It was my dad's first truck (he started late) and has been neglected for a long time (6 years) but I am hoping to restore it. I mean RESTORE. Throwing a bunch of goofy show-crap on an old truck is like telling your old lady she's the love of your life then saying "Hey, what say we get ya some big honkin t*** installed there sugar-butt." With that in mind, I would like to help my baby to better accentuate her already ample charm and achieve her potential. Also, I want her ***** to hang out. I welcome your input. The rules:

1. No universal replacement parts, unless they are an IMPROVEMENT on OEM. (iow: no quick-fixes or chop jobs)
2. Upgrades should be in the spirit of the original equipment.
3. The engine and transmission WILL NOT BE REPLACED (except with identical equipment), MODIFIED OR OTHERWISE ***K** WITH.
4. I'm terrible with directions and I REALLY like music. Accomodations for these traits will be made in a tasteful way that satisfies my needs while not compromising the structural or spiritual well-being of The Vehicle.

About her
Year: 1989
Engine: 4.9L
Transmission: M5R2 (Manual OD)
Mileage: 158,000
Suspension: Stock (w/ nosedive)

Issues:
- Minor oily wetness around gaskets, requires underhood cleaning to pinpoint, should replace anyway
- AC system is shot, bypassed since 2000
- Sensors, filters and valves need a thorough going-over though testing has shown no significant performance issues besides...
- Smells pretty rich, but definitely not oil
- Nosedive
- Tires are old, size-matched though currently of three different brands
- Wheels are clearly old
- No tach
- Body damage where mirrors mashed into door
- Interior vinyl is grody
- My ears, unfortunately, are not located on my knees
- Tailgate bulb is burnt out
- Door ajar chime is barely audible
- Rear window plastic latch is broken
- Arm rest destroyed, door panels cracked
- Grease smudge on glove compartment door

As you can see by this hugantic list of near-cataclysmic issues, the job ahead is daunting. Seriously though, patience is the name of the game, and I'm pretty short on it. Wish me luck! And thanks in advance for any wisdom.

 

where are you getting the parts from? lmc truck is pretty good and has everything! you could build a whole if you wanted to. good luck

 

2- or 4WD?

Click the black Bronco below & look at the My Bronco pics. I've done MANY upgrades using newer STOCK parts that enhance the truck without jumping out at you. Yeah, mine's a beater/work truck/off-roader, but the upgrades can be done tastefully on a daily driver. Another example is this '75 Bronco I built for a friend using an '88 F150 as a donor.

These are some things I feel are vital:
Autodimming compass thermometer rear-view mirror
Tachometer cluster swap, w/low fuel light mod.
Autolamps, possibly w/autodimming brights
Tilt/cruise using the '93-up electronic servo (you'll also need to add a PSOM, but it doesn't have to be visible)
A/C
DVD player (for lots of mp3s - not for the driver to watch while driving)
PW/PL/PM/RKE/remote start
Captain's chairs (possibly power w/memory) & floor console (possibly heater/cooler) w/cupholders

All of that (except the DVD, RKE, start, & hot/cold console) can be done using stock Ford parts, and a lot of it isn't visible (or at least, not obvious). But it will make driving the truck a LOT more comfortable. And when someone notices, it REALLY ups the "cool" factor.

 

It's the 2WD. Right now I am still working on getting the truck caught up on "simple" scheduled maintenance items like sensors, fluid replacement, seals, gaskets, lamps, bulbs, etc. so most parts are coming from local parts stores. I will be running to the salvage yard for little things like rubber stops for the hood and a front bumber license plate mount.

Steve:
1. Read my mind with the captain's chairs.
2. And the power locks. Power windows aren't real important to me, but with the money that will be spent on the interior, an alarm is at the top of the list and remote power locks will be included there.
3. Cruise is busted anyway and on my wish list. Any expertise on how I can knock that one out?

 

UPDATES

1. A/C system replaced: Only three trips to the shop since Thursday and with a hose assembly tomorrow morning entire system except for condenser will be brand new.
2. Stereo: Jumping the gun with this one, but couldn't resist for a trip to Beaumont this weekend. Pioneer's new 6900UB comes with a USB pigtail for your iPod or USB-powered hard drive. With a pretty sizable album collection catalogued digitally, the 80GB hard-drive option is huge. Used with a fifth-gen iPod for the trip and am officially stoked.

 

There are no sensors on the maintenance schedule. If you suspect one is bad, test it per Haynes or the Ford service disks. If it tests bad, replace it. If it tests good, keep looking for the cause of the symptom.

But I still highly recommend swapping to the later electronic cruise servo. It's a little more work now, but it's SOOOOOOOOOO much nicer to use.That's TOP of the list of things Ford recommends to replace whenever a new compressor goes in, because it's the first place metal debris builds up when one goes bad. They don't allow cleaning or reusing condensers for that reason. At this point, I'd say it's a small investment to get it changed. Then the shop will have NO excuse if the system quits working within the warranty period (which should be at LEAST a year, with 100% new system).

 

I'll look into that cruise servo. I guess what I was asking is how to do that switch.

And for sensors, that's good to know. I'm a fiddler and had planned on replacing any temperature and fuel-system sensor I could reach, mostly for the hell of it to be honest, but only have gotten the O2 as yet. For what it's worth, I am not smelling rich like I had been. Not sure if that was it.

Finally, with the condenser, maybe you could clear some things up for me there. My shop said that a new condenser would be too expensive labor-wise and steered me away from it WHILE still guaranteeing a full 1 year parts and labor warranty on everything else. Additionally there's the inline hose filter. Will that do anything to guard against the metal debris?

 

Nevermind: Search and I shall receive.

 

That's ridiculous! You can remove & install the ENTIRE A/C SYSTEM on these trucks without even opening it! It's EASY to get the condenser out - you just tilt the radiator back & lift the condenser.

I don't know how expensive the PART is, but the labor should be next to nothing.

 

Maybe he's confused. For now though, with the system doing well and a 1 year parts & labor warranty, I'm going to try and move on unless you think I am looking forward to a major failure.

 

I think it's a disaster waiting to happen. The question is: will it happen w/in 1 year? I hope so. It would suck if it happens 13 mo. from now...

 

Well, you got me paranoid, I mean thinking, so a week ago I took it in again and sprung for the condenser. My guy had just got his wires crossed and been thinking evaporator when he was sweating the labor cost earlier on. He's solid, just a micro-manager always going 90 miles-an-hour so I've got no beef with the confusion. Anywho, new condenser and labor came in at $220, which I am pretty happy with. So thanks for the advice.

Additionally, in a collision repair 9 years ago, the radiator was replaced with a one-size-fits-all jobby, and so the fan shroud no longer fit. With a fully functioning A/C, I had made that a to-do a while ago and when a small drip popped up, I replaced the radiator with factory equipment and finally threw a shroud in. I couldn't be more pleased with the performance of the AC and the consistent running temp now.

Sad news though, what was once an annoying drip from the differential turned out to be a bad pinion seal, a result, apparently of old bearings allowing the pinion to get a little loosy-goosy. The truck is now in a shop and will be for another day or two with (hopefully) just a bearing kit and carrier bearings while I am at it. The differential has never been serviced, so at ~160K miles, I'm not too disappointed.

Finally, in discussing paint, I am beginning to accept that I should be reasonable in my evaluation of my situation. What I mean is, I am located smack dab in the middle of the heart of Northgate in College Station, TX (Texas A&M). On dead nights, dozens of people will at least brush against the truck. On gamedays, we're looking at hundreds (of the 5000-10000+ all day) that will, on accident or on purpose come into contact with my car. Figure in alcohol and late-night jerks and a $2500 paint job becomes a MAACO job pretty quick anyway. It's a painful reality.

 

That's where a nice, thick, protective coat of foul-smelling mud really shows its value! No one will come within 20' of the truck, and your paint will be protected from those damaging UV rays, ozone, air pollution, & even the hordes of kamikaze love-bugs that swarm throughout SWLA & SETX! Your paint will be protected even better than by Meguiar's!

 

I am currently checking Google News for any recent cases of Suidae aviatorum.

See, after reading how exact the torque measurements should be on the pinion, I had decided to just take the truck into Midas since it was Saturday and both of my shops were closed. I figured, with the right tools, how could anybody screw the pooch on this? So when I drove out of Midas the truck shuddered something horrible when breaking at 30+ mph. So I turned right around and said, in so many words, "WTF?". So Midas had a quick, and I mean QUICK look and said, it's your bearings (see rationale from above)... that'll be $500+ to fix.

Soooooo, I said, I'll stay off the road and I have my guy check Monday. My guy initially agreed with the assessment based on the description of the situation and I said "do your thing". And so, to my surprise, when I showed up today to pick the truck up, he says that he drove it around and was not able to reproduce the problem. In frustration, he put the truck on the lift and played around some with the driveshaft, the pinion, the brakes, the wheels, everything, and he turned up with jack. He re-bolted my wheels and came up with this... Midas had pulled the rear wheels off, but told me they didn't. The wheels weren't tightened up right and that was the source of the shudder, not the differential. He suggested I might look into machining rotors and drums (on my to-do) if the problem popped up again but for now, in his words "Nothing to be putting money into. Just drive it and love it." Total cost: $0.

 

Not a bad idea Steve. I'm afraid though that in College Station a foul-smelling, mud coated pickup would not quite register on the typical revellers gross-o-meter. Though it might provide a thin layer of defense against caustic sweaty palms pressed against the bed by teetering drunks attempting to stay upright just long enough to finish wizzing on my wheels.