In addition to good old-fashioned friendly competition, the build-off between Custom Classic Trucks' Gasser-style '72 Ford F-100 and Classic Trucks' new-age retro custom '68 F-100 was conceptualized to provide our readers with a selection of tech features geared to address solutions ranging from getting the most bang from one's buck to cost is no object.
Since our goal of having the '72 ready to roll and attend Rod & Custom's Americruise at the end of June is right around the corner, the low-buck approach not only fits our budget, but it also means we shouldn't have any problem meeting Americruise's deadline. In the January issue of Custom Classic Trucks, we used Mothers' clay bar system to prepare the '72's original paint for a complete detail job that concluded with an application of Mothers' California Gold Carnauba Cleaner Wax. In this segment, we are going to click our F-100's cosmetic appearance up a few more notches with a mix of advanced detailing techniques combined with restoration parts sourced from the fine folks at LMC Truck of Lenexa, Kansas. Not only is LMC Truck a good place to locate parts for someone doing a finicky 100-point restoration or custom job, but they're also a great source for someone who has an older truck they are trying to keep on the road. In the case of our '72 Ford, it's kind of where the two worlds collide.
The first step toward the F-100's facelift was an initial cleaning of the inner fenderwells, underhood, and behind the grille with an application of engine degreaser, followed with a rinsing blast of hot water straight from the tap on the hot-water heater. Next, we used compressed air to blow-dry the areas as well as further the cleaning process. On paper, all this doesn't sound like a lot of work, but in actuality it accounted for a day's worth of labor.
The disassembly process started with removing the headlight bezels with the extraction of four Phillips head screws from each side. From here we located the mounting bolts holding the grille surround by chipping away road tar, caked asphalt, and dried mud with a narrow putty knife. If we were replacing the grille surround instead of restoring it, we could have located all the bolt holes by looking at the new surround. Instead, we had to hunt and dig for each bolt under the muck. Once the grille surround was removed, we were able to access and remove the turn-signal lamp assemblies. Although we had pre-soaked the 1/4-20 nuts securing the turn-signal lamps with Liquid Wrench, two of the studs were beyond penetration and snapped. The last step to stripping the front end was removing the front bumper.
Behind the grille surround,...
Behind the grille surround, there was a lot of exposed rust on the core support. The most efficient and thorough way to correct this was to remove the grille surround to gain access.
A fat sponge soaked in a heavy...
A fat sponge soaked in a heavy concentration of car wash soap worked best to begin the preparation for the paint process.
At first glance, it didn't...
At first glance, it didn't look like anything could help to improve the appearance of the original parts. Notice the deep rust stains on the front valance.
With the front bumper along with everything else out of the way, we moved on to prepping the radiator core support (the exposed rusted area behind the grille) and inner fenderwells to be painted in semi-gloss black spray paint. This entailed yet another stage of degreasing with a car wash sponge and a thick concentration of car wash soap in a 5-gallon plastic bucket. After scrubbing and rinsing the area down with hot water, we used compressed air to accelerate drying. Then we used 150-grit dry sandpaper to sand down the rusted metal and feather out the existing black paint. After the entire area was thoroughly dry-sanded, we used compressed air to blow the area clean, and then moved on to finer grades of sandpaper. This is where we switched to using 220- and 400-grit wet and dry sandpaper dunked in a light concentration of warm soapy water followed with a fresh water rinse, finishing with additional compressed air.
Once we were sure everything under the hood and on the core support was completely dry and free from any contaminants such as oil, it was time to mask the entire area off, blow it clean for the last time, and start spray-painting.
Before we reassembled the front end with the new parts we bought from LMC Truck, we checked to make sure they fit properly. The only snag-and it was a very minor one-was the tips of the lenses' screws on the reproduction turn signals protruded farther than the originals. It was necessary to grind the screw tips down until they would allow the turn-signal lamp assemblies to sit flush into place without interference. Installing the turn-signal assemblies first onto the front valance was the proper order, followed by setting the grille surround into place above the turn-signal assemblies. Next, the headlight bezels were installed, followed by installing the grille inserts, then lastly the front bumper.
Maybe at a later stage in the build-off we'll pull our '72 F-100 all the way down to the frame and dump some big dough into it, but in the meantime, thanks to a good selection of high-quality reproduction parts from LMC Truck mixed in with a few detailing tricks, we've been able to enhance the cosmetic appearance of our trusty '72 to show up in time for Americruise, and do it for some relatively low bucks to boot!
Driving on freshly repaved...
Driving on freshly repaved roads throughout the years had built up a thick layer of asphalt tar that concealed a total of six mounting bolts for the grille surround. A Fillister (flat blade) screwdriver tapped with a plastic-headed mallet was used to knock the asphalt tar loose.
It was a fair amount of work...
It was a fair amount of work to remove the grille surround just to put it back on. If it wasn't for a tight budget at this point, it would have been much easier to buy one of the new '70-72 grille surrounds that LMC lists in their catalog.
A wire brush worked well to...
A wire brush worked well to dislodge a mixed brew of dead bugs, rust, and scale from the core support.
The next step was to sand...
The next step was to sand everywhere. Low-gloss black spray paint would be applied with a sheet of 150-grit dry sandpaper.
If there ever was a miracle...
If there ever was a miracle product for detailing, it's Super-Fine #0000 steel wool. We applied cleaner wax with a chunk of #0000 to remove the rust stains from the '72's original Tampico Yellow paint job.
The only drawback to using...
The only drawback to using Super-Fine steel wool is that it leaves tiny splinters of steel that will rust like a champ, leaving itty-bitty rust spots everywhere if the area isn't blown clean with compressed air afterward.
It's amazing how much overspray...
It's amazing how much overspray can come out of a little can of spray paint. We thoroughly covered the '72 with masking paper to protect the finish from a ton of little black dots landing on it.
Incredible describes the before...
Incredible describes the before and after results of repainting the truck's underhood and core support.
With the grille surround removed,...
With the grille surround removed, it was much easier to detail hard-to-see areas. A combination of warm water along with metal polish was used in conjunction with Super-Fine steel wool.
A pre-assembly check revealed...
A pre-assembly check revealed the tips of the screws on the turn-signal lamp assemblies extended too far, preventing a proper fit.
We used a bench grinder to...
We used a bench grinder to grind the screw tips down.
Before reinstalling the grille...
Before reinstalling the grille surround, we used masking tape to protect the turn-signal lamps from getting scratched by the grille surround as it was pushed into place.
It was time-consuming but...
It was time-consuming but worth the effort to mask the grille surround off and repaint the areas that were originally semi-gloss black. Also note that it was easier to mask the grille surround with it bolted back into place.
To achieve a clean edge, we...
To achieve a clean edge, we used 3M blue plastic fine-line masking tape instead of crepe masking tape that has a tendency to allow the paint to "creep."
Stopping as soon as coverage...
Stopping as soon as coverage was achieved produced a perfect edge replicating the look of original.
It is interesting to note...
It is interesting to note that 427 is stamped into the '72's core support. The next time you spot a '67-72 F-100, check it out and see if it has an engine displacement stamped into it.
Before installing the '72...
Before installing the '72 F-100 grille inserts from LMC, it was necessary to check that the mounting tabs on the grille surround aligned perfectly. This means the holes in the mounting tabs could be viewed directly behind the mounting holes provided in the grille inserts. Failure to do this step can result in breaking the grille insert.
The replacement bumper from...
The replacement bumper from LMC had some of the best chrome plating we've seen in a long time and bolted into place perfectly. We used Tripoli on a bench grinder-mounted buffing wheel to polish the original Ford stainless steel capped carriage (bumper) bolts.
Our original headlight bezels...
Our original headlight bezels were pretty beat up. The LMC replacements came with new mounting screws and fit onto the original grille surround without a problem. Little improvements like this added up to a whole new look for our build-off entry's front end.