1990 F150 Rescue

[SeattleStroke]

Here she is! Ain't she a beauty? Its a 1990 F150 short bed 2wd. She has been sitting for over 10 years. My grandpa bought her new in 1990. He drove it until he bought his Dodge diesel in 1999. Then he just parked it. I am buying it from my uncle for $500. It has a fuel injected 4.9l inline six with a 5 speed manual with 90k on them. The same engine UPS used in their trucks for many many years. According to what I have read online, it should last forever. The body is actually in really good shape. There is NO rust! There is one corner of the back of the bed that is dented, but other than that and the twisted rear bumper, it should clean up pretty good for a $500 barn find! The interior is like new, even the seat, which is shocking. There is a strip of duct tape across the dash though, not sure why yet. Of course the real question will be what type of damage has been caused by all of the sitting around. I am the most worried about the fuel injection system and the injectors themselves. The good news is parts are cheap! Some nice wheels, maybe a 2" lowering, a bumpin system, and I will be ready to cruise!
Do you have any advise for getting her going again?
My plan is to spray some wd40 in the cylinders and let it sit for a few days, then turn the engine over by hand to make sure its not seized. The oil looks really good. I will of course replace ALL the fluids including brake. Then make sure all brake pins and wheel cylinders are free to move.
Replace tires and maybe wheels.
Pressure test cooling system.
Drain fuel from tanks (it has 2).
Replace fuel, air and oil filter.
Replace plugs and wires.
Paint job.
A little detailing
Anything else you can think of, or any advise on the best way to accomplish any of the above would be appreciated!

[351fifty]

not bad at all, i have a 95, those inline 6's will literally run for ever on anything almost lol, but as for getting it going, just do your plugs wires and points, maybe the ignition possibly, and a battery i bet it fires the first time, mite need some good fuel or some st-bil added, very tough motors

[E-Man]

I own a '93 F-150 with the fuel injected inline six 4.9 that I use as a beater truck. What an awesome engine. I bought mine from a local city utilities department 2 years ago with 245k miles on the clock and it still runs like new.

To give you an example of how indestructible that engine is, last year my wife had to drive it to work as her car was down. When she came home and turned into the driveway I heard the engine ticking all the way from the backyard, then I noticed oil all over the tailgate...uh oh. Long story short, she drove it for probably 10-20 miles with only 1 quart of oil in the engine (oil pressure sensor blew out of the motor while she was driving it and she had no idea) . I replaced the sensor, put five more quarts into the engine, and after a few miles the ticking went away and she's been running great ever since. And I use this truck hard. It has even towed my 24x8.5 enclosed car hauler that weighs about 9,000 pounds loaded.

[Ryan Rønning]

Nice score and good luck.

[SeattleStroke]

Thanks guys!
I am looking forward to getting started on this project. I just have to sell my current DD first (E320 Mercedes).
I haven't been able to find a source for a new rear bumper yet. All I have found are the universal step bumpers. I would like a smooth style with no step. Any ideas? Anyone know if a different generation one would fit? I may just go with a rolled pan instead.

[SeattleStroke]

Been working on the barn find for a little while now.

First problem was my Uncle could not find the keys. So I had to remove ignition the tumbler and replace it. Harder than I thought, but I managed. There is a button on the dash that is wired direct to the starter solenoid. I at first thought it was because the solenoid was bad. But now I realize its because the ignition switch is screwed up. When you turn it as far as it will go, it is only on "run." There is no spring loaded part that engages the starter. So I am going to have to figure out how to fix that.

Next was getting it to turn over. I pulled the plugs and soaked the cylinders with liquid wrench. I then turned it over easily with a standard ratchet on the crank.

So then I put the plugs back in and hit the starter. It turned over great, but did not fire. So I sprayed some ether in and it fired right up. But it would only run on ether. It was not getting fuel. It was obvious the in tank fuel pumps were not running. So I did some tests and found my voltage was low in the cab. So I replaced the battery ground cable and checked as many electrical connections as I could find. One of the things I find surprising is the quality of the connections. There is no corrosion anywhere. This truck has been under cover, but never indoors. I replaced the fuel pump relay because it was cheap and they are prone to failure. I pulled the front fuel tank and checked the pump. It was bad. But worse was the tank. It was almost full of fuel, but in the gap between where the fuel was and the top was REALLY bad rust. I was pleasantly surprised to find that a new tank was only $103 from the local parts store. The good news is I will need another tank and pump. I did not factor that in to the price of getting it running, but I am not surprised.

I went to the wrecking yard the other day and pulled a headlight assembly, a wing window assembly and a lower front valance. I also bought a really nice tailgate off Craigslist that had matching paint! How often does that happen? All I think I need now to get it road worthy is a rear bumper and tires. Note to self, check brakes!

I have been doing a lot of buying and selling on Craigslist lately and have had mixed results. Overall though, its been very helpful.

So this week I hope to get it drive able. I am picking up my fuel tank tomorrow and hope to have it running soon after (wish me luck).

Once I get it moving, I will post some more pics.

I know this is not a F150 site, but I have not found one yet that interests me.

[97Beast]

Nice project. Gotta give those brick nose obs trucks some love.

[SeattleStroke]

Thanks!

I have always been a fan of these trucks. In there day they were by far the best. I still see a lot of them around, but very few that are nice. My plan is to restore it to close to original condition.

I had a 92 5.0 Mustang for 16 years that was easily the best car I have ever owned (I have owned a LOT of Chevy's). It shares a lot of technology and mechanics with this truck, so I am very familiar with it. I told my Father inlaw this weekend, what I like about this truck is I can work on it, what I don't like about it is I can work on it...

[KDRacing]

Originally Posted by SeattleStroke

I know this is not a F150 site, but I have not found one yet that interests me.

Try F150online.com a great site with a lot of helpful members.. Helped me alot when i had my 150.

[SeattleStroke]

Originally Posted by E-Man

I own a '93 F-150 with the fuel injected inline six 4.9 that I use as a beater truck. What an awesome engine. I bought mine from a local city utilities department 2 years ago with 245k miles on the clock and it still runs like new.

To give you an example of how indestructible that engine is, last year my wife had to drive it to work as her car was down. When she came home and turned into the driveway I heard the engine ticking all the way from the backyard, then I noticed oil all over the tailgate...uh oh. Long story short, she drove it for probably 10-20 miles with only 1 quart of oil in the engine (oil pressure sensor blew out of the motor while she was driving it and she had no idea) . I replaced the sensor, put five more quarts into the engine, and after a few miles the ticking went away and she's been running great ever since. And I use this truck hard. It has even towed my 24x8.5 enclosed car hauler that weighs about 9,000 pounds loaded.

I love that story, thanks for sharing

Been doing some more work on the 150. I put in the new fuel tank and pump and it started right up! What a relief. It runs perfect and I haven't touched any "tune up" items yet. Putting in the tank was not complicated, but it was a pain because I was working underneath it in the dirt. And there was a bit of rust and dirt underneath the truck that would fall in my eyes every time I turned the wrench. Note to self, wear some glasses next time!

I took it for a drive around the property and was impressed by the power and the brakes. Not so much the steering. I have never seen two tie rods with as much play as these. They look seconds away from failure. Possibly why it was parked.

I took a few more "before" pics while I had it out.





After these were taken I replaced the wing window (very easy) and the left headlight assembly I got from the wrecking yard. Who knew there are different lights for different models? Well I do now. Although I am embarrassed to admit it, it was not until the lights were completely installed and I stepped back to look that I noticed there was a chrome ring all the way around the lights on the left, and not so much on the right. Luckily (?) the right side was cracked, so another trip to the wrecking yard later, I had a matching XLT light, a better grill and a center cap for the wheels.

I then rotated the tires and put the spare back up underneath. What a pain that is! I am not a fan of the way you have to lift the wheel, then put the eye bolt through and turn it. I had to have help.

I washed off the first layer of green slime, and vacuumed it out. I have much more cleaning to do.

I plan to replace the drivers door and the rear bumper. The door was bent a long ways backwards, the poorly repaired.

My plan was to remove the plastic bed liner, as I am not a fan of these. But because Grandpa used the truck to haul scrap metal, I am glad it was there. But also because he hauled scrap with it, he welded angle iron to the top of the bed rails. Sigh...

Does anyone know if you can straighten a plastic bed liner? If you look at the right side bed rail, you can see that the liner is bowed up along the top. There is the dent at the back of the bed, but I don't think it would affect the liner. I was thinking maybe I could clamp the liner down and use a heat gun?