Sunday, May 16, 2004  -  I decided that since it's been almost 2 months since I did an update to the site, I'd better get my butt in gear. I haven't done any one major thing...just lots of smaller jobs not really worth of it's own page. However, I'll try to get you up to date on the project's progress.

Right after the last update, around the middle of April, I spent a little time cleaning some parts up to sell on E-bay. Had 18 auctions up on E-bay, all but two items sold, some for higher than I'd anticipated. Also had contact with a few people either through the E-bay auctions or the FORDification web forums who were looking for some parts which I sold them. I also did a little good old-fashioned parts-swapping with a few forum members. I traded a dealer-installed auxiliary fuel tank setup for a wiper delay setup from a '79 pickup and I traded a bare F600 chrome/painted instrument panel for a 99% rust-free right/front inner fenderwell. The only spot of rust on this one is immediately below where the battery tray mounts, so repairs will be easy and invisible. The rest of it is perfect.

On 4/04 I made another trip out to the local salvage yard to remove the front end assembly from a '75 F250, which was equipped with power disc brakes. (See Fig. 1) Also got the steering box and some miscellaneous engine parts. This truck was equipped with a factory Duraspark ignition, so I saved the distributor and computer module. I couldn't recall how much of the wiring harness needed to be saved to retrofit these into an older truck, so I told the yard man to set this one aside and not crush it before I could get back out and remove the necessary wiring.

On 4/17 I did a lot of cleanup in the shop. It was getting pretty dirty in there. I also started prepping some of the parts for powdercoating, including the radiator support. I wanted to drill any holes necessary for mounting the hood latch and grill to the '78 radiator support I'll be using before it got powdercoated. Shown in Figs. 2-5 are the holes needed. Fig. 6 shows a comparison shot of front valance panels. Since I'll be using a '71 valance panel on my '67, I'll have a pair of holes on each end I'll have to weld shut. I also spend some time getting the inner fenders cleaned up. These will also be powdercoated. The R/S is an aftermarket reproduction and the L/S is a good used factory piece. The reproduction needed a few minor tweaks to get it to bolt to the radiator support, including one hole widened out, and I also had to do a little clearancing for it on the radiator support...nothing that a couple minutes with the grinder couldn't handle.

On 4/24 I spent some time stripping down the two original '67 doors from my truck. The lower door skins are very rusted and I'd decided to use '68 doors instead, but since I found two good '67 doors, I'll be using them. Therefore, I didn't need the rusty doors taking up shop space, so they got stripped down to the bare shell, saving especially the door release mechanisms and vent windows for spares. I compared the '67 window mechanisms to the '68-'72 versions and found them to be absolutely identical, contrary to a rumor I'd heard about them being different.

On 5/7 I dropped my I-beams and spindles off at the machine shop to get the kingpins pressed out, since I want to powdercoat the I-beams. The machine shop charged me $15 to press them out, which I thought was well worth the money...it definitely saved me a lot of blood, sweat and tears trying to do it without a press!

The next day I was paid a visit by a forum member, Mark from Omaha, since he was only about an hour away and he wanted an excuse to take a short road trip with his '70 4x4 CrewCab. We spent the afternoon BS'ing and taking some pics of his rig. (Click thumbnail to enlarge.) He was also kind enough to loan me his large collection of vintage factory literature (60 pounds worth!) to scan or photocopy. Some of this stuff will be appearing on the website during future updates. Thanks, Mark!

Fig. 1  -  Here's a shot of the '75 F250 which donated it's front end and other parts. It was hauled in loaded up with scrap metal.

Fig. 2  -  Here's where the upper part of the '73-'79 radiator support must be drilled to accommodate the older style hood latch.

Fig. 3  -  I actually had to drill two holes...one to allow insertion of the J-nut, and another for the bolt itself. I used a die grinder to enlarge the hole. After this picture was taken I sanded it down to clean it up.

Fig. 4  -  Here is a shot of a '68 parts truck, showing the grille holes which will need to be drilled into the '78 support to mount the grille.

Fig. 5  -  A shot of one of the lower grille mounting holes drilled into the radiator support panel.

Fig. 8  -  Here's a shot of the replaced L/F spring tower. Rust had gotten in between the frame and original tower, weakening the tower. Back on Page 21 I cut the rivets holding it to the frame and replaced the tower with a piece from a parts truck, securing it with Grade 8 hardware. The bolt heads won't be obvious once the frame is powdercoated.

Fig. 9  -  Some time ago, somebody asked me if the inner door release mechanism from a '67 could be fitted onto a '68-'72 door. I didn't know, so I researched the question and made this side-by-side comparison graphic as a way of illustrating the differences. The answer to the question would be "it's not worth the trouble". If you wanted to try, you'd probably have the best luck cutting the inner door section from the '67 and grafting it onto the '68 door, using some very careful measurements.

Fig. 10  -  While cleaning the frame I left the rearend attached via the spring shackle bolts, for easy of maneuverability. I just backed the trailer up under the front end and then dropped the rearend from the frame.

Fig. 11  -  All loaded up and ready to go. The Olds 442 pieces in the truck bed have already been sandblasted, but will need redone, due to flash rust.

The big news is...I FINALLY got some of the parts to the powdercoaters yesterday afternoon! I dropped off the truck's frame, radiator support, radius rods, I-beams, front coil springs, engine & transmission crossmembers and the hood hinges/springs. I also intend to powdercoat the inner fenderwells, but it was recommended that I sandblast them myself, since the extreme pressure of their sandblaster would probably warp the panels. Hopefully by the time these parts are coated (about 2 weeks) I'll have the fenderwells cleaned up and ready to coat. While I was at it, I also dropped off all the suspension pieces for my '67 442 to be done at the same time.

The pieces are being powdercoated by a company called Valmont, whose primary business is large-scale galvanizing. Their main customers are the power companies (light poles) and agriculture (irrigation equipment), but they also have a commercial powdercoating shop. In talking with the shop foreman, I was told that the sandblasting would run about $60/hr. and the powdercoating for the frame would run about $200. Instead of sand, they use steel grit as a blasting media, which is extremely aggressive. The grit hopper is up on top of their sandblaster, and drops down onto attachments on large 12HP electric motors, which in turn flings the grit at a high velocity onto the part being blasted.

Fig. 12  -  Here's my frame being hoisted by giant electric cranes. My pieces were stacked on the floor to be done later in the week. The big sandblaster is in the background.

Fig. 13  -  Here's a close-up of the sandblaster. In this pic you see a rack hanging down from a large trolley system, and on the rack are a half-dozen smaller pieces going in to be blasted and then powdercoated.

Fig. 14  -  In this shot, the operator, using a remote control box on a sling around his neck, advances the rack into the sandblaster. He ran it back and forth through the machine several times.

The turnaround time on getting things sandblasted and powdercoated will be about two weeks. I was hoping to be able to actually be there to take some pictures while the frame was being fed into the sandblaster and some more while it was being painted and then baked in the oven. Unfortunately, my items will be done by the time I'm ready to go back...but I do intend to try to get some shots of the Valmont workers painting and baking other items, just for the visual.

Well, hopefully this page makes up for the lack of updates over the past two months. I'll probably be spending the rest of the evening sitting down with the parts books and ordering all the necessary items to start assembling a rolling chassis...like brake and steering components, suspension bushings, etc. I intend to to have more pieces sandblasted and ready to powdercoat by the time this first batch is done. Stay tuned!