BigBrother-84

Gary, please tell Janey that Christine and I want to cheer her on.

OK, I was figuring something like this, but wasn't sure. What about a pin like this? No need to completely block the other extremity, just fold the security between the backrest and the seat, so it will stay in place and the pin won't fall with vibrations.

Wow! Impressive! Well, Gary, I understand that the future owner of Big Blue will need a truck to carry all its documentation?

Jim, considering all the dummy stupid things that I have said on this forum, I have absolutely no right to blame you about anything, Sir!

Maybe a Canadian specific part? You know, to match our nation flag... Like our VCL door label, which are red too.

Guys, Shame on me. It is obvious that my memory is unreliable. I am talking nonsense. I should check before asserting facts that turn out to be false. SO, long story short, here is the truth (verified ): 1 — Big Bro came without a tach, and its original cluster was with the non -tach printed circuit. I am confused and I apologize to have said that it came with the "tach" printed circuit. 2 — In the past, (long time ago) I bought at my local salvage yard an identical cluster, to grab some gauges that were in better shape. 3 — 5-6 years ago, I bought (really cheap) at my local salvage another cluster, this one equipped with a tach and a km/h speedometer+tripometer, that I kept in stock. Last year, I decided to install it in Big Bro, but had no chance: • The tripo was defect and from time to time jammed, stripping the speedo cable plastic gears. • The tach was burned out. I tried to fix it, with no luck. 4 — So, I finally bought on eBay a complete cluster, with tach (and mph tripo, which is not useful here...). I cleaned out the tach, painted its needle, and equipped this tach cluster with a non-tripo lens and with: • NOS gauges • NOS km/h speedo (no tripo) • LED lights. BUT, about the printed circuit color that Jim pointed out, I am missing something. The four clusters I have (including the one installed in Big Bro, the last below) are red. No-Tach part number is E1TF-10C956-A: W/Tach part number is E1TF-10C956-B:

A picture of the passenger’s seat would be nice, helpful for figuring how a removable pin could fit. I looked around for a diagram of these seats and didn’t find any.

I did add a tach in Big Brother. Be aware that the 1980 instrument cluster wiring is different from the 1981-86. Thanks to Gary, I learned that the biggest difference between 1980 and 1981-86 is in connector wiring. So, if you’re going to change the entire cluster, be careful to chose a 1981-86 model for your 1981 truck. But maybe you’ll be lucky as I was: Big Brother’s cluster already had the full printed circuit, ready for a tach. If your present cluster has the non-tach printed circuit, you’ll need a complete replacement tach cluster OR to buy a new printed circuit. Bronco Graveyard is selling new replacement cluster printed circuits. Here are examples of non-tach and full printed circuits:

Wow! Argentina is far from here (Quebec, Canada), and its Patagonia region even more! Bullnoses enthusiasts are everywhere! Welcome!

Not sure I understand, and how it looks… Is there a way to replace the bolt with a removable pin? Easier and faster than unbolting each time you need to tilt the passenger’s seat. My concern is about security. A sitting person wont retain the stock behind the seat, pushing forward in case of sudden braking. Or while going down a pitch trail in Moab. In my opinion, the seat should always be locked to not allow free tilting.

Gary, Jim - Pardon my ignorance, but I didn't know that there was a 100A 1G existing... I thought that our only choices were between 1G, 2G (to avoid), 3G (a bit complicated for dummies like me) and One Wire (to avoid too). The goal of a «Big Brother to 3G» journey would be to see how much simplified could be the 3G upgrade process. How close to "Plug'nPlay" it could be... But maybe this is, as Andy Williams sang, an Impossible Dream? Gary, I just sent an email to you. I'll be out for two days (activity work+fun with my employees, we rent a chalet for the gang), so don't be surprised if do not answer before the weekend. Have to go, they wait for me!

You are completely right, Jim! Like you did once say, I’m a bit «fickle?» As you caught it, I want to keep Big Bro as close as “possible” to its 1984 original state. But for some comfort add-ons, like a Speed Control, a backup camera, hands free bluetooth, a tonneau cover, an inverter… and more electrical power, I can show flexibility and become open-minded (just a bit, not too much ). It will be a spring project. So don’t hold your breath. I’ll take the rest of winter time to prepare all I need and collect all the required puzzle pieces, don’t want to stall the truck too long. I’ll need your help, Jim. And “y’all”! So, watch for a coming soon specific thread for this new “lazzy mechanic journey”.

Same non-equipped as Big Bro was. No radio. No a/c. No powered windows. No accessories. Nothing else than bare bone F-350 Brute.

Simply perfect! Any dummy as Jeff can now post a YouTube link with success! Good idea. Should I add a new topic in Projects/Big Brother’s transformation thread? Or just start a specific thread for this 1G to 3G upgrade? What do you think?

On my iPhone 13 Mini, portait: And if flipped in landscape, it gives just a “zoomed” view of the vertical one (and I cannot unzoom):

Gary, that's exactly the recipe I can understand and apply. «If clear for Jeff, good for all». However, I have a suggestion. Keep in mind that not everyone navigates on the Forum from a big screen. I mostly go from my iPhone, and I'm probably not the only one... From a computer, your instructions appear like this: So, it makes sense when you write "The code to the right..." It appears on the right. But from a narrow screen, such a phone, your instructions appear this way: Now, what's supposed to appear "on the right" goes in fact to the page bottom. Not a big deal, we understand that the page doesn't appear as it should on a “normal” screen, when read on our phone screen. But it would be easier to follow if you just add a short phrase before the final expected result. Something like "The modified embedded YouTube code should look like this:" The page could appear like this, on a computer: and on a narrow phone:

You can fix the pict orientation directly on your phone, in two steps: 1- Edit the picture by forcing a rotation (even if it appears correctly on your phone screen, just rotate it and save it). 2- Edit it again, rotating it back in the right position, and save it. Now, if you post this “modified” picture, the forum will show it in the right orientation.

If able to find a nice tach with no chance to grab a good cluster, Bronco Graveyard is selling new replacement flex ribbons. And lens too! But presently these latter are out of stock (without tripo)…

Jim is it possible that some clusters already have the right flex? I don't remember that I had to modify the cluster in order to add a tach in Big Brother.

Larry, how is it going with your rad issue? Did you finally receive the replacement one?

I think that Skiatook show dates are always around mid-September. Gary can confirm that. If so, I propose that an “East Bullnose Show” event should happen in spring time, to not spoil Gary’s Skiatook one. Gary - Is it possible that Skiatook Truck Show is about to spawn a few Bull meetings offspring?

Ok Gary, I’ll take a look and come back soon. «If clear for Jeff, good for all».

Would be really nice! Hoping for you that it will work.

Hi Rick, happy to see your doing well! I understand your concern about Lucille. Rick, it is obvious that this guy doesn’t share your stress, taking pictures of his 77000$ truck in the middle of the highway. BYW, is a 1996 considered a «classic» truck?