Gary Lewis

An electrical engineer would be handy to have around on electrical problems. Reading color codes on the wiring diagrams as well as just overall understanding of schematics would make a big difference.

I can only imagine. I remember driving through Ohio a few years ago and even relatively new vehicles had major rust problems. I couldn't live there as it would just kill me to see things falling apart, literally before my eyes.As for “I feel sorry for people that don't drink because when they wake up in the morning, that is the best they're going to feel all day”, my two cups of Starbucks makes me feel better each morning. And the one I'm drinking now will give me a boost this afternoon. (Boy, do I need it!)

Thanks, Bill. This little Microsoft tablet works fine on the embedded files, although I haven't tried a small iPad. Jonathan - Have you tried the first post in Dad's Truck Build with you phone? It doesn't work on my iPhone X with either Safari or Chrome. The file shows until I try to scroll, and then it goes away. But if I kill the app and open it again the file shows again until I touch the screen.

That's expensive for what it is. Looks sad sitting there. Like "Take me home, please! It's cold out here!"

It is interesting. But why put a 2bbl on to feed a blower?

Is it just the angle we are viewing it from, or is the rear axle cocked a bit? I think the LR is closer to the LF than the RR is to the RF. And he has to narrow of wheel on as the tires aren't flat across the tread. Common mistake when going to larger tires on a stock wheel. Otherwise, I see nothing wrong with it.

Yes, I noticed that last night as well on the header. If I remember correctly it is a screen shot. Duh! Anyway, thanks. If you find other anomalies please let me know.

By golly you are right! It does it on my iPhone X as well. And I don't see a reason for it. Let me look further.....

Bill - I'm pretty sure that's not for a cable as Huck, the parts truck, had rods - which I plan to use. But, I do see that the lever points down on yours, so that's probably the way this one is supposed to go. I'll swap it and tighten the nut finger-tight for now and sort it out when the time comes to install the linkage. Thanks. And, I appreciate your response on the inspection plate. I may have to go back to the transmission shop. Hmmmm, I'll be really close to it tomorrow, but it is Saturday.

Good points, Jonathan. And let me chime in on the wiring issue. If you find insulation-displacement connectors being used, walk away. What's an insulation-displacement connector? These things: shopping.shopping And, if you find house wiring, like 14-2 stuff, or little bitty wires, or ....... just realize that whomever owned it didn't know what they were doing and the truck WILL have problems that you will have to correct. And wiring issues are a bear to find and sometimes very difficult to fix. Case-in-point: trailer wiring. Frequently people tap into the truck wiring with insulation-displacement connectors. But the tail end of a pickup is the absolute worst environment for wiring, and the "stuff" that gets on the connectors will wick back up the truck's wiring and make it almost impossible to make a proper connection to that wire for many inches either direction from the splice. In short, you need a new harness, but they aren't available.

A friend of mine recently told me that embedded files are problematic on forums and web sites, and especially for users of mobile devices. So, I'd like to know if any of you are having problems with them. But, you are probably asking "What is an embedded file?" Basically that's a file, like a spreadsheet, Word document, or a pdf that I put on a page rather than just giving you a link to the document. Here are some examples: The first post of the Dad's Truck Build thread, which has a Word doc on it that is "the book" on Dad's truck. And as I have just tried it on my iPhone 10 I can't see it. Can you? The TSB Index, which is a spreadsheet showing all of the TSB's I know of and, eventually, will have links to them. But, I couldn't use it on my iPhone 10, even in landscape, as I couldn't scroll. So I turned scrolling on and it appears to work on my phone now. How 'bout for you? The shop manual section on the AOD (Driveline/Transmissions/Automatic Transmissions/AOD) is a pdf that comes up on my iPhone in portrait mode and I can scroll, but it doesn't come up in landscape mode. So, I need to here from all y'all. What works and what doesn't? There are 10's if not 100 other embedded docs on the site, and I need to know whether to do more of them or if I need to change something. PLEASE!

I rationalize it this way: Dad's truck is a loooooong, slow slog when every part has to be blasted and coated. I can only "slog" for a limited period of time, so I set a goal and work toward that goal. And when I achieve it I need to take a break. Big Blue is that break, although EFI'ing him is a massive undertaking in and of itself. So, expect to see something pop up on the Big Blue channel soon.

Well, this may have been the penultimate day for this chapter of Dad's truck's build. I have everything done save for dropping the cab back down and bolting it on, and I might get that done on Sunday afternoon. (Tomorrow I'm judging a high school debate tournament.) But, let's review what I did today. I was short one nut to attach the transmission mount to the crossmember. But there's not much reason to do one little nut, so I powder coated two nuts, the bracket and bolts for the shift linkage, the lever and nut for the shift linkage, and the bolts to hold the bottom of the engine plate to the tranny. These things: Oh, and I should point out that the grommet is not new. I removed it, cleaned it with soap and water, and then media-blasted it. Turned out pretty nice. Then I put all of those things on. Here's a shot of the linkage bracket and shift lever installed. But note that I haven't painted the shaft yet. That's because I'm not sure whether the shift lever goes up or down, but I'm pretty sure it is up. Anyway, I don't want to torque the lever down until I know, and then I'll paint the shaft. And, for grins, here's a close up showing the lever and the casting number on the tranny: But, I have a piece missing - the inspection cover for the tranny/torque converter. It is apparently unique to the E4OD as the one for the C6 doesn't come close to fitting. Here's where it goes, and those two bolts are two of the ones I powder coated today. So, does anyone have an extra of these as well as the screws that go with it? Last, I touched up all the fasteners I've installed recently. So now the cab is ready to go back on and the truck will be put away for a long summer's nap.

Ok guys, I think I have it - for the time being. But, when I get into Big Blue I'm certain to have more questions. I want to use Big Blue as my prototype to figure out what to do for Dad's truck. If I come up with a slick way to put the ECU left of the e-brake pedal then I may actually cut the firewall. But, it'll have to be a relatively minor thing to do as I don't want to do much to it. As for how to attach things, I do have a welder and can surely weld in a piece to the firewall and then get that part painted to "match". But, I'll leave the way to do it open until I get further into it. Having said that, it won't be a piece out of a Sears anything.

I think you have one of three problems. Here they are in my estimation of decreasing probability: Bad Cable: You may have a problem with a cable, which is fairly common. Do the Electrical/Voltage Drop Test to find out. Bad Starter: It could be a bad starter as the bearings (bushings actually) wear and the armature drags on the field, so the starter's power is consumed just overcoming its own friction, which increases as the temp goes up due to expansion, which causes more friction, which raises the temp, which..... Too much initial timing advance on the engine.

I like it, Ray. Jim - Recognize the valve covers?

It isn't theory. Take a look at the frame on Dad's truck. It has pulled a travel trailer all over the US and is still in great shape.

You are literally on the map.

Dusty & Bill - I agree that it isn't good to pull hot air into the inlet. Even though the EFI systems measure the inlet air temp and adjust for it, that decreases the power available as it decreases the amount of air and fuel in the cylinder. (But that's less bad than what happens to a carb setup, the vast majority of which can't compensate for temp.) So I'll figure out a way to pull in outside air. And, I've even thought about a snorkel. Steve - I knew you had done that, so thanks for sharing the pic links. But, I'm not thrilled with fiberglassing to close things up. Not that I don't like fiberglass or don't know how to do it as I've done a fair bit. And I assume you used epoxy resin? But I'd like to use sheetmetal. How feasible would that be in your estimation? Or, to put it another way, could you outline what you had to do. IIRC the later e-brake mechanism was part of that - right? I may do this on Big Blue but really doubt that I do it on Dad's pristine firewall, so I'd bet his ECU goes under the seat as I'd planned.

I'll bet you'll find one that you really, REALLY like for a very reasonable price that might warrant flying out to drive it home.

A bit rough? Seriously though, if it runs for less than a grand that's pretty good.

Wow! Lotta truck for not quite $3K.

But it is nice. Far nicer than Rusty, and I got almost that much for him.

Ray - I'll start looking. Maybe there's something around here? I'll keep you posted.

Ray - Sorry that didn't work out for you. I know you want a Bullnose, soon, so hope that happens.