Big Ugly goes to rehab

Dirtleg

Full Access Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2007
Posts
1,319
Reaction score
577
Location
Cloverdale VA
Looks like fun....

I've never used POR15 but I'd strip it all just because I was there.

Yep that's what I did. Glad I did too because as I was stripping the paint it was obvious there were tons of spots that were in the beginning stages of starting to rust but were still invisible under the paint.

Stripped floor.
You must be registered for see images attach
 

Dirtleg

Full Access Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2007
Posts
1,319
Reaction score
577
Location
Cloverdale VA
And one more thing I wanted to mention.

Earlier after installing the moose pump I had asked about how to get the boost up and was concerned about my high EGT temps.

To update this a little. When cruising at 65-70 my RPM's are around 17-1800. At this point I can hit 6 psi pretty easily. I have not tried putting a load on it and running the rpms up in a lower gear to see what kind of boost/egt's are there when working it properly.

I'm thinking my earlier concerns were for nothing.

But it has me thinking of ways to get more cfm from the turbo at that rpm as it would be nice to be able to use all the fuel available.
 

Thewespaul

Supporting Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2015
Posts
8,796
Reaction score
8,058
Location
Bulverde, Texas
And one more thing I wanted to mention.

Earlier after installing the moose pump I had asked about how to get the boost up and was concerned about my high EGT temps.

To update this a little. When cruising at 65-70 my RPM's are around 17-1800. At this point I can hit 6 psi pretty easily. I have not tried putting a load on it and running the rpms up in a lower gear to see what kind of boost/egt's are there when working it properly.

I'm thinking my earlier concerns were for nothing.

But it has me thinking of ways to get more cfm from the turbo at that rpm as it would be nice to be able to use all the fuel available.
If you are getting that amount of boost at that low of an rpm, you have a healthy turbo and no significant boost leaks. Hopefully this next week I will have my ducks in a line to announce some new turbo upgrades.
 

laserjock

Almost there...
Supporting Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2012
Posts
8,841
Reaction score
3,129
Location
Maryland
Second. You need to be in the fuel and rpm to get boost. I don’t make anymore than that just freeway cruising. Honestly have to be pulling a mountain to see much more than that for any period of time.
 

hesutton

The Anti-Anderson
Supporting Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2005
Posts
8,200
Reaction score
738
Location
Bowling Green, KY
Wow Greg, she's coming along very nicely. Seems I've missed a bunch of updates since the summer. Been busier than ****** on half-price Tuesdays.

Hard to know how significant your boost is until she loaded. I had a significant improvement in my EGT's after timing the IP and the most improvement when swapping to the Moose turbo.

Can't wait to see all the changes this summer in TN.

Heath
 

Alwaysreadyrob

2002 7.3 POWERSTROKE 4x4
Joined
Aug 31, 2012
Posts
425
Reaction score
79
Location
OAKHURST CA
Old IDI's never die...they just need someone to take care of them and they will live forever !
I plan on doing a full restore on mine one piece at a time, with a few mods of course and leaving it to my son....he is 7 now so I have time lol !
 

Dirtleg

Full Access Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2007
Posts
1,319
Reaction score
577
Location
Cloverdale VA
Old IDI's never die...they just need someone to take care of them and they will live forever !
I plan on doing a full restore on mine one piece at a time, with a few mods of course and leaving it to my son....he is 7 now so I have time lol !

My 12 year old has already laid claim to mine when I reach the next level.

He's so sentimental........
 

Dirtleg

Full Access Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2007
Posts
1,319
Reaction score
577
Location
Cloverdale VA
So not really an update in the typical sense but just wanted to share that since stripping the truck floor on Saturday we have had 3 full days of rain.

I opened the door of the truck yesterday while it was raining (Had 2 minor surgical procedures this week so wasn't up and about prior to) and discovered that the entire interior of the truck was dry.

So that's great news as. I'll coat the floor and then do a drive in a rainstorm to confirm there's no water entry before moving on to the next step.
 

Danielle

No, it's not finished
Supporting Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2011
Posts
2,130
Reaction score
983
Location
Dirty Jersey
Hope you heal up properly before diving back to work. Love watching this progress!!

Sent from my VS501 using Tapatalk
 

Dirtleg

Full Access Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2007
Posts
1,319
Reaction score
577
Location
Cloverdale VA
Progress. I'm finally feeling recovered enough to do some more work on Big Ugly.

First I removed the remaining interior trim, seatbelts, and back carpet. Then I took the door seals off. After that I took the interior wiring retainers out of the retainer holes and wrapped the wiring around the steering wheel to keep it out of the way.

Then it was more abrasive wheel and wire wheel to clean off the now exposed rear area of the cab.
After a bit of this I reached this point.
You must be registered for see images attach


Then it was time to get all the debris out of the cab. A couple of moist microfiber towels did a good job of picking up the crap.

Since I'm using POR15 it was time to use the degreaser. Instructions say to spray on and keep metal wet for 10-15 minutes. So 15 minutes later I start rinsing out the degreaser. Took a while. Literally another 15 minutes before all the degreaser was gone.

Let that dry and then followed up with the etching metal prep. Soaked for another 15 minutes with that and then another round of rinsing. Once that was dry I went to Lowes and picked up a proper Niosh approved respirator. Very important to have that item for safety.

I should note that in the areas where the water was puddling up (cracks and crevices mainly) I used a hair dryer to dry these areas thoroughly.

So at long last it's time to apply the POR15. Respirator and gloves on putting down the POR. Got the first coat done and that's where I'm at waiting on it to cure enough for the 2nd coat.

As it sits right now.
You must be registered for see images attach


Looking good so far although I was a bit sloppy and have a few runs. No issue as it'll be covered up when I'm finished.
 

Dirtleg

Full Access Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2007
Posts
1,319
Reaction score
577
Location
Cloverdale VA
Okay so today was more progress.

The POR15 was hardened and I obviously did something wrong as there were blister holes in it all over the place and foaming in some places. Most of it is fine but I am concerned about a few places and will strip the coating and redo those areas.

My guess is that I didn't get to it early enough in the day and as the sun moved behind the house the dew was starting to set in while I was applying the POR15.

All that aside, I pushed forward on the seat install.

First I worked on getting the seat frames mounted in the cab. These seats came out of a 2003 F150 so they are in no way close to being a direct fit. It also became apparent to me that the floor of these trucks is in no way symmetrical from the drivers to the passenger side. The 03' F150 was symmetrical so both sides will require different modifications to fit.

Anyway I started by mocking up the location of the seat frames in the cab. The rear holes ended up at 13 1/2 inches from the back wall in relation to the upper part of the wall below the window where it protrudes out. I guess I should measure from the lower section of the wall but was working from a dimension I worked up with the seat in the rearmost setting.

I had to cut one of the mounting tabs off the oassenger seat frame to even get to the mockup stage. It will get welded back on in a different place. Additionally some of the side frame on the inside of the passenger seat frame had to be trimmed. I took off more than I needed to but didn't realize it at the time.

Here are the seat frames as I first found some balance between the 2.
You must be registered for see images attach


A little more measuring, checking dimensions and making sure things were centered in the cab and and a couple holes were drilled. After that heights were set to account for the sound deadening and carpet thickness. Then the second rear holes for each frame were drilled in the floor.

Here are the frames as they sit now. Both rear bolts are installed at this point.
You must be registered for see images attach


So unfortunately all of the front mounting brackets for both sides will need to be cut off, refit and welded back on. Not a big deal really just more work.

At least it's all coming together fairly easily.
 

Dirtleg

Full Access Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2007
Posts
1,319
Reaction score
577
Location
Cloverdale VA
Next update.

Monday I had my last small surgical procedure (I call my dermatologist Kamal (his name) the butcher). So since I can't lift anything heavy, like a seat, right now I shifted to other things.

Interior trim. As I'm sure many of you have experienced the interior trim panels sometimes crack and break. In my case both of the A pillar panels were broken at the dash and the drivers side was also broken where it meets the rear cab corner trim.

Here is a broken end.
You must be registered for see images attach


Now since these trim pieces are ABS you can simply use acetone to melt them back together.

I held the 2 pieces together and with a q-tip lighty applied the Acetone to the backside along the crack. Capillary action of the acetone will pull it through to the front side. After about 4 passes it was fused back together quite well. Unfortnately I had my finger kind of in the way on the front and it tried to fuse that too leaving a good fingerprint in the plastic. Oops.
You must be registered for see images attach


I was shocked at how strong just that little bit of acetone made this connection.

I reattached to 2 dash ends the same way (minus fingerprint). Here is one of them.
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach


You can see where the acetone discolored the plastic while it was fusing back together.

Since these had broken obviously they could break again so reinforcement was in order. I used a little glass matt and fiberglass resin to reinforce to critical area.
You must be registered for see images attach


I did the same to the other side and also to the rear attachment points of the A pillar-door trim.

All of these along with the cab trim and kick panels are getting a repaint before being reinstalled so hopefilly the repairs won't be visible when finished.
 
Last edited:

Forum statistics

Threads
91,217
Posts
1,128,479
Members
24,044
Latest member
Mnlx
Top