Gary Lewis

Yes it is Gary. It is 54" X 8 ft all aluminum. It has a ramp also but it is folded back and is laying under the cab. It is surprising how much wind resistance the ramp causes when it's up, so I try to leave it flat as often as possible. This would be the new version of my trailer below: https://www.alumaklm.com/utility/single-axle/548-utility-trailer At 350 lbs it is significantly lighter than the steel trailers in the same size....but it also cost 50% more. The size is perfect for behind a small car...the 54" deck width makes the fenders visible in my mirrors, but that's about it. I had always had trucks, and I would much rather have a truck now, but this trailer gets me by in a pinch. I use the car for my work, and the MPG is very important. Of course my carrying capacity is limited, but it gets me by for now;). That is a really nice trailer! Light enough to move by hand, which makes getting it out/putting it up so much easier than my trailer, but big enough to do some serious work.

FIFY! It appears that there's no chance of the Xmbr meeting the factory frame holes. No, not a chance. The crossmember will be ~6" aft of the factory holes. But I'll measure and report on exactly where they are as I do it.

When I get the crossmember in I'll add the transfer case and it'll look like a mile-long drive train.

I have a Warn winch bumper on Big Blue. Is that what you are talking about?

Bill - Looking at the Trick Flow site there are two upper plenums: 75 and 90 mm. I'll have to check with Tim to see which one we ordered. (He still has it at his shop using it for measurements.) Hopefully it is the 90 mm one.

Yes, I thought so. By the way, don't forget to start a thread to introduce yourself in the New Members Start Here folder.

An option might be the woodgrained adhesive-backed vinyl. I did that to a friend's car in the 60's and it held up well, so surely 50 years later the technology of vinyl is even better.

That's very helpful, Dusty. I guess I hadn't realized that the Trick Flow intake has a single throttle body, unlike the 460 outfit I'm using on Big Blue. But, I looked and you are right. However, I'm a little confused. The 96 F150 mass air lid will fit to even the SD lower portion of the airbox, but you are saying that I'd want the Lightning air inlet tube to use with it?

E0TZ 3B676-A was used on trucks with either P/S or manual steering and made before 2/81

I have some dealer pricing info that I could probably scan in tomorrow and put up on the site. As for the truck you described, here's Big Blue: XLT Lariat Explorer package with cruise, tilt, camper/trailer, auxiliary battery, etc. And you can see the other bits in the signature. (By the way, you could have a signature that tells us what you are hunting for. Perhaps someone will know of one.)

Yes, nice haul! And, nice trailer. I like aluminum trailers - that's what it is, right? Big Blue sure knew that my steel trailer was behind him yesterday, but aluminum would have cut that weight down a bunch. However, I couldn't find a reasonably-priced aluminum trailer. And, I'd not thought about placing the cab on sideways. It fits nicely and cuts the wind resistance dramatically.

Well, where do I start? Will this suffice? No? So, you want a slightly longer explanation? Well, on the left you have a block w/a 460's crank sticking out, the red bit, then a 460's flexplate (orange), and an E4OD's torque converter (green). On the right you have the same with an M-Block's crank (blue) and flexplate (blue) added. Note that the ring gears and flexplates are in essentially the same exact position, with the M-Block's being .006" forward of the 460's. Big deal. And, what you can't tell is that the pilot on the torque converter is engaging the M-Block's crank by .332", which is probably adequate. However, the pilot engages the 460's crank .862". (NB: These dimensions are after subtracting .100" for the engine plate's thickness.) So, if that is the case then why not torque the flexplate down, slide the tranny forward and engage the flexplate, slip the nuts on the studs, torque them down, and then torque the tranny/engine bolts down? Done, and the engine turns over easily by hand. Here's where I'm stopping for today so I can get cleaned up for church. But tomorrow I'll do the rear mount and crossmember. Then it'll be about time to put the cab back on.

Guys - I'm back from Janey's checkup and it went well. And, after trying to catch up on various things I'm now working the measuring/drawing thing, and have these responses: Steve - Thanks. I think you've answered a question I've been wrestling with, which is how to measure the space between the TC and the flexplate on Dad's truck. There's a bulge on the flexplate just outside where the TC mates, and it makes in next to impossible to measure. But, your idea of measuring the studs is the key - subtract what's poking through from the full stud measurement and you have the space. Jonathan - You have figured out my thinking. But, I'll have to be better with explanations in future. Better yet, the drawings should make it easier to understand.

I've picked that mag up before, but hadn't realized they are misinformed on when the F100's stopped. May just write them an email and point them at the dealer facts books which show the last year that had an F100 ('83) and the first year that didn't ('84). But, I'll need to scan in the '84 book first.

Last needs-a-clutch truck I bought, coincidentally for $500, had a blown 9", bad rear driveshaft, and the front driveshaft was in the toolbox because it was bad as well - but the clutch was fine. Plus there was a 1/8" gap between the intake and block so that it drooled oil - only when driven.That was the truck that made me institute the rule that trucks which cannot be driven to ascertain their problems are only to be parted out.

The XLS Bronco I saw had several functional options, including front LSD & quad front shocks w/o trailer package. I think it was an '84, and its paint didn't look like the one in your pic. I remember short graduated vertical stripes along the beltline leading to the "XLS" letters at the rear (but it has been a few decades). I can't find a truck like that on Google Images. Do you have options lists for them that show what was in that package each year? Steve - See the Vehicles tab here (Literature/1983 Literature/Dealers Fact Book) for the detail. For the Bronco it is on Page 6.

Just a late model Chebby Malibu. Low enough that it didn't like the ramps to the trailer as the chin spoiler now has some tracks on it.

Really difficult to tell with the open exhaust. And it could be an air/fuel mix problem. But I agree with Pete that it sounds like it has more overlap than stock.

If you are referring to Delco, he asked what came with the toolbox option. Here's what the '81 brochure says, with the light group © in the lower left and the toolbox option (E) towards the center. Both get the underhood work light, but nothing else in common.

Ray - I can't wait to show it to you. Bill - I'll go look on FTE for them. You posted them? All - I got some measuring and CAD work done today, but then the call came to rescue a friend, as explained on WHYDTYTT, and I spent the rest of the day doing that. And now I'm exhausted. But I can already see that the spacer I used for the ZF5 isn't going to work for the E4OD as it holds the torque converter too far rearward and that causes a bind as well as doesn't all it to mate properly with the flexplate. So, after Janey's checkup tomorrow I'll get back to measuring and drawing. But I put the E4OD's flexplate back on the 460 on the engine stand, so instead of calculating dimensions I can now directly measure them - on both the 460 as well as the M-block. Like the position of the ring gear with respect to the rear of the block. Like the position of the part of the flexplate where the torque converter mates with respect to the block. So that will simplify as well as make things more accurate.

We've all done it, made some mistake that when we look back seems so obvious. So, you aren't alone. I'm just glad you peeled another layer of the onion. Yeah, you probably have more layers to go, but you'l get there. As for the idle, it didn't sound like it had a lope to me. But, you can induce a lope with a bad idle air/fuel mix. Lean seems to do it most easily and the engine will almost die and then come back again. So maybe what you are hearing is just because the idle mix is off.

Good question. Page 18 of the 1981 truck brochure says when you ordered it you also got the retractable light and locking hood release.

Angelo - Sometimes it takes a while for us "old" people to figure things out. So, what did I do to/with my truck today? I used it, and the trailer, to retrieve a broken-down car - a Chevy, naturally. Got a call from a friend from church that there car had overheated. They knew that they had a leaking head gasket, so they put some "stuff" in the cooling system to seal the head gasket. But, it appears to have sealed the thermostat as well. So I went down in Big Blue, picked them up and took them home. He went back in his 90's F150 and changed out the thermostat. And if the original thermostat was plugged then this one plugged as well. So they came to the house and he helped me get the trailer out and we went after the car. Or, should I say Chevy?

For trim, I like XLT Lariat Explorer, which is what Big Blue is. For the feature, or option, the underhood toolbox is a my favorite.

No, there's no thread yet. But, the date is now Sept 21st. It is always on Skiatook's Pioneer Day, and that is the 3rd Saturday in September and that's the 21st this year. Sorry, not the 14th. But, I hope you get to come!