BJ’s 1969 Rolling Project

[hdman90]

It’s probably long overdue that I’ve started some sort of thread for this truck, but in the past three years that I’ve owned this truck all I’ve really done to it is routine maintenance (new tires, change oil, etc.). As of late, I have been getting into more serious maintenance and work that I’ve been doing on the truck.
There probably won’t be weekly updates on this, as I drive it more than I work on it, but every time I do something I’ll make a point to take a few pictures and keep everyone updated.

If you want to know the history, here you go: Growing up as a kid, I rode around in my dad’s 1970 F-100 Expolorer (Explorer green). He drove it more than ten years daily, so I spent a lot of time in it. In the early 200’s it got garaged and somewhat forgotten. My dream was always to work on it with him and fix it up, but that didn’t happen quick enough, so I bought my own.
I found this 1969 F-100 on EBay down in Sanders, AX. After a couple weeks of talking and discussing, I bought it /!; have been enjoying it ever since. Here is a picture of the old girl as she sits now.

8710D9A6-EB82-4BC2-A520-950B8C2BBB6D.jpeg

[hdman90]

Last month, I broke down and finally looked at the brakes that had been pulling to the drivers side. Here, come to find out, my front drum shoes were badly cracked, and both front adjuster wires were incorrectly routed, so after replacing the shoes and making sure that the adjusters were properly functioning (and replacing the brake hoses, as they were cracking), I haven’t had many issues since.
It seems like when the shoes are “cold” it still pulls a little, but after braking a few times it goes away. That part still confuses me.

Here’s a picture from one day when I was tearing into the brakes.

CC0B5F97-EE0A-4C23-A37E-5301F244A5E2.jpeg

[jzjames]

They are fun. Keep the mud and salt out of it.

[hdman90]

While giving my brakes attention, I remembered my dad telling me that I should knock the rust off of the cab mounts and coat them with paint so they don’t get much worse... while I was wire wheeling the cab mounts I remembered the dime sized hole in my drivers floor board, and figured I would hit that also, while I was at it...

EECB7905-7C25-4518-BA2B-95EE220007B1.jpeg

As you can see, that dime sized hole has grown substantially! So, I went to town on wire wheeling, coated everything with Rust Reformer, then black paint, then clear coat, then rubberized undercoating paint, just to really seal it up.

0A36657B-4DBB-4BB3-87A5-60B1B5294207.jpeg

DD386835-A321-4359-8BBC-F9BFFC869D9D.jpeg

[hdman90]

Also, here are the cab mounts...

4C01E38F-E7C8-458E-BC0C-323789F39940.jpeg

1F737AC1-DAA9-4817-8358-71B6A729B637.jpeg

And the passenger side floor pan, which still looks fine from the bottom...

D7416F99-C356-483A-A0FE-AA2972E1784F.jpeg

But a driver side floor pan and possibly a cab mount are definitely in my near future.

[popeyes71]

The little imperfections in our trucks all tell a story of where they have been and make them unique. Glad to see are are enjoy that truck!

[hdman90]

Got my plug wires on from IdahoChris! Drove the truck on a 30 minute drive to/from a wedding and it is definitely faster with the yellow wires!

21A78BE0-63F7-4A24-9F55-9AD2C8C1B243.jpeg

However, 10 minutes from home I noticed the lights starting to get dim, then the truck started infrequently cutting out. And 200 yards from home, the truck died and lost all power. My brother in law came and pushed us the rest of the way home. Guess I have some figuring to do... I’ll keep you all posted.

[hfdco4]

Check your ignition switch also look at all your ground wires.

[hdman90]

Had the alternator tested this morning, it tested as bad, and is being repaired! Should be done by the end of the day!

[Idaho Chris]

You were fortunate to break down so close to home. Did you consider going with the 3G alternator upgrade instead of repairing the original?

Got my plug wires on from IdahoChris! Drove the truck on a 30 minute drive to/from a wedding and it is definitely faster with the yellow wires!

I knew you'd be faster with the yellow wires!

[71cc]

I got an almost stand alone wire harness of a 90s truck to do the 3g swap. It saved a lot of work. I think the 3.8 alternator is the one you need. Just get the wire off the truck

[hdman90]

I did think about it when I had figured out that that's what went bad... but at the moment, I am running all original electronics and wiring, so I really don't have a need for a 3G alternator at the moment... However, when the time comes, I will pull one from a junkyard car/truck with the wiring when I'm ready to upgrade the electronics.. but for the time being I know this will suit me just fine!