My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

Question for you Jim since you're in the NE...

What does this Ebay ad show you for shipping charges if any?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wheel-15x8-Fits-85-91-BRONCO-114899/292424196485?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

Rembrant wrote

Question for you Jim since you're in the NE...

What does this Ebay ad show you for shipping charges if any?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wheel-15x8-Fits-85-91-BRONCO-114899/292424196485?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

From FL to Stamford, CT 06902 was $80 and can have it by the 14th
Dave ----

Yeah, that's insanity.

I can remember buying a set of four American Racing white wagon wheels for under $150 delivered.

But I'm old..

FuzzFace2 wrote

From FL to Stamford, CT 06902 was $80 and can have it by the 14th
Dave ----

Holy smokes, 80 bucks shipping within the US. That seems steep. Ok, thanks Dave. I was just curious if it was showing Free Shipping within the US like they often do. If the seller selects that they will ONLY sell/ship within the US, it doesn't show me any shipping, nor does it let me calculate it because my location disqualifies me. I can ship big stuff to Maine, but I can't always see what the shipping estimates are.

Thanks!

Rembrant wrote

FuzzFace2 wrote

From FL to Stamford, CT 06902 was $80 and can have it by the 14th
Dave ----

Holy smokes, 80 bucks shipping within the US. That seems steep. Ok, thanks Dave. I was just curious if it was showing Free Shipping within the US like they often do. If the seller selects that they will ONLY sell/ship within the US, it doesn't show me any shipping, nor does it let me calculate it because my location disqualifies me. I can ship big stuff to Maine, but I can't always see what the shipping estimates are.

Thanks!

It did give a calculator button just had to enter the zip code.
Are you saying you don't even see the calc button? That is strange, I can see if you put in your zip it kicking you back out or "not able to ship to".
That zip was for my home when I lived in CT.
I would say if you see the calc button to enter the zip for the town in ME to see what it would be.

I also though the $80 was a bit much too.
Dave ----

FuzzFace2 wrote

Are you saying you don't even see the calc button? That is strange, I can see if you put in your zip it kicking you back out or "not able to ship to".

Sorry, my bad...if I go down into the shipping calculator area and enter the zip code I use (04619), then yes, it worked. DUH. I guess it depends on how the seller sets up the ad/auction. If they are free shipping, they just show free shipping. Sometimes it will auto-calculate shipping to Canada (if the seller has it enabled to do so). If they have it set up so that they only wish to sell/ship in the US, then it usually shows me that the item is not available in your country or may not be available in your country.

Rembrant wrote

FuzzFace2 wrote

Are you saying you don't even see the calc button? That is strange, I can see if you put in your zip it kicking you back out or "not able to ship to".

Sorry, my bad...if I go down into the shipping calculator area and enter the zip code I use (04619), then yes, it worked. DUH. I guess it depends on how the seller sets up the ad/auction. If they are free shipping, they just show free shipping. Sometimes it will auto-calculate shipping to Canada (if the seller has it enabled to do so). If they have it set up so that they only wish to sell/ship in the US, then it usually shows me that the item is not available in your country or may not be available in your country.

I had to look for it myself and I wanted to see where it was coming from when I seen the button.
Dave ----

I was digging through some old pictures and found this one I forgot that I had. This was in the spring of 2018 when my little 302 was being set-up on the dyno for break-in and tuning. The drill was left running in place for probably 20 minutes while the guys finished getting the engine all set up and plug wires installed, etc.

That’s a neat picture to have!

grumpin wrote

That’s a neat picture to have!

Well it was a pretty cool day overall for a gear head. This is what the engine looked like when I arrived. I walked in the dyno room and the drill was buzzing away pumping oil all by itself. The main reason I did this was for the break-in, and warranty purposes. This way they can prove that it doesn't leak or make any noises, etc. They had it all dialed in just right so it started right away without hesitation and went straight into cam break-in mode.

Dyno pulls also put good pressure on the rings and get them seated right away before the cylinders get a chance to glaze.

In the days before nikasil and micro finishes in cylinders "Break it in fast, and it will BE fast" was a very real thing.

ArdWrknTrk wrote

Dyno pulls also put good pressure on the rings and get them seated right away before the cylinders get a chance to glaze.

In the days before nikasil and micro finishes in cylinders "Break it in fast, and it will BE fast" was a very real thing.

Good point!

My main issue was that I had to install the engine by myself in my little attached garage, and doing a 20 minute break-in was not going to be a very good thing to do inside my house (Ask my wife...lol). Also, I had all the trust in the world in the engine shop, but having them beat on it for a day or a half a day would make sure there were no immediate bugs or bad seals, etc. The full day cost me $500 bucks, and by the time it was all installed and set-up, it basically turned into a little over a half a day of actual tuning. After it was broken in, we probably did a dozen or 15 pulls on it.

At the end of the day it was very much worth it to me even for peace of mind, but I also got to learn quite a bit that day, and it was fun anyway.

I agree that a dyno break-in is a good thing to do.  Dad's engine was broken in on Tim's dyno and I got to witness it.  WOW!!!

I wish I could have done the same for Big Blue's engine, but I'd had the heads done locally since I expected the original engine to be solid, so it wasn't going to work to have a short block broken in.  

So I had the old Bullnose out for her first proper spring run, even if it was a bit early. She got a bath, and some fresh 2020 gasoline. Now, I have a problem that wasn't present when I put the truck away in the fall.

It's now hard to start when hot. All I did over the winter if you recall was fix some vacuum leaks and reset the carb tuning, etc. But, I also installed my new distributor and set the initial timing to the recommended 17deg BTDC.

So is the lazy starting a result of the timing being too far advanced? Or bad starter? (It is 36 years old after all). It literally sounded like the starter didn't have enough power to crank the engine, but it whirled over fine when it was cold.

Cory, if you have DSII, it should retard at least 3* while cranking.

17* initial seems pretty high for me, but I didn't build your engine or curve your distributor.

Do you have a reflective heat shield between headers and starter?

There's no reason to cook it intentionally.

ArdWrknTrk wrote

Do you have a reflective heat shield between headers and starter?

There's no reason to cook it intentionally.

I do not, no. They are only the shorty headers that fit in place of the stock manifolds, so they're no closer to the starter than the manifold was, although I'm sure they radiate more heat. However...with ambient temps being only 41-42 degrees, I can't imagine that it was getting that hot under the hood? Sitting in traffic in the middle of summer, sure, but now barely above freezing? In any case, it is a good point...

I'm pretty sure Scott @ Parkland told me to set it at 17deg BTDC, but maybe that is just a touch too far. I guess it's free to dial it back and see what happens. I was hoping to not have to touch it since it is running so well now.

I agree that 17 seems like a lot.  But, if Scotty recommended that then that's what I would try initially.  However, your description sure seems like the engine isn't liking it during starting.

In my experience not all DS-II ignition systems have the retard feature built in.  When I got Big Blue it started quickly when cold but struggled when hot.  So I tried a different ignition box and it started easily hot.  I swapped back and it struggled.  And that box said Motorcraft on it.  

If you have another box you might try that.  If not, or if it doesn't help, then dial the initial timing back a few degrees and see if that helps.

Gary...good point. You reminded me that I did also swap out the DSII box. The one that is installed now is one of the Motorcraft ones from Amazon...but who knows if it is the same?

I think I'll try the old factory DSII box and see how it works. Thanks for the heads up.

I've got the NAPA/Echlin TP-40 box in 'Lil Red.

I know it retards.