Gary Lewis

Got a bit done today. First, I had a thought that maybe Huck's engine, which has the later heads, had been replaced replaced at some point and might be in good shape. So I ran a leak-down test on it. The pic below shows the equipment connected, and you can see the high-side gauge is setting at 100 psi, and the low-side gauge is at 72 psi. So, there's a 28 psi loss, which is actually quite a bit of loss. Unfortunately, that turned out to be the best cylinder, and from there it was 64, 60, 58, 56, 56, 18, and 16. Fortunately all of the leaks appear to be to the sump as I didn't detect any leakage out the exhaust or intake. But there's something else shown in the pic. What do you see if you follow the arrow on the second, or low-side, gauge? Notice all the oil? How can that be since the EFI 460's have valve covers with o-rings for gaskets? Well, here's why. (Sorry for the poor quality pic.) Yep, there's a corner broken out of the valve cover, and it let the o-ring bulge out - at the worst possible place, meaning the lowest spot so the oil will run out. Anyone have an extra EFI cover? Meanwhile, I heated two uppers and one lower plenum up to 400 degrees in the oven for two hours to drive off the yuk embedded in the pores. And there must have been quite a bit of it as I had to open the doors to the shop due to the smoke. But after they cooled down I washed the uppers, masked them off, coated them, and then baked them to cure the powder. Here's the one with the EGR port: And here's the one that endured the lumpectomy:

Did anybody click on it to see what/who was available? LOL.... Not me.

Exactly. I am not sure of the design yet. I have a mountain of old barn wood I scavenged from my uncles farm before he sold it. I was thinking of taking that rough sawn wood and making the handrail from that. I've got 2 16' long 6" x 6" solid red oak beams I don't know what to use them for. Overkill for just about anything. Inspector wouldn't let me use them for staircase stringers. I had to buy 2"x12"s There's a lot more strength in a 2x12 on edge than a 6x6. And if you are notching the stringer it makes the difference even worse. Anyway, on the hand rail you want something smooth. Would you have to sand the wood to get it smooth? Or might pipe be easier?

The part of the engine compartment that can be seen looks to be in great shape.

What's the question on the handrail - material?

That's cheap!

Doesn't look too bad for the price. But an Supercab F100 is an odd combo.

I can't find Baby Poop Yellow on the Exterior Paint Code page, but there are three colors it might be: Bright Yellow; Pastel Sand; or Desert Gold Metallic. Not sure I really like it, whatever it is called.

You have to think out of the box! No No in the box! About the box? Haha, Oh, I've been thinking outside of the box alright...lol. I've been hunting for Bullnose Flareside parts trucks I think mainly for something to do. My 302 is still out for rebuild and until I get it back I'm stuck with make-work projects to keep busy. Well...that's not 100% true, I DO have things to do...but only about one weekend worth of work before I'm ready to drop the engine and trans in the truck. So far, I've found 2 sets of Flareside fiberglass fenders. Oddly, both from 1981 trucks, or so they say. I grabbed one set, cleaned them up and put them in storage. They have a couple cracks in them, but are very usable. The even better news is that the metal mounting flanges inside them are still in very good condition with only surface rust. Those steel flanges are visibly rotten on the fenders that are currently installed on my truck, so it's nice to have a spare set whether I remove/use them or copy them and make new ones. I see that Ford also used an adhesive on these fenders besides the bolts. Something like autobody Panel Bonder I assume? I also found a complete 4x2 Flareside truck that wasn't for sale, but that the owner would sell. It was a big block truck with auto trans, etc so not really my thing, but it looked nice. I'm more or less looking for a 4x4 Flareside with small block (or 300/6) and manual trans. There doesn't seem to be any shortage of Bullnose Flareside "project" trucks for sale...there are several online now...problem is, they're too far away. Oh well...the search continues. Two more parts trucks for go look at next week to scavenge for parts, and I made an offer to another Flareside project owner for his bed parts, although that isn't looking good at the moment. Those fenders are good finds. And your approach of checking things out but holding out for what you are looking for will eventually turn up something. Keep on truckin'!

That makes sense. Move the big lead to the battery side of the solenoid and run the new lead from the starter side of the solenoid to the starter's relay.

That pan looks like a bit of a problem. Hope the new engine is in good shape.

The number F2PZ 11K162-A is for a starter, not a conversion kit. But SK-348 is a "conversion kit". From what to what I don't know. But I find lots of them for sale, at lower prices than that one. Even on Amazon.

True for F-150s, but I don't think it is for F-250/350. On the heavier trucks the 2WD were coil sprung in front while the 4WD had leaf springs. Supposedly there's a fair amount of fabrication to swap front suspensions on them. Good point! I guess I was assuming F100 or F150 as he was talking Flareside. But I should have stated that. Thanks for pointing that out.

That is awesome by the way, well done! I've just been dreaming and scheming for my next project, and I want to do a Flareside 4x4. Problem is finding one. I didn't think of it at first, but it dawned on me that maybe I could pick-up a 87-96 truck and convert it. I'm already collecting the parts to build a 2nd Bullnose Flareside bed, so that part is relatively easy and straight forward. So, another stupid question... Were the Bullnose frames the same between a 4x2 and a 4x4 in the same model truck? Or did the 4x4 frames have a specific frame that was different from the 2wd trucks? Just curious. The 4x2 and 4x4 frames were the same. Adding 4wd is a bolt-on. However, there were minor differences. Obviously there's a transfer case shifter so the transmission tunnel needs to be cut out and a transmission cover with a hole for the shifter installed. And on the Styleside trucks the rear springs were 3" wide for a 4x4 instead of 2 1/2" on the 2x4. And a spacer block added between the axle and the frame. But that isn't a requirement. Rusty was originally a 2x4 truck and had been converted, but the rear springs were left the same and the spacer block wasn't added. Also, there's no bulb or even a socket for the bulb to light the 4x4 light in the dash. The socket is separate and has to be added, although it just clips in. But I don't remember if the wiring 'twixt the bulb, the transfer case, and power is already there or not.

It shows in the upper left corner of Page 53: http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/carburetor-circuits.html. But it shows in the listing on Page 54 as having three terminals, so probably shows up on other pages as well.

That would be a big carb! I have plugs in the injector bungs to protect them. I initially cleaned the plenum with walnut hulls, including down into the injector bungs, as walnut hulls won't pit the aluminum. But it also didn't get it clean, so I changed to the coal slag like you used, and it is so fine that it doesn't really texture the aluminum. In fact, I think that's what's clogging the extractor. I think the coal slag is too fine or too dirty and it is clogging up the filter. Think I'll have to change media and see how that works.

Big Blue. That's a 460 EFI lower plenum.

I think I'll be happy with 24# injectors. As for what I did today, I spent the day working on the F450 lower plenum I got from Jim. Started by pulling the fuel rail, injectors, and sensors off and then running it through the parts washer to get the oil and as much of the exhaust soot off that I could. Don't want that stuff in the media as it then plants it in whatever you are blasting. Then it was off to the blast cabinet - and the fighting began. First, the dust extractor wouldn't. Just wouldn't. So I started investigating, and found out why: After a trip to the back 40 to clean that thing out the extractor worked much, much better. But then the feeding of the media wasn't working well. After a bit of investigation I discovered that the media hose is worn internally such that it kinks if you tilt the nozzle very far. Once I figured that out and got things working I was able to get the intake cleaned up fairly well. Still need a bit more work, and then it'll be time to bake a couple of uppers and one lower in the oven for a bit.

The rings haven't seated, so you'll have all kinds of blow-by, low compression, etc. I take back the leak-down test suggestion. Proceed to get it running and I'll bet the rings seat.

Steve - Remind me. How many miles on this engine? I personally wouldn't make any plans w/o doing a leak-down test. I don't trust compression tests. However, low compression test results aren't good. But a leak-down test will pinpoint where the issues are - rings, gaskets, valves, etc.

I'm in no hurry, whatsoever! Please take your time, but let me know what I owe you. And, thanks!

Steve - I was asking about buying them! I wasn't wanting you to give them to me. I've sent you an email, so let me know what you want for them. Thanks.

Wow! That would be cool. Reamer, where are you???

Good idea!

And a lockable hood release.