladder on each side.

Next day I did a partial mask for white on the roof and laid down color. Did 3 coats, took more paint that I thought.

Flash is quick but tacky for several hours so rolled truck inside after a bit. Cars driving by on dirt roads so far from ideal environment.

Found this little guy but just laughed it off. Proof I did it myself in my driveway.
If this is worst so far I take it. It'll buff out...

I did drag the hose in the primer on the roof and for get to wipe down the tailgate so mistakes made but overall a win. So far. Long way to go.

 

[FleshEater]

I would leave that bug. Kind of cool.

 

[Deleted Member]

Just adds a bit of protein to the finish. It's not a hard fix to rip the little guy out though.
Looking good man! You going to keep the main body green?

 

[rattle_snake]

Thanks. Yes rest of body will remain the original metallic lime green, but with 50% dulling agent. Hoping semi-gloss sheen will hide imperfections and blend better with old trim and so on.

 

[rattle_snake]

Hosed some color on the old truck. Guess I should have done a spray-out first, but just went for it.

Doing partial mask for white allowed overspray on the cowl, and ended up with a texture, Dooh! I did what I could to mitigate at the time and moved forward. Figured I would make more mistakes and perhaps this wouldn't be the worst aspect of the job.

In the shop with cool-white lighting the color is more olive drab (lime drab?). Not as close to original color as I had hoped.

Even with 50% dulling agent added, paint is slick and shiny when new and clean.

Bottom of hood looks nice, evidence of battery explosion is gone.

Next day I fired it up and backed out into the sun to re-asses color match. Note large tree full of pollen in background.

Looks 'limey' with metal flake as intended. So on with painting the rest.

 

[rattle_snake]

So on with sealer on the rest of the panels and little parts, although I'm sure I will find some more things that need paint later.

Ended up using almost the whole gallon of sealer. put down 2 coats, and color over the top an hour later. Put in 9 hours on Saturday, waited till 3p for sun to go over and painted non-stop until 6. Spray, refill, repeat.

Rolled everything into shop, had to drive kids to activities.
Wish I would have masked the inside of the door with cardboard or something and sprayed the whole inner surface, but with panel on only the internet and I will know.

Fender sectioning came out OK with real paint on it.

touched up the cab to firewall area with black paint. Could have done all green but had undercoat on it, plus wheel well will look all black with fender on. Also cut in under door sills and reinstalled steps.

Spent some time turd polishing and cleaning hardware. Used etching primer, sealer, and top coat like the rest. Not powder coated level OCD, but should fasten stuff still.

Had a few oz of paint left so I went back and fixed some snafus from 1st round of color. Nose of hood and sill plates had light coverage and had one spot of tape that shouldn't have been there.

Close to Irate green color.

 

[CDA 455 II]

Damn!
Looking nice indeed!

 

[rattle_snake]

Thanks!
Upon closer inspection some place need a touch up or two, door skins and Jambs. And going to do inside of bed now that I know I have enough paint. So back to welding and sanding instead of re-assembly.

 

[Loki89t]

Looking good

 

[reptillikus]

The white on top really sets it off, looks awesome

 

[rattle_snake]

Looking good

The white on top really sets it off, looks awesome

Thanks guys. It's coming along slowly but still moving.

 

[rattle_snake]

Got the inside of the bed painted. I did 2 coats of sealer, but just one on center of bed floor, as to not walk on it. Then same for top coat. Plan to put a rubber mat on beat up bed floor.

I decided not to repaint the doors. I went back over the few problem errors and found them to be not worth the risk of screwing the doors up worse compared to all the other errors in the paint job. I did fix one upper door jam on cab, and I fixed it so well I made some runs in it. So I laughed and felt like I made the right decision. Forgot to do inside of tailgate so more painting to go.
So instead I hung the 2nd door, and put the front clip on. Didn't make it far into door reassembly before turd polishing took over. Need new gaskets, clips, rubber bits and such so put in an order for parts.

 

['84 Bronco II]

Looking great! Pickup beds are supposed to be dented; I wouldn't bother with a mat, they look silly anyway.

 

[rattle_snake]

Thanks.
The bed is pretty hammered. Had a hard life, but metal is thick and It survived. I used sledge to get the big dents out of it. looks like a gooseneck was dropped in the bed a few times, fucked up the floor, right wheel well and so on. And the same dipshit drilled holes all over the fucking place. It was painted without prep so flaking badly and still a mess after blasting/sanding. So fuck it, painted over the top, going to throw shit back there and drive off.

I like the heavy duty bed mats they are quite useful in may ways, including easy clean up of blood, guts and other stuff that get spilled or splattered in the bed. Easier on the knees especially with camper shell on.

 

[rattle_snake]

Managed to find some time to re-plumb the fuel system on the truck. Figured since bed was off, it was the time to do it. During peak heat of summer the fuel would boil in tank and vent excessively. I think this was due to return style system being run close proximity (parallel) to the exhaust. I built some heat shields but was not quite enough and they were a band-aid type solution which I don't like. I knew the only real solution was to move lines to the left frame rail away from heat source, just have to re-work everything.

I made sure I spilled fuel all over while removing the lines and hoses. I was able to re-use most everything so the job was really to move and adapt as needed. First step was to rough-in the line on the left side and pick a spot to transition to hoses up front. Then add bends near tank and mount fuel filter. I put supply line with filter on bottom so it could be accesses easier for maintenance/replacement.

I added bracing for bump stops then out-boarded them later, so bracing was right in the way. As much as I wanted to cut them out, it was of little value so I just went around with some bends. Brake line and wiring were in the way so had to move and relocate as needed, put fuel lines down low to clear.

The rear cab support has only a small opening along frame so had to get creative to get all 4 item though there. I had filled many of the unused holes in frame so drilled new in the right places for brake line, and mounted wiring in piggyback fashion. Don't want to use any zip ties but did use some Velcro straps. No tools needed and reusable.

Up front the lines are shorter and end at back of block instead of going to front. This keeps away from exhaust further. The left header is a block hugger and exhaust wraps under the oil pan to cross over to the right side. So much cooler here than the right side. But a broken u-joint could allow the shaft to damage the fuel lines (and everything else).

Lines run up firewall to EFI throttle body which houses regulator and gauge. I added one dual hose clamp on steering column bolt to support the long length and keep them out of trans shifter linkage. This also keeps lines off sharp pinch weld and lines are curved enough to allow movement of frame/cab/engine.

Overall a cleaner install under hood and should mitigate the fuel heating issue.