Gary Lewis

So, did you buy it?

The 4 x 6" bumper was going to be something like 96 lbs by itself, so a 4 x 5" should be 80 lbs. The swing arm, including the angled pieces, is going to be pushing 100 lbs. I think the tire and wheel will go 85 lbs as the tire alone is 62 lbs. And the jack is 26 lbs. That's almost 300 lbs and doesn't include several things. And all of that weight is well behind the rear axle, so the rear may be down a bit and the front up.

Strange that adverts would be blocked. Anyway, hope these work out well.

Turns out I can type, albeit slowly. But I can TurboCAD almost as well as w/o burned fingers. And today I got the trail jack drawn up and properly placed. Turns out that there is just enough room between the tire and the tailgate. And, with some testing I got it where it doesn't obscure the tail light and doesn't hit it when the swing arm is fully open. But that wasn't the case initially. It fits pretty well just ahead of the spare. And, by removing the top end of the jack it doesn't stick up in the air - although I don't have a pic to prove that. Anyway, check it out in Projects, or even better on the webpage.

Yes, it is correct. And it is chrome. And a steal if it goes for that.

1985 thru at least 89 w/dual battery.

Decent price. But the MPC says it is for D44. The 50 & 60 take an E0TZ.

Yes

Bronco, not F-series:

Yep, I have some of that on the burns, but need to put more on soon.

You kind of have to know that page is there. I probably need to do change that.

Well, there have been some significant changes on the bumper design, as explained on the Projects page. But, here's the Reader's Digest version: Hinge: I found what I think is the right arrangement as it it very solid, with tapered-roller bearings, very strong spindle, seals, etc. And, it just tucks in below the active tail light - look at the pic. Swing Arm: I've been a bit concerned about the mass of the spare tire causing the swing arm to flex and something hitting the tailgate. But the taller hub on the hinge allowed me to upgrade the swing arm from 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 high and 2 1/2 wide, and that will significantly increase the torsional rigidity of the wing arm. Lower Support: I had planned to use a piece of angle welded to the bumper and the bottom of the tow eyes, and then bolted to the bottom of the frame, thereby significantly increasing the vertical strength of the connection to the frame. However, it now appears that the frame heights are different to some extent between the F150's, 250's, etc - and that means I can't use that method and have a universal-fit bumper. So I'm still searching for how to use the bottom flange of the frame, and would appreciate your ideas. Bumper: I've shortened the bumper's height from 6" to 5". The main reason is that the hinge really fits properly in 5" bumper. But, there are ways to make a 6" bumper work, so let me know what you think on this - and on all of theses things. Light: I need a light in the center of the spare tire to light the tag, but wouldn't it be cool to have one that is also a brake light as well as a backup light? Tell me what you think of this one from Rigid And, please suggest others. An option would be to put LED's in the bumper as backup lights, but that's added expense that wouldn't be needed if the one light did everything, Input, please!

That looks to be the vacuum modulator, and w/o it being connected the tranny won't shift correctly. As for where it should be connected, look here: http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/vacuum-systems.html

Thanks, guys. At the moment it doesn't really hurt, but may later. And typing one-handed is no fun.

I'll be "reading the mail", but won't be typing much for a few days as I burned my left hand today. Not all that bad, but I'm typing this with the right hand, and it is SLOW. So please jump in to help each other without me.

Don't hold your breath. We have live-in grandkids and I spend lots of time with them. For instance, yesterday they raked leaves in the yard and then we mulched them with the mower. Then I spent some time measuring for the bumper, then we read books, then I.... There's just not enough time in any one go to get much done on a truck. So I spend my time in short bursts on other, truck-related things. But, we are told that they are headed back to Nicaragua in January, and after I get over the depression I plan to be back working directly on trucks.

I will still need the help come the weekend. Thanks!

Well, you raised a question in my mind: Is the poor running while the engine is in transition between one RPM, say idle, and another RPM? Or does it continue to run poorly with the throttle cracked open that 1/8 - 1/4"? Just want to make sure I understand.

As you probably know, I'm designing a rear bumper for my '85, and it'll have tow eyes, a receiver for a trailer hitch, and a spare tire carrier. But I'm wanting to make this a generic item that will fit all Bullnose trucks. Toward that end I measured Dad's truck and compared the measurements to those on Big Blue. And I found things pretty close, as shown below, but I would like your help in making sure these measurements are correct. Here are my questions: Are the holes in side of your truck's rear frame, the ones for the bumper, in the same place when measuring from the rear and the top of the frame. (It appears to me that the bed, and therefore the top of the frame, is the reference point.) Do you have holes in the bottom of the frame? If so, where are they located when measuring from the rear of the frame? (I'd assumed that the holes in Big Blue were factory holes, but since the ones in Dad's frame aren't even close to those in Big Blue, I'm starting to think they were both drilled to accept a hitch.) Any and all help would be appreciated!

There are several of us on here with active faith. As for the interior color, go to the certification label decoder and you will see Body on the bottom line. Click that blue box and it'll take you to the Body Codes page where you can decode what you find there. I'll bet that the 2nd character will be "H", meaning tan, as shown in the table, since there was only one color like that for '85. (You can use my table at the top or scroll waaaaaay down to the 1985 table from Ford.) Then click on the link above the table to go to the Interior Paint page, where you'll see the same table but with an adder to the right showing that SEM calls that paint Desert Tan and the paint code is 3040. Unfortunately any 4-digit code isn't off-the-shelf, so you'll have to find a SEM dealer that will mix it for you. But there are supposed to be lots of them around, so hopefully that won't be difficult.

Oh, I completely misunderstood. So, to say it another way, there's a spot in the throttle movement where it runs really poorly. Is that correct?

Which way?

If you can move the throttle shaft even 1/8", much less 1/4", then you have a problem, Houston. That's way too much wear and it'll cause erratic running since the throttle will close at a different point each time, and a vacuum leak. I've never seen that much movement on a carb. That's really extreme.

Depends on the engine. A 460 would be very difficult, if not impossible. A 302 just difficult. Not sure about a 300 six. You have to raise the front of the engine significantly to get the pan off, and taller engines make that more difficult.