1966 F100 Build-PROJECT DISRUPTIVE

 Soda Blasted the cab.  Soda blasting uses granular sodium bicarbonate with high pressure  air to RUB OFF the paint. This process leaves metal in a like new condition. We got the cab and doors done. It looked like snow when he got finished. Took a bucket of soapy hot water and after blowing out the cab, proceeded to wash down the bare metal. I took the leaf blower and dried it off. I placed it in front of the wood stove to dry the remainder of water off. After Proceeded to clean the seam sealer from cowl and rain gutter Spent about an hour cleaning out the roof gutter with pick and wire wheel. 

The cold rainy days proved to be fodder for my indoor activities this weekend. The wood stove was cranked up and the air was just right for the dismantling of the chassis. So off came the engine and off came the suspension and off came the rear and springs and hangers and this and that so we ending up this weekend at a good starting point. Now we can say we did a frame off resto, Supplies and organized parts Frame stripped  down Rear taken apart for blasting. Rear is a 3:70 according to the tag This thing was heaaavvvyyy!! Angle bone connected to the knee bone! and more parts Springs ready for rebuilding and blasting

Well, the wiring showed signs of burning from the turn signal flasher all the way down the harness. Dennis Carpenter wants over 500.00 for the complete harness. American autowire wants the same or more.  I just purchased a never used 1965-1966 Ford Mustang American autowire harness #510125 for 115.00. I think I can make that work! Jackpot! 

I soon realized after taking the dash out that the wiring had been burned. Several feet of wires have melted. I noticed a piece of tin foil in the fuse block on the old glass style fuses. This is the result. I removed the harness to see how bad the wires were damaged. They seem real brittle so I may have to go with an aftermarket wiring kit. Ford wants 400-500 to get me back the way it was with no room for extras. I worked on the rear frame rail that was cracked and distorted from the hitch. Started too find the extent of the rust damage on the cab corners. Removing the wiring harness from the firewall then needed to remove the steering column to be able to repair the body mounts. My intentions were not to remove the cab but one thing led to another and I cleaned out the heater, steering wheel, padding, master cylinder, ebrake everything!  The body mounts were next. Most can off easily. The driver side was too rusty for the socket s...

Removed the hood and brackets and got the seam sealer out of most places getting ready to Soda Blast. Removed the plates that were over the body mounts. There was significant build up of dust and debris that would cause a problem if left alone. Below is the body mount after blowing out. Right side had more surface rust but overall seemed solid. First door disassembled except for the handle and lock   Below is a reference to the door rubber placement. Big edge up and away. Never can keep that straight.

The radiator mounts were showing some signs of thinning around the opening. I found some washers to fix this area. They make a frame repair bushing but the damage seemed larger tahn most washer repairs so I made my own from large washers cut in half, ground out and rewelded. Now to trace them on the frame and remove the marked section. Area was sanded down and sprayed black so I can see the scribe marks Positioning the washer for marking--more to come

I took a ride down to Dennis Carpenter parts in Charlotte. I was warned about the cab mounts on a forum. The cab mounts were shorted nuts in most cases. First I picked up my weatherstripping kit which included front and rear glass rubber and the door seals. This is NOS not Dennis Carpenter. just a picture. Then I got my drivers side floor pan. $60.00 It better fit like a glove ... Then I got my Radiator mounts. I also got cab mounts similar to the above radiator mounts but enough for four mounts. Unfortunately there were no nuts in the box. I questioned the counter person but they said that they did not come with nuts. I asked him: Isn't it odd that I said that I heard on the Ford forum that a customer was shorted 2 nuts in his kit before you even checked?  He insisted that nuts do not come with my $100.00 cab mount kit. I said,"So nuts come with the radiator mount KIT but they do not come with the cab mount KIT!"....I must have sounded like Charli...

Thinking about getting the truck soda blasted. Average cost is 800.00 to 1000.00 for a truck. We are starting to get our supplies together . Our 2 part epoxy primer showed up with data sheets and everything. This is supposed to be great stuff. I have heard nothing but good about SPI products. This primer is made to put body filler right over it and build off that. So we got that ready if we blast or we sand the entire truck down. Make 2 gallons of sprayable product

I had a jeep radio in my truck when purchased. It worked well but time to clean up the dash. Cut out the old radio area and replaced with good clean metal  Old radio location..Looks like it was modified a couple of times  Shaped some metal to the shape of the dash---Look at those poor hands  Cut out the opening the size of the patch, a little at a time   Not bad work for a newbie  With just a few tack welds looking at the possibility of a DIN style radio. See radio in glove box? This old radio location might be a great spot for a vintage air controller. Maybe get a template from Vintage Air in anticipation of A/C Opted to do a DIN style radio so we cut the opening and reinforced the opening with 1/4" rod.