I still have that tool as well.
I still have that tool as well.
Updates time!
I finally fixed the headlights by returning them to stock. Using the parts I bought before Christmas. Better late than never, right? I also replaced something like 2/3rds of the hardware due to missing/wrong pieces.
Before (bad angle but you get the idea): 
After (better angle for better lights):
I also utilized my rad new Rivnut tool and put a shovel mount on the inside of the bed. I used quick fists for easy access.
I'm gonna be looking for pretty much the same thing here this summer.
What engine? I'm hoping I can find a 300 in that configuration, hopefully in the years that did the 5 speed too
The other big thing I did was install some Anchortrax adjustable tie-downs in the bed. I got these when Holley had a wicked good clearance sale. I got the tracks, and six extra tie-downs for like $40, instead of $100+. These things are great.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I did install a leveling kit (+2" in front) from Desolate Motorsports and a shell. I've posted this picture elsewhere on the forum but I'll put it here too for continuity. I have some 1" zero-rate add-a-leafs to bring the rear up some. It looks slightly saggy to me and I prefer a hair of rake anyway. I just need to find some u-bolts. Turns out that isn't as easy as I thought.
In reply to Antihero (Forum Supporter) :
This has the 5.0. I did see a 1996 Eddie Bauer 4x4 single cab short bed with the 300/5-speed combo here in Portland for sale a little before I got this one. That's a combo i never would have thought was possible.
I'd be ok if a mod wanted to move this to build threads. I don't think this really fits the main forum anymore.
thatsnowinnebago (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to Antihero (Forum Supporter) :
This has the 5.0. I did see a 1996 Eddie Bauer 4x4 single cab short bed with the 300/5-speed combo here in Portland for sale a little before I got this one. That's a combo i never would have thought was possible.
I actually tried to buy one exactly like that. It was beaten hard though and was literally full of bullet holes lol
thatsnowinnebago (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to Antihero (Forum Supporter) :
I did see a 1996 Eddie Bauer 4x4 single cab short bed with the 300/5-speed combo here in Portland for sale a little before I got this one. That's a combo i never would have thought was possible.
Eddie Bauer without a V8 would be pretty rare...
300-6 with the 5sp is hard to beat for an F150. Great combo.
thatsnowinnebago (Forum Supporter) said:Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I did install a leveling kit (+2" in front) from Desolate Motorsports and a shell. I've posted this picture elsewhere on the forum but I'll put it here too for continuity. I have some 1" zero-rate add-a-leafs to bring the rear up some. It looks slightly saggy to me and I prefer a hair of rake anyway. I just need to find some u-bolts. Turns out that isn't as easy as I thought.
I installed those zero-rate add-a-leafs finally. The stance is pretty much perfect now.
This week's project was wiring up my auxiliary fuse box. I used some nice marine grade cable and lugs, a blue sea fuse box, and a marine circuit breaker. I got a heat gun for Christmas and man does it do a great job on heat shrink tubing. I mounted the breaker right by the starter solenoid and ran the cable along the cowl to the auxiliary fuse box bolted to the factory fuse box lid.
Having the fuse box installed is the key for a handful of projects I have lined up: 12v outlets in the bed, lights in the camper, seat heaters, and a HAM radio.
I wrapped up the 12v outlet and camper shell light wiring today. I've been putting this off forever just from a lack of motivation so I'm stoked its finally done. Getting the fuse box installed was a big morale boost.
I ran two cables (10ga and 16ga) in one sheath from the fuse box to the rear, following the same path as the factory harness. I figure Ford's engineers are smarter than me, so I might as well copy them. Running the sheath down the two wires took FOREVER. It looks great now (and should be dead reliable) but what a pain.
No pictures of the actual cable routing, sorry.
Then it was a matter of cutting a hole in the inner bed from Blue Sea's included template, installing rivnuts, and bolting the panel in. I used stainless hardware to keep rust at bay. The panel itself is splash proof and I wanted decent hardware to match.
Don't worry, I smoothed out the cuts with a file and painted the bare metal before bolting the panel in.
I really like the quality of the volt meter's display.
The biggest surprise is that the dome light in the shell actually works! I closed the breaker, hit the switch and it lit right up. I'll be replacing the bulb with an LED soon for brightness and reduced power use.
I forget to mention that I sealed up all the terminals on the back of the panel with some liquid electrical tape. A couple folks here suggested that, so thanks to whoever you are. I did the same to the couple terminals that I couldn't find heat shrink terminals for.
The back of the panel is open to splashes so I wanted some waterproofing. I'm honestly a little surprised Blue Sea specs non-heatshrink terminals.
My wife shamed me into getting rid of the filthy steering wheel cover my truck came with. I knew the factory wheel wasn't in great shape, so I ordered a new cover from Wheelskins. I cut off the old cover and installed the new one this afternoon.
The funny part is that 1995 Ford just covered the base plastic wheel with leather on the fancier trims. They also sent some dude with like a hacksaw or something to make cuts in the wheel to accommodate the seams in the leather. The cuts are laughable. Each is a different depth, and they didn't even clean up the edges. Luckily, the depth of these particular ones is really close to the diameter of paracord. I did have to use just the core for part of two cuts, due to irregular depth. Great QA/QC there, Ford. The masking tape is just to hold the end of the cord before I wrap them in leather.
Now the "fun" part begins...
Step one is stretching the cover, centering it on the wheel, and unwinding the waxed thread:
Step two is to get lacing. This part kinda sucks, as you'd expect. Wheelskins is very clear about the lacing needing to be as tight as possible, and recommends gloves or band-aides on your fingers. Their video shows someone wearing bike gloves, so I grabbed mine and went to work.
two hours passes...
And here is the finished product. It's not perfect, but it's much better than the slip over cover or the worn out factory one.
Truck looks great! The Wheelskins I put on the ZJ when I had it was awesome, maybe the best $11 I've ever spent on aftermarket stuff.
Today's update is one of the bigger (if not the biggest) update for a lifted truck: re-gear and added a LSD. I had to farm this out so there's no photos except for the bill. This officially puts the cost of my mods above the purchase price of the truck itself. A dubious milestone.
You'll notice the "don't be dumb" warning. I get to go yank the front diff and passenger side axle from the front of an OBS F250 now, to complete the job.
I will say my truck drives so much better now with an appropriate ratio in the rear diff. I went from something like a 3.08 to 4.10.
I'm going camping this weekend, so I figured it was time to install a roof rack on my shell, so I have somewhere to hang my awning.
I used these tracks in the 66" flavor, and Thule towers and crossbars I snagged on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. Got them for a total steal: $80 all in. Even came with the keys.
Anyway, I measured a few times, drilled ten holes in my shell, squirted some silicone sealant around each one, and then bolted the tracks down. Pretty straight forward. I fiddled with the towers/towers until everything was lined up, then popped the towers and crossbars off to trim the end caps and drill the bars for my awning mounts. I went extra "fancy" and used 4" shelf brackets. Can't see any reason to try much harder than that. I used the two existing holes on one side to bolt them to the cross bars with some stainless hardware, and had to drill one hole on the other end (and slightly enlarge the existing one) for the awning. Couple coats of spray paint and I was done.
The awning doesn't stick out past the side of the truck, and sits a little lower than the rack itself. Perfect fitment. It's still plenty high to not be a bother when it's in use, even for my 6' self.
Looks good, but I'd consider triangulating the bottom of those brackets back up to the crossbar with some bar stock. Even a very light wind can put a lot of energy into an awning.
In reply to Rodan :
Good idea, thanks. Probably wouldn't be too hard to use the existing bolts to attach that brace.
Update time: my truck has functional 4x4 once again! To recall, I regeared the rear diff to 4.10 and added a torsen. However, the front was still the stock 3.08 ratio. This was clearly a problem. The easy button here is to find an 80-97 4x4 F250 and snag it's front diff, as they have a 4.10 ratio stock. Luckily there's a guy on my local Craigslist who parts out these trucks and he happened to have the whole front axle, hub-to-hub for $100. He even loaded it on a pallet into my truck for me.
I managed to spill a good amount of gear oil in and on my truck while harvesting the diff from the beam. Yay me. It's been a few weeks now and the smell is finally dissipating. I did scrub out the bed with dawn, but I didn't get down behind the bumper.
Next was to actually install the "new" front differential. I didn't get any pictures of the process, as I was working alone. Long story short, the Dana 50 third member literally just bolts in place of the dana 44. So pull the drivers side hub, fight the spindle out of the knuckle, pull the driver's side axle, unbolt the diff, spill gear oil, pop the c-clip off the passenger side axle, then remove the diff. Reverse all that with the dana 50 and you're all set. I also added a nifty little skid plate/bash guard from Desolate Motorsports to the driver's side beam when I bolted the "new"diff in. I figure it's a nice "while-I'm-in-there" sort of thing and it was on sale.
On a related note, I now have a reverse rotation high pinion Dana 44 diff, and a pair of Dana 50/60 manual hubs (with free TTB beams/brakes/swaybar!) for sale. Price: cheap.
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