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Finished the driver side floor and applied the POR 15. I need to get some brushable seam sealer to go over the seams and the pitted areas of the floor. Then the whole lower cab will be painted with semi-gloss POR 15.



Oh boy!! As always, found some more rust. The front faces (under the truck) of the rear cab corners both have small holes. Got the driver side cut out and a patch panel started. Given the shape of those areas I might have bought patch panels if I could find them.

Looks like it's time to invest in an English Wheel.

wxo wrote:Looks like it's time to invest in an English Wheel.

Like I said when the Maverick rust repair was done, I'll never do another one.

Finished the floor and cab corner drop downs and have the lower cab sealed and POR 15ed. WXO came over and we removed the engine and transmission. Engine and transmission are sold to a guy in Charlotte. Have his bank check and he'll pick them up in a week or three.

Didn't get any pictures today. Guess we were too focused on gettin' 'er done.

Got the driver side inner fender rust repair mostly done.

Here's the before picture. The inner fender has a reinforcement under it where the hood hinge mounts. Looks like water and dirt got between the reinforcement and the inner fender and rusted both.

Driver side inner fender has been removed from the truck.



Passenger side is still in -- viewed from the driver's side.



The reinforcement was spot welded to the inner fender. Spot welds were drilled out and reinforcement removed to get access to and cut out the rust.



Ready to cut the rust out of the inner fender.



And, cut out.



The holes in the inner fender for the hood hinge (above picture) and the nuts fastened to the reinforcement were preserved. Those nuts will be lined up with the holes to insure they're positioned correctly.

A 16 gauge angle was welded to the bottom of the inner fender and the original reinforcement, with rust areas cut out, welded to the 16 gauge angle.

Bottom view.



Top view.



Then a 24 gauge (same as inner fender) piece was cut to fit the hole in the inner fender and butt welded into place. Not sure how I'll smooth out the cracks and warps.

Wife and I are headed to Michigan tomorrow AM so no more progress on the F100 for 10 days or so. Here is the current state of things.



Front sheet metal is stripped off and everything is off the firewall except for the choke cable, master cyl and steering column. The firewall, cowl and front cab mounts all appear to be rock solid.

When we get back, I'll push the truck outside and power wash the chassis, firewall, and removed panels. The plan is to get the engine bay finished before the 5.8L goes in. That means the firewall, radiator core support, both inner fenders (inside and outside) will be stripped, primed and painted (I'm thinking semi-gloss black). Plan to do the inside of the fenders and stone guard while I'm at it.

Also thinking I'll buy a new right inner fender since someone hacked up the one I have.



Can't see doing rust repair on a hacked up panel. My son and I have no idea why a previous owner would have cut the inner fender like that. Its a shame 'cause new ones are $175. Shipping is another $100 but I can drive to Charlotte and get one from NPD and avoid shipping cost.

No bites on the Maverick for $14K.

The Edelbrock top end kit was to be delivered in two-four weeks. Yesterday was two weeks. The seller tried to contact them to get status but no call back. I hope the parts will be here when we return from MI.

The top end kit is NOT here. We're going to cancel the order on Monday if its not on the way. Don't have a Plan B yet.

Buyer payed for the six cyl eng out of the truck but has NOT picked it up. Might have to start chargeing him rent.

Today the truck got pushed out in the driveway to power wash the firewall and front chassis. That took the loose grime off but left some of the grease there. Treated everything with oven cleaner and power washed it again.





Came out clean except for where the undercoating is stuck well. Guess I'll have to scarpe and wire brush that stuff away. Probably a bad idea to soften it with gasoline and then use an electric drill to remove it. I've read that diesel fuel can be used but don't think I'll try it.

I ordered a chassis paint kit from Eastwood with Epoxy primer and Satin Chassis Black. The whole engine compartment including the visible frame will be done in that. Should look nice I think and look OK with whatever color ends up on the body.

Maverick ...... I think I'd try heating that undercoating with a bernz-o-matic torch to
soften it up. I'm not 100% certain that it'll work, but I bet it would, and it'd eliminate
the drippy residual that would certaily be present if you used gas or diesel fuel.....

GM

GMJohnny wrote:Maverick ...... I think I'd try heating that undercoating with a bernz-o-matic torch to
soften it up. I'm not 100% certain that it'll work, but I bet it would, and it'd eliminate
the drippy residual that would certaily be present if you used gas or diesel fuel.....

GM

I'll try that today. Plan on getting the undercoating and seam sealer off and getting the rust bucket (electrolytic rust removal) going. The rust bucket was set up twice yesterday and both times it leaked. Gotta find ANOTHER plastic vat.

I have heard of people using dry ice to freeze it then it chips off real easy. I have not tried this myself - yet

Tried several methods on the undercoating. Best one was the torch with gasket scraper followed by small wire brush with lacquer thinner and a wipe down. Was intending to remove the undercoating from the outside of the inner fenders and give it a coat of chassis paint. Think I'll just undercoat them for a uniform surface.

Got the rust bucket going again. The rusty, left engine frame stand was in overnight. Came out this morning and got an OSPHO treatment.



Right one will be in overnight tonight and should be ready in the morning. The electrolysis is so easy its fun to make stuff new again.

MostMint wrote:I have heard of people using dry ice to freeze it then it chips off real easy. I have not tried this myself - yet

Years ago I read a Porsche restoration article and the author tried the dry ice. It didn't really work. The ice chunks just cool the immediate (pin point) area that they are touching. It basically didn't do anything.
I heat gunned my VR. That just made the mess smear...kinda. Luckily it was brittle enough I could chip at it with a thick or ridgid putty knife. Theres differnt thickness putty knives at Lowes. Its easy to sharpen the tip also so it works a little more efficiently.
It still stinks tho..

After cleaning the firewall and front frame umpteen times the Eastwood Epoxy Primer went on today.



Don't ya just love fresh paint??

The Eastwood 2K Ceramic Satin Chassis Black will go on tomorrow. Plan to finish the whole engine bay the same way.

There's a problem with the '95 5.8L engine out of the F150. Went to remove the flex plate and found that the crank only turns about 30* and hits a kinda soft stop. Something is bent or broken. I expect a broken-off piece got moved around and is now getting jammed. Maybe under the front cover.

WXO and I will take the engine back and show them that I haven't touched it since we took it out of the truck. Hope to then pull the pan, valve covers, and maybe front cover at the junk yard and see what's up. Sure hope they'll stand behind it.

I take it the belt has been removed so you know it is not some accessory holding you up.

This does not feel like hydraulic lock? Are the spark plugs out?

MostMint wrote:I take it the belt has been removed so you know it is not some accessory holding you up.

This does not feel like hydraulic lock? Are the spark plugs out?

Yes, no accessory belt and plugs are out.