Posted in passion project, F150

LED Headlights + Interior Install

Posted on by @SyeWorks

So I was bored, and I decided to add some LED headlights. I also wanted to see a little better at night as my eyes are getting worse the older I get… I purchased some headlights for relatively cheap on Amazon, and I was really surprised at how easy they were to install. I was also pleasantly surprised at how much of a difference they made at night. Me being me, I went ahead and installed the LED lights on the interior door panels and overhead lamp. Overall, I would consider it a relatively simple process.

However, me being me, I took it a step further and tried to install some LED lights on the cluster gauge. I was only able to get one in though, which made a huge difference. I’m still kind of frustrated with that part of the installation. It was challenging to get behind the cluster gauge. On the other hand, it was pretty easy to crack open the dashboard. It’s just a couple of screws; maybe about 8. I had to be gentle, so maybe cracking open is a poor choice of words. The dash is about 31 years old, but it’s in good shape; however, it’s still fairly old and brittle in some places. I digress. I was only able to get one lightbulb in because the shift linkage cord was in the way, and I didn’t want to mess that up because I have no clue how to fix that. Even with all of that said, that 1 lightbulb really helped brighten things up. I was also able to get behind the a/c climate control dash to brighten those lights up, too (see pic #1).

In general, I think I’m running out of things to do with the truck, so maybe I just need to enjoy it, ha! That’s not me though… I think the Power Steering Fluid needs to be changed in the near future. I’m going to check it today, and see what my next project will be 😉

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Posted in F150, passion project

Thinking about trading in the OBS…

Posted on by @SyeWorks

So I’m thinking about trading my truck in for this old beast; emphasis on thinking. I think I’m kinda bored with my 92 F-150. However, I get like this from time to time when there isn’t any work to be done on a truck. This, pictured to the left, 1974 Ford 100 V8, which has 117k miles. It came up on my timeline, and I was interested. It’s an older truck and honestly, it’s a little overpriced for a 2WD. That said, I can’t help but wonder if I’ll sell mine and pick something up like this or similar to it. Also, the color for the 2Tone isn’t it; however, that can be changed.

I’d say there’s about a 90% chance that I won’t get this, but it’s fun to look at. Maybe I’ll go test drive it for fun…

Posted in F150, passion project

A/c Heater Climate Control (Blend Door)

Posted on by @SyeWorks

So I felt like it was time to cut the heat on in the old truck. I immediately regretted it because I turned the knob too hard, and it busted. It just kept spinning without doing anything in terms of heat/cold adjustment. I did it while I was at work, so I had to wait to open it up and take a look at it. Long story short, my blend door wasn’t working correctly; it still isn’t. For those that don’t know what a blend door is. Don’t quote me on this, but it basically acts as a blocker to the outside air that blows into your vehicle when you activate certain settings on the climate control. For example, when you want the heat on, you turn the knob to warm, you can’t have all this cold air coming in from the outside blowing in the cabin. I feel that explanation was terrible. Here’s a clue as to how to know if you have an issue. The a/c or heat is off and you have a strong breeze still blowing through the cabin via the vents.

That explanation wasn’t very good, but I hope you get the gist of what I had to fix. I had to fix the knob that prevents or at least cuts down on that. My thing was, I don’t really care if I have heat, but I want the a/c to work at all costs. This isn’t my daily truck, and it lives in a garage. The pulley was stuck to the heat/warm position, and it wouldn’t stay in the cold position.

The fix: there isn’t a fix that I know how to do, so I had to seal it back up. Not before I broke the pulley system that controls the heat/cold temperature, which isn’t ideal. I was able to put some JbWeld, so it still gave me a way to control the temp. I also realized that I don’t even think I have heat…lol Seriously, as long as the a/c works, I’m not complaining. I don’t drive old blue that much, and I’m for sure not driving in cold weather out here in Arizona… I feel like I didn’t accomplish much; however, I was able to put in LED lights, which brightened things up a bit. Taking the a/c climate unit off was easy, and that led me to take off the dash bezel, which was a little more difficult. I couldn’t get it all the way off, but it’s another project for another day…

Posted in F150, passion project

Suspension or Tires??

Posted on by @SyeWorks

I would like to get some 31×10.5×15, but I don’t really need them. That said, who needs a 2nd truck in the first place, This guy!!! The more I think about it, I think I may just keep the tires I have and just focus on the suspension parts that I have already purchased. At this point, I like the smooth ride; however, I’m torn because I like the profile that the 31s would give the truck. I know that is such a first-world problem. That said, it is what it is.

The picture below and to the left is my current wheel situation. They’re pretty solid. They also give a smoother ride; however, they’re from 2016, which is a really old tire. If I do end up purchasing tires, I think I will be selling my old ones. However, they’re old as in about 7 years old, which is pretty old for a tire even if they do look new. I don’t think I’d be able to charge more than $50 a tire, which would come to about $200+/- profit for me. I think the new tires will cost about $1000, so the selling of the old tires will lighten that dent in my wallet. All in all, I don’t think it’s a bad problem to have because it’s not really a problem. This is a hobby truck, so nothing is too serious when deciding what to do…

Tire selection choices: BF Goodrich, Mickey Thompson Baja Legend, Mickey Thompson Deegan38

Posted in F150, passion project

Front End Suspension Fixes!

Posted on by @SyeWorks

I’ve finally decided to take care of some things that aren’t cosmetic… It began with some creaking when I was turning. I went down the rabbit hole and began to research my front diff, which is a 44 Dana axle. I think it’s the ring and pinion in the front differential axle; however, I might as well take care of a few things while I’m fixing up that area.

Lately, I haven’t wanted to drive the truck too much because I don’t want to damage anything. I’m probably being too cautious, but I just don’t want to pay more than I’m already paying to fix the front suspension. As of right now, I’ll be taking care of the front differential ring and pinion, front/rear shocks, the axle pivot bushing, and arm radius bushings. Eventually, I want to level the front end; however, I’m not sure if I will do that. I will be getting 31×10.5x15r tires, which will make the truck sit up a little higher giving it the profile I like on trucks. I feel like I want to get A/T tires but don’t want to lose the comfort when I’m driving. I think that upgrade will come in May or over the summer.

  • Front Differential Ring & Pinion
  • Front/Rear Shocks
  • Arm Radius Bushings
  • Axle Pivot Bushing
Posted in F150, passion project

F-150 1992 XLT 4×4 V8 5.0L

Posted on by @SyeWorks

screen-shot-2022-09-13-at-12.42.51-pmSo I decided to purchase another vehicle. I had sold my other truck, a 1982 F-150. I thought I would regret it, and I was right. That said, I decided to do a little upgrading this time. It was between this and a 1972 Dodge 200. I was all set to go up to Phoenix and make the purchase; however, my wife told me to call before we went up there. It was a good thing she did because they said it was sold. I was disappointed, but this was in town; it was also newer (1992). Also, F-150s have more parts around town than late-model Dodge trucks. I mean, the truck looked great, but it would have been hard to find parts, and they would have been really expensive as opposed to just finding things at a junkyard around town for this F-150.

When I bought the truck, it was in excellent condition. There weren’t too many things that needed to be done; however, me being me, I definitely saw some things that needed to be taken care of. They had the truck sitting on the lot getting beat by the Arizona sun for a few weeks. That said, the interior was immaculate! The truck had one previous owner, and it was an older gentleman from Colorado. He kept it very clean and even had all the original paperwork. There are still a few things I want to do to it. Below is a list of things. Like I said, mostly just cosmetic stuff.

Things that I’ve done:

  • Deep cleaned
  • Compound wax; it came out absolutely great (see pic below)
  • New radiator
  • New water pump
  • redid side molding
  • Ceramic coated the tires with DuraDressing
  • Cleaned the interior
  • Cleaned the engine bay
  • Deep cleaned the radiator overflow tank
  • Sealed the bed of the truck with Truck Bed Coating – Rust-o-leum
  • Tightened the interior panels to quiet the road noise
  • Fixed/welded the passenger seat slider for stability

Things I want to do:

  • Front level
  • 31in or 33in tires/BF Goodrich
  • Finish the bottom side panel paint job to make it a better looking 2Tone
  • Fix the back tailgate; it closes, but it’s difficult to open. The latch busted.
  • I feel like I want paint it all black, but I think that would be a waste of money 😉

screen-shot-2022-09-13-at-12.43.08-pm

Posted in F150, passion project

For Sale – it’s official

Posted on by @SyeWorks

For sale via Facebook Market

Well, I’ve officially decided to sell the old F-150. I kinda feel like I’m going to regret it, but I don’t have a need for two trucks. I just purchased a new Silverado. I keep telling myself it’s for the best…lol Seriously though, I’ve put a lot of work into it, and I had plans to do more. I had plans to drop a crate/turnkey engine in the truck this summer; however, I would rather save the money and/or put the money into the new truck. I feel like I’ll buy another one down the road. I’ll probably either get a mid-90s F-150/250 or a mid-90s Bronco.

Posted in F150, passion project

Sold/Selling?

Posted on by @SyeWorks

Well, I sold the Beast, and I bought a pickup truck. You may be wondering, what does this have to do with a restoration project? I’m kidding, I don’t think anybody reads these posts… Seriously though, I decided to get rid of my Tahoe before the transmission, among other things, went south. The selling processes went pretty smoothly at CarMax; however, I felt I could have gotten a little more, but it wasn’t that big of a deal.

On to the next part of the process, I purchased a vehicle that ended up being a pickup truck, so needless to say I don’t need two pickup trucks. With that said, I feel like the F-150 restoration project has come to an end. I say that, but even as I say that I still don’t want to let it go; however, there are some modifications I want to make on the new pickup. Those modifications are going to be costly, and I’d rather use the profits of selling another vehicle as opposed to being somewhat wasteful on parts that I don’t really need 😉

We shall see where the next project takes me, or who knows, I may keep it. That said, there’s really nothing more I can do to this truck that won’t come with a hefty price tag, and I’d rather not. I’ve put a new c6 transmission, a new starter, a new fuel pump, new shocks, new pivot arm bushings, and a lot of cosmetic thigns. The only thing left is a new reman engine ($4300) and a paint job ($2000), and I can’t see myself really wanting to do all that.

Posted in F150

Steering Wheel Wobble Fixed + American Racing Outlaw Wheels!

Posted on by @SyeWorks

Entry #14: 12.02.2021 So I was rather bored this past weekend, and my foot had healed, somewhat (long story). My steering wheel had a lot of play in it, and it had been bugging me since I bought this project. About a year ago, the shop was gonna charge me $400 to “rebuild” the steering column because it was super sloppy. I kinda gave the guy a look, but I let it go because, hey, everybody has to make a living… That said, I choose to focus on other mechanical issues for this project. Well, it’s been about a year and the truck looks pretty good; however, the steering wheel is (was) still pretty sloppy moving about 4 inches in every direction. It didn’t really impact the steering too much, but it was bothering me. I happened across a video on Facebook, and I discovered that there were 3 screws behind the titled column – see 2nd image. Apparently, it wasn’t common knowledge because when I posted the end result, the fellas in the Bullnose group were pretty thankful. After all was said and done, the steering wheel was considerably tighter and the steering while driving is much improved. The steering wheel still moves a little but maybe less than a quarter of an inch in either direction. If you’re going to do this, be careful because those screws are easy to strip. I ended up stripping 1 out of 3 of the screws, but it’s something I can live with until I get it professionally done, which is a long ways off. Next, gotta figure out how to get the original steering wheel I purchased on. I swear somebody welded that dang thing on before me…lol

I think the next move is in this order, American Racing Outlaw wheels. I received a reasonable quote from Discount Tires to purchase and install. I think I can do better, but we will see. After that, I think it may be time to purchase a new bench seat; however, I’m worried about the install by myself. Again, we shall see 😉 Until next time, take it easy, guy!

Posted in F150, passion project

New Wheel Paint + Badges + Cab Paint

Posted on by @SyeWorks

Entry #13: 10.26.2021 Sooooo after a lot of hesitation, I ended up slapping some black paint on the wheels to have it match the rest of the car. Quick backstory, I had red wheels on there before because that was the original color. People would always ask, why the red wheels. I would say because that’s what color they used to be, and I tried to keep the truck as original looking as possible; however, I’m now over that…lol You can view how it used to look in the previous post. I’m not sure if I’m used to the black-on-black with chrome side molding yet. That said, I think it will grow on me just like the red wheels did.

I have one last thing to do in order to complete the look. The tailgate still has red Ford lettering, so I’ll swap that out. I think I’m going to make it white lettering, but I’m not sure. If I make it chrome, I think that might be a sight for sore eyes…lol

I clearly spoke too soon. I ended up blacking the cab out, too. I was hesitant, but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.