Gary Lewis

Yes, it is interesting. He makes statements that are hard to swallow, like: Really?!?! As we know, the 1980 trucks are slightly different, but there's no reason for them to be any harder to find than a '79 or '81. Having said that, it isn't a bad truck for $500.

Thanks for the update. You appear to be making good progress, so keep on keeping on. On the burled wood, it was only used in '85 and '85. And it didn't weather well, turning pink or purple with UV exposure. I don't know that I have a good sample of it as mine are faded and purpleish. Personally the burled wood is my least favorite trim. Perhaps because most of what I've seen has been purple? Perhaps. But I plan to convert Big Blue to one of the mesh weaves.

There is one part number for the hood (E4TZ 16612-B) for all of 1980-86. Obviously that's an '84 part number, but the point is that there's not a different one for diesels or gas engines. My guess is that the people having to drill holes have an 80 - 83 truck and they may not have had the holes like apparently all 1984 - 86 trucks did.

You can see them in the illustration here: Fasteners/Front Clip/Hood. (Boy, that thing is HIDDEN and I had a hard time finding it. I REALLY need to link to it from other places.) But it was only used on the diesels, as shown below. And, it appears to have been held on with 18 push pins, indicating that the holes are already there. However, I don't understand why there's a different pin for '83 vs '84. Nor why the '84 isn't "84/86".

Love that story, David! Don't mess with success? Seriously though, and as we've discussed, we've both out-punted our coverage.

I know, I know - I am entirely ruining the point so blame it on a childhood of hearing my mom yell: "You brought it in, you take it out" but I can't help but think of this video that cracks me up: "I've got the same coffee table at home" That's ...... sad. Funny. But sad. Still, it is funny.

You now have 3 double and 4 king rooms! It has begun!

Amen! I was just trying to find out when they started using the plastic and found a post where a guy said that a cap came off and traveled 85', out the open garage door and through a window on the house on the other side of the street. He said his wife was NOT amused that their son had been there with his father and just happened to not have his face in front of the cap.

FYI, I just added a thread entitled Skiatook Casino/Hotel in the Garagemahal Ford Truck Shows folder then the 2019 Show. It contains the info on booking a room there and instructions on how to get the $15/night discount. But, make sure you book soon as the discount goes away as of Sept 1st, as does the "reservation" of those 8 rooms. And I'm told the hotel will fully book before the date of the show, Sept 21st, so don't dilly-dally or shilly-shally.

We now have 4 double and 4 king rooms "reserved" for the nights of the 20th and 21st at $104/night as opposed to the $115 standard rate for a weekend. The booking code is 190920 and the rooms must be reserved by Sept 1st or they'll be released to be booked by others at the standard rate. You can book by calling (877) 246-8777 or go online to Osage Hotel & Casino Skiatook. But I'm not sure that the online approach allows you to input the booking code, which you do need for the lower rate. If there are any problems please let me know.

It had been a couple of weeks since I last spoke with my parents, so I called down there last night. Dad remembered the U-joint change on the Buick as being difficult, but couldn't recall what the exact problem was - I was only 13 or 14 at the time, so I don't remember either. But he had a good laugh at my having been scarred from the experience. Some time back "there" GM started retaining the u-joints with plastic. And they were a BEAR to get out, especially if you didn't know there was plastic in there. Might that have been the problem?

That would be just a bit too much coincidence for me. I'm still guessing the timing was reset after the chain jumped due to the poor way it ran. But, with that much slack I can't imagine it not jumping again, and again, and again. Unless it wouldn't run fast enough to jump?

I wish! But, I'm not holding my breath. We can't expect stellar service for free. I've also asked for help on the Assistant Admin thing, although they've not even acknowledged that request.

Ron - That chain is the most worn one I've seen. Or, more specifically, the loosest I've seen as it may be just that the plastic is missing. I really do NOT like the plastic on the timing sets. Had a buddy with a '70 GTO that the plastic came off the gears, plugged the oil pump pickup, and locked the engine up. And that was while it was under warranty, which was pretty short back then. Anyway, you are going to be so pleased with how this thing runs with the new timing chain! As for the balancer, when the rubber starts coming out the outer ring will soon slip and the balance is off and the timing marks are wrong. Glad you are replacing it as well.

I can't imagine the splatter from an armadillo. I used to ride a lot, and studiously avoided all stuff in the road, although sometimes you can't. I remember one time my buddy and I were riding a twisty/turny road near a lake. I rounded a bend and saw a snake in my lane all coiled up. I knew I didn't want to hit it and was able to just miss it. A few turns later I realized my buddy wasn't behind me, so went back. I found him watching the snake, and when I pulled up he told me it had struck at me as I passed. He saw it all stretched out in the air behind me. About that time a patrolman pulled up, saw the snake and said "I hate snakes!" With that he reached back into the patrol car, pulled out his 12ga, racked a shell in, and shot the snake. My buddy and I both swore that we saw the head fly over "there", but when we looked there was no head. But, there was a groove in the pavement where the shot had hit that was an inch deep and a couple wide. I asked the guy what shells he had and he showed me - the brass went half the way up the casing. And it held OO.

If your chain skipped a tooth, how is your timing light still showing 1O° BTDC? How does the seal journal on the crank spacer look? The only way would be if he reset the timing at some point after it slipped/skipped. If not, then it hasn't - yet.

I'll check with my paint/body man to see what he uses.

Danny - Jim has a point, it could be the adjustment of the ignition switch. You can see how to adjust it here: Electrical/Ignition and on the Ignition Switch tab. Or, it could be that the ignition switch itself is bad. You can see from the diagram below that there is only one set of contacts in the switch that handles Accy, and those are the ones which feed Circuit 297, the black/light green hash wire. But we know that section of the switch is getting power or Circuit 32 wouldn't get power and the truck wouldn't start. So you could try adjusting the ignition switch, but I fear that it is bad.

Going...going...and gone. I reinstalled the joints on the shaft yesterday, and today I got it back in the truck as easy as could be. I think I'm going to call dad in a bit and tell him he sucks at U-joints. Anyway, I took the truck for a spin on the highway, and all was well. In fact, even though I wasn't able to detect any wear on the old joints, a clunk that occurred during shifts under hard acceleration that I never gave much thought to is now gone. Win! Cool! Well done, Matthew. One more item you are sure of.

Bummer! But, lucky for you it rains almost daily there now. Or, find a friend w/a garden hose.

Using the spare like that is a great idea! I've always just hooked to the base of the shrub and pulled straight. That works OK, but being able to pull up would be a lot better! Wasn't my idea. I saw it somewhere and thought I'd try it. And it does work. And, by the way, that's Big Blue's spare. And I was able to pick it up to get out of the truck and put back in. So I think I can get it on that to-be bumper.

Beautiful!

Interesting!

You are really making good progress, Cory! It won't be long now! As for your questions, I don't know about using lacquer thinner on the headlight doors or the grille. They are plastic underneath and the thinner might harm them. But, Dave's suggestion of trying it somewhere that can't be seen is a good idea. And then finishing up with polishing compound is a good idea as well. On the bumpers, I use chrome polish instead of steel wool or SOS pads. I think it gives a smoother finish. And, it is what I'd use on the grille and headlight doors as well.

LOL! Yes, you may be avoiding sanding. But, I can't blame you on that one. How many times will you have to fill the air tank to fill up all four tires?