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.

Posted in F150, passion project

It’s Been Awhile

Posted on by @SyeWorks

Entry #12: 3.01.2021 It’s been a while… I’ve updated a lot on the truck. The updates include cosmetic as well as mechanical improvements. I’ve recently put a reman C6 transmission via Jasper Transmissions & Engines. I’m pretty happy with the product even though it cost about 2500+. I was going to have it rebuilt, but everything I read pointed me away from that. It was mostly because the majority of people don’t rebuild them correctly. With that in mind, I decided to go the remanufactured route because the nationwide warranty gave me peace of mind whereas most rebuilds come with a local warranty. That said, it came with a 3yr and 100,000-mile warranty, which is pretty good in my opinion.

Mechanically, I still would like to drop a turn key crate engine; however, the one I want is about 6k. I’ve looked around and found some for less, but ehhhh, I don’t think those come balanced or Dura tested. Maybe, I will do it over the summer, but that is a big commitment for a project truck. That said, I really wish I knew a place in town that sold them. I did get a quote for $4300 for a reman engine from Jasper, but I think for right now, I’ll work with what I have.

Cosmetically, I added a chrome grille. I put it on the truck, and it kinda looked off. I went back to the junkyard, and I scored some lower exterior molding to kinda highlight the grille. It went well with the chrome grille, so I was happy about that. The exterior molding was tough to put on because the bed of the truck didn’t have holes/clips to hang the molding. At first, I just put the molding on the front of the truck, but it looked kinda weird. My OCD slash the constant need to have everything just right (wait, isn’t that the same thing) forced me to go back to the junk yard and get the rest of the molding for the bed. Like, I said, the bed of the truck didn’t have holes/clips, so I ended up using superglue and bond/weld 😂 😂

All in all, I don’t really have too many more things I can do cosmetically except get a professional paint job and some new wheels. The red wheels don’t really go any more since I put the chrome pieces on the truck. That said, I think I’ll focus on mechanical stuff. I feel like the ignition cylinder lock is on its way out. I bought one; they’re pretty cheap, 8 bucks. However, I’m not really sure how to install it. To the YOUTUBES! Until then, take it easy…

Posted in passion project

Passed Emissions Test!!! #CataClean

Posted on by @SyeWorks

Entry #11: 3.01.2021 I passed emissions! I was pretty surprised. The car has had some work, but I thought I was going to have to purchase a new Catalytic Converter. That said, it’s in my nature to be cheap, so I figured I’d give a this product, CataClean, a try. I was pretty skeptical at first, but then I started to read the reviews online. I gave it a try, followed the instructions, and I could notice the difference in my garage about a day after initially using the product. For months, I had a strong gassy smell emitting from the truck and it took a lot to air the garage out. After using this product, I began to notice that the gas smell wasn’t so strong, and it was much easier for me to air out the garage after a few minutes as opposed to like a 1/2 hour 😉

After a few days of noticing a reduced smell, I decided to see if it could pass emissions for a couple of reasons. One, I didn’t want to be that guy who was polluting the air more than necessary. I realize my truck isn’t the best for the environment, but I didn’t want to overly pollute if that makes sense… Also, I have the car registered for classic car insurance, and I wanted to be able to register it as a regular vehicle if I decided to drive it more. I digress, with the reduced smell, I figured that I was emitting less pollutants (carbons/monoxide – I think that’s what they test) into the air, so off to the Emissions Testing Center I went. When I passed, I was about as surprised as the guy at the testing center. For about $27 for the bottle of CataClean, I say it was well worth it. Eventually, I will need to take care of the exhaust system (catalytic converter/muffler), but for right now, I’m good!

Posted in passion project

Shocks + Ball Joints + 02 Sensor + Vacuum Hoses

Posted on by @SyeWorks

Entry #10: 2.18.2021 Soooooo, I think I’m keeping the truck. After thinking about it, I’ve put too much work into it just to sell it, now. I ended up purchasing front/rear shocks as well as upper/lower front ball joints for the truck. I also ended up buying a turn signal switch, again, because I sent the first one back. After I get the front/rear shocks and front upper/lower ball joints installed, I will need to get new coil springs; however, they’re kind of expensive but necessary. It’s definitely something I will need to do in a month or two because putting new shocks on without new coil springs is okay but will eventually wear out the shocks prematurely. I also purchased some Radius Arm Bushings for the front suspension. I figure that I might as well have everything taken care of while I’m upgrading the other stuff. Also, if this doesn’t give it a smoother ride, I quit…lol Seriously though, I hope all of the aforementioned does the trick.

In general, the truck is riding pretty good for its age, but I have cut down on driving it daily because I think I was putting too much wear and tear on it. There are still some things I need to fix up in regards to the engine, fuel system, and exhaust. Hopefully, by the summer it will become a more reliable daily driver. I mean I could drive it daily now, but I figure if I don’t have to, why put the pressure on the truck that will eventually do more damage in the long run… Once the suspension is taken care of, there will be a new focus on the engine. Yes, it doesn’t escape me that I probably should take care of the engine first, but as the kids say, it is what it is 😉

Lastly, I think I need to start replacing the vacuum hoses, which should help with the suction during start up. With that said, I could be mistaken; however, I want to get to the bottom of the rough idle that may be causing lower gas mileage and my spark plugs to burn out/foul sooner than they should. I’ve also purchased an 02 sensor to see if that will help with the rough idle when it first starts up in the morning; however, I don’t even know if this truck has an 02 sensor because for whatever reason Ford didn’t put 02 sensors on some of these trucks back then – no clue why. I’ve been under the truck several times and can’t find the 02 sensor for anything, but that, by no means, doesn’t mean it’s not there. I’m a rookie to all this car stuff after all. I think eventually I will have to replace the catalytic converter to help with the truck’s emission output and to have a smoother ride, perhaps. I just figured the 02 sensor was a quick and cheap way to get a quick fix but that’s not how this project has been over the last few months, so why start now – ha!