68. Nobody likes sanding intricate contours and tight recesses. Spray-on paint stripper is worth its weight in sandpaper. Just spray it on, give it time to work, scrape off the blistered paint, and neutralize with fresh water.
69. Finding the right fastener is easy if you're organized. From bins, to drawers, to jars, keeping nuts and fasteners sorted is worth the time spent sorting. Tackle boxes even have customizable dividers, and are great for adhesives, wire ties, and more.
70. Torque your wheels on in a star-shapped pattern and re-torque them after about 100 miles.
71. Got a funky smell in your truck that won't go away? Lay a 10- or 15-pound bag of charcoal briquettes flat on the carpet or seats and open it by cutting an "X" in the bag to expose the charcoal to air. The charcoal will absorb the nasty smells safely.
72. Hot glue isn't just for arts and crafts. Higher-melt glue is actually really tough stuff, but you won't find the right gun at a craft store. Use super glue or a clamp to hold the piece you're working on and apply the hot glue. It will be set in seconds, unlike epoxy, which takes hours.
73. Steel wool gets into areas sandpaper can't. Use it to give aluminum parts a low-gloss, brushed look.
74. On a budget? Paint your truck using factory colors, you can get the colors matched easily if it's not a custom color.
75. Use Liquid Electrical Tape instead of shrink wrap or tape when you can, it won't unravel and it's air and water tight.
76. When block-sanding your truck, use the longest sanding block possible for large panels, it will keep the panels from becoming wavy.
77. A guide coat, a light mist of black spray paint, will help you quickly find low spots when sanding body panels.
78. Fast Orange hand cleaner also gets grease off parts if you don't want to mess with solvents.
79. A short length of 3/8-inch hose will help you thread spark plugs into difficult spots. You'll gain extra reach and you won't be able to cross-thread the plug because you'll only have a little bit of turning force.
80. Another spark plug tip: check the gap before installing them, as they are usually close out of the box, but it's not a sure thing. A spark plug gapper like this one costs about $1 at the counter of most parts stores
81. Factory assembly manuals are one of of the most complete resources you can find for your truck. Swap meets are great places to find them, or there's always eBay.
82. For sanding inside curves, try wrapping sandpaper around a paint roller. Smaller radius? Try a deep socket, each socket has a slightly different diameter.