Gary Lewis

Cool! I'd never heard of those, but at 72 my knees sure don't need to be down letting air out of tires. So I'll pass on trying it the first time. I've passed the link on to Janey in case someone is looking for a Christmas gift for me. Thanks!

I'm not quite ready to buy the new air bags and cradles, but hope to in the Spring. But I'll let you know how it goes. As for your welding project, this is the only thing I have a picture of. It comes from Page 6 of the 1986 Accessories catalog.

This is to document an unusual reason why the backing plate is needed on 460's with the poly-groove belts. (The backing plate is a necessity for proper cooling as well.) When I got Huck, the 1990 half-truck, I noticed that the AC/PS bracket was broken at the bottom. Bill quickly suggested that there might not be a backing plate behind the water pump, and sure enough there wasn't one. So, why does a missing backing plate cause the bracket to break? In the pic below, circled in red you can see the four 7/16" bolts that very securely bolt the bracket to the block and the head. But circled in yellow you can see the one little 3/8" bolt that secures the bottom tab of the bracket to the water pump. In this pic you can see how that tab on the bracket is supposed to hit the water pump. The top four bolts are snug and the bracket hits the water pump perfectly. But without the backing plate there is a 3/16" gap between the bracket and the water pump. And the pic below shows what happens if you don't put the backing plate in and tighten the bolts down. The bracket on the left has been broken but fixed while the bracket on the right, which is the one off Huck, is still broken. Why do the brackets break? Because the bracket is pretty solid up top, and when those four bolts are tightened down it is going nowhere. And that little tab isn't nearly strong enough to flex that cast aluminum. So it breaks instead of bends.

I, too, think the dual tank will fit. And while the top tank won't drain when sitting still it should drain when driving. But if you can get more measurements LATER it would help. LATER! As for what I did today, I got the bracketry installed on the front of the engine. But, the installation of the alternator brackets wasn't w/o a bit of a problem. When I put the curved bracket on I noticed that it didn't sit down flush with the water pump. And when I swung the alternator into place it hit the bracket because the bracket was angling toward the rear of the engine. A bit of sleuthing determined why - the water pump hadn't been machined far enough for the bracket to go flush against it. You can see the issue here: In this pic you can see my pencil mark where the red arrow is pointing, and that's what I trimmed that boss back to, and then the bracket fit perfectly. And here's what it looks like. Jim, do you recognize the alternator? Thanks again. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get the brackets and fasteners blasted and powder coated. We shall see.

I think you have the wrong part picked, for two reasons. First, because you got the number from a Regular Cab. Second because you picked a part for a 1980/81 truck and yours is an '84 - and the rubber trim is different. Instead, you needed to click the Supercab tab and then scroll down to the 1981/86 chart, as shown below. And the right-hand part number is E1TZ 1329314-AA if I read it correctly.

I, too, am worried about this. But I am trying to keep calm and not let it get to me. I have plenty to do on the truck, so choose to focus on it. However, I am going to start placing some pressure on the guy. I'll have to ask for the emails he has sent, logs of any calls and to whom he spoke, etc. I'll wait until next Monday, a week after I last asked, and then start pushing.

I do. & I do! Believe me, it's not as if I haven't considered getting a transfer tank for the bed. The idea of 100+ gallons of high test right outside my rear slider put me off to it. Ditto! I'll have 19 gallons mid-ship and 38 gallons in the rear on Big Blue. I plan to drive the wheels off the truck on many long trips, and at the hoped-for 14 MPG the range of a 19 gallon tank isn't going to cut it.

On trim it is wherever you find it. But, guys on here frequently find things. So go here and tell us which pieces you are looking for: Documentation/Exterior/Exterior Trim & Moulding.

If I get there I'll let you know well beforehand and maybe we can meet. As for the color, if the certification label is still on the driver's door jamb you should be able to decode it here: Documentation/Specifications/Certification Label. Use the interactive one at the bottom of the page and click on the blue boxes to be taken to info on each of the codes.

Wow! You are a loooooong way NORTH! But you are now on the map. We've talked about taking the In Search Of The Northern Lights cruise some day and it looks like we'd dock there. Cool! And, your truck looks great. What are your plans for it.

Christian! Welcome! Glad you joined and happy to meet you. Where in Norway are you? I was in Stavanger, Eidfjord, and Bergen last year on a cruise. BEAUTIFUL!!!! We have a map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu) and I'd love to put you on it if I had a town. And, we need to see some pics!

Jim - I hope this doesn't make you mad, but we are thinking alike. Here's a pic I took a bit ago. And that was because I wondered if the tanks could be angled and the drain be roughly straight down. But, before making that decision I need to figure out where the inlet tube would go. Maybe when the snow melts you can measure yours? Just called California Air. Didn't have the drawings nor the twin-tank to measure, but did measure the single tank 2010A: 6 1/2" x 18 1/2". I'd rather have the 4.5 gallons than 2 gallons, but the smaller tank would be easier to mount.

My thoughts... In the tool box could still work if you discipline yourself to always open the cover when you are running the compressor. You'd probably be opening it to get out the hose anyway. Might be a bit of a drag if it was raining... And on my old CJ5 I didn't have much room so I ended up putting it off the frame behind the right front tire. It was enough behind / above the inner fender to avoid getting directly hit by junk off the tire, but not a clean environment. Was it ideal? No, but it held up for the time I had that setup with no issues (~8 years). So maybe underneath but with some splash guards wouldn't be terrible? Bob - I like the idea of just opening the covers, both sides, when running the compressor. I could put a partition in the box to keep things from being stacked on the compressor, thereby giving it the best chance of keeping cool. And, I wouldn't have to take the intake filter off as it could just pull air from in the box. However, my plan was to turn the compressor on before getting to the end of the trail so the tank would be full. But I'm not sure that having it running in the closed tool box would be a good idea. However, it only takes that compressor 50 seconds to fill the 2 gallon tank and 130 seconds to fill the 4.5 gallon dual tanks. I guess that it would take me at least that long to get the hose out and get ready to fill up a tire, so there's probably no need to fill the tank early. Or, perhaps in that short of time the motor and compressor would be happy with the covers closed?

Looks good, Shaun.

Well, the best-laid plans of mice and men. There's essentially no room beside the tool box as I'd envisioned. And only 4 1/2" below it. So, some other place will be needed for the compressor. I thought about IN the tool box with the intake being run through the tool box, like maybe under it. But the motor/compressor surely needs cooling air and with the tool box crammed as it would be on a trip I doubt there'd be much air in there to cool it. I thought about placing it below the bed with the tank, but that's a very dusty, wet, yukky area that wouldn't be conducive to the life of the unit. Thoughts?

Bill - Don't know how I missed this, but thanks. Anyway, time for an update: As of yesterday morning the vendor hasn't even shipped the parts. Also, Trent Alexander asked me via Messenger what the dimensions are on the F350's front sway bar brackets. And since I don't see Facebook, much less Messenger, a good way to document things, I'll post some pics here and then give Trent a link to this post. And just in case these are hard to read: The upright piece that goes against the frame is 3 1/2" tall, and the bolt hole in it does line up with the hole in the F250's frame for the sway bar bracket. The bracket is 3 7/8" wide The part that rests on the bottom flange of the frame is 1 3/4". But the bolt holes in it are on 2 3/8" centers while the holes in the F250's frame are pn 1 1/2" centers. The part that comes down below the frame 2 1/2", and the bolt hole for the sway bar link is 1 1/2" below the frame.

Tell me more about the plug and play fusible links?

I'd forgotten that y'all are getting hit with the storm. So, if the individual tanks are 6 5/8 x 18 1/2" then I'm going to guess the motor/compressor to be 6" x 14" based on the pics below. And I agree that splitting the parts up would be easy. I'll check later, but I'm thinking the motor/compressor can go as said beside the tool box and ahead of the wheel well. Possibly turned on its side with the bolts going into the tool box so it can't be easily removed w/o getting into the box. And the regulator/switch/coupler could be mounted right there as well. As for the tank(s), I think our measurements of the space under the fender and ahead of the tire say that a max height of 8" and a max width of 16" will fit nicely. So the twin tanks would appear to fit, but there are questions in my mind about connections. The inlet to the tanks is on the backside of the top tank, so that would point up when then are laid down. But the drain is on the bottom of the bottom tank, so it would point essentially sideways, and therefore wouldn't drain the tank properly. However, the single tank unit looks like it might work nicely. The whole unit is said to be L (18.7") x W/D (14.2") x H (14.75"). But the motor/pump sits beside the tank, so if that is 6" then the tank is less than 8". And, the inlet is on top with the drain on the bottom. So perhaps the inlet can go through the bed floor and simplify the connections? And the drain could have a 90 on it to minimize its vulnerability?

Jim - That makes sense. Now I understand. Thanks.

You have the 4spd w/OD now, right? An NP435 swap might be what you're looking for...that's the work transmission if there ever was one. That's why I've been asking what would be in the trailer. The tow ratings on the 4spd OD are really low. But with a C6 the ratings are much higher. And, while the NP435 ratings are low from Ford that's just 'cause it is a manual. But I'm with Cory - that's a work tranny and with its low first gear you can move anything. Use the 1986 Towing Guide tab here: Documentation/Specifications/Towing.

It does sound good and the price is great imho. You can buy something like this with a lot more confidence when you know it has been owned by an enthusiast! Looks like Big Blue's twin brother. A lot of truck for the money.

Jim - Glad you finally got it. But, don't miss my question about changing out to Bosch relays. Do they just plug in to replace the Ford ones? (If you have already answered, please point me to it.) And, what relay are you going to use to replace the big, antiquated, starter relay? Cory - There are a myriad of different PDC's in various Ford products in the salvage. Some quite small. And several of those have a megafuse mounted on them. So one of those would make the 3G swap easier as you can mount the PDC to the inner fender by the alternator and run the output right to it. Then use the fuses and relays inside to run the headlights and the choke. No need to change the rest of the truck's wiring.

I'd completely missed that you run your California Air Tools 4610AC on your 2000 watt inverter. That's a game-changer as I've been very afraid of buying an inverter and compressor only to find one won't run the other. And, I wasn't sure you were offering me the 3000 watt inverter, so I didn't want to ask as it might put you in a bind. Thank you for being persistent. I've sent you an email so we can talk privately, and it includes questions about dimensions on it, which actually would be better answered on here so all can see. But let me ask some questions about your compressor. Looking at the pictures it appears that: The motor/compressor is just sitting on rubber isolators on the frame, so could easily be unbolted and supported elsewhere. But can you get some rough measurements? The tanks are just held to the frame with tabs and through-bolts, but appear to be welded together to make one unit. You said they are 7" diameter, but could you give me some measurements on them as a unit? The filter for the compressor is a screw-in unit, so could be remoted for easy replacement? I'm thinking that the motor needs protection from rain, etc, but it also needs ventilation. So I'm wondering if it would go ahead of the wheelwell and to the right of the toolbox in the bed. Any reason you see why it couldn't be mounted with its feet to the side of the toolbox?

I looked at name plates on several Northern Tool compressors today but didn't find any that gave the locked rotor rating. But, as I said previously, one site I found said that usually runs at 4 to 8 times the running current. So let's take "6" as the mid-point on that range. Your compressor pulls 14 amps while running, and at 120 volts that means it uses 1680 watts when running. So if we multiply 1680 watts times 6 we get 10,080 watts for starting. Let's round that to 10K watts. And usually an inverter will have a surge rating of twice its continuous rating, so let's look for a 5000 watt inverter. Sure enough, this one on Amazon is rated at 5K watts continuous and 10K surge. And it costs $370. But it measures 18.7 x 10.4 x 4.6 inches and I'm not sure I'll have that much space under the hood. Certainly not on the driver's side as there may not even be room for the aux battery there since the coolant recovery reservoir, air filter box, PDC, and cruise module will probably fill that side. Which means the aux battery may have to move to the passenger's side, and that will probably more than fill up that fender. Now let's turn to the compressor. You said California Air, and I found several twin stack ones. But this 4620AC says it pulls 14 amps, so is it the one? If so, it sells for $323, which brings the total to essentially $700. But the inverter says it can't be left connected to the battery so we'll need a 200 amp relay, but they are only $20 or so. So, let's compare this to the ARB CKMTA12, which is the top of their line and costs $542. The ARB has 4.6 CFM at 29 PSI and the California Air has 6.4 at 40 PSI, which is the closest I could get in pressure for CFM ratings. Obviously 6.4 is better than 4.6, but 4.6 is also twice what I was seeing in the Viair product line. How much is enough? So, why wouldn't I just go with the ARB? It is designed for the offroading environment. It is simple to install as it is a complete unit, and it costs less than the inverter/compressor arrangement. Plus, it is known to work. And we don't know that a 5k watt inverter will even start that 120 volt compressor.

Yes, handyman. But the handymen I've seen don't usually go around with trailers. Just pickups. So I'm still struggling to understand how heavy the trailer is and if the truck can handle it. Yes, a 255, 302, and 351W are Windsors.