mY 1970 f100

[Madsen1970F100]

Thanks for feedback...

Latest news....

Re-installed the inside quarters with the seals more properly in place, used safety wire method as the staples that came from LMC were a bit of a joke. Then started to sort out the vacuum lines and electrical wires. Pretty sure I have it figured but not totally. Did get her to turn over and interior lights work so I am on the right track I suppose. Tomorrow will mount the drive shaft, install radiator, mufflers, rig some rear lights, bleed the brakes, top all the fluids, grease all the joints and if I put things together properly, might just take her for a ride and break in the new engine.

Surely there will be snags and I will be back on her posting dumb questions tomorrow, but lets hope not. Feeling pretty good I even got wiring together enough to turn her over!

[Madsen1970F100]

Got engine running, well sort of. looking for help in other posts and will solve problem sooner or later. Even drove it around the neighborhood, though it ran very rough. either a vacuum issue or electronic best as I can guess at this point. members here are great at coming to my aide!! once its up and running I will take a few more pictures of it and post again here. Til then no real news to report.

[Madsen1970F100]

Finally got the sputtery engine mystery sorted out, thanks to some great help from Fordification members and a bit of detective work. Turned out to be vacuum related. Got it sorted and managed to take her for a test drive tonight. I made several efforts to break in the rings and found out the brakes work very well hood was tighly bungeed but managed to rise up a bit, suprising me and causing me to hit the brakes a little harder than I might do ordinarily and I can say, they were quite responsive Got her back safe and sound in the garage, I will finish hooking up the rest of things necessary to make it truly road worthy. I was a littel too eager to get it out on the road. Engine ran great though does still need a little finer tuning to dial it in a little better. Had some nasty vibrations at about 35 mph that disappated at 45 mph but thats when I saw my hood!! I suspect that since I replaced all the steering linkages, etc. its in bad need of alignment, proper pressure in tires, etc. etc.

One more step closer.....

[Jtorres]

Good times........ looking forward to some pics of it on the road..

[67mann]

[Madsen1970F100]

Well, if you have seen some of my other posts, you know I am having a major vibration problem that I have narrowed down to a wobbling rear drive shaft. I also had a mysterious oil leak and some vacuum mysteries. Well 2 of 3 are solved. Oil leak turned out to be the passenger side valve cover and vacuum was leak in the PCV hose. I tried a few things with the drive shaft today but no luck, probably need to bring to a shop. I did bring her to the Ford dealer who did an alignment, installed new front coil springs, new shocks all around and new pivot arm bushings. All of which (except shocks maybe) I did not want to get involved with for fear I would lose an important body part.

So while the bigger problem of vibration persists, I did manage to get a window crank, door handle, high beam foot switch and front hood trim off the donor. I also reset steering wheel so it was no longer upside down and cleaned up engine bay, including fresh coat of paint on the air cleaner.

She is running great but the darn driveshaft issue will keep me from driving it anywhere other than to a shop to have it fixed. Although tomorrow I might try to swap drive shaft off the donor and see if I still have vibration. Of course, they are calling for snow.

[Madsen1970F100]

Well today I swapped out rear portion of drive shaft with the one from my donor. That seems to have solved the excessive vibration I was having. Want to get a pro-shop to install new u-joints since this made it obvious I am not equipped to do so. I reinstalled door panels and exchanged the temp gauge in the instrument cluster with the one from the donor. Have some questions about that..... Also took wife for her first ride. The tranny seems to shift nice and smooth but won't go into third gear. So at 50 mph the engine is at high rpms. I am thinking the transmission shift modulator valve or some more vacuum mysteries..... For $14 I will replace it and see if that is it.

As for these pics, just an idea of how she looks on the outside.....I know body panels are not lined up, in fact just bolted on enough to keep them on the truck. Still need to get bed inside garage and get bottom cleaned up and reinstall on the truck. I need to install door gaskets and tend to all the body work I started. Think I will just sand and re-primer, then possible rattle can black or maybe just leave primer, until I can afford a real paint job. You can trace this post back and see what the quarters used to look like. I think they are pretty ok for my skill level and general lack of attention to finer details.

Anyway, I could never be at this point if it was not for the great guys on here offering their expertise and help when I needed it most. Thanks

[BiggDogg]

Wow man you have made significant progress the past few weeks Glad things are coming together for you and you were able to work out most of your kinks Looking forward to future updates!

[67mann]

.....Hey don't forget about the most important person in this project........You This forum is great place for knowledge ,but you had the dedication and willingness to stick with it. Be proud of yourself.....alot of projects never make it past dismantling

[Madsen1970F100]

.....Hey don't forget about the most important person in this project........You This forum is great place for knowledge ,but you had the dedication and willingness to stick with it. Be proud of yourself.....alot of projects never make it past dismantling

Thanks. There is much more to do. At least now I can use my garage and keep her parked outside! Put the bed on, grill, bumpers, etc. Just mocking it up and will probably drive a little before taking some of it back down to complete body work. Will spend some time tomorrow lining everything up a bit better. Took for a drive and took pictures at (Ironically) the Chebby dealer near my house since they have real bright lights. She rides so much smoother with the weight of the bed on. I know it looks pretty rough now but its just tossed together and bolted up. Will start cleaning up the bed tomorrow and get panels lined up a little better.

[Caseys71]

, Congrats! I bet it feels great to have your truck back together. BigDogg is right you've really made some serious progress in the last few weeks. Really glad to hear you're truck is together in time for you to make your trip down to Garysville. Give it another week and you'll probably have all of the panels aligned, everything buttoned up, and the truck painted with the rate you've been working at .

[Madsen1970F100]

Well this past weekend, I piddled and played, trying to make her look somewhat presentable. I removed quarters and doors to revisit their body work and gave them nice sanding, primered and sanded again and then rattle can top coat. THIS IS JUST TEMPORARY I will have it professionally painted one of these days. I need to save some money and figured a rattle can finish + litle road dust and noe will be the wiser. I did my best to line up the cab and drilled holes in the DC cab mounts and bolted front of cab down. I installed the door seals and various interior odds and ends. Then I took mirrors all apart and replaced all the nuts and bolts with new shiny ones. After this next weekend, I can remove the bed again and begin its long and toiled body work. Then again, maybe I'll leave it together for a little while and just work on the body topside. Getting all these body panels to line up sure must be an art and takes a lot more patience then I have. As you can see I was not terrible successful Doors open and close without a click although new door seals require a little musckle.

Anyway, she is fully operational and ready for a road trip this coming weekend. Then I might take a bit of a break from working on it since it has been all I have done weeknights and all weekends for quite a while now.

[Caseys71]

, That rattle-can job looks pretty good!

[Madsen1970F100]

, That rattle-can job looks pretty good!

Thanks Casey, its only temporary and with some road dirt and grime, it will blend in. Need to save for a real paint job and real people who have patience and skill to align body panels correctly.

For now, I might just drive around a bit as is and re-charge my motivation...I've been hitting the project hard for several months.

Just installed a home-made headliner using existing headliner, gluing on thin layer of foam and then black vinyl. Was a bear to get back in place, really need to get chrome trim though. Got the idea from the forums here!! Need to see some posts of your progress. Grass is starting to grow and that means bump money for you!!

[Madsen1970F100]

Made it to the track for her first road trip!!! No real problems, I do think the timing needs a little more adjusting, pulling with the weight of golf cart in the back caused a little pinging at times, nothing too bad but does need attention. Attached are some photos....looking forward to a good weekend! Parked next to her is another little fun ride