Project '71 F-100 Update: 7/24 Wiring Progress w/ Pics!

[71 side step crazy]

Keep up the good work. I remember when I was 16 and got my bump all my money went in to it but now at 22 and 8,000 miles later she sits and saves me money . The 3 on the tree is a cool set up.

[cheek]

Thanks Cheek! Sure is fun buying parts. I've got receipts for everything I've bought for the truck since I got it but as far as the last two trips to Napa for all of the tune-up stuff and front brake hardware (everything minus shoes, already had them) I spent around $155-160 or so. As far as just the front brakes went though it only ran me about $70 total for wheel cylinders, hardware, brake-hoses and shoes. I would offer to buy you parts here and ship them but that would probably still work out to be the same price you're already paying over there . Can't wait to see an update on the new truck though, looks like a very good start .


As far as work today goes I ended up working so I only got to spend a little while on the truck. I managed to change the oil+filter, the fuel filter, the air filter, the coil, dizzy cap, rotor, condenser, points, breaker plate and let it run for a while/drive down our street. I must say, a major improvement, after the carb is rebuilt and I get a heavier return spring (noticed that was the issue today with me getting the idle where I wanted it, with the tired spring on there now I can pull the throttle to where I want it to idle but after I give it gas it returns to idling at 1k since the spring isn't strong enough) it should be running near perfect! I also managed to pick up all of the brake parts today, should be installing them tomorrow and will post pics of both today's and tomorrow's progress sometime then, stay tuned!

Yeah I've been thinkin that one day I should fly over and pack a container full of f100 parts. In the meantime I think I'll just have to make do with paying 5000% mark up Thanks mate I really can't wait to go for a cruise in it
Wow that's alot of work in a "little while" Good work!

[Caseys71]

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you guys with pictures, I've been slacking quite a bit lately when it comes to updating my project thread as I would like to . Anyways first off here are some pics as promised:


New front brake parts including: Wheel cylinders, Brake shoes, Hardware kit, Brake hoses, Wheel cylinder bolts, and not pictured but also got new inner/outer bearings and seals.

Old brake shoes and hardware.

Old wheel bearings.

New bearings packed and installed.

New wheel cylinder, hardware and hose.

New brake hose.

Nasty old oil I drained outta the '71, I think it's safe to say it was time for an oil change .

Old ignition parts that were replaced.

Picture of the distributor before getting freshened up.

Distributor after new breaker plate, vacumn advance, condenser, points and rotor.

All buttoned back up with a fresh cap and new coil.

Picture of the 'Ol girl with her hood up .

Looks like I forgot to snap a pic of the new shoes/hardware after it was installed but just imagine a new set of front brake shoes, hardware and wheel cylinders. I'm sure you guys already know what it looks like anyways . Now for the words to follow the pictures of the update:
Over the weekend I was able to get the brakes done on both sides but realized I had no wheel bearing grease late Saturday night so I had to wait until Monday morning to get some. Then I packed the bearings and installed drums. I then proceeded to finish plumbing for my brakes and got the brakes bled, I now have working brakes . Also as an added bonus the new shoes, hardware, turned drums and brake lines seem to have helped firm up the pedal tremendously . After all of that I did a little sanding on the hood, taking it down to bare metal so I can do the small amount of body work it requires and prime it, it is now 3/4 of the way done with sanding before any body work that is . I then worked Tuesday and Today but after I got home today I decided to toy with the shift linkage. I managed to put the shifter arms back in their place (thanks again 91bear for the link to the pic that showed me their proper orientation) which helped and I was then able to see that the shifter rod for first+reverse needed adjusted back for 1st to fully engage. Guess what! As I was trying to free up the socket on the adjusting end of it, thinking it was finally giving. The metal gave , now I have a useless 1st+Reverse shifting rod. Gotta go find one at a junk-yard or maybe off here if I can't find one. Not too big a deal, just really made me mad when it happened. Should be able to get it back together soon enough though.

As for what's planned next before it hits the road I need to:
-Go and solder/heat-shrink the harness in places where there are butt-splices and in little spots in the harness that were just chopped by the PO. I might actually use the '67s harness/parts of it although it still needs some soldering/heat-shrinking itself, it is in much better shape. After that my brake lights, head lights, turn signals and gauges and everything should be functioning again. (might need to get a TSS though as the one in the 3-speed column doesn't SEEM to be working, maybe it actually is.
-Finish sanding the hood, weld a few pinholes in it, prime it and move on to working the fenders.
-Tighten passenger's side exhaust. The donut isn't fully sealed over there and it rattles when I cut the engine off that and I need new manifold gaskets as the ones on there now leak.
-Install a manual choke. Thermal chokes are nice and all but the little tubes are long gone and I prefer manual chokes anyways.
-Do a little bit of floor-pan work to make the cab floor solid, need to do something with the roof (namely the drip rail area) in the very near future. Thinking of splicing part of the parts truck's cab onto this one as I found some rust in the other cab in spots I really don't want to mess with patching.
-Probably swap the '67 bed onto my frame as it is in much more solid shape and I've already welded up all but maybe 5 trim holes on it.

After that and maybe a few more little things the bump will be on the road and can then be a driving project........finally .

Stay tuned guys, should be on the road soon!

[Caseys71]

Keep up the good work. I remember when I was 16 and got my bump all my money went in to it but now at 22 and 8,000 miles later she sits and saves me money . The 3 on the tree is a cool set up.

, Will do. Yep same story here, except this summer it is split between the bump and my Z71 although the bump seems to be getting a bit more funding lately . That's always nice too , that seems to be the easiest way to save money with these projects, the only time I haven't spent any money on the truck has been over the winter when it sat. I agree on the 3-on-the-tree being a cool set up, I'm still loving it even with a broken 1st-reverse shifting rod .

Thanks Cheek! Sure is fun buying parts. I've got receipts for everything I've bought for the truck since I got it but as far as the last two trips to Napa for all of the tune-up stuff and front brake hardware (everything minus shoes, already had them) I spent around $155-160 or so. As far as just the front brakes went though it only ran me about $70 total for wheel cylinders, hardware, brake-hoses and shoes. I would offer to buy you parts here and ship them but that would probably still work out to be the same price you're already paying over there . Can't wait to see an update on the new truck though, looks like a very good start .

Ohh and here's a pic of the aftermath of my linkage "adjustment" :
[ Image ]


As far as work today goes I ended up working so I only got to spend a little while on the truck. I managed to change the oil+filter, the fuel filter, the air filter, the coil, dizzy cap, rotor, condenser, points, breaker plate and let it run for a while/drive down our street. I must say, a major improvement, after the carb is rebuilt and I get a heavier return spring (noticed that was the issue today with me getting the idle where I wanted it, with the tired spring on there now I can pull the throttle to where I want it to idle but after I give it gas it returns to idling at 1k since the spring isn't strong enough) it should be running near perfect! I also managed to pick up all of the brake parts today, should be installing them tomorrow and will post pics of both today's and tomorrow's progress sometime then, stay tuned!

Yeah I've been thinkin that one day I should fly over and pack a container full of f100 parts. In the meantime I think I'll just have to make do with paying 5000% mark up Thanks mate I really can't wait to go for a cruise in it
Wow that's alot of work in a "little while" Good work!

, That sounds like a good idea Cheek! That really does suck about the mark up though , at least with your new project you won't have to buy too many parts, that truck looks pretty sick the way it was when you bought it. Thanks, hopefully I'll be on the road soon!

[BobbyFord]

In your pictures, it appears that you have the brake shoes on wrong. The longer shoe (with more material) goes to the rear while the shorter shoe goes to the front.

[Caseys71]

In your pictures, it appears that you have the brake shoes on wrong. The longer shoe (with more material) goes to the rear while the shorter shoe goes to the front.

Thanks for looking out for me there Bobby! They are on incorrectly in the picture; however, that is a picture of the old shoes and hardware and everything that I replaced . The PO did put them on backwards though, IIRC he did the same thing with the rear shoes as well. Found a pic of the new shoes I put on, evidently I took it and never uploaded it to my Photobucket :

Thanks a again for looking out for me though . How's your truck coming along? You ever get those steelies put out back on her? I remember seeing the picture you took of them after they were painted, they looked amazing .

Oh and I organized all of my pictures on Photobucket last night into a bunch of different sub-albums so some of my pics will be down for a while until I get the chance to go through them all and change the links.

As for today's progress I worked a little while then messed with the truck when I got home and called up a few junkyards. I MAY be able to get a shifter rod from one yard about an hour away, will find out here shortly if not then I'll probably be posting an ad in the parts wanted section soon. Other than that I managed to get all of the pinholes welded up in the hood as well as sanding the whole thing down to bare metal. The hood is now in primer , will have some more pics this weekend and hopefully a little bit more of an update .

[BobbyFord]

You're welcome Casey
Yes, I have the rear steelies on but I still haven't painted the front rims yet I've kinda been slacking lately.
I have a wedding to go to this weekend, but I have Monday off so I might squirt some paint Monday

[Caseys71]

You're welcome Casey
Yes, I have the rear steelies on but I still haven't painted the front rims yet I've kinda been slacking lately.
I have a wedding to go to this weekend, but I have Monday off so I might squirt some paint Monday

You have a picture floating around on the site anywhere of them on the truck (I might have missed the pic if you posted one)? I'd love to see what they look like . I know the feeling, I've been slacking off and on myself. Hopefully you get the opportunity to lay some paint down on the front wheels Monday, I'm dieing to see what your truck looks like with the new steelies . What all else do you have left to "finish" the truck up? After you got the 460 in there I don't see how you've been getting any work done at all .

[basketcase0302]

Looking real good Casey! Bet your getting excited.

[forrestbump]

Casey,
What I find so refreshing about YOU is that at your tender age (meant with all due respect) you're involved with major projects that require discipline, saving up money to execute your dreams, patients and willingness to listen and learn..things that the majority of youths tend to be sorely lacking in our world today regardless of nationality.

You DON'T "Know It All" and never come off as cocky. You're always humble and gracious with unbridled enthusiasm that's very obvious to this old guy's eyes and heart.

You, Sir, are to be admired and I'm proud to be in your company as you've restored my faith in young people today.

Godspeed in your endeavors and may all your hopes and dreams be fulfilled! You've earned them in my book!

[Madsen1970F100]

was wondering what was going on..keep trucking along. my project has stalled out at the finer bodywork/paint job phase. Ran out of $$$ to put into the truck but I did get it all back together and on the street. Just need some body work and a pro paint job little interior work etc etc. etc. Its nice to drive it around on the weekend. You will soon see what I mean! Post a pic of the chebby or two. just have the ford somewhere in the shot so as to keep people here from getting too upset!

[Caseys71]

I know it's been a while guys, and I apologize for not updating this sooner. Lately I've been working a lot (both at work, mowing lawns and working on the Chebby and the bump). The truck is just about ready to hit the road actually. I have almost all of the wiring fixed/completed, got a stronger return spring to sit the idle correctly as well as a whole variety of other odds and ends I can't name at the moment. Right now the biggest thing keeping me from hitting the road is the shifter rod (still can't believe it broke or that I can't find one at any of the yards I've visited) other than that it's pretty much ready. I will get some pics up this weekend for you guys of all of the work and hopefully I'll be able to do some more this weekend. Stay tuned!

[Caseys71]

Here's some pics as promised , nothing interesting really just lots of soldering/heat-shrinking going on .

Soldering work on one of the wires in the taillight harness (and the work surface is my newly primed hood)

Heat-shrink in place over the solder

1 soldered and heat-shrunk connection, a thousand to go

Some of the fresh soldered and heat-shrunk connections on the taillight harness

Working running lights anyone?

Headlight harness was finished in the pic just need new headlights, will get on that pronto!


Tach lit up with running lights

That's pretty much all of the pictures I took, not much to look at as far as all of the butt-splices I eliminated in the harness (don't even wanna guess how many there were ) but the wiring is 95% complete with the exception of a few things I need to finish up under the dash. As I said in the prior update the biggest thing stopping me now is that piece of shift linkage, if I can't find it within a few weeks I may just swap the T-18 back in for now so I can drive it. Next on the list are a few little odds and ends to make it streetable including getting the TSS situation figured out so I have turn signals, getting a reverse light switch for the 3-on-the-tree setup, picking up a battery, headlights and swapping beds as well as sanding the fenders down and priming them for body-work. Will try and get an update in sometime next weekend guys . Should be on the road soon

[Caseys71]

Looking real good Casey! Bet your getting excited.

Thanks Jeff! You've sure got that right, can't wait to drive the bump . How's old BC #16 coming along? And how's Tennessee been treating ya?

Casey,
What I find so refreshing about YOU is that at your tender age (meant with all due respect) you're involved with major projects that require discipline, saving up money to execute your dreams, patients and willingness to listen and learn..things that the majority of youths tend to be sorely lacking in our world today regardless of nationality.

You DON'T "Know It All" and never come off as cocky. You're always humble and gracious with unbridled enthusiasm that's very obvious to this old guy's eyes and heart.

You, Sir, are to be admired and I'm proud to be in your company as you've restored my faith in young people today.

Godspeed in your endeavors and may all your hopes and dreams be fulfilled! You've earned them in my book!

Why thank you Larry, I really appreciate it. That truly means a lot. I'm proud to be in your company as well as the company of the rest of the members of this site, a great bunch of guys and gals we've got here. Godspeed to you as well sir in any and all of your life's endeavors.

was wondering what was going on..keep trucking along. my project has stalled out at the finer bodywork/paint job phase. Ran out of $$$ to put into the truck but I did get it all back together and on the street. Just need some body work and a pro paint job little interior work etc etc. etc. Its nice to drive it around on the weekend. You will soon see what I mean! Post a pic of the chebby or two. just have the ford somewhere in the shot so as to keep people here from getting too upset!

Will do! Nothing wrong with that, as you said you managed to get it all back together and driving, looks great too by the way . I'm sure you'll get the chance to get it all finished up before too long. I hope to see what you mean, can't wait to finally drive the truck I've been working on for so long . I will be sure to sneak in a picture or two of the Chebby and will definitely take your advice and be sure to make it a group shot with the Ford in there too .


Well stay tuned guys! The bump should be on the road pretty soon .