Gary Lewis

I've made a change to reduce the real estate the poem and picture take by placing them side-by-side. See what you think up top. And now to address another thing: It was suggested that we have the forum-specific things actually in the forum instead of available via the menu above. And I think these are those things: Forum FAQ's; Member's Map; Forum & Website Issues, although this one is debatable. But, it has also been suggested that we have fewer stickies. So here's a proposal: FORUM Folder: Create a new, pinned folder which houses the FAQ's folder; Member's Map folder; Forum & Website Issues thread; Adminstrative Area folder; Website & Forum Suggestion Box thread MARKETPLACE Folder: Create a new, pinned folder that houses the eBay & Craigslist Finds folder; For Sale, Trade, or Free To A Good Home folder; Want To Buy folder By my calculation that would reduce the # of pinned folders on the main page by three. And, it would probably let us eliminate the Bullnose Forum entry in the menu if I find homes for the other bits. I'm open to other or additional suggestions. Please tell me your thoughts.

If the budget allows it, and if the truck is a long-term keeper, then go for it. If you aren't in a hurry you can let someone drive your truck to see that the engine is sound - save for the freeze/core plugs. Obviously they can't go very far, but it wouldn't be buying a pig in a poke (why do I think of European Vacation?). And you could have the crate engine on order or standing by. Having said that, isn't there a garage in the offing? Would the ~$5k for the engine be helpful for it? If you are questioning the longevity of the engine, do a leak-down test. It'll tell you how worn it is, if the valves are good, etc. But don't do that if you are going to sell the engine as you'll have info you may not have wanted to have. (Don't ask how I know.)

Well, right now as I'm working to get a D60 like that one has under the front of Big Blue, and a 400 HP 460, like that one has, built and installed, that $43K doesn't look terribly bad. But, I need to remind myself that I'll have SD springs and an RSK, 3G, Saginaw, hydroboost, ZF5, Ox Locker, Trutrack, 12K winch, long-pinion Sterling, and EEC-V. In addition the empty auxiliary battery spot on that truck will be filled on Big Blue. Plus, those dual smoke grinders will be absent - and there may be a York/Techumseh compressor sitting there. Ok, maybe it isn't worth $43K.

Ok, end-of-day report: four of the six rivets are out of the driver's side rear spring hanger bracket. And, I've found a new procedure: Use a grinder to make a small flat on top of the rivet so you can start the drill bit centered up. Drill the rivet with a 3/16" bit - chosen because it is big enough not to break easily and small enough that it bites pretty well. The hole should not go all the way through, but it does need to go past the 2nd layer so it releases pressure on the sides. Drill the hole out to 3/8" the depth of the first hole. Knock the head off the rivet on the side you started drilling from, using the air chisel. It'll go much faster on a hollow rivet than a solid one. Knock the rest of the rivet out with a punch and sledge With that new approach I got those four rivets out in 45 minutes where yesterday it took easily four hours to do six of them. And part of the 45 minutes was developing the technique. For instance, I learned that drilling all the way through doesn't leave you a solid surface against which to place the punch. But, not drilling past the second layer will have you hammering for a long time - and then start drilling again. Don't ask. Oh, and Erik sent me a note saying the 1 1/2" difference between the stock bracket and the lo-pro is correct.

As I thought, it is a shadow of the stream of coolant. Are you going to try to replace them in situ?

I guess that last post can also be confusing. As I understand it, there are two shackle hangers to use: The lo-profile one that I'm using and Sky's standard shackle hanger. But they strongly encourage you not to use the factory shackle hanger.

David - Thanks. Shaun - Good point. Here's what the instructions say: "We absolutely recommend installing the shackle hanger for the rear of the front springs that came in the kit, you will turn this kit into a 2.5” kit without them. For demonstration purposed we installed the springs with the factory shackle hanger and lowered the truck back down on its weight to illustrate what it will look like. WE DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS SHACKLE ANGLE. Unlike some of our other kits, you will not be able to drill a hole one inch above the factory hole in the shackle hanger. The new lo-profile shackle hanger we have designed has the hole moved forward as well to help the shackle angle."

Jein. If it is a resistor, which is what a block heater would be, then a 750 watt heater would show about 20 ohms. But, if it isn't a resistor, like maybe a battery charger, then all bets are off on what the meter will show.

It is a 110v plug, but what it powers isn't obvious. Cut that cable tie and find out where the wire goes. If it is a block heater it'll go to something that sticks into the block.

In mapping out what I'm going to be doing 'twixt now and when the front bracket comes in I've decided that I want to remove the driver's side rear spring bracket and install the Sky bracket. However, the measurement that the instructions give to properly place the front bracket measures off the stock rear bracket.Given that, I measured the stock rear bracket to the Sky front bracket and it is currently sitting at 54 9/16". Then I measured the Sky rear bracket to the Sky front bracket and got 53 1/16". So that told me that the Sky bracket positions the spring eye 1 1/2" forward than the stock bracket does.However, in order to confirm that I'm doing it correctly I talked to Erik. He suggested that I measure the stock rear bracket vs the Sky rear bracket, which should give us the answer. Meanwhile he'll look at the drawings to make sure we are all together.So here are the two measurements, with the factory bracket on the left and the Sky bracket on the right. But there are two things to note here.Bottom Line: factory is 2 1/2" & Sky is 1" . So the delta is 1 1/2" and I should be able to replace the factory DS bracket with the Sky bracket and then measure 55 1/2" minus 1 1/2" equals 54" to position the front bracket when it comes in.

Princeton says "The lower pressure in the venturi will attract fuel from the fuel bowl into the pipe in an attempt to even out of the lower vapor pressure of the venturi and the higher atmospheric pressure in the fuel bowl." So it is the differential between the pressure on the fuel in the bowl and the pressure seen in the venturi that causes the flow. If you change the pressure on the fuel in the bowl you will change the flow of fuel for a given flow of air in the venturi. In other words, you will alter the air/fuel ratio. I can't tell you that is what is happening, but I know for sure that if you change the pressure you will change the AFR. And since air has mass, if air flowing into the air cleaner has a straight shot into the bowl via a vent then the pressure will go up.

That it is! I really didn't realize how much WORK there is to this swap.

Cool! Is it still your truck? If so, can you get more pics? Anyway, can you tell us more about it?

APOLOGIES TO SKY! This morning I drilled the holes in the frame. The first pass was to drill the existing holes out to 1/2", which is the size of the fasteners. And while the majority of the bolts would go in, they were all kinda wonky and one refused to go. I checked the size of the holes in Sky's bracket: 17/32" So I pulled out the 17/32" reamer and took all of the frame holes out to that size. That let the bracket bolt up nicely. Here it is installed. But, the thing to note is that there is no spacer between the frame and the bracket - and it fits nicely! All of those bolts are just snug and no washers were used for this test. So, when washers are used and all the bolts torqued down I think the frame and the bracket will meet even better. But, there are a few things to note:

Figure out if this is a crack or a shadow:

Yes. If there is rushing air hitting those vents and no external vent where it can escape then the pressure goes up inside the bowl. And that will change the air/fuel ratio the carb meters. You seem reluctant to do my test. But it sure looks easy to me, and would prove or disprove my theory. But if pulling the vent line itself is hard then pull and plug the vacuum line that closes the valve.

You are now on the map. Sorry you can't make it, but there's always next year. And while we have several coming this year, there are even more planning for it next year. I will have a sway bar on, but if it limits articulation it may be disconnected. We'll see how it works out.

Congrat's! Or, congrat's? More layers of the onion. Yes, replace them all. I've done it on the passenger's side on a 351W with the engine in the truck. I did have to jack it up just a bit and pull the exhaust and mount on that side, but that wasn't too hard. Don't know about the driver's side but I'd try it before pulling the engine.

I agree - divide and conquer. One issue at a time. So, when the engine is running the external bowl vents are closed. But I don't see in the proceeding dialog what the internal bowl vents are like. Are there still vents under the air cleaner? If not, then you don't have any venting when it is running. Also, why did Autolite put those small external vents in - the ones you closed? My guess is that they are needed and w/o them there's a vacuum or pressure on top of the fuel when running. (Perhaps pressure as the air is rushing in through the air cleaner and probably into the bowl as well - assuming there are internal vents. So, I'm back to my suggestion: pull the hose off the fitting you installed and see if it runs right with the area in front vented.

Lets not get started with the returning thing. Someone might want his EEC-V ECU back.

No problem. Did it die from salt? I've not seen them crumble like that must have done.

Vincent - Welcome! What part of central Arkansas? We have a member's map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu) and I'd be happy to put you on it. And, by the way, we have the show here, being Skiatook, OK, on Sept 21st. Come on over, several of the guys will be here. On the front suspension, as you know we are going along somewhat parallel paths - to the point that I'm going to try u-code springs as that's what I have. They may be too soft, but we shall see.

Wow! That wiper motor is pretty! I may have to try that. On the writeup on FTE, do you have the link? Do we have that link on here somewhere? Was that the one that Jonathan or Dave did? (I forget.) Yes, it is a bear to do that on the vehicle. I've done it. But don't want to do it again.

The diode allows the dome light to come on via the pin switches in the door w/o the cargo light coming on then. But both come on when the knob on the headlight switch is turned fully counterclockwise. You should check the map light bulbs to see if they work. I think, but don't know for sure, that they will fit in the dome light section with the cover off. But try them somehow - maybe just by holding the body of the bulb to the battery post and jumping from the other post to the base. If the bulbs are good then check with your volt meter to see if there's power at the unit.

No, I didn't get the name of the EFI system. But, I agree about the toolbox. No one even commented in the video on that rare item, but picked up on the very obvious different doors and door panels.