Gary Lewis

I don't know for sure, but I would think it is supposed to hold vacuum. I'll try to remember to check tomorrow.

And, by the way, instructions on posting pics are included in the Bullnose Forum/Forum FAQ's. But, rotation is a pain. Cameras embed that info in the metadata, but many forums don't read it. So the best I can tell you is to open the file in an editing app on your computer and just save the file. That usually fixes it. And I try to get my file size just under 1 MB and don't use any of the resizing options.

Wow! How many miles on that thing?

You are now on the map. However, I am not at all sure I got you anywhere close to the right place, so tell me where to drag the pin if not. However, we aren't looking for serious accuracy, just an approximate location.

LOL!!! I hope you wear it!

Gary, the pop rivets worked great. My first rivet pulled hard into the plastic so after that I made some little "washers" out of sheet metal to capture the ends a little better. The rivets I have on hand are stainless and are maybe a little harder than a regular rivet. I'm gettin' pretty stoked now. Truck is supposed to be finished at the body shop this week, and if all goes well I'll have it back on Thursday or Friday. There was an all-Ford car/truck show this weekend that I was missing obviously, but it ended up getting postponed until next Sunday. If I get the truck back by Friday or even on Saturday morning I'll pull some long hours to get it all reassembled and shined up for the show. Fingers crossed. They look great, Cory. And, I should have told you to use washers. But your sheetmetal pieces are even better. And, I hope you make the show next weekend.

Yeah, I said that about Big Blue. And now I have the RSK stuff, the front receiver, and the step brackets to powder coat. And several parts under the hood to clean, if not powder coat.

Congrat's!!! Post up a bunch of pics, please!

That’s been my experience as well, although I haven’t spent a night there in the last 20 years either. But I did drive through while relocating my grandmother last year, and it looked a little better than I remembered. Hopefully it won’t matter; if I can get out of here early enough to beat Atlanta morning traffic (and the truck gives me no problems), I should be able to get well past West Memphis. Conway AR used to be our regular stopping point before I-22 was finished, if I can make it that far I’ll be satisfied. Conway's a good stopping place. Spent a night not long ago in a motel there and it was clean.

Bill's right on all counts. But it would be a nice engine to have. I love my 3.5L EB.

Welcome! Nice truck. On the engine, while it has the HO air cleaner, which would have come on the engine w/a 4bbl carb, they did sell a 2bbl version in earlier years. But only the HO version in '86. So, as Bill suggested, perhaps the engine was swapped out? As for "northern NM", where might that be? I ask because we have a member's map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map on the menu) and I'd be happy to add you if I had a location.

Regarding these particular pieces...they are the ones in the kit without the metal clips, right? I have the kit here, and the door cards here, but not the truck or doors. There are two with clips on them...I assume these are the ones that go on the doors? And the ones without clips are the ones I need to pop rivet to the door cards/panels? Yes. The ones with clips go on the door itself, and the ones without go on the door card/panel.

Have the door seals been in long? My paint/body guy said to let the truck sit in the sun for several days and the seals will soften up.

Thanks for the Pro tip Salans, every little bit helps. On the door gaskets, I was reading elsewhere that they'll be quite difficult when new but will break in over time. I was reading on here about the kit I bought, and another member said the door wouldn't close right with the new door seals (Had to slam the doors to close them apparently), and he thought of adjusting the striker but decided to leave it and within a short time the doors were closing fine (presumably after the seals flattened out a bit?) I think I had some run on sentences there...lol. Sorry. That's been my experience with seals - they flatten out over time and the doors shut better. But it isn't hard to adjust the latches, so instead of slamming the door I think I'd adjust it a few times.

Sounds like a good plan. But my experience with West Memphis wasn't good. The hotel was difficult to get to and it didn't feel safe. Plus, there wasn't much around in the way of places to eat. That's been almost 20 years, so it may well have changed.

Seriously...there is no excuse for this. What the heck was Ford thinking when they decided to skip the drain plug? Anyway, you did a good job and the truck is going to do great on the trip - in 5 weeks? Can you believe that? Thanks. At this point I'm feeling really good about the truck...all my worry items are resolved, I've just got a couple of basic maintenance items (oil change, coolant change) to do and I'll be ready to hit the road. Speaking of which....I got my class schedule for the upcoming semester, and everything lined up perfectly. I'm a definite go for the show in September. Yippee! When will you get in?

What upholstery ....... there was nothing left between the rats and raccoons. Headliner for this car. They even ate other door panels & headliner for another car I had stored in it. Thing is you cant get them for either car. Dave ---- Dave - That's terrible! I've had mice eat things and make messes, but never anything like that!

I was going to tell you to ground the wire, turn the key on, and check the gauges. Then you'd know you found the right one. But, you found it anyway. Yes, it is tight in there. And if you replace the water pump you should look the other fittings/plugs over to see if there's another one for your aftermarket gauge. As said, you can tee them, but I'd rather not and I think there's a spare port on the M-blocks. Or, you can put one of them in the port that's probably on the thermostat housing. But that only gets the temp ahead of the thermostat. If the 'stat is working correctly both gauges would see the same temp. However, if the 'stat sticks shut the one ahead of it will see higher temps than the other one. Oh yes, the M-blocks & Clevelands take a different thermostat than basically any other engine. So don't let little Johnny at the parts store sell you a standard 'stat. Read the Thermostat tab here: Engines/351M & 400.

All things considered I suppose my luck held - I didn't get a shower, although I ended up with a lot more ATF on the floor than I had expected; I thought I was pretty smart laying down some disposable painting dropcloth beforehand, but that stuff gets holes really easy, and before I knew it my garage floor was swimming in fluid. All in all this was probably the dirtiest job I've done on the truck, and that includes replacing the engine oil pan a few years ago. But...the job is done, and successfully as far as I can tell. The good news is that someone's been in the transmission before, so this isn't 40 year old fluid. The bad news is that I could tell someone's been in there, because of this: That's one of the bolts holding the transmission filter on, and it was hanging just like that once I dropped the pan. I had initially thought it just backed itself out over the years, but when I went to put the new filter on I realized that the hole was stripped out - I guess Florida Man's Oklahoma cousin Cletus got a little too torque-happy last time he was in there. The filter is held on with 11(!) bolts, so losing one is no big deal. At any rate, the filter went on fine and the new pan and fancy Moroso gasket went up without a hitch. I put about 11 quarts of new fluid in there, then gave the truck a good test run to the local Mexican joint for dinner and then up and down the highway for a bit. Drives fine, shifts fine, dipstick level is good, and no apparent leaks. I'm declaring this one... Now you see why I won't put a transmission pan on w/o a drain plug in it - I might have to take it off again and I do NOT want that mess. Anyway, you did a good job and the truck is going to do great on the trip - in 5 weeks? Can you believe that?

Oh! You said DOOR windows. I missed that. I was thinking "It's a window, why wouldn't there be a seal for it in the kit?"

I know EXACTLY where you were - on HW 20 west of Claremore at the bottom of Keetonville Hill. This is the building and here's a link to the map:

Rear WINDOW?

I got tired just reading that! Lots of work going on. And that pesky yard work sure gets in the way. Anyway, you are making good progress. Keep on keeping on!

Yipes! Just watched RV for the second time, and there's a good tip on how to get rid of them in the movie. (But, you may not be able to get rid of the smell after it soaks into the upholstery. )

Ray - Got it. But I understand.