Gary Lewis

It’s mid afternoon for us vampire graveyard workers 😎 Take it easy on the 5-year thing. But I do understand your concern about creating more obstacles to getting it done. You mean, like adding EFI to an already-running engine? If you have 2 or 3 places you may be able to steady it, then hopefully one of them will actually work out. And it won't take a huge cross-member since you have the tranny cross-member that should do the bulk of the work. But it would be nice to steady the t-case and OD unit that are hung off the back of the tranny.

Pete - That sounds like the same muffler I was talking about in the 2nd post. Do you know if it was the 5x8 or the 5x11? And, how quiet was it? Deep?

Good idea, David. I'm almost 71 years "young", and have been retired from my career in Information Technology for about 12 years. (I don't really know all that much about IT. I just had people working for me who had people working for them that knew what they were doing.) As for my trucks, I have the ones in my signature at present plus a '69 Super Bee and a '50 Chevy pickup. But I've had a '72 F250, another '81 F150, two '82 F150's, and another '85 F150. And then there was Huck, the half-truck, a 1990 F250. However, I learned that some trucks aren't worth reviving, so I parted out one of the 82's, the other '85, and Huck. I've been into Ford trucks for 7 or 8 years, but grew up a Chevy guy and then changed to Mopars in '69 when I bought a Bee new. As for family, my wonderful wife (Janey) and I have two children - a daughter who lives in Nicaragua with her husband and twins, and a son who lives in Florida with his wife and daughter. So we get to travel to see them. And, we also travel to explore. And, like David, I love the Lord and am very involved in our church. In fact, come and visit this Sunday as I have the sermon.

David - Yes, I have the switch, and thanks to you, again, for finding them. But I can use it for Big Blue instead of on Dad's truck since Dad's is going E4OD. I just need to figure out how to get up to where the switch goes to install it. As you can see from the drawing below, it goes at the top of the clutch pedal and requires a contortionist with little hands. I'm thinking the time to do it is when the brake pedal comes out to swap in the hydro-boost pedal. If I were to pull the whole pedal assembly I could check/replace the bushings, swap pedals, and install the switch on the bench instead of upside down on my back. And since the pedal assembly is held in with bolts that secure the brake booster, which also is getting changed out, that would seem like the time to do it. And, while I'm at it, maybe I'll pull the steering column and go through it. I recently discovered some slop in it, and that may be contributing to the imprecise steering.

Bill called that one right - Laycock de Normanville. Well spotted! On the support, I agree that you wouldn't have enough spline engagement with a plate between them given the shortness of the input shaft. Bummer. Any support you do is somehow going to need to be isolated with rubber. What if you had a cross-member above or below the unit that had a tranny mount on it, and a big C-shaped piece bolted to that. The C would be cut out to miss the case but get the top or bottom two studs of the interface between the overdrive and the spacer. I'm thinking two studs would be enough to provide support as well as keep it from twisting due to torque.

Not really a rare truck. Maybe rare to find one in that condition, but a 300 six w/a manual tranny was run of the mill. And that price is high for what it is. Compare that to what Big Blackie went for. Several things caught my eye and concern me. For instance, it is a frame-off restoration "from the cab back". That means he didn't address the cab mounts nor the radiator support mounts. And at least the radiator support mounts are known problems, so should have been checked out. Also, the hood isn't correct for an '80. Perhaps it is the original hood and he removed the letters and filled in the holes. But the fact that it has the optional hood ornament, which is rare, makes me doubt that. I'm thinking he replaced the hood due to some problem he didn't mention. Collision? Fire? Last, he isn't a Ford guy as he calls it a Stepside. That's a Chevy term. It's a Flareside. Can a Chevy guy do a decent job restoring a Ford?

When I acquired Big Blue the previous owner, Vernon, said that the A/C had been working but had just quit. I've been driving it with the windows down and the wind, exhaust, and tire noise has been awful - not to mention the heat. By the end of even a short trip we were drained. So I recently took it to the local A/C shop and they pulled a vacuum, finding that it didn't leak. So they filled it up and charged me $142. Now trips are much more pleasant and the truck is getting used far more than it would have - and summer has only just started. I'm now a believer in working A/C.

Don't know any wizards, but I do have a book.

I hope you find a Bullnose so you can be “one of us” again. 😎

That’s a beautiful truck. Went for a nice price, too.

Welcome to the Bullnose Forum! That's a nice looking truck. The M-block is my favorite engine family, partially because it is an underdog, but mainly because you can get so much power from a fairly small and light engine. And 300 HP from a 351M is a good case in point. What size tires do you have? They look big. And what gears do you have to accommodate those tires? I really like the step bars as they look identical to those I have on Big Blue. So, show us some more pics. Tell us more about the engine, like what intake, exhaust, carb, etc. Transmission, transfer case, and gears.

Well, I know another "must" for Big Blue's transformation - a clutch safety switch. Had just moved the trailer out for a run to my neighbor's business in T-town to pick up some surplus pallet racks, and had used the front-mounted hitch - I'm loving that thing. Got done with that but had noticed that there is a lot of clunking going on during sharp transitions so while standing outside I turned the key on to release the steering lock to check the frame at the steering box - and I turned the switch a teensy bit too far. Just a quick tap, but couple a gigantic battery, a PMGR starter, a T-19 in creeper gear, and a BW1356 in 4Lo, and it started. Moved about 3' before I could get it stopped. No damage done to anything but my ego, but man that was scary! I really, REALLY have to fix that. There is no clutch safety switch and there's a jumper plugged into the connector. But, it is a jury-rigged connector, not a factory one as if it had originally had an auto. So, while I'm up under there changing out the brake pedal for the hydro-boost one I'll have to install a switch.

I hate intermittent problems. They are so hard to find. Anyway, glad it ran for you.

I'm not surprised about the price of differentials - they are expensive. And, you might want to upgrade with Detroit Tru-tracs or somesuch, and that adds another $1500 or more. To support the GV box, what about sandwiching a 1/4" plate between the tranny and GV unit? It is a question of how long the splines are and if you'll have enough engagement. But you could fashion a cross-member to both support the box as well as keep it from twisting. As for an NP205, I think you could use a double-cardan joint. But, beyond that I don't know as I've not done anything like that.

Despite what the advert says, those are correct for 1980 - 82 only, according to the catalog - as shown below. But, they'll fit through '86 for sure. Oddly enough, there's a catalog entry in the index for "Cover (door trim lower) 23934-5". (The even number, meaning 23934 is one side and 23935 is the other.) But there's no entry in the proper section for those items. So, apparently by '94 Ford was sold out of them and took them out of the catalog. Anyway, these are Nutmeg, according to the A1T code, if anyone is interested.

I would think that any pressure would eventually get the engine to kick over. Maybe not run, but hit intermittently. And while that might point to an ignition or electrical problem, the fact that the pump doesn't stop running like it usually does says it really is related to fuel. And the first test I'd suggest is to put a gauge on the schrader valve. Is there any chance you are out of gas? Do you see any signs of leaks? If the pressure is low then it would seem like the high-pressure pump is the problem. However, you said that switching back and forth between tanks didn't make a difference, and that may indicate a problem with the 6-port valve. It determines which in-tank pump is supposed to run as well as where the fuel to the high-pressure pump comes from and where the return from the regulator goes. So a problem with the valve could starve the high pressure pump of fuel, causing low pressure at the rail. And the 6-port valves are known to have problems - I just bypassed the one on Big Blue as it sprang a leak, but NumberDummy says they were a problem from the day they came out. You can get a kit at the parts store to repair fuel lines, and you could use it to bypass the 6-port valve. But you have to cut the lines and graft in a line from the kit. That means you won't have the other tank available unless you repair what you cut out. And, since the gauge circuit goes through the 6-port valve you will have to wire around it, leave the valve but not have it being used, or do w/o a gauge. Perhaps there's another kit that has the right connectors to let you just bypass the valve w/o any cutting? Maybe Bill knows?

According to the EVTM you should have an in-tank low pressure pump and a frame-mounted high pressure pump. Do you know which one is running? If the low pressure pump isn't running then the high pressure pump won't have any fuel to pump and can't bring the pressure up. Do you have dual tanks? If so, can you switch to the other tank to see if that in-tank pump will work?

I was going to bid more. But my wife found a Tahoe she wanted. So I bought that instead. I spent almost $18k on that Tahoe....I was thinking the whole time.....man I am sorry Big Blackie, you would have looked good in the new garage! I tried to convince her to be happy with Big Blackie. She liked it, but it wasn't practical for driving to Oklahoma and back to see family. It would have looked good in there, but I'm guessing that Holly needed a Tahoe more than you need a Ford truck.

Wow, that's a lot! Well done. But, I'm not familiar with the term "faffed". Not sure I should even type it to ask. I'll assume it is closely related to "futzing". Infinity Reference - I hope your truck is quieter than Big Blue as those are good speakers but you sure couldn't notice the difference between them and others in my truck. Maybe when I get the Magnaflow muffler on I'll think about good speakers. Isn't it time for some pictures?

Pics or it didn't happen.

Bill - I'd noticed that as well, but wondered if I needed to delete history in my browser. However, if you are having the problem as well then it isn't my browser. I'll report it. Thanks.

Thanks. It did take some cleaning, but it wasn't all that difficult. My parts washer runs Simple Green at 130 degrees, which does a good job of taking off sludge, but not coke. The covers off of Huck were coked up inside and that's why I left one soaking overnight, which stripped off some of the plating. Fortunately these covers just had sludge, and a bath in the washer with the lid closed started melting the sludge out, and a bit of agitation with a brush finished the job - both inside and out. Then a trip to the media blaster cleaned the outside of the passenger's side cover. It did take quite a bit of blasting as I'm using a really fine media and it doesn't work very quickly. But now I know that the covers are going to be just right, so now that they are clean I can tuck them away with all the other parts I'm placing in totes to free up space to start working on Dad's truck. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it. In reality I was itching to clean them and blast them to see how they'd turn out. Besides, that's a lot more fun than cleaning the shop. )

Excellent! Yes, I've watched this episode. I'm a Motor Trend on demand subscriber, so I've watched many of these. I was planning on an H-Pipe. My problem is that when I removed the engine and trans, I took my Sawzall to the exhaust...all of it. With the exception of the muffler and tail pipe, it was all original 1984 stuff and had to go. So, in a week or two I'll have my engine back, and I want to drop it and the trans all in there in one shot. What the heck do I do with the exhaust? Send the truck on a flat deck to an exhaust shop, or do something temporary with it, like install a cheap off-road Y-pipe and muffler so I can drive it and get everything set-up and running right. If I order a couple mufflers and get a shop to bend duals for me, I need to know what inlet/outlet offset(s) to order. Most people use 2 1/2". That's what Big Blue has, so I'm pretty sure that would be quite adequate for a 302. And, looking at Magnaflow's mufflers it is either 2 1/2" or 3", so I'd go 2 1/2". In fact, that's what I'm going to do on Big Blue. The 1990 half-truck (Huck) that I bought came with the full exhaust, but the pipes were cut right behind the X and just ahead of the glass pack mufflers. I'm done with glass packs, which is what is on Big Blue now, so will have someone run from the cut back and incorporate one or two Magnaflows, but otherwise duplicate the factory run. I'm pretty sure I'll go with the 5x11 2-in/2-out Magnaflow given the reviews here. Those folks say all the right things - like "It's quieter than I had hopped. Louder than stock but really very quiet in the cab even when towing." Just what I'm looking for. And, by the way, these have an X-pipe incorporated internally, so there might not be a need for an H-pipe. As for getting it to the muffler shop, you might check to see if they'll come and get it. I'm going to winch Big Blue on my trailer and take him down to the shop that way.

Just listened to this episode of Engine Masters where they tested straight pipes, H-pipes, and X-pipes. Cool episode, but the answer is that there's precious little to be had in the way of power gain with cross-overs. But apparently the sound changes more than the power - not the volume as much as the "quality" of the sound.

Good questions! And ones I'm curious about as well. On the mufflers, I've been thinking of two different approaches: Staggered: Use two mufflers, turned on edge, but put one ahead of the other to make the pipes run as closely to each other as possible. Dual In/Dual Out: I'm going with Magnaflow mufflers, and they have two mufflers made into one, like this 5x8" model. I'm not sure that will be quiet enough for me, so I intend to call them and discuss things before I buy, but it is an option I'm considering. EDIT: I just found that they have a 5x11" model that should be quieter. As for full length headers, I think Big Blue has one pipe over and one under the cross-member, but I'll look later. NOTE: I edited this post to include another 2 in/2 out muffler from Magnaflow. But I do think that with shorty headers the pipes run best in the factory location.