Hello All - 1986 F150, 2wd, base trim, 300 engine, 4 speed

You can remove the 87A connector entirely from the relay socket.
Just use a thin pointed tool from the wire side to wedge the metal contact away from the plastic retainer tab of the shell.

GREAT tip Jim. I removed that wire in the relay harness and caulked the hole it left. Thanks.

My next project is addressing the issue of leaves and such dropping into the cowl, now that I have the seam in there re-sealed. Of course I have the 86-style cowl with the large slits rather than the pinholes. I'm going to check out a junk yard here soon to see if I can find the newer style cover. If not, I have a roll of fine black aluminum porch screening.  I also have a role of much thicker steel mesh fencing.

Trying to figure out two things...

The fine mesh I think will look better, because it it black and a finer mesh, and I think it will be easier to permanently attach because it is much lighter weight than the steel mesh fencing. On the other hand, the steel fencing is much more rigid and likely less prone to sagging.  I suppose I could spray prime and paint the steel mesh black first.

The bigger issue I have is, whatever I choose, how I attach it. I know this has been debated before but I haven't seen any really good way. I have some JB Weld. Could I just dab some JB Weld through the screen and against the bottom of the cowl cover at various points? Again, concerned about sagging with this method, and if it sags, having to constantly clean leaves out that get stuck under the cowl slats but above the screen/fencing. What do y'all think?

i understand this issue very well however, "to me"this is nothing more than a hack. I don't see me doing this at any time. if I were a purist, I would just say park in a garage. but I'm a realist and we work with our trucks. we use them in all types of weather. the " pin hole" upgrade is by far the best and the only change I would consider. that being said nothing looks as good as the slots (opinion). I have both and prefer the traditional look but practicality wins!

Ok I think I’ve made up my mind I’m going to try to find an 87-91 cowl. There are a couple blue 87-91 trucks at a pull-a-part near a buddy of mine. He’s going to scope them out this weekend.

Also, Gary, I finally got around to testing the vacuum pressures on my Carter YFA carb. Manifold is 18-19 at idle. Ported is 0 at idle (as expected) and it does hit 21 around 2500 rpm.

Then I'm wrong, and glad of it.  You can use that ported vacuum for your advance.