BAWC Forums

Jeff V. wrote: ↑Sat Oct 25, 2025 8:33 pm We got some decent rain yesterday, so I was finally able to test the new setup out. I'm pretty happy with it. I purposely did some dumb stuff and the system handled it nicely. It's interesting that it cuts out above 60 though. I guess if traction is that big of a problem you shouldn't be driving that fast anyway.

Probably the case I’d bet.

Excellent. Glad to see this mod pan out first try. I feel that never happens. You going to go try it in some mud?

No.

Jeff V. wrote: ↑Mon Oct 27, 2025 10:56 pmNo.

Good point. Wouldn't want to risk it out in the wild.

ChargerX3 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 27, 2025 4:22 pm Excellent. Glad to see this mod pan out first try. I feel that never happens. You going to go try it in some mud?

Jeff V. wrote: ↑Mon Oct 27, 2025 10:56 pmNo.

Yeah it's more of a snow or gravel road system than a mudding system.

What do you guys think of this grille? It's from the special/sport edition I got my interior from.



It wouldn't exactly match my truck since it's magnetic gray and metallic red. But there's an all black version from the XLT sport that I could repaint the bars on. I think gloss black and race red could look really good.

I haven't made up my mind on anything. The only other thing I'm considering right now is a gloss black version of my stock grille.

I think the all black, or the black with race red would look good. I think if you put that one on, you'll notice the difference and not be happy.

I like your grill. If you wanted this though couldn’t you just add some vinyl or ford red (of your year) to some slots?


Coop

I definitely wouldn't do the gray and metallic red. Those are expensive anyway. There's one on eBay right now for $500 + shipping. They're hard to come by. I was just showing it as an example of the overall design.

I've got one of the all black ones on my watch list for $200 + $50 shipping. I'm hoping it drops. That's the one I'd repaint. Kinda sucks since its in Dearborn MI. I'm going to be up there in a few weeks. I could go pick it up and save some money, but still couldn't get it home any cheaper than they could.

The dime a dozen 5 bar grilles don't have the extra little mini bars for the accent color.

We need someone to photoshop this

I like that style of grill best for that body style F150. The only grill I like more is the STX grill from a few years after.

It's past time to deal with something that doesn't involve wiring. I need to get my F250 headliner done so I can swap it in when I do the cab harness swap. There's 3 things that need to happen for that.

1: Fill in the gap for the lane keeping camera that I don't have.



For that, we need a little CAD. Cardboard aided design.



I used that to cut out a piece of thin ABS plastic sheet. I heated it up to match the curve of the headliner and then fiberglassed it in place.



I hope this turns out OK. Either the kit I used was way old, or I didn't use enough hardner. The instructions say it dries in 20 minutes, but it's still slightly tacky several hours later. Oh well. I don't need it to be that strong. It just needs to bridge the gap and support the new fabric.

2: Fix the damage by one of the coat hooks above the rear window. It's almost like someone slit the thing with a razoe blade or something.



The fix? More CAD and more fiberglass.



3: Replace the fabric. It's gonna be black. The old stuff came off very clean. I don't even know how it was held on there to begin with. There's no obvious adhesive. There's the fiberglass inner structure, a white cotton-like layer on both sides, and then the foam backed fabric.





I'm going to add another layer of fiberglass to the repair areas and then start working on getting the new fabric installed.

I'm also planning to go pay a visit to this thing.

https://row52.com/Vehicle/Index/1FTEW1EGXGKD75974

3.5 Ecoboost swap?

No. I don't think the engine is even there. Nobody would give that up to Pick N Pull for $200 if the engine was still in it.

I want something far dumber. I'm kinda shocked. That thing is a Lariat, despite what the PnP/Row52 label says.

Are you grabbing the fender logos? If so that's awesome

No. Those wouldn't even be worth the trip. I'd get black ones off eBay like I already did with my XL badges.

Looks like it did have the engine in it. When I got there the whole front of the frame had been cut off and was sitting on the ground.

If there was any hope that I still had some shreds of sanity and common sense remaining, let those hopes die peacefully. For I have completely lost it.





I don't think that's how it's supposed to come out.

Converting to automatic climate control?

I have a button. The button must work.

In all seriousness, I don't even know for sure if I'm going to install it. It'll depend heavily on what it'll cost to have the AC system recharged and whether I want to take the risk of messing with it at all. But for ~$65 I wasn't going to pass it up.