Gary Lewis

Thanks, but the first round of rain just dampened up. My brother, who lives in southern Kansas, said they got 2 1/2", and here in Tulsa where we are for the day they said they got lots of rain. However, there are more rounds coming. And, Ray Cecil just texted to say the wrenching session on his MiL's car isn't going to happen 'cause the car is toast. So I'll be back inside the shop tomorrow on the RSK. But, can you show us how you are shortening the wires? Pics?

And you have plenty of time to do it. I think your truck is going to be ready long before the time comes. Is the spring compressor tool on order?

I sure hope the view is worth the climb. It is enough hassle having to massage the frame on Big Blue, but if I couldn’t get ahold of Erik or if he didn’t return my call I wouldn’t be happy.

That would be cool! But, three Webers would run into serious money, and then there’s the linkage and tuning. Two 2150’s, or two of anything, will be enough fun. 😉

I’ll try to remember to be gentle with the brakes. And I really appreciate all the work you did to remove and ship the parts, as well as to share them. 👍

Jim - Didn’t catch it, but you are right, it is the surface area. Jonathan - I know I’m going to like the later style M/C over the cast iron one, and since I have the one from the F450 I’ll use it. It’ll look SERIOUS under the hood. 😉 And, I’ll bet I like it. I’ve never liked the brakes on Big Blue as they are soft and have too much travel, and I’ve always been impressed with how hard and quick those on Blue are. So to have BB’s quick and firm will be a joy. 👍

Right you are! Well spotted.

Thanks. I think it is the wheels that make all the difference.

And the Simpson has an actual needle, with a mirror behind it, that lets you see changes in the reading. Those were the days, my friend. We thought they'd never end.

Ohhhh, that's a GOOD price! (And, it reminds me that when Ray comes over tomorrow maybe we should set my canopy up over his MiL's car. Can't get it in the shop 'cause BB is frontendless, and it is supposed to be nasty.

My Craftsman just won't die, so I haven't found the justification for a Fluke. But that's what I'll buy when/if the time comes.

I'm thinking it is the 2nd from the left, but am not sure 'bout that. I'm guessing the bulb may be burned out if it doesn't come on with the key.

For the last several days we've been under an extreme heat advisory. We are now under a flash flood watch. Working outside looks to be no fun at all. But, you are having fun, fun, fun with no T-Bird to take away! Those wires are just a bit to BIG! That's going to take some WORK and patience.

The heater actually works great, once I've driven the 10 or so miles down the highway needed to get the thermostat to open. That, of course, also means the block heater had been running all night...… The block heater does prevent having to scrape off frost on those cool-ish mornings, so that's a nice feature. Yes, I remember you said that the engine is slow to warm up. But didn't know you have a block heater. That's cool! Or, maybe warm? And Jim's right, there is the swap meet. But you said you have dealer air, right? I have some factory air stuff, but nothing for dealer air installs.

Ok, probably best to work this one thing at a time. So lets do map lights. I've included the wiring diagram, and it looks like the dome light and map lights are on two different fuses. Have you checked Fuse 8? As for the emergency brake light, in '81 there was no switch on the e-brake pedal. I've included both the wiring diagram for that as well as the following page in the EVTM that tells when the light should come on for the emergency brake. Does your light come on when you turn the key to On?

Tomorrow will be cooler, Paul. But dealer added A/C is going to make things difficult. However, A/C season is almost over, so you'll be able to drive it this winter - if the heater only worked.

Yes and yes, guys. The dead-blow doesn't leave marks, so gets used a lot. The sledge and a 2x4 carries a bit more punch but only gets used when the dead-blow can't get it done even with many blows. As Erik said, these trucks were crudely-built when new, and they are far from new. Judging by the camper tie downs and the 5th wheel hitch bracket in the bed, this one has been used. And with a 460, two batteries, and a winch sitting up front, as well as probably a big camper hanging over the cab, the front suspension has been carrying quite a load. So it is no wonder that the frame is wonky. I'm not thrilled by the work it is taking to install this kit, but I am certainly glad that bracket will be on the front tying everything together and the straight axle won't be trying to contort things on every bump.

Oh, I see! What a difference!!!!

Very true. I've come to the conclusion that it is wise to pay someone that knows the correct bits to put together for a given application. Someone like Tim or Scotty that lives and breathes a specific engine is invaluable. I told Scotty what I want to use the engine for, that I have the F3 heads, will be running EEC-V and want to burn regular pump gas to tow and offroad with, but still get "good" MPG - for a 460. And with that he knew what pistons, deck height, cam, etc. And, he strongly recommended headers.

It says it has a 5-speed tranny, and the shift lever looks like a ZF5's. If so, his statement about "the reverse gear just went South about two weeks ago, but those old trannies are cheap and easy to find" is a bunch of baloney. My ZF had a broken reverse gear and a few other issues, and the rebuild was $1000 - on top of $500 for the tranny in the first place.

I've put a later clock in an earlier truck by pulling the wires & pins out of the two connectors and mating them. A bit of heat shrink around each one and electrical tape around all of them, and who needs a connector? They use the same wire colors with the exception of the early one having a LB/R that comes from the instrument dimmer while the later one has a BR wire that comes from the headlight circuit. In other words, the early clock gets a variable to dim while the later one just gets nothing or 12v to dim.

That was essentially my plan for Big Blue's 460. I knew the front main was spewing oil and the intake manifold's seal to the rear China wall is bad. So I pulled it and did the leak-down test and my plans went by the wayside.

When you look at a picture on a computer the software you are using will usually rotate the pic properly for you to see it. BUT, if you don't save the file it is still the way it was prior to looking at it. So I save the file and 99 times out of 100 it is now correct for the forum.

Erik's been not only very helpful but also apologetic. He said today that while he appreciates me being willing to grind here and there, the average customer wants a kit that fits. So he is wanting to know what changes he'll have to make to get it right. However, there's the variability of these trucks that really can't be taken into account. Their piece has the shackle bolts running parallel to the ground, but Big Blue's shackle bolts weren't. Nor were they the same, with the driver's side being at more of an angle than the passenger's side. Was it coincidence that the driver's side was the one that was also bent out? I doubt it. And, is there any credibility to my thought that the TTB action of twisting the spring also twisted the frame horns? So my bet is that some amount of tweaking will be necessary to install this kit on Bullnose trucks. And, I should have said by this point, a dead-blow hammer is a necessity. I have a Harbor Freight dead-blow and it has been used to put the bracket on, rotate it, and take it off. I don't think I could do this w/o either a dead-blow or a 2x4 and a sledge.

Whatever you did worked. As for the rain, it is supposed to start here tonight and continue off and on through Saturday night if not Sunday. And Ray Cecil is to come over on Friday to work on his MiL's car. We shall see.....