Bringing an F100 Back from the Dead

Armrest: Good place for Rivnuts a la rear view "western" mirrors.

Alternator: Was the battery fully charged or near dead? It makes a difference on how much torque it would take to spin the alternator.

 

Great work!!! Very clean! Love it!

 

The battery was near fully charged, although it's not the battery I'm gonna run. It's a battery I borrowed from my son to get this thing rolling, and is a couple sizes too small. Still has 600 CCA listed, but then it's not a new battery either. Could be a bit on the weak side.
I may be stressing and over-thinking over a non-issue. The belt just seems really tight by the time I get it to where it doesn't squeal. I reckon I'll just carry a spare belt and a couple wrenches just in case. I just don't want it messin' up the water pump or alternator bearings, or putting undue stress on the water pump pulley.
Thanks for the suggestions.

 

The crank and water pump pulleys, no doubt match, in terms of the groove dimension.
Does the new alternator have a matching pulley groove?
The groove dimension determines the correct belt width, which is part of the belt part number, along with the belt length.

 

Yeah, it all matches and it takes a standard width belt. But the alternator pulley is small. It's 2.25" diameter. And all these one wire 100 amp plus alternators seem to have the same size. So, it's probably just due to my own opinion as to what is tight enough. I'll just monitor it for now and keep a spare handy.

Just about done with the doors. This was a pretty big project front to back. Basically, once the unusable parts were discarded, all I had was an empty shell. Supply issue got me into power windows, and also threw in some delays. Essentially, I just have to glue some of the cover material to the bottom access panels, and they are DONE!

Next up...
Painting the roof so's I can put the back glass back in. I think I'm gonna put some tint film on the back window before I put it in though. I was driving around the other day with the afternoon sun behind me, and it was really hot on the back of my neck.
Been a LONG time since I've had a regular cab pick-up!

 

I had a gm one wire alternator on my wagon and it would squeal the belt when the battery was low, like when the car had sat a few weeks and had to crank a lot to get it started. It also didn’t charge well at idle.

over the winter I swapped in a 95 amp ford 3G alternator. It’s got a key power wire and a charge wire, so very little wiring changes were needed. These alternators are supposedly low drag. It doesn’t squeal at all and puts out 14v at idle. They’re available up to like 300amp.

 

Well, quite a bit of progress has been made in the last couple of weeks. The goal has been to get the Ol' Furd buttoned up to make it a true driver.
Roof is done. I dug out the old seam sealer out of the drip rails, did a little rust repair, epoxy primed the roof and applied new seam sealer into the drip rails. A bit of seam sealer touch up, some high build primer, and block sanding, and then I painted the roof, same color as I used on the lower part of the dash and the wheels. Not perfect by a good stretch, but pretty dang presentable as a "5 Footer." This is NOT gonna be a show car. It will be a driver. Perfection has never been the goal.
A couple days later, I put in the back glass, onto which I put a tint film to help keep the interior a bit cooler.
A new carpet kit from ACC in maroon was installed. Very nice fit and finish on that kit!
In the meantime, I also fabbed up a new back bed panel from .050" aluminum sheet that I had on hand from another project. Steel woulda been better, but I woulda had to buy a sheet. At any rate, I recessed the license plate, and the result is pretty good. My youngest son said I should do the entire body like that so it looks like a vintage airplane. And, should I decide to remake it from steel, it'll serve as a pattern.
I also replaced the battery, which was borrowed from my older son, with a properly sized battery. The borrowed battery was smaller, and although it held a good charge, perhaps it was part of the belt squeel problem as Frenchtown Flyer and others had pointed out. No more belt squeel, but I do have a bit of a whine that rises and falls with engine rpm. That will have to be monitored, but it could be fuel pressure regulator noise from my OT fuel system.
I drove around for about 20 or so miles this morning for the first time since having all the glass and carpet in. MUCH quieter inside! In fact the exhaust note doesn't bother me anymore. I was thinking of swapping out the turbo mufflers for Cherrybomb glasspacks, but I think I will leave it. There is some wind noise. The door seals may need some work, but maybe it's just the nature of the beast.
I also have to decide if I wanna take some leaves out of the rear springs to soften the ride some. It is a bit choppy on bumpy roads. But on good roads, the ride is acceptable. It'll come down to load carrying ability.

 

After driving O'l Furd around for a few weeks, I took stock of the shortcomings, and spent the last week taking care of a couple of 'em.
One of 'em was engine cooling. I wasn't happy with the performance of the two 12" electric fans that came attached to my aluminum radiator. I didn't order the radiator with fans, but it came that way none the less. So, I figured I'd use 'em. Unfortunately, the didn't seem to be up to the task of our Central San Joaquin Valley summer temps, frequently hovering around 105° in the afternoons.
So I went back to my original plan and use a high performance engine driven fan. I chose a Derale 17" six blade fan, and I made a shroud from aluminum sheet I had on hand. Rather than a flat sheet with a ring stuck to it, I made the area around the ring dished so, theoretically, it would draw air through a greater area.
Now my aluminum welding skills are marginal. It's stuck together good, it just ain't pretty! But it's done. I had to make a removable panel to get the fan on. There is just no room. So, time will tell how that works out. It's still plenty hot, so a few drives around town in stop and go traffic, which is the conditions it ran hottest with the electrics, should spell it out.
The other item to deal with was the harsh ride quality of the rear end. This truck had the stiffest leaf spring pack available. Nine leaves. The more common set-up was five leaves.
I took the spring packs apart, blasted off the rust, painted the individual leaves and reassembled, leaving the bottom three leaves out, with a coat of chassis grease between the leaves. Labor intensive, but all it cost was sweat. Lots of sweat! The new stance may look really cool, but it might be a little too low. I have a bit over two inches to the axle snubbers.
But at least now, maybe wifey won't call Ol'Furd the "Boobie Bouncer Special."

 

I thought we might get more info about the "boobie bouncer". LOL.

 

Ha ha ha. Mine has 9 leaves too but, with a big propane tank for ballast it's not harsh at all. I carried 1200 lbs of pile casings and dewidages from a build project for months. Truck was smooth as a Cadillac but, fuel mileage went for a dump. If I daily my F100 I'll do dumb stuff like that because hopefully I can. I'll tune rear ride height once I get another 2" out of the front. Looking at your pictures, your front end looks lower than my Jag IFS? Looks like I won't be taking out 2 leaves, maybe just the over load. Thanks Mike, learning from other's tribulations.

 

Thanks Will!
Mine might be a bit lighter in the ass because of my abbreviated bed. So it was like an unloaded dumptruck!
On the front...
3 drop beams, plus half a coil cut. Also the 17" wheel puts the rim itself closer to the fender lip, giving the appearance of being lower.

 

Well, it's been a month since the last update. The regular fan with shroud has been working well. The motor developed a bit of a whine, and I tracked it down to alternator bearings. I bought the alternator from Summit, and I approached them about a warrantee exchange two days before the one year warrantee expired. Trouble is, it takes some time. The bearing issue was most likely my own doing. On the first fire-up, the belt was slipping badly. I elected to let 'er slip while I completed the cam break-in. Pulley got really hot, and probably cooked the lube in the alternator bearing.
In the meantime, I've turned my attention to the headliner, and building an overhead console for the radio and dome light, and speaker boxes to fit behind the seat.
The truck never had a radio installed in the dash, and I didn't want to cut a hole, nor did I want to stick it under the seat. My '12 Ram gave me the idear for doing an overhead console.
I did the console first since the headliner will be built around that. It's made from MDF particle board, glued and screwed together, then shaped with some filler and painted. The radio is not exciting. It's a Shanghai special from amazon, and the speakers are El Cheapo Pioneers. Good enuf fer Ol' Furd!
The headliner is a major deal I think. The factory headliner was formed cardboard and a bit cheesy. Although the only who cares is me. I made a sheet metal and brake line tube framework to act as a form for laying up fiberglass panels. I used cardstock as the backing for the first two. I shoulda taped the surface of that with masking tape and a light for of silicone lube. The cardstock was virtually "permabonded" to the 'glass. It's on the backside, so it's not a big deal, but it was pretty messy.
Once each panel is fitted, then I'll 'glass it all together in situ. It moves around quite a bit once it cures, and both forward panels needed considerable massaging to fit once the forming parts were removed.
Once all the panels are assembled and finished out, I'll glue regular headliner fabric to it.
Front panels still need a bit of work. The right side still has a metal piece sandwiching the 'glass to the roof in attempt to get it pulled closer, but I'll probably have to cut it and shape it more.
I have one of the rear corners done, and it came out quite bit closer in shape.
Still a ways to go.

 

Other than the fiberglass itch, I believe you are having fun now.

 

I am! Most of the heavy lifting is done. Truck runs nice, all systems function as they should....
Into the fun stuff now!

I see that RideTech has a new suspension system for 65 and later twin I beam trucks. It is really slick! I thought that would be pretty cool for a later project.....that is until I saw the price. Yowza!
Too rich for me!

 

Mike, if you fall in love driving this truck and want to go across the country, the Ridetech deal will look a lot less expensive.

 

I saw that Ridetech video install on a black dentside earlier this week. Watching it all go together I thought the same as you -OHH! Skookum. With our front end in there's no need to go there but, nice. Diggin' the interior work. Check out Hot Rod Dirty's site. They make speakers installed into old suitcases. I happen to have a 60's vintage hard side suitcase so if I need tunes I'll copy their idea.

 

Dang! It's nearly been two months since my last update.
In that time, a few items have been crossed off the list of "refinements."
The fiberglass headliner shell I had been working on is now complete, just waiting for me to decide what to cover it with. I had to pull the seats and carpet out to do the final fitting because in involved some 'glass work in situ. While I did get resin in my hair, and on the bare floor, the seat and carpet remained clean!
It was also a good time to install a couple needed items. I finally recieved the two-speed wiper conversion kit I had been waiting for months on. It woulda been better and easier to install before the AC went in, but without the seat in the way, it was not too bad. A couple fiddly moments that tested my limited flexibility, but that was it.
The other item was a 3 point seat belt. The optional "L" brackets they sell are just inadequate. So, I made my own. 3" X 3/16" angle steel for the outer mount, and 3/16" X 2" flat steel for the inner. Plust a 3" square backing plate to go behind the roof support for the upper mount. I also had to make a bushing on the lathe to fit into the upper mount so it could pivot. I didn't buy the optional hardware kit that had a shoulder bolt for that.
Other'n that, I've just been driving it around, and dealing with the little nit picky things as they make themselves known. I've found that this "Big 6" does not like too much RPM with the single barrel log intake. I was shifting at 2800 to 3000 rpm, and getting 12MPG around town. It seems to like being shifted at 2000 to 2200 rpm, and cruising at 1500 rpm. Doing that, fuel mileage has improved to 15mpg. I'm certain it will achieve my 20mpg goal on the open road.
The best part is, this truck features nearly NONE of the ride comforts and ease of operation my late model truck did!
That's all for now. I'll post again when the headliner is done and installed.

 

I have enjoyed following, good job.Frank

 

Wifey and I took Ol' Furd out for a drive up to a nearby lake town for lunch. Truck did great in every aspect, except for a couple things.
Wind noise about 50mph...
Gotta figure out where that is coming from. Maybe tape some strings around the doors to see where the air is moving?
Coolant temp...
It was a mid 60° day here in Central California, and even with a 180° T-Stat, the coolant temp was hovering around 140°. I already replaced the t-stat once for not coming up to temp on a higher speed drive. Apparently, it must be getting sufficient flow through the heater bypass to keep the motor running cold.
My OT fueling system is set to go out of cold start mode at 140°. It ran good, but it seemed to use more fuel than I expected. So may have to try blocking airflow through the radiator during cold months with some sort of skirt like big rigs have.
Other'n that, Ol' Furd did pretty good. I've been taking small steps to gauge the reliability factor, but I think a longer ride is in the near future.

 

I don't know where your temp sender is located but if it has an air bubble instead of water next to it, it will not read correctly. I have purchased peel and stick weather stripping to seal the doors on everything I have built that was older the 1967. I use the round bulb type for easy compression.

 

The temp sensor is in the block below the head a few inches. Factory location. During the summer the temp sure got up there. Particularly before I switched out the electric fans for the solid engine driven fan. It does fine in low speed driving around town. Get it up to speed with some air going thru the radiator and the temp drops.
I saw that McMaster Carr has a variety of "peel & stick" weatherstripping, including the style you mentioned. I just gotta figure out where it's coming from.

 

I taped over areas on the outside of the doors to eliminate the noise and then removed small parts at a time to help in diagnostics. Most of mine where on the passenger side so that made it easier to find.

 

Sanding and priming, then repeat. Panel by panel. Bit by bit. The top most color flew off using 80grit discs. Came off in flakes rather than dust. Near as I can tell, it's had two paint jobs on top of the original. A few patch panels have been welded in over that last several months, and the body took less than a quart of filler. Nearly a gallon of high build. I'll need more when I start blocking it out.
Now it's all under high build primer except for the back of the cab. That will be done next spring when I'm ready to apply color.
It'll be plain ol' wimbledon white. Not my favorite color. Not even in the top five. It won't be perfect either. It's a daily driver. It's gonna get chipped, scraped and otherwise beat on. It's an easy color to touch up that won't show dirt (or imperfections) too much.
At any rate, it'll stay like this till springtime. At least it's a little easier on the eyes not looking like a patchwork quilt!

 

Graphics - flames / scallops / pin stripes / lace / scales look great over Wimbledon White

 

How about an off-white? Not too tan-ish, but not blizzard white!

 

Mike, I wonder if your cool coolant temp is telling fuel injection to richen up, causing worse gas mileage? I drove my truck a couple hundred miles yesterday in 50-60 degree weather and I notice my 300 was running 140-150 and high idle/ choke was staying on. (Mine is a old Carter YF carb). I have a china aluminum radiator and 180 degree tstat. I think if I were to run my truck in cooler weather a lot, I might put a piece of cardboard in front of radiator like I used to see on a bunch of trucks when I was a kid. I almost think my china radiator is cooling it too well...

 

Greg, I believe that's exactly what's happening. Same as yours! I've already had an argument with this truck about what it is SUPPOSED to do. But as always, I lost that argument. I never win those.
So, I did as you are thinking, and others have done. I blocked 80% of the grill opening with some lexan I had on hand, and now she warms up and runs correctly at between 160 and 175. Good enough. Enough that it comes off cold start/run mode. Take 'em out when the weather warms up and stow 'em behind the seat just in case the next ice age comes suddenly and unexpectedly.
On the color, the wimbledon white I chose is not quite as white as I remembered my old Dodge PU to be. It is quite a bit "creamier". I can live with it. I may mix in some pure white to whiten it up some. As long as I remember to write down the percentages of each for touch ups.
I'm thinkin' along the same lines as you are Frenchy. Merlot red scallops. Light blue lining around 'em. Not too much. Something around the fender arches, some on the hood.
I appreciate the comments fellers!

 

I remember running a piece of cardboard with a hole in the middle of it, in front of the radiator in my daily for winter use. Until that time we decided to go to Florida for a quick R&R break from northern Ontario winter. Midway through Ohio, in the middle of the night, the car started to really heat up. Oops, forgot about the cardboard.

 

Mike, the one thing that appears to me is you have stated something about your personality in your truck. Many are non-descript. When you modify something, the people that notice that are seeing something extra. I have used wimbledon white on many things. It's my go to on firewalls. It's a neutral color that goes well with many others. I think you'll be very happy when it's painted.

 

Thanks! Pretty high praise and much appreciated!
W. White is a nice neutral color and one of the reasons I chose it. And like you said, goes with many colors.
Yep, not my favorite, but I can easily live with it.....AND not worry about it! Once the paint is done, scallops are done and the door lettering, I think it'll be decently cool!