Gary Lewis

Thanks, I’ll go look at Scott’s site again. But Vernon had no documentation on the engine. When I asked he said the “mechanic” did all that and he didn’t get any documentation. When Vernon discovered it leaked terribly, partially because it had no valve cover gaskets, he tried to go back on the guy - to no avail. Then the guy wouldn’t even answer the phone. So he got nothing. 😩

Bill - Thanks. What is the deck height for 1972+ engines? I'll want to check BB's deck height against that spec to see if it has been decked and that they didn't use taller pistons. We shall see what the mongrel setup looks like as I pull it apart and envision installing the FI heads. Gonna resemble Johnny's Caddy.

Yes, larger valves. The heads I have, the F3TE's, have the largest of the 460 valves from what I remember. I'll also have to compare chamber sizes on whatever is on the engine to those of the F3TE's. But you are pointing out what I'd failed to think about - the possibility of the valve hitting the pistons. Guess I'll be playing with play dough to find out.

I can neither confirm nor deny that the F-Series trucks had other than argent-colored wheel covers as an option. That's 'cause I can't find any mention of different colors for even the vans, much less the pickups, in the dealer facts books. But my suspicion is that it was just the vans.

Thanks, Jim. I will probably have parts to sell when the dust settles. Yes, BB's engine has problems. And, I was aware that the pistons are different, so do plan to check them out. But, the engine has enough compression and/or ignition advance that it REQUIRES 92 octane to pull much of a load, and even then only w/o vacuum advance or it'll ping and then knock. Here's sorta my game plan: Pull the engine and run a leak-down check to see if the short-block is sound. (Huck's 460 had up to 50% leakage in some cylinders and serious leakage in all.) Pull the heads and determine what pistons I have as well as their deck height. Calculate compression ratio and decide if that is going to work Assuming it will, replace seals and install the pan and heads from Huck awa the valve covers and plenums from the F450 And, I'm sure to be back to y'all about what I find to get your advice on whether to proceed. As for the truck to buy, with David's help I just bought a 1990 - 99 text section of the MPC in book format. It should be in next Wednesday and then I can determine which of the 90's trucks have the right cross member. And, of those I'll see which had a D60 front axle, which should then give me the list from which to go shopping. I just had this conversation with Janey, so she knows what I'm doing and concurs with my plan of buying an F350 for the cross member awa front axle & suspension. I explained that if ever there was a time, this is it. So I might as well look for a truck that has all of the goodies rather than one with just the cross member. So, we have a plan.

That's essentially correct, but to help bound/qualify it... I'm talking about for a truck that might be driven at higher speeds in 4WD. My only experience with this is on snowy highways, but high-speed desert driving is likely to be similar (but out of my experience). For slow speed 'wheeling I think there are other acceptable / good options. And while I would estimate that a TrueTrac would be acceptable in that situation, I don't have personal experience with it. The physics behind it tell me that a TrueTrac would be worse than an open diff, but much better than the auto locker that I know is unacceptable. So my estimation that it would be acceptable is mostly based off other people's testimonials. Oh, and I think a selectable would be both more stable on the highway (unlocked) and more effective off-road (locked) Jim - It leaks from both crank seals as well as the back of the intake. And probably other places as well. As for selling the 460, I'm going to use the short block and bolt on the heads from Huck, which have been fully gone through, and the EFI stuff from you. But, I will be able to sell the L&L's, the Performer intake and carb, as well as whatever heads are on the engine now - although the thing is dropping one cylinder for sure and probably another so surely has valve problems. And, for that matter, the D44 with Trutrac. Bob - I don't envision high-speed desert driving, or even high speeds on snow for that matter as we no longer get enough to warrant that. But, I do want the front to be driver-friendly as there's no telling who in my family will be driving it. I grew up driving on snow and ice, and feel like I could handle the truck the way it is. But no one else in the family has any experience whatsoever on slick roads, so it has to be friendly. And selectable is my pref. In fact, were it not for the Trutrac already being there in the rear I'd go that way back there. On your point about spinning tires not having side traction, I remember all too well a friend of mine that was coming to work on a well-crowned city street. The street was snow-packed and they stopped at a light. When the light changed everyone else with their open diffs moved ahead, and his Nova with Posi slide sideways clear off the road. So, open diffs with the option to lock them would be my favorite. Wait! That's what my 2015 has! Pull the knob and it locks the rear up to maybe 10 MPH.

We have a bit about embedding on the Forum FAQ’s: http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/forum-faqs.html. Perhaps it isn’t explanatory enough? Does it need more on Youtube? Perhaps info on how to get the two different codes, depending on what device you are using? Jim/Ray - Can you take a look and let me know?

Correction, there are limited slips and LIMITED slips (to use your form of differentiation, pun intended). Neither the Ford Traction Lock nor the TrueTrac are lockers at all, they are both limited slip diffs, albeit completely different from each other. The Traction Lock puts friction between the two sides so it functions like a spool until it exceeds the slip torque of the clutches. Then it acts like an open diff, but with a fixed amount of drag between the two sides. A TrueTrac uses worm gears to send 3.5x (or 2.5x in front axle applications) as much torque to the tire that gets more traction. So if it takes 200 lb-ft of torque to spin the tire that gets the least traction it will send up to 700 lb-ft (or 500 lb-ft for a front application) to the other tire. Or if it takes 0 lb-ft to spin the tire with the least traction it will send 0 lb-ft to the other tire. In most situations a TrueTrac is much more effective than a typical Traction Lock (or any other clutch-type limited slip), but they are actually less effective when one tire gets no traction (like if it's in the air, or on ice). But it never locks. Automatic lockers are things like Detroit, Grizzly, LockRight, Spartan, Aussie, etc. They actually do lock up and are what can be a nightmare on a snowy highway. TrueTracs and typical (i.e. fairly loose) Traction Locks should be less dangerous than an auto locker in a front axle. But of the three, a TrueTrac is the only one I'd ever even consider using in the front axle of a truck that would be driven on snowy highways. But a selectable locker would probably be a better choice, at least in my opinion. Bob - I appreciate the correction as well as the additional info. So, in your estimation the Trutrac is acceptable in the front, but selectable is best. Thanks.

I'm just about to buy a copy of the 1990 to probably '99 master parts catalog, which would have let me answer the question here. (And, let me know what F350's can be a donor for Big Blue's transformation.) Anyway, glad you found it. Let us know how it goes.

Jim - You make very good points. The sieve-like 460 will be on the stand, and lots of things will be off for the cross member replacement, so that would be the time. Guess I'd better get started finding the donor!

I assume that's the same one and you painted it? It looks good. What paint did you use?

Jim - I like the idea of the punch die having a countersink. Go for it! Invent it. But I didn't mean to imply that John doesn't have a need for fancy tools. Just that he doesn't have them. He didn't even have a rotisserie until I came along, but I took mine up and he is still using it - which is great 'cause I don't need it as he does my body work. As for the hand cleaner, I carry a tube of Fast Orange in my tool box for use when out and about. I just need to find the "right" cleaner for the shop. Years ago I won a wall-mounted dispenser for Go Jo, but while it was convenient it leaked and there was always a mess under it. So I thought the Permatex dispenser would be the way to go, but I'm not too happy with it. Maybe I'll go back to the 2 gallon plastic bottle with a pump on top. Anyway, thanks for the congrat's! Yes, I am really looking forward to getting past this last hurdle. In fact, when John comes down and applies the bed liner under the cab I'm taking a break on Dad's truck and moving on to Big Blue. (If only I knew exactly what to do to BB. )

Darin - It looks great! You are ready to put the engine in. Blue springs? I've only seen black. What brand are they?

Or is it yet another error in the catalog? They were used on the vans, so might have gotten copied over. Let me check the dealers facts books......

I missed that it is an auction. Well spotted! But I do agree w/you on the errors in the catalog. And, I can add them if we knew. Rear bumpers were used for several years after the Bullnose era, so '87 is feasible. And did the black bumper end in '83?

I can move it, but you still should have an introduction post here. Or, you can just start a new thread in the main section. Your call. And, you are on the map.

I don't use the embed button in the toolbar. I use the embed button on Youtube to get an iframe set of code. Here are the steps I do, visually, after ticking the HTML box above:

You missed the R, which stands for Ranger, the little pickup. These aren't for Bullnose trucks. Oops. I see that I'd said "Note" rather than "Not" for the F-Series trucks. My bad.

Welcome! Glad you found us. Where's home? We have a member's map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map) and I'd be happy to put you on it if you'd give me a city. On your wiring issue, this isn't the best place to diagnose things as not everyone sees post in the New Members Start Here folder. It is really more for introductions and then posts about your truck usually go in the main section. However, the wiring diagram you want will be here: Electrical/EVTM/1985 EVTM and then scroll down to 19. Fuel Tank Selector & Gauges (Gas).

Ray - Here's the way I do it: 1. Tick the Message is in HTML Format box above 2. Go to the Youtube video and hit the Share button 3: You'll get a pop up, and hit the Embed button 4. Copy the embed code, that will look this this but with a < before it and a > after it: iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/X98iu91Gtpk" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen 5. Paste that into the post. But note that when you are in HTML format you don't get line feeds and other things, so you probably don't want to do more than post the video.

From what I've read that's an apt description. And I've also read that you shouldn't send your wife or daughter out on a snowy night in a vehicle that has one. As for front height, 2" would be great and 4 might work. I had an auto locker in the front of an F-150 for one winter. At slow speeds (like when four-wheeling) it was very annoying, but not terrible. Certainly worth the annoyance if you valued the performance. But I wouldn't even use it myself on a snowy highway after the experience I had the first time I tried to change lanes, and certainly wouldn't send anyone else out with it. The front locker effectively made my truck a 2WD on highways until I went back to an open diff. There are auto lockers and then there are auto LOCKERS. And the Trutrac falls into the latter category. Ford's unit had clutches that probably eased into full lockup. But not the Trutrac. When it comes in it seems to come in suddenly. That made things interesting when the rear decided to lock up on me, but I don't think "interesting" would cover it if the front locked up. With both rears spinning you can steer into it, but I'm guessing the only thing to do with both fronts spinning is to get off the throttle. So, I'm more and more thinking that replacing that thing would be a good idea. Which makes the D60 swap even more interesting. But, saying "D60" in the same sentence as "front axle" seems strange. Back in my day the Hemi came with a D60 in the rear axle. So it must be a capable diff. Guess I'd better start looking.

I've earned a LOT of money fixing them for people who made that mistake. The mistake of owning one?

I'm confused. I can see that the Ford sack says "E3TZ-1060230-A". But Ford's documentation says that doesn't exist. Obviously it did exist, but was apparently taken out of the catalog before it "final publication" in '94. So I can't say what it fits nor what the color is - although it is obviously black.

The manual transmission boot is E0TZ-7277-A The transfer case boot is E0TZ-7277-E The problem I'm having is that the trim ring just seems to be too small and the boot covers most of it. In the pictures I have, the trim ring is clearly visible and the boot doesn't cover it at all. The 80-82(11/81) boots only have four folds like I thought. In the below photo, only two folds are through the boot, and you can see that they already fill the opening of the trim ring. In the below photo, it's pretty clear that the trim ring is not obstructed by the boot in any way. Shaun - I'll see what I can find on the '82 microfiche tomorrow. But, doesn't the trim ring just clip onto the carpet? The one that I have has ears that I think are supposed to be tucked under the carpet.

Jim - Sorry, I missed this. Yes, the nozzle did mix it nicely. And I was told to run 2" of stuff out before installing the nozzle. What it didn't say is that you'd better have a strong grip. I now understand why there is a pneumatic applicator. I broke out in a sweat getting the adhesive in place. As for the hand cleaner, I may give it a try. I have been using Permatex's Grease Grabber, and even bought the dispenser. But the only way it works well is to get a gob of it in the palm of your hand and add a squirt of Dawn. That combo works pretty well. But, for the price I'm not impressed. Thanks, David. I really wanted to document this as I went 'cause I suspect someone else is going to want to put an E4OD in their 4wd Bullnose and I thought they should know one way to solve the floor problem.