Last vehicle I'm ever going to own.
#1
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Last vehicle I'm ever going to own.
I just bought a 1985 Ford F-150 extended cab p/u. I'm getting up there in age and I don't want to buy any more vehicles so this is the last one for me. It only had 80,000 original miles and considering it sat unused for 8 years, it is in excellent condition.
I'm not planning on doing a frame up restoration (I don't think) but I had planned on pulling the body and bed off of it and going over it with a fine tooth comb to make certain it lasts me for another 15 years or so.
One major change I want to make is installing a/c. Should I go for an after market unit or find a junker somewhere with a/c and pull it off for my truck?
I'm not planning on doing a frame up restoration (I don't think) but I had planned on pulling the body and bed off of it and going over it with a fine tooth comb to make certain it lasts me for another 15 years or so.
One major change I want to make is installing a/c. Should I go for an after market unit or find a junker somewhere with a/c and pull it off for my truck?
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That a/c uses R-12, I'm pretty sure; which is just about unavailable unless you are a Saudi prince.
I'd look at a later unit to retrofit, maybe mid-90's?
Also, there are top-mounts for motor homes and
trawlers, if you don't care how the thing looks.
I'd look at a later unit to retrofit, maybe mid-90's?
Also, there are top-mounts for motor homes and
trawlers, if you don't care how the thing looks.
#3
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Now that's an interesting idea. Those top mounts, what do they run off of, 12 volts? I've never opened one of those things. Any reason it has to be in that big old ugly shell?
I don't think I want to mount one on top of my truck but the concept has possibilities.
I looked at aftermarket kits. I don't think so...not yet anyway. I do want to keep this thing as original as I can.
How hard can it be to install new controls, dash vents and the like? I think I'm taking a ride to my favorite salvage yard and poke around a bit.
I don't think I want to mount one on top of my truck but the concept has possibilities.
I looked at aftermarket kits. I don't think so...not yet anyway. I do want to keep this thing as original as I can.
How hard can it be to install new controls, dash vents and the like? I think I'm taking a ride to my favorite salvage yard and poke around a bit.
#4
I hope the p/u has no rust and you picked it up for a song, since it sounds like even though you are getting up there in age you have some pretty grandiose things (pulling the body? ) you are going to be doing. You must not be that old, is my guess. I'm gettng up in age too...compared to when I was in diapers. But I'm not 94,either.
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It is remarkably free of rust except in three small places. Underneath, however, is a different story. It's like someone spray painted the frame with rust. Come to think of it, I guess the reason I haven't seen a Ford frame this rusty is because most Fords blow enough oil, power steering fluid and transmission fluid to coat the entire underside thus preventing any rust.
Old age is a state of mind. It takes me longer to do things (like get out from under a vehicle) and I have to design my own tools sometimes to make a two-man job a one-man job.
But, I digress, the a/c is not a priority right now. The rotten front gas tank is. I just pulled both tanks end the top of the front one looks like swiss cheese. The back one is ok but I sanded it all down and painted it with Rustoleum any way.
Now I have a couple of things dangling underneath from the front gas tank. I took the tank switching valve out because it also was a solid chunk of rust. The fuel line from the rear tank goes straight through now. Should I do anything with the dangling items other that tie them up out of the way until I get a new tank?
Old age is a state of mind. It takes me longer to do things (like get out from under a vehicle) and I have to design my own tools sometimes to make a two-man job a one-man job.
But, I digress, the a/c is not a priority right now. The rotten front gas tank is. I just pulled both tanks end the top of the front one looks like swiss cheese. The back one is ok but I sanded it all down and painted it with Rustoleum any way.
Now I have a couple of things dangling underneath from the front gas tank. I took the tank switching valve out because it also was a solid chunk of rust. The fuel line from the rear tank goes straight through now. Should I do anything with the dangling items other that tie them up out of the way until I get a new tank?
#6
Sounds like this is your hobby.
I know someone who is an extreme motorhead and has built from the ground up these tractors that compete with each other to see how far they can pull a load. He rebuilds engines. He paints his own cars, and sons too (they are all motorheads). And when I talked to him after I fixed his rental furnace the other night, he said he just (for first time ever) rebuilt a C-6 tranny, and there are like 240 some steps required in doing this job! He said it was a fun challenge. He said it only slips a little now, when...... Forget it! He said he thinks that the bands need tightening some now.
I like that when vehicles leak and oil coat the underside and keep rust at bay. I just hope that when I drive over tumbling sparking cigarettes tossed out the window by a car in front of me...........
I know someone who is an extreme motorhead and has built from the ground up these tractors that compete with each other to see how far they can pull a load. He rebuilds engines. He paints his own cars, and sons too (they are all motorheads). And when I talked to him after I fixed his rental furnace the other night, he said he just (for first time ever) rebuilt a C-6 tranny, and there are like 240 some steps required in doing this job! He said it was a fun challenge. He said it only slips a little now, when...... Forget it! He said he thinks that the bands need tightening some now.
I like that when vehicles leak and oil coat the underside and keep rust at bay. I just hope that when I drive over tumbling sparking cigarettes tossed out the window by a car in front of me...........
#7
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Actually, woodworking is my hobby. Working on my vehicle is more of a necessity, like eating, but given the choice, I'd rather not do it. If I could afford to drop the truck off someplace and say "Here, do what you have to do to make this truck last me 10 or 15 years and pretty it up a bit for me", I'd do it in a New York minute.
It is pretty satisfying, though, when someone gets in my truck to go someplace and after a few minutes they ask "What year is this truck?" They find it hard to believe it is an 84.
And your friend who builds transmissions is an alien from another planet. I have long believed there is nothing in an automatic transmission that makes it do what it does. It is alien technology and anybody who can repair them is from an alien world. I have never seen anything so complicated in my life. And I build and repair computers for a living.
It is pretty satisfying, though, when someone gets in my truck to go someplace and after a few minutes they ask "What year is this truck?" They find it hard to believe it is an 84.
And your friend who builds transmissions is an alien from another planet. I have long believed there is nothing in an automatic transmission that makes it do what it does. It is alien technology and anybody who can repair them is from an alien world. I have never seen anything so complicated in my life. And I build and repair computers for a living.
#8
Wouldn't that be considered child abuse? lol Does he use enamel or lacquer to paint his sons...LOL
Sorry Ec...couldn't help myself...
Sorry Ec...couldn't help myself...