April 25, 2002: Date of purchase; due to brake problems (likely a master cylinder leak), the drive home was interesting. Taillights do not work, previous owner suggested a possible fuseable link somewhere. Truck has not been registered or inspected in two years, so a good bit needs to be done before it's legal. Straightened steering wheel (was mounted sideways for viewing the tachometer). Pictures at home

April 30, 2002: Traced wires for tail lights, found corroded connection at the headlight switch. Sanded contact, replaced connector on wire. Also replaced several bulbs and the hood pins, removed tachometer. One step closer to being inspectable! It appears that it has been partially rewired at least once in its lifetime, and would probably benefit from a complete rewiring job with new fuseblock. Noticed a very slow transmission leak, which confirms previous suspicion. Overall, frame looks reasonable and is not excessively rusted. Muffler needs new strap, will likely replace the muffler soon anyway. Fortunately, Liz purchased a small welding kit recently, and she's itching to try it out.

May 1, 2002: Texas inspection regulations are available online, so it was easy to find out everything that I need to do before attempting an inspection. I was relieved to find that interior door panels are not a requirement, so Liz won't have to make new ones out of chicken wire and paper mache. Personally, I'm tempted to upholster the entire cab with shag carpet. I will definitely need to go through the inspection checklist this week to make sure we'll pass next week. Of primary concern are steering and braking. While the master cylinder will be replaced by then, I'm not about the brake shoe condition. If the inspector so chooses, the amount of play in the steering can be considered. The steering has a good bit of play and may be a problem.

May 2, 2002: Bought a Haynes manual, just for the sake of having it. The Chilton and Haynes books tend to address the same tasks differently, so sometimes it's good to have both on hand. Replacement door panels from a salvage yard will cost about $35 each, which is almost 1/4 the price of the truck. Alternatives under consideration: shag carpetting, chickenwire + paper mache, and heavy canvas + snaps. I'm leaning toward the heavy canvas despite the potential damage from installing the snaps. The doors will be replaced in the future anyway. I'm also thinking that Liz might want to go at the front with an airbrush and give it either flames or teeth like a P-40B Tiger Shark.

May 3, 2002: Installed rebuilt master cylinder, no issues.

May 4, 2002: Bled rear brakes with no issues; front bleeder screws are frozen stiff and partially stripped, will likely have it done at the shop up the street. May attempt it with vice grips first. Also, acquired a new oil fill cap/filter/thingie and investigated how to remove the broken oil dipstick. The fluid dripping from underneath may be as dark as motor oil, but it leaves a deep red stain, so it's definitely transmission fluid. Most of the loose and broken vacuum hoses under the hood belong to the former emissions control system.

May 5, 2002: Drove around a parking lot in reverse to adjust the rear brakes. Installed license plate light, purchased a new side-view mirror. Once installed, the truck should be inspectable.

May 6, 2002: New mirror, while being a Ford replacement mirror, does not fit the door well. It needs quite a bit of bending to fit, and even then, it won't look right. I exchanged it for a generic van/truck mirror, and it appears to fit very well. It's a huge mirror for the truck, but the tripod mount looks pretty good on a pickup, and it certainly gives the required 200ft of visibility. May 9, 2002: Installed van mirror, inflated tires, ready for inspection.

May 10, 2002: Almost passed inspection, but forgot to check the horn. Blown fuse replaced, and inspection sticker was secured.

May 12, 2002: Ordered some naval jelly for rust removal in hopes of salvaging the hood, right fender, and tailgate. No other body panel is worth rescuing. I'm especially concerned about the cab, as it has some very severe rust and will have to be replaced, probably at great expense. I plan to sand/treat existing rust on non-salvageable panels and prime to prevent further deterioration, as exterior work will come last. Need to rebuild the transmission next month, then attack the engine. The lack of compression in cyl 7 is troubling, but shouldn't be too much of a problem. Replacement of the rear brakes and all remaining hoses / lines is scheduled for Saturday, depending on my free time.

July 1, 2002: Serious leak from the transmission, appears to be the torque converter of all things. Some oil leaking from the pan, not bad. Biggest problem is the torque converter.

July 5, 2002: Purchased salvaged C6 transmission + torque converter. Will replace torque converter and keep the transmission around as a spare.

July 6, 2002: Replaced torque converter. Should have purchased a new pan gasket and filter and done that while under there. Also painted the ugly red rims black and put on the hub covers. Current jackstands just aren't tall enough for the truck, and it lacks a good jack.

July 21, 2002: Purchased new jackstands, new jack, and various tools to prepare for replacing the oilpan. The dipstick is broken off, making for a fun weekend.

Aug 23, 2002: Priced interior door panels at $35/each from Bronco Salvage, same source as the transmission. Should probably just wire brush and goof-off the black glue and live with the doors as is for a while.

Sep 09, 2002: Lots of strange orange cleaner, naval jelly, and primer to keep the floorboards from slowly going away. POR-15 is on order, and will be fun to paint in! Current plan is to POR-15 the entire floor and probably the ceiling/roof interior, recover the seat, then install door panels. I wanted to wait for the POR-15 to arrive, but I felt that something needed to be done ASAP, and I had a spare day to waste on the truck. When the POR-15 arrives, I'll sand out most of the primer.

Photos showing floorboard before derusting and priming here.