Slash's '85 Ford Pickup: Fuel Injection!!

[Slash]

I posted these in the infield but also feel they are appropriate here. Hopefully the pictures show.


Progress report!

Worked all day on the truck, started around 9 and finished up around 6. We cut out a lot of the bad steal and built a new floor brace and drivers inner corner. After that we put in a piece of square tubing the length of the cab an bolted the two together. That alone stiffened up the body so much that it no longer rocks on the frame, even though we got the rear two body mounts out. We had bolts made up for those so they will go in soon after we tac weld washers to the mounts since one hole really rotted out. The floor was also now realigned in the process so the seat pan no longer rides on the frame rail! The doors now open and shut much better than before, but it still needs front pillar posts so that's another process.

We also got the bed jacked up and of the frame. All the carrier bolts were broke or cut off to make that possible. Shimming it with a bunch of 2x4s, we got it far enough away to access the back of the cab to work and paint the fresh steal before undercoating it all. The bed can now come up and off and we will do that with our engine hoist in the garage as we get ready to put the bed into storage for winter. We will also be getting aftermarket rear leaf springs custom made and arched, along with tie plates and a new plastic gas tank. All suspension bushings and springs area being replaced. Brakes even though new and electrical will be getting a complete overhaul. Now that the bed it off it will make life easier. Still a lot to do, but we've made a huge step! The goal is to have it on the road sometime next year.

This tube was pushed directly up and bolted the new steal inside by drilling holes through both.

Cutting off carrier bolts after i couldnt get them off with an impact gun

Took the gate off and lights out. Disconnected the exhaust hangers and filler neck also.

Jacked the cab up and pulled the bed back. The floor on the drivers side was so bad you had to lift it like this.

Old body mount, well part of one. Ew.

New steeeeeel! Looks great so far.

The corner work. Part of the top was bolt in and everthing under it welded for extra support. This made the biggest difference.

Seat pan is now 2" above the frame rail, were it was supposed to be.

While I was at work my dad did a little more work on the pickup. Hewentand picked up the new body mount bolts and got the new bushings in. As we found out yesterday, Fords of this era, and through 1996 (97 for 3/4 and 1 tons), are known for rotting out body mount holes too large for the bushing to seat on. Turns out most of them were rough. So the plan is this. We ordered "frame savers" from Bronco Graveyard, which are pretty much just giant washers that weld in to fill the hole. To beef it up further, he put stainless steel plates in which will go over top of the frame savers. He has them in, but will come back apart when the savers come in. He wanted to see if the plates would hold but the weight of the cab made them start to bow under load so we are doubling it.

Here's the frame saver kit we ordered. The round ones are for the cab and the hex ones are for the radiator core support which will be replaced when the new front clip goes on.

After being welded in it'll look something like this:

Here's a bottom look at the new mounts. So you can see how big the holes have gotten, you wouldn't be able to see any new steel between the bushing and mount. Its about twice the size it should be.

Now that the rear is starting to get back together, yuiu can see how far it had to be moved back up based on the body lines between the door and fenders. It went up a solid 2 inches. Keep in mind all this new steel will be painted and covered up and then evertythinf professionally undercoated the body will look untouched from the outside, in the long run. It'll be repainted.

 

[Hayden]

My old man is a straight up Mopar guy and I've seen him rescue cars with floors as bad as that. While getting a new floor or cab would be the easier option, I've gotta give your dad props for taking it on.

Every cent you guys save on bodywork can be spent on making it climb mountains

 

[Slash]

I think that a cab swap would have been the easier option but dealing with the wiring as is not simple like GMs plug and play systems and is more difficult and time consuming than welding in new steel. Once its braced and the new outer stuff goes on you'll never know the difference between it and a stock cab,at least from the outside.

 

[Slash]

Floor pan and some other few little things came in today!

 

[Slash]

Update time.

First issue we ran into was the back mount support cross member ended up rusting to far to mount on so we made a plate. In the process the cab was lifted about an inch and a half so we are shimming everything with hockey pucks. Little redneck, but it does work. The cab support brace that runs parallel to the frame along the cab floor was completely shot, so we ended up building our own brace from square tubing which will be much stronger than stock. In the process, we learned where the floor should sit and it is now level. The new lower pan bolted in and everything stiffened up. It does still twiast an flex due to the rocker and floor still missing so when that goes in it will button it up. The frame saver washers welded in nicely. The new front mount on the drivers side is in but the bolt is a hair to long so we are getting new ones made. The floor is now realigned, the body almost straight again despite most of this still being mockup and bolt in for now, and now the door shuts beautifully without putting any force into it. Prior to alignment, you had to lift up and slam on the door. Much progress! Here's some pics both me and my dad took.

 

[Cowboy]

View attachment 466644

It wouldn't be hard work without beer.

 

[Slash]

Quick little update video. I know @CAMAROBOY69 knows what goes into stuff like this, so I figured you might like to see this progress. This is a big step.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Sure is nice seeing you and your dad working together to bring this truck back to life. Whew what an overwhelming amount of rust. Believe it or not I have seen worse but that's still real bad. In your situation you really should have just replaced the entire cab and bed. Sounds like the cab wasn't an option for you because of the electrical? The work you are doing does look better plus you get quality time with your dad. Great for both of you.

Is there any reason you are not buying full floor pans? Full cab corners? Full rockers? It would save you MANY hours of work and would also require a lot less welding if you went with full pans. Or even 1 pan for driver and 1 for passenger. Trust me from experience, it takes 10x longer piecing it together like that. I also noticed you are pop riveting some of the floor pieces together? Why not weld all the floor pieces in? Would be a lot stronger, would not leak, would last much longer, and none of the cracks would not need to be sealed.

 

[Slash]

Rockers and cab corners are on the list to buy soon. His steel and bracing is far stronger than stock and especially aftermarket pans sine the pans are small and thin. Cab swapping would be the way to go but for whatever reason this is how he wanted to do it. The pop rivets were temporary to hold things in place. Right now everything is mostly mocking up how things are going to go in. As far as bolting and welding it's temporary but the welds always rotted out first before so how we are handling that we are unsure.

 

[Slash]

Slowly getting there. Sealing it all up is going to Be the biggest pain, but so far so good. Still have a lot to do.

 

[Slash]

Still have to seal it up, make a few more pieces and stuff, but shes ready for a rocker and cab corner.

Here's also a revised list of what's to come. Still iffy on that style EFI ough, the reviews are poor and I'm not sure it'll support our horsepower.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Quick question. I think I see the grey spray can. That is primer under the red paint right? Not just red paint sprayed onto bare metal? Sorry if these seem like stupid questions. Just want to make sure. Also make sure to spray under the truck too.

 

[Slash]

Quick question. That is primer right? Not just red paint sprayed onto bare metal? Sorry if these seem like stupid questions but if that is just paint over bare metal, you will be redoing all of that work again in a few years.

Nope, it was primed with a coat of silver/grey primer before painting, both underneath an above. Uerneath was also coated in black and the whole truck is getting professionally undercoated.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Nope, it was primed with a coat of silver primer before painting, both underneath an above. Uerneath was also coated in black and the whole truck is getting professionally undercoated.

Excellent to know that it is primer then painted. Yes, I was also about to suggest undercoating inside and outside of all that work too. Floor boards take a ton of abuse and paint is usually not enough. The undercoat should get it by easily for at least 10+ years. 👍

 

[Slash]

Excellent to know that it is primer then painted. Yes, I was also about to suggest undercoating inside and outside of all that work too. The undercoat should get it by easily for at least 10+ years. 👍

What I hope for. I talked to my dad about all the boltng and riveting and he's expecting it to rust out again someday. Said the bolting is incredibly sturdy with the brace we built and was done that way since the welds always rust first and disassembly might be a hair easier if the time comes. But hopefully with preventative maintenance that day should not come anytime soon. The door closes perfectly now, everything is realigned etc. The passenger side will be getting similar treatment, but not as extensive since its not too bad since last time was done with stainless.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

What I hope for. I talked to my dad about all the boltng and riveting and he's expecting it to rust out again someday. Said the bolting is incredibly sturdy with the brace we built and was done that way since the welds always rust first and disassembly might be a hair easier if the time comes. But hopefully with preventative maintenance that day should not come anytime soon. The door closes perfectly now, everything is realigned etc. The passenger side will be getting similar treatment, but not as extensive since its not too bad since last time was done with stainless.

The hardest part about welding and bolting in new metal is getting ALL of the metal coated inside and out. Some areas are dang near impossible to coat or protect without special wands and equipment and use liquid wax for the inside of those hidden parts. That is why it will usually rust again. But its just something that is dang near impossible to avoid. You are doing it right so don't think too much about it.

For example: Some of the square tubing your dad welded and bolted in, the inside of those tubes wont be painted or treated. So they will start rusting first. It will rust from the inside out. It is very hard to get to some of those areas. But as long as all the bolts and everything are covered, you can at least stop the rust 99%. It is going to be pretty dang solid by the time you two are finished.

 

[Slash]

The hardest part about welding and bolting in new metal is getting ALL of the metal coated inside and out. Some areas are dang near impossible to coat or protect without special wands and equipment and use liquid wax for the inside of those hidden parts. That is why it will usually rust again. But its just something that is dang near impossible to avoid. You are doing it right so don't think too much about it.

For example: Some of the square tubing your dad welded and bolted in, the inside of those tubes wont be painted or treated. So they will start rusting first. It will rust from the inside out. It is very hard to get to some of those areas. But as long as all the bolts and everything are covered, you can at least stop the rust 99%. It is going to be pretty dang solid by the time you two are finished.

Yup, I kind of figured that would happen. I'd like to seal it up best I can, but hopefully everything will hold up over time. I think it will

 

[Slash]

So for those of you following the truck rebuild. Here's a big update. Prepare to read.

The drivers side is almost done on the floor. We double primed, rust neutralized and painted some more of the seat pan. A new corner brace was painted and put in a few days ago. The new cross member pan is now welded in an level as one piece with the frame rail with spacers. The support brace for the floor is now fully welded an will be painted soon. Next week we are ordering an upper rocker and front drivers side door post, and making a few more small pieces to seal it all up. A new cab corner may go in but the one on it is somewhat salvageable. We rust neutralized some of the frame rail tonight as well. Turns out we only need one hockey puck per side on the front and d so it is level, minus a few stainless motor spacers dads getting from work. So instead of a 2 inch lift I'll only be a 1 inch, an unintentional lift at that. To shim the last of it the front core support bolts need to be cut so we can level it with the cab, since the fender and lower part of the grille valance are noticeably separating after the lift after settling. Surprisingly the door door opens and shuts well.

Now here's the bad part. Its getting cold and we are running out of daylight to work on it. No room in the garage. So we would like to finish the drivers side before winter hits. And it'll sit outside until spring. Now the good part. Read on.

Next spring and summer will see the most work. The passengers side floor while not as bad and still has usable stainless, which by the way all the work we have done is about 3 times as thick and not flexible as the stock sheet metal, is getting cut out and redone the same way as the drivers side. The bed will be off and most likely buying new. The new front clip is going on meaning new fenders, core support, grille, the whole 9. All new bolts and nuts are going in with it. New doors will be going on. The frame is getting sandblasted and the entire underside of truck will be zbarded. The plow frame will be coming off, some pieces and holders are being made for the plow stuff under the hood. The engine will be cleaned up, all wiring fixed and then we are going through every single mechanical thing on it. We are also looking for a new vinyl floor mat and a few other things. The Holley fuel pump will also be relocated outside the frame rail and tucked away in a nice little box.

 

[Joey D]

Nice progress! Please tell me you're going to be putting white wheels back on it like it has in the old pictures. Old trucks always look good with white wheels on them.

 

[Slash]

Nice progress! Please tell me you're going to be putting white wheels back on it like it has in the old pictures. Old trucks always look good with white wheels on them.

Thanks Joey!

They white wheels in the old pics were painted 2 tone white and red many moons ago, before I was born. I think the stock 16s that are on it might be cleaned up and painted white but the big 33s in the old pics will eventually go back on. Bit tough to tell here, but I always liked the 2 tone.

Meanwhile, here's today's update. Waiting for the mailman to deliver the new door post a rocker.

 

[SVX]

That's seriously awesome seeing it progress so quickly. Should be back on the road in no time! Best of luck.

 

[Slash]

That's seriously awesome seeing it progress so quickly. Should be back on the road in no time! Best of luck.

Thanks bud! Next year its getting a buttload of work done. We are just indulging into it now.


Here's today's update.


Dad made the new floor pan and cab support brace an rear floor brace for the passenger side of the cab on the pickup. The rocker came into today along with the door post base. We got the door off a are making a door hinge adjustment plate that's literally a piece of flat stock steel with 3 holes drilled in it which lines the door up. We pulled back the fender flare and took out a fender bolt to line up up. The frame was partially primed along wit everything else primed with special rust primer. We also ground down a couple old welds on the cab corner...still have a long way to go on that. Turns out it will have about a 2" body lift on her.

 

[Slash]

Here's a few more pics...I kinda was doing a job for my Buddy at the time too lol. Wheel bearings, pads, rotors and calipers. Paid well

 

[Slash]

Rocker is in!

 

[Slash]

While I was at work dad fired her up and turned her around to start work on the passenger floor. Here's also a few pics I hasn't posted of our progress along with an update video. @Dennisch @CAMAROBOY69

 

[Slash]

Passengers side is in minus a rocker and post. Think that's all till spring.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Oh nice you made some serious progress in the week I was on vacation. Looking good! 👍

 

[Slash]

Oh nice you made some serious progress in the week I was on vacation. Looking good! 👍

Thanks man! Most of that was done in a day or so.

 

[Johnny1996]

My new favorite thread.

Definitely gonna be here as much as I can.

 

[Slash]

Nothing really new, but we picked up a fresh cab corner.