Gary Lewis

84/87 F150/250 — w/unleaded fuel 351-4/B E4TZ 9600-P E3ZZ 9601-B

I didn't spit my coffee out, no, but I think that $4500 asking price is a bit of a rich starting point for this old thing. It's a retired work vehicle with 112,000 miles on it. It's bright (but faded) orange and has been patched up, and it wasn't even a nice model to begin with...lol. And, maybe I'm a bit jaded here...but I think you'd have to be a fairly patient soul to buy a 302 EFI Bullnose. I get it though. This was likely purchased at an auction for, I dunno, a thousand bucks? Maybe $2000, and the guy is just trying to flip it. From that point of view, it makes sense. I don't know what scrap metal is going for these days, but this thing must have a 1000 lbs of rail gear on it? Or more? Yes, the starting price is OTT. (Let's see how much Brit you actually speak. ) But removing that railroad hardware would be a huge pain. That stuff's gotta weigh a ton!

It's a list I created by browsing Amazon & looking for McGard lug nuts that would fit Broncos (& F150s), so it applies to "Dad's truck". But you could use the info in the image to identify those that fit the bigger trucks, and look for Darth's. Repeat after me: Any time there are more steps forward than backward it is still progress! So, what steps forward did I have? One - I got the front crossmember installed, torqued down, and touched up. But I still have to paint the sway bar before I can finish that up. And, while doing that I thought I might as well bolt in the new Red Head steering box I have - but it won't quite bolt in. It appears that the casting is just slightly too big and it hits my reinforcement for the frame as shown below. This pic was taken with some red tape on to protect the reinforcement angle, and with Dad's original steering box bolted in - which fit fine. But, there's only about 1/32" of space between the bottom of the "ear" and the angle. So I guess I'll grind a bit off the ear on the Red Head box. (Is this a step backwards?) Also, prior to this I was looking for the pitman arm and couldn't find it. Then, when I went up after Dad's steering box to test-fit it on the frame, I realized that I hadn't taken the arm off the box. (I shipped another box to Red Head as the core.) And that's when the mystery started. Just for grins I decided I'd decode the tag on the steering box I took off Dad's truck. Here's the tag: And here's what the MPC says: Yep, the box says "SPA DC" and that should have been on a 1980 truck, not an '81. But, I'm very sure this is the original box - especially since it has a tag consistent with the build date of November of '80 as I think the "80J" means Oct of '80. And, rebuilders don't put the tag back on. Further, the original pitman arm also is said to be the wrong one. As you can see, it says E0TA 3590-BD, and the cross-reference that Bill/Numberdummy gave me says that is part # E0TZ 3590-B. But the MPC says it should be part # E2TZ 3590-C, in spite of E2 being 1982 - and it doesn't even have an entry for E0TZ 3590-B. I'm going back with that pitman arm, but I think the learning for today is that what the "book" says and what really happened are two different things. I wonder if I ought to climb the microfiche tower tomorrow and see what the 1982 version of the MPC says?

Jarek - First, instructions on posting pictures are here: Bullnose Forum/FAQ's. But I've copied the pic in for you - this time. And, looking at that pic I see that it includes a relay. So, you'll need a fuse and you can wire it this way: EDIT: You could get the switched power from the radio circuit. It is shown here, but is yellow/black.

Yup, very good price.

Jarek - Does it play any special tunes? Seriously though, do you know how much current it pulls? With a bit of searching I found that some have a max current draw of 20 amps. So, if yours is the same you'll want to fuse for a bit more, like 25 amps. The next question is if you want the horn to be able to honk with the key off? If so, you need a source that is hot at all times. If not, a keyed source is needed. If you want it to honk at any time then you could get an accessory fuse holder and wire it to the battery. But if you want it to be keyed that's another issue since there is only one fused source of more then 20 amps, and that's your heater/Air Conditioning fuse and you don't want to use that. Anyway, let's see which way you want to go, meaning honk at any time or honk with the key on, before going further.

Those are nice, but the price is NICER!

Here's a case of an error in the catalog. Note that it says that this Rosewood item is correct for the 1985 and '86 trucks. But, they came with burlwood. Later on it says:

It does go through some hoops, but others are able to email me. Anyway, I just emailed you.

Did you spit your coffee out? I'm glad David didn't post that while I was sipping. So, the implications of "HAS HY RAIL GEAR FOR RAIL ROAD CAN TAKE OFF" suggests you can get on the tracks and make time! So, the bracket arrangement on the steering column is to prevent you from turning the wheel when you and the tracks?

That's my favorite way to clean things up. But, I do have to de-grease a few things and put them away first. That wheel bearing grease is persistent and is on lots of things. First, though, I have to finish this second cup of Joe. (Thanks, David.)

Steve - We are seeing different things. I think somehow you are looking at an old page. I've compared what is in the editor to what I get when I pull that page (Electrical/3G Alternator Conversion) up, and both show this: Can someone else check to see what they get? Steve, can you empty the cache on your computer?

This caption contains many links to McGard brand lug nuts: https://supermotors.net/getfile/487374/thumbnail/tsb985a4lugtorque.jpg I assume they were the OEM for our trucks' lug nuts because I know they were the OEM for the locking lug nut used on late-model Bronco swingaways. https://supermotors.net/getfile/544845/thumbnail/luglock.jpg I found an open box of nearly 100 on eBay, so I've been throwing out my beat-up originals. Thanks, Steve. I actually think I have a set of McGards that I bought when I polished and powder coated the wheels. But I was rushing to get the wheels on and the truck on the ground yesterday, and found these so used them. However, as I start cleaning things up from the mad dash I may find the other nuts. If not, I'll order some of those. Apparently it was both a physical as well as a mental exercise yesterday. We got up at 5:00 yesterday and I got started early to ensure I reached that milestone. And part of the exercise was carrying the tires down from the attic. As I told David, while I have a winch to move things down from the attic, it is slow and I didn't have the time to use it. So, one at a time I carried them down, cleaned that one and mounted it, and then went back up for another. After getting it on the ground I rushed into the house, cleaned up, and then drove 90 miles to meet my brother and his wife for dinner. By the time we got home last night I was exhausted. But then I had one of the best night's sleep I've had in quite a while, which is why I'm getting a late start today. And, speaking of cleaning up, several tools have wheel bearing grease on them so weren't put away. There are hammers, and brass drifts, and old bearings and races, and empty boxes and plastic wrappers, and even the last batch of powder-coated parts everywhere. So today I have to do what I dislike and take time to put some order and cleanliness to the place. Perhaps installing some of those parts that are lying about would qualify?

Welcome. But I don't know what I did to fix it. No, we don't have PM's. And while you and I are FB friends so can chat, I'm not FB friends with all of the 345 other members on here, so chat doesn't work very well. But, email is easy. Just click a person's "handle" and it gives you an option to email the other person - without giving away the other person's email address.

Well we say it in Canada too, so I guess that's just another one of those terms we inherited from the Brits. I don't think I even knew that calculator was there, but it's pretty quick to do it (manually) with a calculator anyway. Steve - That's a good TSB. But I'm surprised that it doesn't mention calibrating the speedometer. And, speaking of that, with the 1000 RPM being 60 MPH fact, I've been planning to try calibrating one. I think I have a 1000 RPM gear on my lathe, so can chuck a short cable in and run it to the speedo. Cory - The annoying intro to BBC television shows here in The States, which is a cartoon-style thing, says "bang on". And "quite". Reminds me of my time there. Liked it so much we are planning a trip back. Yes, those calculators are hidden. In fact, there are several calculators scattered around - in what I think are logical places. But, should we also have a common place for them? We can put them in multiple places, easily.

Glad it helped, Jonathan. But hopefully I'll lift the cab on Dad's truck in the near future and can then easily see and photograph the partial VIN. As for the 82's VIN, I wonder if it is so lightly stamped that you can't see it at that angle?

Yup. I just did some quick math based on the tire size and gears, and with an 8 tooth drive gear and a 18 tooth driven gear, the speedo cable should be spinning 1003.5 revs per mile. Bang on. Yep, that is "bang on" as the Brit's would say. As for calculating things, why not use the calculators here: Driveline/Speedometer Gears?

Welcome, Chris. It was quite a bit of work, but hopefully it will help people who really want to figure out what they have - or should have. And, now I don't have to do it for them.

Changing the drive gear isn’t easy, but changing the driven gear is. So I would buy an 18 tooth one and put it on since that’s what the calculator calls for. And yes, you can change The driven gear and not worry about the drive gear. They will mesh just fine.

Yep, but not new. Just getting the wheels and tires I had on it back on.

I hope this works: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=One+small+step+for+man+quote+YouTube&view=detail&mid=53BC6D44913CCA4A86B153BC6D44913CCA4A86B1&FORM=VIRE Thanks, guys! Yes, it does feel like a major step. Maybe not a large leap for mankind, but it should get some kind of honorable mention? 😜

There are usually 2; one below the firewall, and one below or behind the passenger seat. This shows the locations on '66-77 Broncos (which used the whole VIN): https://supermotors.net/getfile/876772/thumbnail/ebframexdims.jpg Here's the best I can do until I get the cab off the frame on Dad's truck. The parial VIN, which is upside down in this pic, starts at the right end of the red oval, and that's basically 11" aft of the rear bolt that holds the radius arm bracket onto the frame. And, I think the hole that's nearest the start of the VIN is the front hole for the transmission crossmember's angle brace.

IT IS NOW ON ALL FOURS! Gotta go meet my brother, but here are some pics. First, here's how I protected the powder coated hub when installing the wheel - Brandon/Bruno2's red tape: And here's the wheel, hub lock, and NOS center cap, albeit ugly lug nuts: Here's the rear wheel with an old center cap, but it shows what I was trying to mimic with the lock-out hubs: Last, it is on the ground, although not with all its weight or it'll move on the lift:

Jein. Meeting my brother where #chrisislostagain got lost the first time. Handing off wheels. And I have to clean up first. But, in the interim.....