Hey guys I've been reading on this forum for awhile, and there's alot of good info here. I have been looking for an old box for awhile, and got me a nice deal on a 92 extended cab 4 x 4 F150. It has the 5.8 liter, dual exhaust, and a bit of a rough body, and the interior needs to be updated. I am starting on the inside and working my way out, with some body panels on the way, and found some nice doors on Craigslist, and have high hopes for this old beast. I have found some seats from a 99 extended cab F150, and am looking to swap them into mine. Anyone have any experience with floorpan issues, or any other surprises I should be looking out for? I'll be posting pics of this thing probably tomorrow or so, just so everyone sees what I am working with. Any help I appreciate, I look forward to making progress on this thing with help from you guys on here.

 

show some pics?

 

I will get some pics up in the morning, I bought some buckets w/ console and rear bench from a 1006 F150 I found being parted out today. I shampooed the seats, and cleaning up the brackets. Will pull my seats in the morning, shampoo the carpet, and get them installed. I also have a new 8' bed on the way, from the same truck I found being parted out. Doing the very minor body work to it, then it's going to be off to the paint shop, with the doors purchased from a 94 I found with power mirrors. Not sure which color I'm going with, it will be black, just not sure what shade...as stupid as that sounds. Trying to decide on wheels and tires, too many options out there to make a quick decision. Anyone know of any good places to look for wheels, besides tirerack and discount direct?

 

Progress on the Beast....got a whole truckful of shiny new interior, buckets and console with matching rear bench from a 94 ext cab I found being parted out. Put new wiper arms on....had to do away with the pin style and get the hook style on....got them thrown in with the seats...SCORE! It's the small victories that matter. Also have new 16" Ultra MAKO wheels on the way, with GoodYear DuraTrac 285/75/16 tires going on Jan. 1. Here's pics of the truck as it was purchased....guy I bought it from put Toyota Corolla seats in it....and needless to say they had to go.

 

How the heck do I add some pictures on this thing?

 

 

Old interior, with those silly Corolla seats....those are gone as of yesterday.

 

Gas muncher....still deciding what, if anything, I'm going to do to this motor, besides clean it up, get all the hoses nice and clean and make it new all new and shiny.....unsure of mods, if any.

 

New seats, after being shampooed. They turned out nicely.

 

There's quite a few small things that you can do to make the motor run better\smoother. Timing Bump(tune up on steroids), PCV rerouting (buy a peice of hose and run the brake booster to the pcv port on the intake manifold, then run the new hose from the pcv to where the brake booster used to go...the vacuum tree), if it's not too cold where you live, bypass the throttle body heater, 3g Alternator upgrade, Big 3 upgrade, etc. I've done all the above and overall it's prolly net me around 3-5 mpg, although thats not completely accurate because I have another timing issue going on. The number one thing to do to make these things run in tip top shape is take care of it. Change all fluids when needed (since you just bought the truck, why not replace everything?), etc. One thing I'm about to try (since I have to take my upper intake off anyways) is picking up some explorer injectors and swapping them in. From what I hear, they have 4 holes that spary out gas instead of 1 (8 vs. 32 total), which should be more efficient with the gas, neting some gas\power increase...I hope. I'll let you know.

Going around with a multimeter to clean\check sensors works wonders too, just cuz there isn't a CEL doesn't mean everything is fine. My truck pings under no load right now, with the SPOUT OUT, and I still have no CELs or codes. Oh yea, seafoam it through the vacuum tree (normally you would use the brake booster, but if you reroute it to the PCV port then you'll have 1 out of 8 clean clyinder lol).

Nice project man, it's got some potential, Me likey

 

I've gone through and changed everything with Mobil 1 fluids, I did a rebuild on an M3 Beemer and ran Mobil 1, and fell in love, so it's all I'll use now. I do have a small oil leak coming from the oil pan gasket looks like, and a very small power steering leak, haven't had a chance to track it down yet. Main thing, like you said, is maintenance, and I'll make sure it's all maintained properly, I'd hate to throw money in it and then have a breakdown because of poor maintenance....it's too easy to prevent. So far I've put new tie rods, inner/outer, ball joints, all Moog, and a Hellman sway bar, with all new polyurethane bushings, now drives like a dream. Putting some new shocks on after the first of the year, shop here in town has free install going on, so they can do it cheaper than I can myself. I ordered new Wheels and Tires, they'll be on Jan 1, as my local Goodyear dealer has a huge sale going on then, so I'm getting some primo pricing. I have a new bed and new doors with power mirrors going on too, gonna have those pieces painted seperate before I have the cab painted and then put them on. Going with just a nice gloss black paint, maybe some pearl or blue highlight in it. Should be fun, I'm looking forward to it.

 

New seats in....rear bench and new carpet going in once it warms up.....then dying the vinyl so it all matches....fun!

 

Man, that thing is gonna be really nice when your done lol. Already its 100% better, not that it was that bad to begin with, but yea. It's gonna look brand new with the carpet and doors. I think my power steering is leaking too, but not much, just enough to make the pump dirty. When I replace it I'm going to a saginaw pump, in the E-Series vans. If memory serves you need the mounting bracket, pump (duh), and maybe (some say yes some say no) the high pressure return line. Some say the line on our trucks will fit, others say you have to use the one from the van. Those pumps are near silent, and waaaay more powerful. I'm doing it mostly because of the noise.

 

Man you are really doing work on that thing, I can't wait to see when it's done. Any plans for a level or lift?
And how the hell did you drive with those seats that low?!

 

Man it felt like I was riding a Harley with Ape Hangers....and it steered all over the place. I thought I had some serious drifting problems, as it turns out it was just the weight of my arms hanging from the steering wheel making it drift, as silly as that sounds. I haven't taken on a auto project in awhile, and felt it was about time. It already has a small lift on it, not sure if I'm going to do any more lifting to it, maybe just a level, to bring the front up a bit. I have some new chrome bumpers on the way from LMC too, the smooth front one, and the diamond step rear with the built in work lights. When the body shop time comes, I will have that trim strip removed and the holes filled, to make it smooth. Hopefully it will turn out to be everything I hope and dream it will. I've loved these old trucks for a long time, now I finally broke down and bought one, just for my very own!! It's my red rider BB gun.