Dumb, no stupid things PO's have done to you

[Camar068]

Well look at the pics and see what he did to the dash

You could always try Citristrip to get that paint off without harming the plastic (possibly). As with any chemicals try in a small area.

I used it on the LS engine cover and let it sit for a few hours. Paint wiped off with a rag without damaging the plastic one bit.

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[Blue Ox]

I have owned my truck since 1995. My Dad owned it 3 years prior to that. Anything I find now is pretty much my fault from any number of years ago

I have a similar problem. There are no POs. Everything is my fault.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Mine was done by my first stepdad. The car, my '56. When he did it it was mom's car and I was around 8. Now it looked cool, but it made the rear quarter panels completely non-stock. He flared them. He did a great job. They were uniform. I was 15 and mom said she was giving the car to me. My older brother got wind of this and mom was out of town for the weekend. We threw a party at the house and my brother with a car-full of his buddies took the '56 out for a joyride. At the time it had a 350 from a '76 K10, a really good engine, and a 4-speed Saginaw . Brother and buddies were thrashing the car, and then started going around the lake south of town, and each speed bump he was spinning the tires. Well, he only got to the second one, because he spun the tires so fast it got a little airborne off the speed bump and when the spinning tire caught pavement, the right rear tire sheared off all five studs. Now the right rear quarter panel was scrunched up from the impact to the pavement. The tow truck driver, knowing mom was out of town, left the car on the tow truck and parked it right next to the highway in front of the shop so she saw it while driving home. Brother was in deep **** and he knew it.

When I was 17, the engine had been rebuilt and a TH400 was placed behind the engine. I had to make an emergency trip to the hospital an hour north, so mom drove me. I gave the keys to my brother and asked him to drive it home. I went to drive it a couple days later and it was running like crap. Pop, mom's husband to be a couple years later, and a mechanic said it almost dropped a cylinder. He was able to get it back running right, and needless to say my brother will never get to drive another vehicle of mine.

 

[Snoots]

I'm looking at buying an '81 short box 4x4.
PO says the interior is good...
Well look at the pics and see what he did to the dash... stupid ***...

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-view-details.html?adId=1371415247&requestSource=b

Was that a mis-print . . . short box? More like a **** box. Rust and lack of proper working parts must command a high price where he's from.

 

[shiftpro]

Was that a mis-print . . . short box? More like a **** box. Rust and lack of proper working parts must command a high price where he's from.

As Usual Snooter you're right...
but this is about the status quo around here with these trucks. Short **** Boxes were owned by youth, not working men, so haywire is the norm.

Short box 2x2s are generally in better shape. Here is one I'm also considering...
https://www.kijiji.ca/v-view-details.html?adId=1343431567&siteLocale=en_CA&requestSource=b

 

[shiftpro]

I would B52 that 2x into 4x4 land if I got it.

 

[shiftpro]

You could always try Citristrip to get that paint off without harming the plastic (possibly). As with any chemicals try in a small area.

I used it on the LS engine cover and let it sit for a few hours. Paint wiped off with a rag without damaging the plastic one bit.

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Thanks Cammer, but I don't think this product is available in Canada. I know Polystrippa, which we have here, would take the plastic with it.

 

[Rusty Nail]

Do us a favor and save that square.

Spaghetti wiring really pisses me off. No use of relays or fuses. Bought an 80 Trans Am with a mild 400 in it. PO wanted an electric fuel pump. So he mounted it to the inner fender and ran a toggle switch from the battery to the interior.

I've seen that before...

Only thing ive found that the po did was to keep hiw wife from putting gas in the non working tank he took off the fill hose (still doesnt have one) and stuffed a gatorade cap in the fill neck to keep the gas nozzle from going in.

Sounds like more work than dropping the tank!

 

[bluex]

I have a similar problem. There are no POs. Everything is my fault.

I jave literally said to myself "what the hell was I thinking" as I removed or fixed something...

 

[Blue Ox]

I jave literally said to myself "what the hell was I thinking" as I removed or fixed something...

Ummm,.. sometimes dad took shortcuts, but they were usually just practical decisions. OTOH, some of my gems came from inexperience or bad advice. I usually know what I was thinking, but now I wonder why I thought it.

 

[Crispy]

I'll do my best. Problem is truck is in Calgary about 8 hrs of sporty driving IN THE OFF SEASON. That means after Sept 1st...
Right now with all the tourists out there... minimum 10 hr drive.
Also the owner is not being clear about how capable it is to drive back home, so I'm thinking it's trailer special. Looks like he tried to mount Ford mirrors so I need to be prepared to find other stupid **** for sure.
Shorty frames are getting rare around here...

Ouch, that doesnt sound like fun. I can know how bad it can be navigating through tourists. Do you have uship or something similar in your neck of the woods? I would definitely trailer that vehicle even if the owner says its a cream puff. I hate buying cars and driving them home unless its a mile or two. Its a constant feeling of "when is something going to fail and how bad will it be?" Trailering for whatever additional cost ads so much peace of mind and lets me give the car a thorough going over before I take it out. I'm also the type that changes belts, hoses, fluids, bulbs and filters asap.

Good luck with picking it up cheap!

 

[yevgenievich]

I did stupid things on my TA, but by this time I got them fixed. Like heatshrink got delayed but I wanted to get the thing running, so solder and electrical tape were used instead of heatahrink. Instead of replacing internal fuel pump with higher output unit, strip fuel pump off, and install a used external pump. That I could never get to run and had to spend more money on another replacement because everything already set up for it. At least I left stock hoses intact and was able to revert back to intank pump. A bank of universal relays and fuses below passenger side dash is another mod long undone. Most of the stupid things were done in attempt not to hack original wiring or lines, but I did a cheaper route at the time. That car was all stock when I got it, and I was still in highschool so it took a bit of time before I started getting it more right.

 

[DoubleDingo]

PO wanted an electric fuel pump. So he mounted it to the inner fender and ran a toggle switch from the battery to the interior.

Pop has his '69 F250 4x4 setup this way, except it's mounted on the frame so it's pushing. It's to be used in case the mechanical pump stops working. Flick the switch and the pump is pumping fuel and you can drive out of where you are. He let some friends use his truck back in the late 80's, they were miles from civilization and the mechanical pump stopped working. They knew he had the backup pump wired up, but guess what, they forgot and walked 20 miles to call him and let him know his truck needed a new fuel pump. He asked them why they didn't flick the switch and drive it out. They kicked themselves for not remembering that tiny detail.

 

[Crispy]

Pop has his '69 F250 4x4 setup this way, except it's mounted on the frame so it's pushing. It's to be used in case the mechanical pump stops working. Flick the switch and the pump is pumping fuel and you can drive out of where you are. He let some friends use his truck back in the late 80's, they were miles from civilization and the mechanical pump stopped working. They knew he had the backup pump wired up, but guess what, they forgot and walked 20 miles to call him and let him know his truck needed a new fuel pump. He asked them why they didn't flick the switch and drive it out. They kicked themselves for not remembering that tiny detail.

LOL at the friend, and bravo for Pop having a backup. The problem wasn't the pump itself, its how it was wired. This was the only pump on that car so I added a relay, fuse, and heavier wiring, then triggered the relay to an ignition source. PO just had a wire from the battery to the switch to the pump. I was 23 at the time and in hindsight I would've wired it in with the oil pressure switch as a safety measure. So somewhere on a F body forum with a similar thread is person complaining about what i did.

 

[Snoots]

As Usual Snooter you're right...
but this is about the status quo around here with these trucks. Short **** Boxes were owned by youth, not working men, so haywire is the norm.

Short box 2x2s are generally in better shape. Here is one I'm also considering...
https://www.kijiji.ca/v-view-details.html?adId=1343431567&siteLocale=en_CA&requestSource=b

I'd jump on that.
The first one just seems too pricey.
At least with the 2nd one you have a choice of colors

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