My 1971 highboy build, the sequel!

[basketcase0302]

="69Highboy"Yes, the bushings are Prothane poly bushings. Amazingly, most of that wiring was for a camper so I only had to disconnect it from a "live" oem wire and pull it out. Right now I'm trying to figure out why my rear running lights don't come on and why my brake lights don't work if my running lights are supposed to be on. I'm guessing there's a wire crossed somewhere that's responsible for both, the only question is where is that somewhere?

Check the relay adjacent to the glove box area (A in this diagram), most guys forget about it.

[69Highboy]

Due to family visiting and me scrambling to get bodywork done on the '69, Yellabelly has just been sitting. But, I finally remembered to get a picture of it with the new bed on it!

[69Highboy]

Albeit a very poor-resolution picture, I realize now that I'm looking at it on a computer screen and not my phone. I'm remembering why I wanted to get the step bumper mounted up, the top of the bed rails are roughly 4.5-5 feet off of the ground and the bed floor is a good 2.5-3 feet off the ground so I have to get a bit of a running start to get in the bed of the truck.

[69Highboy]

In between working on Old Red and a quickie surgery I've been getting a bit of bodywork done on the Yella truck. I haven't poked at the wiring yet, though. Getting the bed painted and then re-installing the tool boxes, headache rack, fuel tank, jerry can brackets, rear bumper, and tailgate is a higher priority. I'm kind of worried about all this red silicone I spotted up on the engine today. Hopefully it isn't indicative of a hillbilly fix.

[69Highboy]

Hmm, now that I'm looking at it, it looks like someone added a dipstick to the oil pan and used silicone to seal around the tube.

[basketcase0302]

="69Highboy"Hmm, now that I'm looking at it, it looks like someone added a dipstick to the oil pan and used silicone to seal around the tube.

Sadly that's factory OEM oil pan/dipstick configuration, (the rivets are a dead giveaway) that I've also had issues with over the years.
Might be the only real fix is to pull the pan, (yeah we all know how easy that is right) and mig weld the riveted plate and dipstick?
I abandoned the one I had on my early Bronco 302 in favor of a timing cover that had the dipstick tube from a later engine.

Edit, the bed is looking nice!

[69Highboy]

="69Highboy"Hmm, now that I'm looking at it, it looks like someone added a dipstick to the oil pan and used silicone to seal around the tube.

Sadly that's factory OEM oil pan/dipstick configuration, (the rivets are a dead giveaway) that I've also had issues with over the years.
Might be the only real fix is to pull the pan, (yeah we all know how easy that is right) and mig weld the riveted plate and dipstick?
I abandoned the one I had on my early Bronco 302 in favor of a timing cover that had the dipstick tube from a later engine.

Edit, the bed is looking nice!

I have a neighbor who is an artist with a welder, so I may explore that route when I replace the throwout bearing and (probably) do the head gaskets. As of right now, though, the only leak on the truck is at the yoke on the front end, so I don't think it will hurt to leave it alone for a little. Plus, I need to focus on finishing my brother's truck so I can take over the shop bay it's occupied for the past two and a half years(!) for my truck. If my dad never gets used to it not having one of his kid's projects in it, he won't complain as much when my truck's in there!

[basketcase0302]

Getting older ...(forget things).

I also remembered that most of those with the riveted oil dipstick in the pan will have a set of threads where the dipstick threads into. There's a good chance if you can pry the old silicone away from it and somehow get it cleaned you might just be able to replace the "O ring" that seals the dipstick into the pan that most used.

Or plan ahead and get another oil pan for if/when the engine is pulled or raised enough to change the pan.
Good progress for sure considering you're working outside!

[69Highboy]

Up till now, unless I'm swapping body parts I have been working inside in the other bay of the shop, but the truck has to be moved out every time my dad wants to work on a tractor or his truck. So, if my brother's truck leaves the one bay I will be able to leave my truck in that bay while I intermittently work on it and my dad will always have an open bay for him to work in. Also, it actually rained a bit last night and I forgot to move my brother's primed tailgate into the shop and I couldn't move my truck out of the weather, so I'm gonna be doing a bit of drying and hustling to get my bed and his tailgate ready for paint ASAP. If all goes well, they'll both get painted later today.

[69Highboy]

All did not go well, school and other projects got in the way. But, the bed was re-primed this afternoon and is awaiting wet sanding, then paint. The plan is to wetsand the whole bed/tailgate/toolbox lid then paint the inner lips of the bed, where the tailgate mounts, the sides and back of the tailgate, and the inside of the toolbox lid. Then I'll install the tailgate and toolbox lid and my brother will shoot the bedsides and the outer faces of the tailgate and toolbox simultaneously, so there won't be variations in the color.

[hfdco4]

That oil pan is hard to come by now as it is a rear sump and only F250 4x4's got them. As for fixing it, I have seen a lot of guys remove the rivets and install bolts with gaskets. Replacing that o-ring is a great idea too!

[69Highboy]

Lots of things have been happening, I'll try to update this soon. For now, I see about 4 different variations for the throwout bearing, all of which supposedly fit my truck. Can anyone here tell me a brand/part # combo for a throwout bearing that will fit a 1971 F250 4x4 with a 4-speed NP435 and 360 FE combo?

[hfdco4]

Jeff's Bronco Graveyard has these two.

https://shop.broncograveyard.com/Timken ... -OEALw_wcB

https://shop.broncograveyard.com/Timken ... GJEALw_wcB

Either one of these will work.

[69Highboy]

Well, I guess it's time for my big update that I promised. The bed got a rough coat of paint so the truck could get stored outside, then things stalled for awhile while I worked on my brother's truck. Then, my older brother decided that we would take the Yella truck to pick up some tire chains and spare tires from the guy I got the truck from. In a mad, frantic Friday evening I ran all the taillight wiring, re-hooked up the tail lights, and mounted the rear bumper so my brother could test drive it. (He got to test drive it because he's better at driving and stopping sketchy old vehicles). The passenger side front brake wanted to lock up, so he backed it off some which fixed it long enough to go to the guy's place and come home, then I got to drive the truck to work and come home. I did a massive burnout after stopping on a hill, but aside from that it went well. A few days later, however, while I was at a neighbor's the pass. front brake locked up again and I noticed that the tire was trying to work its way off the axle! We backed the brake off again, cleaned a ton of grease out of the brake area, and put on the spare as the other rim's lug holes were trashed. I've ordered all new front brake parts as well as rear reflectors, the bedside rear lights, and a few misc interior bits and I need to pull the fuel gauge from a spare instrument cluster as mine is dead. So, now I'm getting some other projects and schoolwork taken care off while I wait for parts to show up. Here's a pic of the truck with the painted bed and a pic of the first load the truck's hauled for me. Which reminds me, in addition to two spare tires and some snow chains the p.o. gave me the windscreen that was on the truck when he bought it, a spare rear window with some vintage "Thrush" and "Dick Cepek" stickers on it, and a bunch of his old logging gear.

[69Highboy]

One quick thing I forgot, does anyone on here have a spare lower mount for the Delbar mirrors that are on the truck? The lower plastic bit is missing on the one side and I can't find a replacement one anywhere online.