Gary Lewis

That certainly could have been bad. I'll tell you how I know...... On my '58 Impala w/a 348 and a Will Carter Four Barrel (WCFB) I read in some hot rod magazine that the thing to do was to drill the seat out larger so it would pass more gas at WOT. And then, to ensure the hole was smooth, you were supposed to lay a small ball out of a ball bearing in there and strike the ball with a hammer. I did as described and put it back together. The car ran fine but with no more power. However, when my date, named Janey, and I parked it later that night (I chose the wording carefully) it didn't want to start after it had set for an hour or so. Turned out it was flooded - yep, the needle didn't like the seat. So, having pulled the aluminum tab off the end of the secondary lockout mechanism so it would open them at any point (please don't ask) and having laid it on the intake manifold, I thought I had the perfect tool with which to block the choke open. And it did work perfectly until I pressed the throttle to the floor. (Some of you are thinking "NO! Don't do it!!!!") Yep, the choke kick mechanism opened the choke even further, dropping the tab through the carb and into the engine - which started about then. Clank, clank, clank........ So, I flagged down a friend who, oddly enough, happened to be nearby and he/they took us back to the dorms. The next morning I got a new head gasket and pulled the head off - with the 3/8" ratchet I still have. Sure enough, that tab was much wider and thinner than it had originally been, but there weren't any marks on the piston, so all was well. I say all that to say that I like your plan to use threadlocker.

Good point, Jim. Don - You may have to run a tap into the hole in order to find threads, much less get something to thread in there. I've seen them coked up to the point they were almost closed.

Yes, as the Bronco only had one tank that switch is not a tank selection switch. Instead, when it is supplied it is a rear power window switch, as shown below. However, I don't know what the heater controls are, but I'm pretty sure they aren't Bullnose.

Yup. Here's the pics shown in the search link above. Quite a range of prices. I think I like the eBay one. (Don't expect any of those links to work - it is just a picture. )

I didn't mean it was bad. Don't worry, I wasn't at all concerned.

It isn't a race, although there may be some friendly competition.

Ray - That’s awful! Very sorry to see that. You folks will be in my prayers. I look forward to seeing you. Safe travels.

Don’t forget that if your engine originally had EGR then the ignition advance was set up for a lot of advance during cruise, which is when the EGR would have been “on”. So without EGR you’ll have too much advance and will probably have pinging. So you’ll want to modify the advance curve if you don’t have EGR.

First, as one who spent many years in networking, I'm always amazed at how often it is thought to be the problem. Second, the 260H is a good cam as well. Here's a side-by-side look at the specs of the two cams. The 260's intake is advanced 5 degrees but has a bit less lift. However, the exhaust lobes have the same timing but with just a bit less lift on the 260. It'll be interesting to see what the tech says you should have.

For those living under a rock, all of this comes from the movie Cars. In the first movie Rust-eze is owned by "Clink and Clank", who are none other than Click & Clack the Tappet Brothers, whose real life names are/were Tom and Ray Magliozzi. They not only were the inspiration for Clink and Clank, but were the voices for them as well. If you haven't ever listened to an episode of Car Talk you haven't lived. Their wit as well as their humor was wonderful. And, they could also solve automotive problems as well. (Wouldn't it be neat to have a forum like that? ) Here's the Rust-eze Pledge from the movie, and was surely written by Tom and/or Ray:

Using the Ford connector catalog it looks like it is: Googling 3U2Z-14S411-NRA I get to this set of results. And in the pics there's this one from Home Depot - Motorcraft Engine Coolant Temperature Sending Unit Switch Connector. However, this NOS FORD HARDWARE WIRING PIGTAIL KIT PART NUMBER 3U2Z-14S411-NRA NEW from eBay looks to be the same for a lot less money.

Don't forget that a bigger engine tends to make a cam "smaller". In other words, the XE256H on a 351 will have less lope and a lower RPM range than on a 302. And on a 408 it'll be even more mild. Also, Don/Pebcak is in Texas, just north of Forth Worth. So his "cold" isn't Cory's "cold". If it was me, I'd call Comp and ask them what they recommend. I say that because they have several different cam series for the 351W, as shown on this page under Hydraulic Flat Tappet. And, to top all that off Comp has the Thumpr cams, which aren't shown in that list. Again, I'd call Comp and tell them what you are wanting to do, Don. They'll ask all the right questions about vehicle, weight, usage, transmission, torque converter, gears, intake, exhaust, carburetion, compression ratio, etc. And they'll sort through a very complex issue and give you a recommendation.

Don't pick a cam because it sounds cool. Pick it for the RPM range where it is effective. I'm not pushing Comp Cams, but their website explains things pretty well. They have several series of cams for the 351W, but the one I'm familiar with is the Xtreme Energy series. Their cams are listed by their duration, which is the spec that your friends were quoting. And, each of the cams has the RPM range where the cam works best. So, with that you can figure out what you want to do. I installed their XE250H in a 351W and was very pleased. They show the power range as 600 to 4800, and I can confirm that it ran very well. Strong torque just off idle, and it ran very well! As for the intake manifold, the 2181 is the one I'd pick. But it is a non-EGR unit, so if you are going to run EGR you'll need the 3781.

For your rusted nuts - Rust-eze Medicated Bumper Ointment

That's a load!

We, too, have a wooded area behind the house but outside the fence. And we have a burn pile where we stack the limbs that come down. Very handy. But the back of our property is city limits and the neighbors on the other side of it can't burn. When we had a serious ice storm about 10 or 12 years ago we burned the many, many downed limbs and even trees. Ken, the neighbor, said "You are lucky. This is my 23rd trailer load going to the dump."

I don't know. Or, to paraphrase a famous Okie: All I know is what I read in master parts catalog. But note that the # for the 1982 chrome grill is actually from 1983. And it is a different part # than the 1983 and later grille. So there is difference. And, there must have been a specific 1982 chrome grille with an E2TZ prefix that was different in yet another way. (If someone really wanted to know I might be persuaded to climb the microfiche tower and check the 1982 version of the MPC.)

Yep, he is reaching!!!! The grille is only correct for '83 - 86.

Never say never, Gary. (I'll bet that's a musical reference that's way past your time) Pinhole cowls let in plenty of organic debris, just a lot less than slots. The amount of muck way down behind my drain boots was startling. I still have a leak on the drivers side kick, because I can't get in there to fix it. Mesh glued to the back of the panel will certainly be better than that. I'm tempted to leave the rubber boots off, so things can simply wash out. With my luck hornets would build a big paper nest in there. “Never say never again” doesn’t ring any musical bells for me. It is just what Connery said when asked to play Bond again - the second time with more money. So they titled the movie that?

I’m not sure I’d call it “bling”. More like “yuk”. Underneath there’s a nice truck wanting to come out.

Well that's interesting. I just checked my '84 and the three outer most louvers are shorter. That's on a Non-AC truck. Gary, You just brought something to my attention that I hadn't thought of...lol. So, starting in '87 they obsoleted the Bullnose cowl panels and substituted the 1987-1991 Bricknose cowl panel. If you bought a bricknose cowl to replace the cowl on a radio delete Bullnose, then you also had to buy that little plug to fill the empty antenna hole. I was going to go to the junkyard and grab a Bricknose cowl panel to swap on to my '84, but I forgot about the antenna. I have no intention of installing an antenna on my truck, and I don't feel like going through the hassle of filling the hole in a Bricknose panel, so I think I'll just stick with my original. I didn't really need the newer one anyway, it was just something to do...a minor update. Thanks Gary, you just saved me a trip to the Junkyard! Glad it helped. Some say the 87+ panel is an upgrade as the leaves and pine needles can’t get through the pin holes. But I like the Bullnose slots. So my plan is to glue black plastic mesh to the underside. The best of both worlds, good looks and no debris.

Dave - That is HOT! Too hot. Glad it is going to cool off for you. As for the cowl, Ford calls that PANEL (COWL TOP VENT) in the catalog, and the catalog entry is here with the illustration below. E7TZ 15022A68-A Vehicles w/o radio also require EOBZ 18919—A 80/F150/350.U150 88/F(Super Duty) As you can see, there was supposedly only one part number for all the 1980-89 trucks. HOWEVER, note that the prefix is E7TZ, so they started substituting the Bricknose cowl for Bullnose trucks. So, it is possible there were two different cowls for the Bullnose trucks in the early days. I'll try to remember to check the 1982 and '89 MPC's to see what they say.

Mission accomplished - the Eagle project was to build four benches for a mountain camp for troubled urban kids, and my task was to deliver two of them: If you're thinking that's not much of a load, you're right. It never occurred to anyone to ask me how big my truck was; they didn't realize I had a real bed and could have hauled all four benches without difficulty. They had located a second truck, so no big deal. After stopping for some good north Georgia BBQ (Bigun's BBQ - recommended if you're in the area), we made it to the camp in good order: I'm happy to report the truck ran great - it actually seemed a little smoother and quieter than before, so I'm wondering if something had been going on with that belt I lost that I hadn't realized. The trip was an hour up into the mountains (well, 'mountains' - our tallest is less than 5,000') and an hour back, so I'm declaring all the work done to this point a success. I don't have any more obligations lined up for the truck, so now it's time to get to work on my list in earnest. Sometime this week I'm going to try to get those U-joints out, and while the truck is immobile for that I might as well pull the carburetor and introduce Dominic to it. And if the carburetor and air cleaner are going to be out of the way anyway, now would be a good time to put that new valve cover gasket in, and maybe even do that valve stem seal replacement job I've been putting off... Well done! I'll bet the Boy Scouts were impressed. And Dominic is going to be getting some good hands-on experiences. Good plan, Stan.

Dan - The guy just got back with me and said it is sold. Sorry. 😩

I thought I replied to this, but I see I didn’t. Anyway, I hope to take pics when I get home, maybe tomorrow. Should be able to do 150, 250, & 350 arms. But, the 350 is what I plan to use on Big Blue.