Gary Lewis

Interesting find, David. Several people have been looking for those. However, this says it has a pre-wired engine harness. But is it for a 300, or a Windsor, or an M-Block or..... And, what ignition system? Or EFI?

I like having the accent color, which is white in your plans, on the roof. But I have to stop and look to remind myself what that's called - Combination Tu-Tone, just as Scott said. Looks good to me.

Yes it is in nice shape - very nice shape. Would be a good way to get into these trucks.

That's interesting. But I think I'd rather have the full plastic headliner that TheScatch is testing.

That's a good looking truck, and deserves to be seen rather than just linked to, so I included it below. So, the first thing is how to post pics here, and that is explained on the Bullnose Forum/Forum FAQ's page in the menu, and then on the Posting Pics tab. But your problem was that the pic was over 1Mb, so I chose Big Size in the resizing menu. As for the EFI question, I think "it depends" is the best answer. A well-tuned carb can do really well in power and MPG, but a good EFI system will always be properly tuned and it is sometimes hard to keep a carb there. Then there's the question of multi-port EFI vs throttle-body. Multi-port is the best as each cylinder gets the correct amount of fuel where a throttle-body system puts the correct amount of fuel into the intake, but it doesn't get spread to the cylinders evenly. But what are you going to do with the truck? Concerning the gearing, you have the worst of all worlds if you are looking for MPG. The 460 is thirsty, the 4.10's are really only good for towing really heavy loads w/o an overdrive transmission, and the C6 has no OD and is thirsty itself. Before his transformation, which isn't done yet, Big Blue had no OD and 3.55 gears and his 460 spun at 2500 RPM at 65 MPH. That kills MPG, so I'm going with a ZF5 transmission which has overdrive, and keeping the 3.55's. Hope that helps. By the way, where's home? We have a member's map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu) and I'd be happy to add you if I had a town/city.

Ok, so that seems to be the problem. I remember having a TERRIBLE time getting the spindles off the '95 I got for the D60 swap. This post shows how I did it.

He's way past that point, the locking hub is already out since he's removed the spindle lock nuts. I thought you could take those nuts out w/o removing the retainer. My bad. 😩

There’s a retaining ring just inside the hub. Have you gotten it out? It is just a thin wire bent in a circle and fits in a recess.

Merry Christmas, David! And, Merry Christmas to y’all!!!

I will just so happen to have a spare:nabble_smiley_evil: Go for it! And make sure you let him know you are coming from here. He’s a member, but probably won’t see this.

Jim - Some un-named person needs an apology? Cory - I hope the start-up goes very well. I'm betting it will with all the layers of the onion you've removed. Time for a Bloomin' Onion!

No, it probably didn't help the bearings. But I'm not sure which was worse - that or over-tightening the belt. As for blasting, the media I'm currently using is so fine that it wouldn't leave much tooth.

Quote from a quick search says that it was only the "Cat free" 1978 models... "It was not only a real looker but these trucks were also real performers. In 1978 the Dodge Lil' Red Express was the fastest American made production vehicle from 0 to 100mph as tested by Car and Driver magazine. Due to a loophole in the emissions regulations, the 1978 Lil' Red Express truck was not required to have catalytic converters. What it did have was a special high performance 360cid, 4 barrel small block engine producing 225hp at 3,800rpm. The package also included HEMI style mufflers with a cross over pipe, a special A-727 transmission and 3.55:1 rear gearing. Production run of 2,188." I did see another note there that while it got the trophy for the fastest vehicle, it scored absolute last in interior noise...lol: https://www.hotrod.com/articles/mopp-0111-1978-dodge-lil-red-express-truck/ I used to know where one was sitting outside Ponca City, OK. But last time I went by there it was gone. I really liked those trucks.

I think we are talking about two different things. I believe the original question was about 3530, and I think you are talking about 3511. Right?

Sorry. Yes, that's the Garagemahal. It really isn't that clean, but it sure is fun to work in.

Dad had a trick to make v-belts quit slipping. He laid a round file or rasp in the sheave and hit it with a mallet. Turned the sheave and did it again, until there were serrations all the way around. Probably didn't help the belts live a long and happy life, but they didn't dare squeal after that.

"Hinge in the middle" and "water buffalo" I fully understand. I was riding then, including everything from a desmodromic Duke, Hondas from 90 to 750, and then the Cadillac - the first year Yamaha 1100.

Jim - I'm looking forward to your writeup. Mark - What a Christmas present. NOT! Frank - If the engine is running more smoothly then you really did have an ignition problem. Surely that will show up in better fuel mileage, but let us know.

Yep, my valve covers for both Dad's and Big Blue's engines were used, but turned out pretty nice. Here are BB's: And here's one of the covers for Dad's truck:

Right. I thought about that later. My bad.

The only disadvantage to a larger radiator is the initial cost, and maybe a bit longer warmup. As for type, aluminum cools almost twice as well as brass/copper from what I’ve read.

Gary, Right on the M5OD. Myself and most people refer to the lighter Mazda 5spd trans as the "M5OD", but the more correct term would be M5-R2. The M5OD is kind of a blanket term covering all of them. I see on the lists that Ford was using "T.K." to indicate the Mazda trans? (T.K. is Toyo Kogyo...the name of the "early Mazda transmissions). Interesting side note on these transmissions. The guy that I bought my M5-R2 5spd from originally had it listed for sale as a ZF5 trans. It was removed from an F250 after all, and he assumed like many of us did that the F250's all had the ZF5 trans. Somebody reached out to him to tell him that it wasn't a ZF5 trans, so he relisted it as the M5-R2....and I bought it after that. We now know that the F250 could be had with a 302 and the M5-R2 trans and 2.75-3.08 rear diff gears (Truck was under 8500 GVWR). If you had an F250 with a heavier weight rating, or lower gears, it wouldn't have the M5-R2 (or the 302). But, back to the discussion at hand...and Dave's original question about the ZF5 availability... I think that looking for a 2wd 5-lug truck with a ZF5 with the SBF bolt pattern would be the proverbial needle in the hay stack! If this combination ever even existed...I'd say it's a rare one at best, but somebody can correct me if I'm wrong. If I was Dave, my parts shopping list would be... 1983-1986 Bullnose Brake and hydraulic clutch pedal set 1983-1986 Hydraulic Master Cylinder 1988-1991 Hydraulic line 1988-1991 ZF5 Trans with SBF bolt pattern 1988-1996 ZF5 Transmission crossmember Custom fit driveshaft if required A longer speedo cable may be required Will need plug for ZF5 reverse switch (I bought mine from LMC, only a couple bucks iirc) I agree with what you’ve said, Cory. But let me ask Dave why the ZF? Why not the Mazda tranny? Looks like it will be lot easier to find. And you’ll be able to use the existing clutch, which you can’t do with the ZF as the input shaft is much bigger on it. Plus a ZF shifts like what it is - a heavy duty truck transmission. And they are expensive to rebuild. But the Mazda tranny has a first gear ratio of 3.9 vs the T18’s 6.32. So it won’t be nearly as easy to get a load started. Bottom line - I’d hold out for a ZF but not for a parts truck with it and the 5-lug front. Split it into two issues and two different parts trucks.

I thought you were running a carter 1 barrel. Big difference in performance when you switched? As I suspect David has gone home for the day, And I’m just waiting on my granddaughter to finish ballet, I’ll answer your question to say, That David picked up the manifold at my house and may, Not be able to install it for a few years, to his dismay

Or, more? I found this:MULTIPLE SPARK Under low RPM cranking conditions, the HI-6 generates up to 12 sparks. This assures quick starting even under the most adverse conditions. At idle and cruise, the number of sparks fired is adjusted to maintain a total spark duration of approximately 20 degrees (crankshaft), assuring smooth idle, improved throttle response, and eliminating the lean surge characteristic of some late model emission controlled vehicles. Above 3,000 RPM, the HI-6 generates a single powerful spark with many times the spark gap current of most competitive systems.Then my circuit won’t work. That is far too many to filter out with that circuit.