'98 XLT 5.0 Frame Off Restoration

[obie]

Alright, got some great news and some crap news today.

First, the good:

Frame, suspension, and axles all PORd up. Looks great, with the nice satin low-gloss finish. Course, it's still gonna be bedlined on the frame and the axles and suspension with be rattle can browned, but still. Looks great.

And now the bad:

There is no way in hell that could be considered "Santa Fe Brown" because that looks like burnt orange and pink to me. Granted, my phone really washed the color out, and it's darker in person, but still - Not Brown! At All! And that pisses me off because I just ordered another gallon of the same color today. So tomorrow I'll cancel that, try to send this other gallon and a half kit back, and find another bedliner company that has the color I want.

Anyone know a company that has a good product with a lot of colors? If not, I may just have to go with flat black bedliner, and not do my original dark brown underbody/camo upperbody scheme.

 

[obie]

Got some paint put on over the weekend, feels like forever since I've had any time to myself to get anything done.

Nothing much, but at least I'm moving forward again. I also decided that I'm going to get the bumpers fixed up and get the chrome painted over. It'll actually cost less to get them done than it would cost just to get a new import front and rear bumper, and a heck of a lot less than new Ford bumpers. I'm not sure if I want to bedline them or just have them match the basecoat.

It's going to be so nice not to have rust falling all over me when I do my SAS/SOA

 

[Jason c]

Got some paint put on over the weekend, feels like forever since I've had any time to myself to get anything done.

Nothing much, but at least I'm moving forward again. I also decided that I'm going to get the bumpers fixed up and get the chrome painted over. It'll actually cost less to get them done than it would cost just to get a new import front and rear bumper, and a heck of a lot less than new Ford bumpers. I'm not sure if I want to bedline them or just have them match the basecoat.

It's going to be so nice not to have rust falling all over me when I do my SAS/SOA

Did you POR15 the hitch? POR15 doesn't play well with the UV rays from the sun.

 

[obie]

Another thing to post about today!

Got the topcoat done, this is a sandy tan color, a couple shades darker than the base coat. Didn't turn out too bad, but there are a few spots I'll need to sand down and redo. Minor runs and some bubbling. Though honestly, they're hidden once it's installed so maybe I'll just leave them alone and enjoy the fact that something is finally done, even if it is just a hitch.

Did you POR15 the hitch? POR15 doesn't play well with the UV rays from the sun.

I actually used the KBS Coatings RustSeal for this one. I learned my lessons from the earlier fender screw up and this turned out much better. Even if I didn't topcoat it though, I wouldn't be too worried about it. POR and the KBS stuff just lose their appearance from UV rays; the rust protection itself isn't affected. Plus, I don't think the hitch would be exposed all that much.

 

[hans the boss]

nice!!! are you going to lift the body some inches then would be fine . nice reading of this build ups...

 

[98'Exploder]

Any Plans on Replacing the Body Mounts? i really want to see what your engine looks like with the painted parts replaced. i wish i had somewhere to tear my truck apart, if i tried to put my truck on jackstands for more than one day code enforcement rolls by and the threatens with a ticket.

 

[obie]

nice!!! are you going to lift the body some inches then would be fine . nice reading of this build ups...

Possibly. I thought about doing a 3" body lift, but I don't want to lose functionality in my bumpers or get custom brackets to mount my grill guard back up.

Any Plans on Replacing the Body Mounts? i really want to see what your engine looks like with the painted parts replaced. i wish i had somewhere to tear my truck apart, if i tried to put my truck on jackstands for more than one day code enforcement rolls by and the threatens with a ticket.

I'll be replacing the body mount bushings with the Daystar body mount kit. All the steels will be repainted and reused, but I'm going to be running longer bolts with locknuts, rather than threaded sleeves.

As far as engine paint... I'm going to be holding off on that until the engine finally quits on me. It still runs perfect, and aside from dropping the oil pan to clean it and change a leaky gasket, and new valve covers and gaskets, there's no reason to start tearing parts off just to slap some paint on it. Not like the block will get rusted through in the next few years. I'd love to be able to do it, but I'm also needing to kinda curb back on the amount of money I'm spending just to get her back in shape.

I'm excited for Monday! If the weather holds up, the body will be in the shop and then I get the quote... not looking forward to that part. Hopefully it won't cost too much more though, I've been giving these guys payments in advance and they've only used a little over a thousand of the the three grand I've paid so far.

 

[Jstcruz]

Looks good so far! I cant wait to see it back together!

 

[obie]

A bit delayed, but I stopped by Friday to check out the body that just got back.

Good news is that there wasn't really any new bad spots found, and that everything is fixable. Bad news is that the quote was $4,500 worst case to get the rust repaired, the POR applied, and underbody bedliner done. A donor body from the desert would be cheaper, but I honestly don't want to. And it would still need to be cleaned up and rust proofed. Cosmetic surgery is one thing, but I don't want half my wife replaced. So, I'm biting the bullet and draining half my savings to get the body work, custom cowl hood, paint, and re-assembly done. But hey, still cheaper than a new truck...

The guy was really excited when I was telling him my plan for the paint job, and he told me that he would love to do it. It also doesn't make much sense for me to spend all this money and time to get it back to brand new, and then give it a mediocre paint job. He said they can use some industrial strength base and clear to give me some really tough and offroad worthy paint.

If all goes well, I'm hoping they can finish within the next three months. This is going to delay my SAS/SOA for at least three or four years though. Also, good news on the insurance front. My company will insure it for whatever the end value comes out to be, albeit at a higher premium. So if some jackass t-bones me, at least I'll have the money to get another EX all camo'd up.

 

[Scott B.]

Don't take any shortcuts. You've put a lot into this - you will not regret doing it right. Sure, it hurts now, but once you're finished and get to drive it, it's all worth it.

 

[ford99_1979]

Well said^^

 

[Jstcruz]

^^^ VERY well said!

What is your plans on the cowl hood? I've been on a cowl hood kick lately. I cant wait to see whats next!

 

[obie]

I'm not 100% sure about how wide I want the cowl to be. I really like the one you and your brother did, but I'd like to go wider. I want more of a beefy look than a muscle car style cowl. There's a member on here that did a cowl on his Sport Trac, but I can't remember his name. I know he had the red one with a Coyote engine in it though. I'm thinking either similar to that, or even wider to where it follows the lines already on the hood. But I think really wide, and with a two inch rise, would give it a very aggressive front end. Fully functional too, of course.

 

[Jstcruz]

I'm not 100% sure about how wide I want the cowl to be. I really like the one you and your brother did, but I'd like to go wider. I want more of a beefy look than a muscle car style cowl. There's a member on here that did a cowl on his Sport Trac, but I can't remember his name. I know he had the red one with a Coyote engine in it though. I'm thinking either similar to that, or even wider to where it follows the lines already on the hood. But I think really wide, and with a two inch rise, would give it a very aggressive front end. Fully functional too, of course.

Iknow that truck your talking about. That looks great. I can see what you want to do looking really good on a lifted truck. I cant wait to see it!

 

[obie]

Oh, I can't wait either. The trails have really been calling my name lately. Though your signature kinda makes me feel like a lady, haha.

 

[Jstcruz]

Oh, I can't wait either. The trails have really been calling my name lately. Though your signature kinda makes me feel like a lady, haha.

I wouldnt feel like that after doing what you are doing lol

 

[hans the boss]

that will be wery nice in the end do you only put this paint on the bedliner or with some heat first for the paint or just rollin it on the metal looks to be an god product tell us more about this when you have try it ..good luck ..

 

[obie]

The bedliner goes on after the POR15 paint is applied. With both of those coatings on there the chances that rust will come back is next to nil, especially with proper care, washes, and using Salt-X in the winter to provide an extra layer of protection. The engine and trans will probably go looooooong before the body ever rots again. It also provides good protection against rocks and logs that I'm gonna be rolling over, haha.

 

[hans the boss]

okey thats sounds very nice and how do you think its working to apply on the frame did you use an brush only or something else??

i saw that you was drilling of the front of your truck is this only some spotwelds or many ?? and do i have to think about something when i do this job??

i am thinking of to do the same as you did and i am consulting you for some idea how to do it the best way if you have some answers..

by the way you doing an good job looks forward for more infos later and some nice pics..

wery good job congrats to you

 

[obie]

Most of it was applied with a regular paint brush, but the forward third of the frame where it's fully boxed was done with a spray gun and radiator brush. The POR is self leveling so you can't even see the brush marks when it dries.

I think there were about 30 or so spotwelds that I had to drill for the radiator support. You don't need to remove that to pull the body off or to pull the engine. I took it out because it was rusted far too badly to save.

And to be honest, I didn't originally want to do it this way, but taking it to a good body shop or restoration shop is the best way. Unless you're awesome at bodywork and paint, and know how to weld, then you might have an easier time. I figured out pretty early into this that I didn't have the bodywork skills to make it look even halfway decent. If this was a vehicle I didn't care about so much, I probably would have just slapped some sheet metal on and called it a day.