The only real thing that lets my truck down is the engine compartment. I pulled the truck out this morning and soaked it with cleaner and pressure washed away.
Before:
After:
I'm looking at it and think I should take the truck to a shop and let them take it apart, clean it further and paint it all up. It really seems like a lot and I'm not that mechanically inclined when it comes to engines and breaking everything down and putting it all back together and making it work again. What do you think i'd pay to have something like that done? I'm not talking a concourse detail, just clean and paint and make it nice to open the hood and show everyone?
Nah. Do it yourself. You'll be paying the shop rate (upwards of $100 per hour!) so instead pay yourself. I was writing this for a thread but figured alot of Fordifiers might benefit from it. It would take a long article to describe every procedure and nuance of detailing. I like a balance between chrome, black, and the engine color. Personally I don't like too much chrome. The most chrome I am willing to go is valve covers, breathers,and the air cleaner. No chrome dizzy hold downs,dipsticks, or coil sleeves... If that's your thing then fine by me. The more thought and planning that goes into it the better it tends to be...There are tons of pics online so let that be your motivation.
Here are some basics based on my experience but in the end cleanliness and unmarred finishes is what separates the big boys from the kids.:
Engine color. Ford Blue - the darker version common to 68 and later Fords. Light blue looks weak. Duplicolor, Plastikote, or Rustoleum is fine.
Things that are semigloss black like pulleys, inner fenders, radiator core support - Krylon 1613 (Sometimes labeled semi-flat black_ is the closest spray bomb to the factory matte black). Walmart is the lo-buck source. I buy them in six packs and have bought up to 18 cans at one time. Alternatives include Rustoleum Satin Black 7777 and Rustoleum engine enamel in semigloss black.
Eastwood's Cast Grey - Get the exhaust manifolds bead blasted and then apply. Let cure and it lasts a loooong time. Another alternative is Calyx manifold dressing. It "brushes" on like a glue stick. Better if applied after bead blasting. Or ceramic coated headers.
Power brake booster... Use Eastwood Gold Cadmium System or Rustoleum engine enamel in semigloss black or dark grey.
Radiator fan...Semigloss black
Hardware.. contact AMK products for a hardware kit for your application. Nice stuff but pricey.
Fender bolts.. avoid the type with the star washer - it traps dirt and mars the paint as they are tightenedd down. These might have been phased out in the late 60s.
Carburetor... rebuild it! Soak the parts in a gallon of carb cleaner to remove the stains.
Intake manifold... Natural aluminum if it's aftermarket, otherwise engine color or high temp silver and high temp clear.
Heads... stock heads get the engine color. Aftermarket aluminum are left natural.. show'em off.
Water pump.. engine color or high temp silver with satin clear.
Distributor.. black caps only.
Plug wires... black wires and boots. Avoid the (IMO) gaudy blue, yellow, and red wires unless that's your thing.
Hose clamps.. stainless steel. All clamps need to face one direction and be accessible with a wrench or nut driver.
Valve cover bolts... Engine color or silver.
Brackets, brackets brackets... Krylon 1613 semigloss black or Rustoleum engine enamel in semi-gloss black.
Electrical terminals.. Nothing looks like shade-tree work like using the crimp-on terminals and leaving them looking like crimp-on terminals. Take the time to plan to first slip in some heat shrink, crimp the terminal, and then remove the crimped plastic. Slide the heat shrink over the crimp and apply heat. It'll look alot more factory.
Heater hoses.. black only. Avoid the red hoses.. they look like crap. Install so all the print text on the hoses are readable when standing at the right front fender.
Radiator hoses... black only. More points if you can get them stamped with "FoMoCo". Massage them with Go-Jo to remove the dirt. They'll come out nice n black.
Wiring... you'll likely encounter wires that have been spray painted. Try cleaning them with Go-Jo hand cleaner and a rag. In fact, Go-Jo will also clean rubber hoses. Try it.
More wiring.. try and unbundle the tangle of wires so the wires look purposely run and neat. No one like to look at a bundle of snakes doing the nasty.
Decals.. finish it off with the correct decals (Air cleaner decal(302/360/390/427/428/etc) on open emission system) ,Autolite specs on the side of factory air cleaner housing, coil, voltage regulator, EGR valve, emissions on the valve cover, and "Caution: Fan" on the shroud). Avoid sticking the product/manufacturer decals under the hood or the firewall. Leave that the the rice rocket crowd.
Paint daubs... Your call. I think Ford was still color coding stuff with paint marks into the late 70s.
Other stuff -->
Visit the wrecking yard and look for:
Metal harness clips that install under the driver's side valve cover bolts. They are used to hold the wiring harness that goes to the dizzy. Paint engine color.
Plastic harness clips that hold the harness to the inner fenders, the drip channel on the firewall, the horn wire across the core support
On bumpsides, the retainer holding the heater hoses to the right inner fender
An engine tag is a nice detail if you can find one.
Spark plug wiring clips - the type that slips onto the bracket on the valve cover (if your covers have the bracket). An alternative is the kit produced by "Made For You" products to neaten the wires.
Carb return springs and its bracket that bolts on the intake manifold.
Wire loom wrap clamps from late 80s and 90s GM products (also called convoluted tubing. Ya know, the plastic tubes with a slit down the middle). Terminating the cut off end with the clamps is alot better than leaving it loose, a zip tie, or wrapping it with electrical tape.
70 F100 LB 2WD, 360FE, E-Street EFI, TKO-500, 76K original miles.. follow my rebuild: The Lo-Buck Bumpside
71 F250 LB, 2WD, 360FE, T18, PS, PB, D60 with 4.11s
73 F100 SB 4WD, 390FE, NP435, +4 on 35s
01 Ferrari 360 Spider F1
01 F150 SuperCrew Lariat 4WD
01 PT Cruiser Limited (DD)
68 Mustang
65 Mustang
I agree with the post above, except I prefer not to use convoluted tubing for wrapping wires, unless it came factory. Many people go overboard with it and it is hard to make look decent many times.
With or without the convoluted tubing, I like to avoid electrical tape like the plague. It turns into a slimy, sticky mess no matter how hard you try. Rubber tape may work well, but I like to use friction tape. It is a close match to factory covering and wears very well.
I don't know if I'll go as far as looking for fomoco hoses and other oem parts but I do want the motor, air cleaner and inner fenders done. I just want it clean. The firewall is another story. It will need to be sanded and repainted and I think the motor would have to come out to do it.
Like I said, I am in the process of pulling my 240ci 6cyl and 4 speed out of my 67, and putting in a 300ci 6cyl with another 4spd overdrive, but while I'm doing it, I am cleaning up and repainting the motor.
Here you can see where the previous owner spray bombed the engine the incorrect color blue that HIO talks about, with some cleaning up and painting I started on:
This is the new engine in progress, with the correct color blue:
My "new" engine still needs to be pulled apart to change the gaskets and install the good accessories and parts that I previously cleaned and painted on my 240, but it gives you and idea.
These engines really aren't hard to pull out at all. It really doesn't get any easier than this, but you do need the space and a few tools to get it done. If you have the space and time, you can pull the whole front end off of the truck with nothing more than hand tools, and you really wouldn't need to pull the engine to clean and paint everything at that point. Just tape off and mask what you need, and it would come out pretty nice.
Again, the stamped hoses and stuff is you want to go balls out.
But speak of the devil...
I detest the light blue.... it's lame.
This shot from two weeks ago. The FE is physically large so out it came along with everything else. I'm swapping to EFI and a TKO 5-speed so there was really no choice.
... I'm working on the front suspension and brakes this weekend.
My goal is to have a well detailed engine in an otherwise tired looking truck. When ya crack the hood open, it'll be like a big beautiful diamond nestled in a horse's butt hole.
I envy you guys that have a building or space to work in. If I had that kind of room I would take the front clip off and detail like HIO Silver is doing. That is the only reason why i'm considering just taking it to a shop. I just hate to have it tied up for any amount of time.
Damon, I noticed your radiator isn't the normal small 6cyl version and the engine is the later industrial grey. Did you swap it in? I'm guessing it was originally a v8 truck?
It was born a 360 3 on the tree truck. The previous owner ran service trucks and he bought this truck for himself. One of his service trucks (I think was a 76 F250) was beat up pretty bad so he pulled the F250's running gear, rebuilt the motor and put everything into this truck including the four in the floor with the granny gear. He also swapped out the 3.25 rear to teh 3.50 rear. It has a two piece driveshaft as well. I wish he still had the 360 but he put it in the service truck for scrap weight a long time ago. He never bother to detail the motor after the build. he painted the truck, put tires on it and ended up parking it due to him losing his business. He got a job, painted it and drove it to work from time to time. When he needed room in his shop this truck went outside. He hated it so he put it up for sale the first time and had a bunch of callers but it ran like crap. He put a new fuel pump on, removed and had the tank cleaned out and lined, new sending unit and shocks. He put it up again and that is when I jumped on it. Got it for what I think was a song. He did put in a new radiator but bought the V8 one to replace the V8 one that was in there.
I see you are from Houma, LA. One of my old cars is running around there. I sold it to a guy that is the used car manager for the dodge dealer down there. It is a 1992 Anniversary Edition Z28. Red with black stripes. It was built one month before the plant shutdown in Van Nuys, CA. It was a rare heavily optioned car.
