Gary Lewis

Hopefully the new head unit will come with decent wires. Those in Big Blue are a joke. So small and yet the head unit claims big wattage - which would never flow through those wires. Clock wiring is here: http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/digital-clock.html Anyway, sounds like good progress.

Now I understand. Thanks!

I like those wheels. However, it says they are Dodge rims and also fit Chevies. But it doesn't say Fords. Some wheels that fit Dodges don't have a large enough center hole to fit over a Ford's hub, so check them out before you buy them.

Looks clean.

Most chokes aren't supposed to be hard against the carb body. So 1/16" is probably fine. But Bill may have a dimension - I don't.

Good progress on the plug wires and fuel line. As for the engine dying, I'm going to guess it is quite lean. When you pushed down on the linkage you probably opened the choke and it died. And since the choke was now partially warm it didn't come on enough to get the engine to start easily. Feathering the throttle would cause the accelerator pump to squirt fuel into the mix, thereby making it richer. All of this hinges a bit on the idle air/fuel mix. If you have it adjusted a bit lean then it really needs the choke to idle until the engine warms up. And with the engine partially warm the choke won't come back on fully. So, I'd get the engine warmed up and adjust the idle air/fuel mix to get the best idle, either RPM or vacuum, and then see how it does. If it is still balky when cold you may need to bring the choke on a bit further.

Yeah, that was my thinking as well on the dyno break-in. They sell the dyno time in full day blocks, so we'll have lots of time to play around with jetting and timing if need be. With all the 302/5.0 reading and studying I've done Gary, your HP and TQ estimates should be pretty darn close. I could have bumped up to the XE256H cam which would have gotten me to (or close to) 300HP, but I would at the same time lose 20 ft/lbs TQ at 2000 RPM. If my internet searches are correct, my factory 1984 302 2v was rated for 133 HP and 250 ft/lbs TQ, so an increase to 282 HP/355 TQ will be nice. Add on top of that a 5spd swap to remove that dreadful 3-spd, I think it will be OK. Out of curiosity, I am also going to weigh the truck this summer and see where it comes in. I read somewhere online that a 2wd V8 Bullnose Flareside was in the area of 3450 lbs. I am removing some factory pounds with the aluminum intake and removal of the cast iron manifolds, smog pump, cats, etc. However the larger tires and wheels I'm running are definitely heavier than the originals, and the aluminum bodied 5spd is probably a little heavier than the old iron 3spd. Not that the weight even matters...It's not like I'm racing or anything, I'm just curious is all. Make sure you video the dyno pulls! It sure is a sweet time, and you'll want to savor it. As for the weight, the 1981 dealer's fact book says 3416 for the starting weight.

Gary, my truck did have the holes in the rear sill it was the plate bracket that Ron made that did not have the holes. He said he did not add them to the bracket or the ones for the plate light because the mounting holes may be different between trucks and for the light some people may not use the stock plate light like I am thinking about going LED. The nut cert I should have added and may still yet, to the plate bracket. Right now you need nut & bolt and it can be hard getting hands & tools in on the back side is all. Dave - - - - Ahhh! Makes sense. Thanks!

It dose look good. Gary, that door opens the full width & top to bottom. If you look at the others they make the opening smaller so you can't get in large loads. Look at ATV's or garden tractors they sit high so no go with the other types. Dave - - - - Thanks for the explanation. It makes sense. I've actually thought about a shell/topper for Big Blue. It would protect whatever I put back there, and would give a place to sleep for overlanding. But the jury is still out on that.

Cute! And it appears to be in excellent shape for one that old. The 300 six will pull anything - if you give it time. And the 4-speed is probably the NP435, which gives you a granny 1st for hard starts or if towing. Plus it is stout. So the combo would be a reasonable choice for something like that.

Shocks can make such a huge difference, but people don't seem to realize that and put up with worn out ones for way too long. These trucks don't have the best suspension design, but properly set up they do pretty well. And tires/wheels make a big difference as well. Rusty had some large M&S tires on heavy steel wheels and I replaced them with Dad's aluminum wheels with street tires. I was surprised both by the difference in weight as well as the ride and handling. The lighter tires & wheels sure helped. As for adjusting the box, I've found that any adjustment tighter takes away the feel and the return-to-center. In my experiments, which have been short as they were unsatisfactory, I've always gone back to the original setting and lived with the slop until the box could be replaced.

That's only 580 miles. No hill for a stepper. And think of how cheaply it is going to go. And all the goodies already on it.

Thanks to Vinny we have new Carter YF/YFA documentation: Fuel Systems/Carburetors, Chokes, & EFI/Carter YFA 1BBL. See tab Exploded Views & Part #'s.

I was amazed how much better Dad's truck rode with quad Sensatracs up front than whatever Dad had on it. I expected it to be harsher, but it was actually softer and yet much more "planted".

Will Carter Four Barrel!? Cut my teeth on one of those on my '58 348.

I like the idea of breaking one in on the dyno. Then you know what you have and that there aren't any problems. As for HP, my 406 with 10.5:1 and aluminum heads turned in 400 HP. So a 302 with 9.1 compression might be 302/406 x 400 x 9.1/(10.5-.9) = 282 HP. And for torque, my engine put out 500 ft-lbs and you have the same size bore (4") but a 3.00" stroke as opposed to a 4" stroke. So 3.00/4.00 x 9.1/(10.5-.9) x 500 = 355 ft-lbs. Is that scientific enough? But, note that I've conveniently left out lots and lots of things, like cam duration, lift, etc. However, those are my guesses. Let's see what the others come up with.

Looks great! Fits well and seems to match the truck. But the rear door is different from those I've seen.

Big Blue is turning 2500 R's at 65 MPH, and has enough torque to tow a trailer w/another pickup on it easily at that speed. So when I go to the ZF5 I'll just tow in 4th and use 5th for cruising - much more quietly and efficiently than today.

To me, 67 MPH is a comfortable speed in these trucks, and I ran that speed pulling the boat to/from your neck of the woods a couple of years ago and never thought I was going to get run over on the interstate. And if your sweet spot with the new engine is a bit higher then 70 or 75 MPH is very reasonable with a bare ZF. So if you might be happy with a wide-ratio gear-set ZF, then I'd be tempted to give it a try. And then if you really think you need taller gears then put an OD behind either ZF.

Wow! Just WOW! You think like I do - and I'm not sure that's a compliment. I'm not even sure where to start..... Ok, the last bit on the target gear ratios is really the key to me. But, I beg to differ. Big Blue's T-19 has the same 2nd gear (3.09) as your T-18, I think, and with 3.55's and big tires the 10.97 combined ratio is fine for starting out. It might be ever so slightly too high, but it is quite acceptable. And I don't think the ZF's 10.44 combo is going to be a problem since the warmed-over 351M pulled it fine in Dad's truck. Big Blue has much larger tires, so the effective ratio was lower in Dad's, but the torque was lower as well. And your diesel will surely have far more torque on that bottom end than even the 460. So I think a bare wide-ratio ZF5 would do a good job on the bottom end, even with 3.55 gears, and it would be even better with 4.10's. Then there's the cruising/top gear, and I don't have a clue what R's a diesel wants to turn, so I'll accept your 2.50 goal. The wide-ratio ZF/GV combo comes in pretty close @ 2.43. But, the ZF by itself isn't too far off at 2.70. So, what is the RPM difference at 70 MPH between the two combinations? (I'd run the numbers myself but I don't know that you said what tires you are planning on using.) Is it enough to be worrying about? I'm wondering if a wide-ratio ZF/3.55 setup wouldn't fit the bill pretty closely. I know that's not what you want to do, but humor me for a minute. Is there a way you can try that combo before moving to an overdrive setup? I doubt it as I think you are going to need to have driveshafts made for each combination, and that's not cheap. Speaking of cheap, what gears are in the truck now? Changing those is a considerable expense, so maybe we should think through the costs of doing whatever you decide and see if there's an easier, cheaper solution? Anyway, I'm just trying to come at it from another angle or perspective.

Part of my morning routine while I'm having my coffee and waiting for Mrs. Rembrant and the hound dogs to wake up is to scan Kijiji coast to coast for interesting stuff. I'm thankful to be semi-addicted to junk...lol. I have friends that dream and drool over vehicles they cannot afford. When you're happy with cheap old stuff, one can feel fulfilled very easily...lol. I'm very happy you dragged that old truck home. I see old trucks and other misc junk in the prairies that I would buy on the spot, but being so far away the transport and/or shipping negates any kind of initial good deal. It's frustrating, but I live with it...lol. Like this Bullnose for sale below. I'd be on that like white on rice if it wasn't 3500 miles away;(. https://www.kijiji.ca/v-view-details.html?adId=1346746567&requestSource=b I, too, like a quiet morning. But I don't need any more projects, so I use the time to catch up here, Facebook, and in world news. And I agree that working on things you can afford has a huge advantage. My son (who is a member here, so...) lusts after high-end stuff, most of which costs more for a routine service than our trucks do outright. As for the working space in the trucks, the 460's make things a bit tight, but even they don't hold a candle to later vehicles. I remember working on my uncle's Ford Probe, and a lift was necessary as everything came out the bottom as you said. And to get the serpentine belt on it had to be turned sideways to get between the crank pulley and the frame. And now, on the a 1981 300 six with a cam and 4bbl. It doesn't read like it is running or driving, and if that's true it won't bring $3000, although that's really $2250ish US. My rules of thumb are that at best you'll get half of what you have in a build, and if it isn't running/driving you'll get half that. But that's an interesting project. However, I don't think I'd put a single large carb on an inline engine. Instead I'd run 2 or 3 carbs. In any event, that thing has lots of goodies on it. Hmmmm!

Took it, Big Blue, in for service - A/C. I want to take it to the Fordification show in Anderson, MO on June 9th, and that could easily be quite warm. Since Janey is going with me, I want the A/C to be working. Vernon said it was working just before I acquired the truck, but it hasn't since I got it. However, I'm going to be pulling everything apart this fall to upgrade to EFI, and that may require a compressor change to go with the serpentine brackets. And it is always easier to do an engine swap, especially with a BIG engine, to disconnect the A/C. So I don't want to spend much money getting it working just for the summer. But it sure would be nice to have it. I hope to hear tomorrow what it will cost.

Yeah, that might be a bit rich. Check that the choke is coming off. As for lists, I have a pretty intensive one for EFI'ing Big Blue. And a reason for that is that there are some things that need to be done after another but before yet another. For instance, the fuel system needs to be done with the tranny, t-case, driveshafts, et al out. So I am thinking through the order of things. It is really like a chess game. What rear diff do you have? And, where's it leaking? Pinion seal?

Doing a lot of cleaning and putting away in the shop in an effort to get back on Dad's truck. But, as I find things I sometimes work on them a bit so they are closer to being ready to go when the time comes to EFI, which I think will be immediately after the show. One of those things that I worked on today was the thermostat housing. As said, Huck's was pitted and the one on Big Blue isn't to my taste, so I worked most of the pits out with a file and sandpaper. It isn't perfect, but it is plenty good enough. And, while working on the mating surface I realized that there were some really sharp edges inside that would disrupt the coolant flow, so I used the Dremel to smooth them out. And, while the Dremel was out, I cleaned up the parting lines outside. Then, when the mating surface was good enough I put it away in a baggie in a tote - ready to be powder coated when the time comes. Then I realized that the radiator support needs to be ready when the time comes, and it certainly isn't. If you don't remember, the "mechanics" that Vernon found in Florida hacked the core support up when they installed the engine oil cooler. It is just amazing that they did it the way they did it, but did it they did, so I have to replace the core support. Fortunately Jonathan brought me one last Sept, and the only minor problem it has is a few small cracks. I plan to weld up the cracks this week, and then take it up to John, my paint/body man, who will have it media blasted and then will paint it a satin black. Now if I could get Core Tuning to call me so I can buy their package I'd just about be ready to DO IT!

Yep, 12k winches win! The '60 Chevy pickup I pulled from a field had the right rear skid all the way onto the trailer. We just kept placing boards in front of it going up the ramp, but let it slide on the steel deck of the trailer. But the winch didn't care. So, some people think they can drive a $200 truck home? Amazing. Anyway, it looks like the field of dreams up there. You should be able to put together several Frankentrucks.