Gary Lewis

The part we have carries an E0TZ prefix, so it came out in 1980. But the 1973-79 master parts catalog shows that one LAMP ASSY. (ENGINE COMPARTMENT) came out in '73, another in '75, and yet another one in '78. So there were earlier versions, although I don't know what the differences were.

I missed the "repair", although I'm not sure it was very effective. But fully agree about staggering the joints.

Thanks Gary. Mount will get looked at with a fine tooth comb when the steering box is removed. I have seen several forum posts where the steering box has been braced to the engine cross member. Do you have anything like that on your trucks? The weld you have the arrows pointed toward looks bad on my truck. Will definitely check it out. Yes, I do on Dad's truck. If you haven't read the thread I linked to above then start reading here for the bit on the brace.

I started this thread so we can consolidate whatever we do to maintain the underhood lights on our trucks into one place. And I'll lead off. The light on Big Blue doesn't get used at all because I have plenty of flashlights and headlights in the truck to use instead. But I still want it to work. So today I pulled it out to check on it and I couldn't get the wire to go back into the reel. I took it off and tried to spray Teflon lube in there but didn't find a good place to insert the red straw. So I measured the straw and found that a 3/32" drill bit would allow it to go in easily. Given that, and knowing a bit about what's inside since I have one in pieces, I drilled a hole as shown below, and lubed the goodie out of it with the wire pulled all of the way out. Then while the lube was still "wet" I worked it to get the wire to go back in until it stopped. Then I pulled it out again and let it go back in. After several of these rounds it started going back in all the way on its own accord.

I'm reminded of Crocodile Dundee - That's not a knife, this is a knife. I don't think you have a crack, you have a break. But I don't know if you really want to replace that part. That's because it is welded to the top of the frame, as shown below on a pic from Dad's truck. So if you were to replace it you'd have to not only drill the many rivets out, you'd also have to cut that weld out - and then weld the new part to the top of the frame. I'm wondering if it wouldn't be easier to repair the part you have in the truck. With the steering box out you should have a fairly straight shot at the break. But you might want to reinforce it, if you can, by welding a piece over the break after you weld it up. And, when you pull the box check behind it for breaks as with that break lower down things are bound to flex up above - and eventually break there as well.

You are right, there are several wires to fix. And you are right to open up the whole harness to see if there are other problems. Then I'd lay it out on a work bench or table and set something heavy on the connectors so it'll stay in roughly a straight line. That way you'll know how long the replacement wires need to be and you can cut the bad sections out and solder in new ones. But you'll need to cut several inches away from the bad section in order to find copper that's good enough to solder to.

That is sad. And scary! Having spent time in the Blue Lagoon, which appears to be only about 5 miles from Grindavik, it got my attention when the news came on saying that a magma tunnel was headed right for the town. Yes, I hope with you that it comes up at sea, which is very close as well. Stay safe!

I think you are on a good path. On the POR15, I used it to seal pin holes in Big Blue's floor and it worked very well. Just put some cardboard under the truck to catch any drips, and go under after an hour or so with a brush to smooth things over. As for top-coating, the only reason to do that is because POR15 isn't UV stable and if it is left in the light it'll turn white. So what I do is to spray my top coat of any paint on while the POR15 is still tacky. The spray paint will adhere and it'll also protect the POR15 from the light.

Yes, that looks great! I love the blacked-out grille, bumpers, and mirrors. That looks perfect. As does what I assume is a roof-top tent. And bead-lock rims. Spot on! But how close is the magma from you? I've seen that the Blue Lagoon is closed, and that some towns not far from you are being evacuated. So what is the situation?

You are now, quite literally, on the map.

Welcome! Glad you joined. What part of Alabama? We have a map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu) and can add you with a city or zip.

And a LOT of annoying and distracting adds and videos popping here and there. I heard somewhere that, in its past, this site was similar to Gary’s forum… before somebody “sold” it to some web moneymakers. Yes, from what I've heard the "other" forum had no adverts originally. But by the time I joined in 2010 there were adverts. And yes, it got sold and that's when the adverts popped up. My intent is that this forum will never have adverts. I've instructed Janey and our kids that they need to keep up the various things that make it tick, and never sell it. But I really need to write that into my will.

That does sound like a challenge, but I'll bet you can do it. As for the character line, is the damage near the corners of the cab or in the middle? In the middle is very hard to see with the bed on.

Ya, that front crossmember...if you can even call it that, is surprisingly flimsy. It's hard to even find a Bullnose with one of these crossmembers that isn't bent lol. Very true. I've replaced several of those crossmembers that were bent, but good ones are hard to find.

And then you can crank it up! Let the good times roll!

Yes, Jim is right - more than he's said. I've not only had the frame cracked on Dad's truck, but I had the huck bolt loose on that truck and on Big Blue. The huck bolt is an odd looking fastener that is in the joint on the driver's side where the engine crossmember hits the frame. It frequently gets loose and that was addressed in TSB 97-03-10 FRAME CREAKING/POPPING. But the huck bolt doesn't usually let the frame flex. Instead it lets the frame pop when you change directions. However, I guess if it had been loose long enough that the holes in the frame were enlarged then it could allow the frame to flex a bit. In my thread on FTE called Dad's Frame & Suspension you can see the huck bolt, but you can also see the crack in the frame that Jim mentioned. Those holes in the frame are the ones that hold the steering box on and that's where the crack developed. And in that thread you can see how I welded it up and reinforced it. But, while you have that steering box off, and you'll probably have to do so to find a crack, I urge you to replace the box. The original boxes on these trucks are usually very worn and cause a whole lot of the steering problems you described. But there are "rebuilt" boxes and there are "REBUILT" boxes. Ford's original design for the box calls for the front of the input shaft to ride in a recess in the box as the bearing. But by now that recess is worn and allows movement of the shaft as you steer. And all of the rebuilders but two just use the box the way it is so the box you get from them will be better but not "great". Redhead and Blue Top go farther by boring out that recess and pressing a true bearing in there so the box is really better than new. I just replaced a rebuilt box on Big Blue that the previous paid big bucks for with a Blue Top and the change was dramatic. The steering is excellent and I no longer have to think about keeping it in its lane. Yes, the Blue Top was expensive at $255, but it is WELL worth it.

I'm 76 and retired, so I understand the "slower than most of you youngins" bit. In fact, I cleaned my shop from 9 yesterday until 3 and was so tired I went to bed at 9 last night. Anyway, you are making good progress, and progress is good. But I have some thoughts about the steering/frame so will go over to that thread.

That's a cool tool! Glad you got it out and are finding what was surely causing the problems.

Jim/ArdWrknTrk just informed me that Uhaul Truck Parts has one of the master cylinders you are looking for, and it is only $52.18 + $4.95 shipping. Plus they have 99.99% positive feedback on over 25K sales says a lot. He's working and can't post right now but wanted you to have a chance to get that one.

PROGRESS!

Glad you got it fixed, and thanks for the tip.

Yes, the FE intakes are so wide they go under the valve covers! I remember changing the 2bbl one to a 4bbl on the 390 in my 72 F250. I sat in the engine compartment and laid it in there, but then I was 25 at the time, so... But it woke that 390 up and I didn't have any leaks, so it was a big success.

Glad you are getting it fixed! And making one in steel would be a good idea.

Haha, well, I guess that depends on which angle you're listening from;). One of the comedians said years ago that music went downhill when musicians started to become famous for being good looking! In a proper old school rock n roll band, they were all ugly haha. Speaking of 60's music, do you ever play this one when the wife is around? Haha. It's in our playlist, and it always makes us laugh when it comes on. You have to listen to the lyrics though! PS: Current Flareside situation at my place. It's a sad state of affairs, I tell ya. I KNEW what song you'd included as soon as I read "do you ever play this one when the wife is around?" Yes, I turn it up when it comes on, even when Janey is around. That's because she would never be considered "an ugly girl". On 60's on SiriusXM recently a guy called in and said he was driving with his granddaughter in the car. That song came on and he turned it up and sang along. But when they got home the granddaughter went running into the house yelling "Grandma, can you believe what Grandpa was just singing!?!?!?" We had some interesting songs. Like . Or Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini. Then there's Leader Of The Laundromat. And I could go on and on.

Seems that viral news bumped the price around 10M$ now. I'm thinking that the price increase will help the pickups as well.