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Old School Cool

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ArdWrknTrk

Re: Old School Cool

Administrator

You might consider a dark grey.
It won't have all the contrast of black, but it won't look as dirty either.

Black hurricanes and brake dust were an eyesore for me way back in the day.

Jim,
Lil'Red is a '87 F250 HD, 4.10's, 1356 4x4, Zf-5, 3G, PMGR, Saginaw PS, desmogged with a Holley 80508 and Performer intake.
Too much other stuff to mention.

Jacob84

Re: Old School Cool

I thought about a dark grey and I do like it. It is a little different which is cool to me. The brake dust is one of the reasons I want to paint the wheels. That raw aluminum absorbs everything and in order to clean them you got to use some serious cleaner that leaves the wheels in almost a white color. Then you gotta polish them to make them look aluminum again. I just don’t have the time to do that every two weeks

Jacob,
84 F150 base model, New 95 roller 351w with 5.0 ho roller cam, Summit Racing Max EFI 500, and other toys, MSD DIS, C6 trans, 9 inch rear 3.50, reg cab, long bed, 4x4. 33s, 2.5" Rough Country lift.

Jacob84

Re: Old School Cool

Got the original grille put back in the truck and a steering stabilizer put on. Seems to help a little. Tomorrow my new taillights, cowl seal, headlight harness, and a transfer case tailshaft bushing (hopefully the correct one) will arrive tomorrow

That’ll keep me busy for a little bit. I've been having to drive a lot at night, especially since it gets dark so early. This has reminded how terrible our stock headlights are. I think it’s a good idea to go ahead and upgrade them. After searching the forum I’ve decided on a set of Hella H4 conversion headlights. I’ll also pick up some of their high-wattage bulbs and try them out too.

There is one more thing on my lighting wishlist. I like being able to see the sides of the road because where I am there are a lot of deer. I’ve nearly hit two over this past weekend. I had a thought to add some lights to the bumper like Dave/FuzzFace2 did to his. A clean, flush fit. But instead of the lights facing forward they would follow the angle of the outer 1 foot sections of the bumper so they would kick the light outward at a slight angle. Now I wouldn’t drive with them on all the time because I don’t want to blind other people but wire them to come on with the high beams. Arkansas is pretty relaxed (at least where I’m at) about lights so I’m not worried about the legal stuff.

Maybe something like this? Or something else clean-ish looking. Like anything I plan it’s subject to change. I’d even be open to some round flood or fog lights mounted on top of the bumper or on the grille

ArdWrknTrk

Re: Old School Cool

Administrator

Are those rock crawler lights?
Do you know what their focus is?

I'm just asking because there's really no reason to light up the treetops, and you might even find that distracting.
Not that a deer in your path isn't distracting...
I find that I usually see their eyes long before I see them.

Jim,
Lil'Red is a '87 F250 HD, 4.10's, 1356 4x4, Zf-5, 3G, PMGR, Saginaw PS, desmogged with a Holley 80508 and Performer intake.
Too much other stuff to mention.

Gary Lewis

Re: Old School Cool

Administrator

In reply to this post by Jacob84

I think the Hellas and the harness will make a big difference, but I am anxious to see what you think about that change.

On the lights for the bumper, I'm with Jim. I think you want lights that have a focus and throw the light well down the road - or the sides thereof. I like the shape of the ones you show, but don't know anything about the beam pattern they produce.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Dad's: '81 F150 Ranger XLT 4x4: Down for restomod: Full-roller "stroked 351M" w/Trick Flow heads & intake, EEC-V SEFI/E4OD/3.50 gears w/Kevlar clutches
Blue: 2015 F150 Platinum 4x4 SuperCrew wearing Blue Jeans & sporting a 3.5L EB & Max Tow
Big Blue: 1985 F250HD 4x4: 460/ZF5/3.55's, D60 w/Ox locker & 10.25 Sterling/Trutrac, Blue Top & Borgeson, & EEC-V MAF/SEFI

Jacob84

Re: Old School Cool

Those lights are a sort of generic light. I’ve seen different brands carry them like Rough Country, Hella, various Amazon sellers, etc. Those in the pic are the Rough Country ones and they are a 90 degree flood pattern. If I remember correctly I can find that same style light from a different distributor that has a different beam pattern such as a spot beam.

The headlight upgrade may solve a lot of my problems though. I’ll probably do that first before I buy any other light. The headlights are pretty terrible. It’ll get better with the relay harness but I know I’ll want more.

There also seems to be two different styles of the Hella conversion lights. There are the SAE/DOT ones and the ECE/E Code?. Not sure which is better. Like I said, Arkansas is pretty relaxed on lights. As long as you’re not blinding other drivers. I come across guys running with their light bars as high beams and most of them are real good about turning them off quickly when they see you so they don’t blind you.

Gary Lewis

Re: Old School Cool

Administrator

From what I've read the E-code lights are the better ones. But don't miss this post in the Lighting Upgrades thread. Danial Stern provided a link to the ones he recommended at the time.

Which reminds me, I sent him an email recently but haven't gotten a response. I'll go back to him, again, for an update.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

ArdWrknTrk

Re: Old School Cool

Administrator

In reply to this post by Jacob84

E-code have a truly horizontal clip on dim and a bigger flare plus sharper focus on high.

With a 90° pattern I could see those lights on my Bricknose bumper, because it tucks in towards the bottom, but I don't know about on a Bullnose bumper.

I'm fairly amazed at how much field of view I get with the Empreza fog lights I have mounted flush in the bumper.

Jim,
Lil'Red is a '87 F250 HD, 4.10's, 1356 4x4, Zf-5, 3G, PMGR, Saginaw PS, desmogged with a Holley 80508 and Performer intake.
Too much other stuff to mention.

Jacob84

Re: Old School Cool

Gary- Yes sir, I’ve been perusing that thread quite a bit, a lot of good info. And I think with Daniel saying the Hellas are decent I’ll probably go with them. Unless the others really are worth the extra money. I can be persuaded.

Jim- So maybe something is a little bent but my bumper looks like it actually tilts up on the ends....may not be the best to mount them on the ends unless I can shim them to sit level or downwards. I’ll do some more looking later when I have a little time. It’s the original bumper, it’s got a few dings and a little wavy lol

FuzzFace2

Re: Old School Cool

If a deer wants to kill its self no light will stop it!
I almost got a 6 to 8 point buck this morning with the work truck, 80K TG I was only doing 30 MPH, limit was 35 but it was 430 and dark no street lights. He also jumped out of the brush when I was going around a curve.

As for the head lights may I ask you to try the relay kit with the light bulbs you have now 1 or 2 dark runs just to see the difference.
Then add the H4 bulbs so you / we know what the difference is between them all is.

I think I ran the standard halogen sealed bulbs with out the relays and they were ok.
I then added the relays and it was night and day. I like the pattern on both low & high beams and puts light down the road where I like it. It puts my 02 Durango head lights to shame.

I would like to see what you think between the 3 different setups is all.
Dave ----

Dave G.
81 F100 flare side 300 six / AA OD / NP435 / 2.75 gear
http://cars.grantskingdom1.com/index.php/1980-Ford-F100?page=1
81 F100 style side 300 six/SROD parts truck -RIP
http://cars.grantskingdom1.com/index.php/1981-Ford-F100

Jacob84

Re: Old School Cool

You ain’t kidding, Dave. I’m genuinely surprised I haven’t hit one yet, I’ve come very very close (or one hit me). Reminds me of a time when my dad and I were coming back from town and on a four lane highway. Came up a hill and a herd, quite literally a herd, of deer ran across the highway during rush hour. There was carnage everywhere. A very nice, freshly redone, 80s dump truck got it’s front end destroyed. All sorts of various cars and trucks were damaged. Had one hit our truck and bounce into the bed then proceeded to bounce/jump out. It was a rough day to be a motorist or a deer.

I’d be happy to give y’all feedback on what it looks like. I took some pictures tonight. Although, they are pretty poor quality due to my camera not being able to focus. Maybe from not having a bright enough light source lol. Anyways, I’ll give everyone some good feedback so others can reference this to make a good decision. I’ll try to take some more “driver view” pictures so y’all can see what it looks like from inside the truck on each upgrade.

1) So everything is stock right now, I have a good baseline and pictures for that. I think Paul Revere had more light from his lantern when he was warning everyone that the British were coming.

2) Next will be the upgraded harness.

3) I’ll then install the Hella ECE H4 conversion headlights with their standard bulb

4) I will install Hella’s high wattage bulbs 90w/130w (they’re cheap so might as well)

I’ll take pictures from at the same place so that it’ll be a more even comparison. Looking forward to this. If there’s any other tests within reason or pictures y’all would like to see, let me know!

Gary Lewis

Re: Old School Cool

Administrator

The problem you are going to have is that the camera will adjust to make the lighting look the same. That's what cameras do - they make every scene have the same amount of light by adjusting the shutter speed, lens opening, and ISO setting - the film speed.

So if you are using a real camera the trick is to go into your baseline pics and determine what shutter speed, f-stop (lens opening), and ISO rating it used on those pics. Then put the camera in Manual mode and dial those settings in. That way if you have more lighting on the next pic it'll look brighter.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Jacob84

Re: Old School Cool

Ahhh, that makes sense. I’ll try to fiddle with the camera we got or come up with a different way to measure things other than “it’s brighter”. Open to suggestions

ArdWrknTrk

Re: Old School Cool

Administrator

I'm not sure what kind of phone you have, but there are many photo apps that have a manual mode where you can lock the ISO and F-stop.

While that might result in a washed out image with brighter lights it will be representative.

Jim,
Lil'Red is a '87 F250 HD, 4.10's, 1356 4x4, Zf-5, 3G, PMGR, Saginaw PS, desmogged with a Holley 80508 and Performer intake.
Too much other stuff to mention.

Gary Lewis

Re: Old School Cool

Administrator

Jim - That's exactly what I was going to say. I don't have an experience with any of those apps because my shop camera lets me take full control of it. But if I didn't have it I'd try one of those apps.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Jacob84

Re: Old School Cool

So I got a different camera app on my phone that will let me take pictures the way y’all described. That’s gonna be nice

My family did thanksgiving a couple weeks ago so I worked on the truck today. I got a lot done. Replaced a u-joint, tail housing bushing and seal, added the upgraded headlight harness, put in new taillights (nice and shiny now), rerouted some vacuum lines, greased a couple things, and fiddled around some with the ignition timing.

The truck shakes a little less violently at speed but it’s far from good. I’m gonna go over the front end again. I’m also curious about the rear end. I know it needs to be rebuilt or a new third member put in but I wonder if that would make the truck shake going down the road? It has a ton of slack in it. The front end has been rebuilt with Moog components and I have a steering stabilizer, but something could still be out of whack. Could be something with the lift but I’ve been keeping a close eye on it. The plot thickens. Hope all of y’all had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Gary Lewis

Re: Old School Cool

Administrator

Have you checked the driveshaft? I've seen worn splines in the shaft cause quite a bit of shaking with certain throttle settings. So does it matter if you are coasting or on the gas or off?

As for checking the driveshaft, try to push the splined joint sideways. It shouldn't move, but if it does you may have a problem.

And, how much did the headlight harness help?

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Jacob84

Re: Old School Cool

I’m 99% sure the driveshaft is okay, although I’m gonna look over it again, maybe it’s bent a little? Don’t know how it would be but I’ve also bent an axle flange before and didn’t know how it happened. It’s a solid piece with a slip yoke into the transfer case. Although the front shaft has a slip joint built in and it’s wore out, but I rarely roll down the road with the hubs locked.

I’ve tried replicating it but I can’t seem to find a repeating factor other than it gets worse with speed and I may have another thudding/shake when going around curves on the highway. Or that one may be the same vibration just intensified going around curves. I may hit the road with a notepad and write down everything I feel. I’m gonna try to get out there today and put my hands everything and see if I can find anything loose.

As for the headlight harness, Dave said earlier, it is a night and day difference. I’d highly recommend anyone to do that upgrade. It is much brighter. I got some good pics too. In the next couple nights I’ll plug the original harness back in and take some more pics with the same camera settings. I’ll do a big post with all the pictures and my opinion on them. The new Hella ECE lights are on their way and some 130/90w light bulbs as well. Looking forward to this. The one big thing I’m looking forward to is having a more focused light. Although the original sealed beams are much brighter, they are not very focused.

Jacob84

Re: Old School Cool

Did some more investigating into the shudder/shake going on with the truck. I’ve always had a problem with the spindle nuts backing off on the Dana44 front end therefore losing preload on the bearings and having a bunch of play. I periodically lift the wheels off the ground and check for play. I’m at the point now that I could disassemble the hub blindfolded in less than five minutes. I found some play in the passenger side bearing and got that fixed. I also found a little bit of looseness in the front end but I’m still trying to figure out where it’s at.

Here’s where I think the real problem is. I think the worst of it is in the rear. The steering can get a little bit of a shake sometimes but it doesn’t correlate with the severe shudder I get when turning right on the highway. I also noticed the driver side rear axle seal is leaking. Doesn’t surprise me, I can’t keep an axle seal in that rear end. I think with it having so much play in the third member the seals just don’t last like they should. But maybe a bearing is toast. I’ll find out what it is today now that I’ve narrowed it down. I’m ready for the truck to be smooth again lol

ArdWrknTrk

Re: Old School Cool

Administrator

I'm not sure if your 9" will accept the type but 10.25" rears are notorious for wheel seals.
Ford even has a TSB for an upgraded Scottseal type seal, where essentially there is an interlocking inner and outer non-moving lip seal.

So the inner turns with the axle and all relative motion is in the seal itself.
If you don't have these (and can fit them) it is a solution to investigate.

Jim,
Lil'Red is a '87 F250 HD, 4.10's, 1356 4x4, Zf-5, 3G, PMGR, Saginaw PS, desmogged with a Holley 80508 and Performer intake.
Too much other stuff to mention.

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