Gary Lewis

Got the hubs lubed and the lug nuts torqued down on the trailer. Sure glad I did as the hubs took 1/2 of a mini tube of grease each, so while they were surely lubed there wasn't any excess in there. And the lug nuts were all over the place on torque, so I'm glad I checked them as well. As for the truck, I did get the iPhone set up to play through the radio - and it sounds GOOD! In addition I got the shutoff valve in the heater hose so the incoming air won't be heated. But, since it will get below freezing tonight I may want to leave it on for the trip over on Tuesday. Anyway, I'll report more on WHYDTYTT.....

Bill - That's good info. But is it for all Bullnoses or for a specific year/engine combo?

That looks like LOTS of work. How many different vehicles is it taking to make one? (What does that say for K-cars?) So, help me understand why a manual transmission wasn't or was rarely offered. Wouldn't the manual actually be smaller than an auto? What am I missing? And, those guys look as old as me!

I don't have the clips, but you can tell him that I do have a page on my website that gives the part numbers of the housing and switches: Interior/Doors/Electric Windows & Locks.

Oh! I thought you were saying you needed the wire colors.

What about transferring the shape to a piece of aluminum and welding that into the backside of the housing? Wish I'd have seen this 15 minutes ago as Scott was here, but surely ......

Backfire doesn't sound like lack of choke - unless it died out as you gave it throttle, then caught and backfired. But, congrat's! I'm looking forward to the journey.

The 1985 EVTM shows: Circuit #351 is Orange/white and goes from the TPS to the EGR valve position sensor, pin 26 on the ECA, and the MAP sensor #355 is Dark green/Light green and goes to pin 47 on the ECA #359 is Black/White and goes to splice S168 and thence to pin 46 on the ECA

I'm downloading the app now. I have another sound level meter app on the phone, but it is more for tuning speaker systems. This one says: That should be just about right for checking the noise level in the cab. Wish I'd have tested before replacing the glass run and anti-rattle strips, as that is probably the biggest change I'll see. But, now I can check for future gains, which will include mufflers, door weather stripping, door sound absorption and deadening, and a headliner - which I removed due to the rain of yuk I was feeling. Thanks!

A shovel is a good idea - I'd planned on taking one but had forgotten. Planks are a good idea, but I don't have any. Should have purchased the recovery tracks I looked at recently. I forgot to list the chocks, but they are in the tool box on the truck. And I have a recovery/tree saver strap, but a digging bar is a good idea. And maybe the sledge to drive it in if necessary. Carpet is a great idea. I think I have some old stuff that would work well for getting down to change out the tires w/o wearing all that mud for the rest of the day. Thanks!

Ok, update time on this thread. I've been documenting my work in the WHYDTYTT thread, but will bring this one up to speed. First, the trailer is almost ready. I've mounted the winch to it and have made a 10' jumper of 2/0 welding cable to connect back to Big Blue's wiring system. That way I'll have both batteries from which to pull current and the alternator to replenish them. And along the way I had to remove the hook on the winch line as it wouldn't go through the fairlead on Big Blue's bumper. Instead I installed a shackle that can be removed easily by removing a snap ring, and I can attach the hook to the shackle via a D-ring if I need to do so. And, I've leveled the trailer when connected to Big Blue by adjusting the height of the hitch, although I did have to grind a bit of metal off the front of the hitch due to lack of clearance between it and the drawbar. Plus the tire pressures have all been set - both on the trailer and on Big Blue. So all that is left to do on the trailer is to give the new bearings a squirt of grease and to check the torque on the lug nuts. Speaking of tires, Roger is sure the tires on the '60 Chevy pickup will be badly rotten, and he won't have time to find good ones while he's there. So I pulled the tires off the '50 and put it up on jack stands. And, in doing so discovered that two of them weren't holding air, so I took them into the local tire shop. A couple of hours later I got them back with assurances that they are now well and truly sealed. So the back of Big Blue is full of tires - the 4 for the Chevy and Big Blue's own huge spare. I have the tools rounded up, and I'm taking a full set of wrenches, sockets & ratchet, screw drivers, etc. Plus my Ridgid impact, drill, and sawsall and 4 charged batteries. And I have chain and lots of ratchet straps, gloves, etc. In addition I'll have a bottle jack and a floor jack. Plus I'll take a cooler with water and Gatoraide. But, what other tools might I need? As for Big Blue, all the fluids have been checked and I even replaced the glass runs and anti-rattle strips on the doors yesterday, which significantly reduced the wind noise. And I've fixed the brake controller wiring and tested the trailer's brakes and lights. Today I plan to adjust the headlights (tonight actually) and figure out how to connect my phone to the radio for tunes as I drive. And I plan to install a shutoff valve in the heater hose so the Vent position will have cooler air coming in. What else should be done? What other tools might I need?

And now we know. I'll get the '85 wire colors off my EVTM in a bit.

Those prices are much better than having a hose custom made. And it seems like you have a good plan and are closing in on having A/C. Good luck!

Brandon was over yesterday while I was installing the passenger's door panel and asked if I was going to install a vapor barrier. The answer was "not right now" as I was pushing to get both doors done yesterday before company came last night - and I made it. But I'll have to go back and install a vapor barrier at some point, which will probably be when I replace the door panels themselves to get rid of the 6x9's as well as the flaking paint. As for the butchered door, the braces in there now do a fair job of providing support, although I can probably do better when the time comes. But I'm so happy that I installed the glass runs and anti-rattle strips. The upcoming ~250 round trip to get the French truck will now be so much more pleasant. It is amazing how tiring it is to have the constant noise, and with the big gaps in the window runs Big Blue had lots of noise. But, while yesterday's upgrade helped a whole lot, there's more to go as the sound insulation on the back of the door panels is missing. So, when I do go back into the doors I'll replace that as well as apply some sound deadening to the inside of the doors. But yesterday's change was such a huge step that now it is worthwhile listening to the radio. So maybe I can figure out how to connect my phone to the radio so I'm not depending on radio reception. That and aligning the headlights is about all I can think of to do before the trip this coming week.

The rotors may be different diameters as well. But there's some difference, and a "1 little letter" difference can mean huge physical differences. And, I didn't mean to sound as sarcastic as I did when I read what I wrote again. Sorry. But I knew that going down the parts list rabbit hole is frustrating, and that there's a better way.

I noticed this year there are a lot of Bullnose wanted ads online. Seems like more than usual. I often check across the country, killing time while having coffee if nothing else. Fewer trucks available, and more people looking for them. I can't say that it's a bad idea...that is how I found the one I have. Posted an ad of what I was looking for, and had two hits within a week. Not sure what it means for the value of them. And yes, all the 87-96 trucks I'm seeing are priced higher...and they're rust buckets. Supply and demand. If there are more people wanting them then demand is up. In that case the prices go up. I really like the posts on here showing what is being advertised out there. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that the supply of good trucks is in the NW, and that's consistent with what people have told me in the past. So surely those that really are looking can find one by trolling the adverts from there. However, the big problem when you find something that is interesting is having it checked out before you fly out to see it for the first time since the cost of an airline ticket is getting close to the cost of the truck. Hmmmm.....

Glad you got it fixed. Keep on truckin!

Is that one you've spotted? Where is it?

You can see the wiring here: Electrical/EVTM/1986 EVTM/Electronic Engine Controls. Page 63 says the ECA is near the center of the instrument panel, so what you thought is the ECA is probably the ignition module on the left inner fender. And if there's no voltage to the TPS then that is a big part of your problem. One wire does go to the MAP sensor and another wire goes to a junction of wires close to that sensor. The third wire goes to the ECA, and would have to go through the firewall. But, I don't know how to test the TPS. I'll look around, but hopefully someone who does know will come along soon.

Thanks for the info. I'm chagrined that I haven't thanked you already. As for what I did today, I finally worked on one of my trucks - Big Blue. More specifically, I put the window run and anti-rattle pieces on that Vernon sent with the truck. And, I can tell you that it made a HUGE DIFFERENCE!!!! Heretofore having the radio on or trying to have a conversation while on the highway was futile due to the wind noise. Now it is easy to carry on a conversation or listen to the radio at 65 MPH as the wind noise is GONE. Plus, the doors shut solidly w/o the rattles they had previously, although part of that is due to the new push pins I installed to retain the door panels properly. The parts I used were those from Dennis Carpenter, and they fit nicely. In fact, they weren't all that hard to put on, although the first one took three hours. But the second one took an hour, and that could have been cut in half if the old window run hadn't been so brittle. As it was, I probably had 200 pieces of it to pick up when I was done. But, along the way I discovered butchery. I knew that someone had installed rather large 6x9" speakers in the door panels, as shown below: But I hadn't thought about what that might mean to what is behind the panel. And I was somewhat disappointed when I pulled the panel and found this:

Dave - Why not use the info on this website? It is under Driveline/Brakes. On the Dust Shields tab you'll see a tab for Part #'s, and there you'll see that the manual brakes are -C and the power brakes are -D. In other words, different part numbers. So that probably means they won't interchange.

Hey, I'm in time-debt to you. I can't imagine how much time it took to get all those parts, pack them, and send them off. So taking those pics was the least I could do. And, "Dad" duties come before trucks - I fully understand.

Well, just not from the factory - right, Rick?

Wow, that package looks like it was dragged behind the truck. Probably kept up for the first two miles. Sure glad he retained everything inside. And glad that he sent the rear bracket. That would have been frustrating to be soooo close but not be able to bolt it up. Can you have a hose made to fit?

Yes, you could. Or, you could act as an agent for members here - for a fee. Inspect the trucks to tell the member if it is what is advertised, and they could fly out to buy.