Have you ever noticed how once a project truck hits the road progress slows down-or comes to a complete halt-or maybe even takes a few steps backwards? That's the way it was with this F-1. Purchased as a driver already equipped with a fuel injected small-block Ford, AOD, 8.8 rear, and a Mustang II frontend, the truck just needed a few finishing touches and some TLC to be primo-instead it just got driven for a decade. Despite its rough edges it was fun to drive-but enough is enough. When more and more springs started poking through the seat, the occasional drip of water down the dash when driving in the winter rain turned to a steady stream and the summertime temperature in the cab was roughly the same as under the hood, it was time for action.
The initial steps in our plan were to strip the interior, repair a severely hacked transmission cover, then add some insulation and carpet.
Fortunately, other than the transmission cover, the F-1s floor was solid so it was simply a matter of redoing the damage from a poorly executed floor shifter installation (we're going to switch to a column mounted gear selector). Once that was done we could insulate-for that we chose LizardSkin ceramic insulation. A water-based composition of acrylic binders with air-filled insulating/reflective and sound-absorbing particles, LizardSkin reduces engine and solar heat transfer by 25-30 degrees or more and noise by 10-12 decibels or more. In addition it protects surfaces from moisture and corrosion-we really liked that part because this is an everyday driver that's exposed to the elements so preventing rust is an added bonus.
It's suggested that the ceramic insulation be applied .040 inch (40 mils) thick. Applying .020 inch on the outside of the floor and .020 inch on the inside works well, however in our case spraying the bottom of the cab wasn't an option, so the entire film thickness was applied to the inside surfaces.
When it comes to determining the amount of LizardSkin required is simple enough-divide the number of square feet to be coated by 25 and that's how many gallons will be needed. In our case we would need a little less approximately two gallons.
With the transmission tunnel patched and reinstalled, the insulation shot and cured, the next step was to install the carpet kit from Blue Oval Truck Parts. Pretty much a no-brainer, we laid the carpet out for a trial installation-it fit so well that we pulled it out, shot some spray can adhesive around the edges, in the middle of the floor where our feet will be and in those areas where the carpet had to conform to a reverse curve (like next to the trans tunnel) then dropped it back in place.
Before we wrapped up this portion of our interior update we bolted down a new Lokar Midnite Series Eliminator floor mount throttle pedal and added a matching brake pedal pad. We've still got plenty to do. Next time we'll show how to install new windshield and rear window glass rubber and how to finish off an affordable interior.
 Tex Smith has been driving...  Tex Smith has been driving this F-1 for years and the time has finally come for some updates. We started by cleaning up the interior, which was obviously overdue. |  Hardly chic, but it was utilitarian....  Hardly chic, but it was utilitarian. Here the rotted carpet has been removed and the underdash gauges are on the way out. The broken down seat and the ugly steering column are on the hit list as well. |  Before any cutting and welding...  Before any cutting and welding was done on the transmission tunnel it was screwed to a scrap piece of plywood to preserve its shape. It may have been ugly, but it did fit. |
 Over the years the transmission...  Over the years the transmission tunnel has been hacked and patched a number of times. Fortunately the rest of the floor was untouched and pristine. |  It's not unusual for patches...  It's not unusual for patches such as this one to be attached with pop rivets, removing those that were still in place was simply a matter of drilling them out. |  We began the repair process...  We began the repair process by tack welding the cover together where we could. We then checked the fit to make sure the transmission cleared. |