Gary Lewis

Grumpin - Ron got that done a couple of years ago - I think. (I did the CAD work and it was long enough ago I had to re-learn 3D CAD for the fog light bezel.) I think he was using Shapeways to print it, but said something recently about a new/cheaper place to have it done, so you may be the guinea pig on that one. As for what I did on/for/to my truck today, not much. However, I did recover enough of the 3D CAD knowledge to create this, which will be for Big Blue when we get all the details worked out.

Pete - You may be right, but we can tweak the font pretty easily once I get the rest of it sorted out. And, I think I'm about there. Here's the latest, but I still need measurements to confirm a number of things, like the placement of the lever opening and lettering since I took them off of pictures and parallax may be a problem. And, on the lettering height and length. But, those things are easy to change. However, I don't yet have the studs drawn on the back that go through the instrument bezel. Turns out that the holes in the instrument bezel I have are not lined up at right angles to the bottom of the instrument bezel. And, since I don't really know where the fog lamp bezel sits on the instrument bezel I don't know where to put those studs. So, you'uns with fog lamp bezels please give me some direction. Also, we need to come up with a way to attach the fog lamp bezel to the instrument bezel. The factory used studs, which were in strange locations, that protruded through the instrument bezel and were melted over. I'm not sure how easy that is to do with the material used in 3D printers, but obviously it can be melted so maybe that will work. Anyway, here's the angle-shot which shows more detail of the 3D: And, here's a side-by-side. A couple of things stand out to me. First, the radius on the corners needs to be smaller. Second, the letters need to be taller. What do you see?

You dog!

I think you found him out, David. Ron - Good job! Both on the tailgate protector and on the bezel. Do you want to start selling the protectors? If so, I don't see a problem in advertising Bullnose-specific things in the For Sale, Trade, or Free To A Good Home folder.

Can't hide anywhere! Leave one forum and start a new one and he still finds me. Welcome, Eli! We will take you in spite of the lack of "proper" trucks. To answer your question about Dad's truck I recommend the following reading: Upgrades To Big Blue For Overlanding? EFI For Dad's 400 E4OD For Dad's Truck

Eli! Welcome! You sure have some interesting projects.

Someone we know would say "Another clueless ebay seller!"

Someone didn't think so - it is already sold. Hmmmmmm

I agree that it is more "squeezed". Unfortunately there are no controls on width, but I did try to stretch it - and it was such a mess I had to close the app. I'm going to play with it today to try to get it where I think it needs to be and is ready for some dimensions later. Then I can adjust it and, hopefully, make it correct.

Jonathan - I'll play with spacing. Like maybe a space between each letter. I already have two spaces between the words.

Did a little more playing. Ran the font through a service on-line that said that Kasse FLF is the best font, so downloaded and installed it. And it is pretty close. However, as you'll see, the distance from the left of the F to the right of the P in FOG LAMP isn't as much as on the bezel - even though the height of the letters is what Jonathan measured. I can probably stretch the lettering to make it longer, but I think that will make it look odd, so am wondering if the letters really need to be different. Anyway, the letters are randomly placed on the bezel, so don't read anything into their position. And, for Pete, here's a head-on shot. Much easier to compare to Jonathan's pic.

I'm pretty sure that Jonathan does, and he said he will get pics of it ASAP and post here. And I have an early and a late tank selector switch, which have the right arm on them so we could have the right knob. The hope is that we can figure out how to use the selector switch as the fog lamp switch, although it will take some adaptation for mounting. But, if someone can find a switch that attaches via a nut on the barrel and has a flat arm to take the knob, maybe that would work.

Pete - Good point on the bead. I'll check out the bezels I have to see what theirs are like. But confirmation from people who have the fog lamp bezel would still be helpful as I'd like it as close to original as is possible. As for CAD, I'm using TurboCAD, which I've used for a long time but am growing very tired of. However, in things like this I don't find a 2D projection to be helpful. For instance the shape of the bead is almost impossible for me to grasp w/o some angle to the view.

Also, Jonathan, I've found a font that closely resembles whatever Ford used. However, when I use a 1/8" tall font the resulting FOG LAMPS is too short end to end. So, could you re-measure the height of the characters? And, maybe measure the length of those two words, together? 😎

Let's take this conversation over to the thread called Fog Light Bezel, Switch, etc.

Here's my first attempt at creating the base bezel. And, while it is really hard to see in the picture, I may not have the bead correct. I don't think we have a measurement on its width, but I have it drawn at 1/16". Also, I don't know if the "filet" on it correct, and by that I mean the curve that rounds the corner at the top of the bead. I have the radius as 1/64", but I can't tell from the pictures if the bead has a flat top or if it is round. If so I need to set the radius to 1/32", and as I look more closely at your photo that's what it looks like. Also, if it is easy when you are measuring the width of the bead, could you measure the centerline of the lettering? I can also interpolate, but it would be nice to have something to check my measurements against. And, what about the distance the lever opening is from the bottom - or top?

Ray - I'm providing the venue. You guys are doing all the good work.

And you went with the blue ones also? With the ones you went with do you have to watch how they are installed +/- so they will work? When I did LED's on my AMC Javelin they could only go in 1 way to work so I bench tested the cluster and good thing as I had a few that did not work and had to be turned 180*. Did you go with Super Bright's LED's? Have a part number? May get them to have on hand if/when I change them out. Dave ---- I used these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Y1CFAB2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1. And they do have to be oriented correctly or they won't work. But, to tell the truth, if I had it to do over again I might go with white LED's. The blue is a bit much and I'd like to see if the white is easier to read at night.

Bill - Good thinking. A quick check on Big Blue shows that all of his plumbing is there, meaning for both tanks and the 6-port valve, and it is using the nylon lines. And the 6-port valve sits at the front edge of the front tank, about 27" back of the cross member. It looks to me like the best bet would be to find a 1985.5/1986 5.0L or a 1987 - 89 truck with an EFI'd 4.9, 5.8, or 7.5L engine in a salvage and get the lines, reservoir/valve, pump, and filter - along with their brackets and shields. I'll probably replace the pump, filter, and reservoir/valve, but the brackets, shields, and lines would be very helpful. And, if not: Tank to Reservoir/Valve: I'll use Big Blue's existing tank to 6-port valve lines from both the rear tank and the front tanks, although there may be a problem as one set of lines comes in from the bottom on the 6-port and I don't know where they come in on the reservoir/valve combo. So I may have to cut the 90 degree ends off and put straight ones on. Reservoir/valve to Pump: I'll probably have to make new lines for this application if I don't find them at a salvage. Pump to Filter/Pump To Engine: I should be able to use the existing lines to the engine from Huck as I'll want to go up the back side of the engine just like on Huck to connect to the regulator and rail. So I'll want to try to position the filter right where it is on Huck to facilitate that. Does that make sense?

I guess it is good, but I was really wondering if the precision had gotten better. A few years ago I was reading that you needed to smooth the parts somewhat after printing. Has it gotten better such that something like the fog light bezel might come out ready to paint? Or will it still take some smoothing?

Stand up guy is an under statement. Again thank you Jonathan. Just have to figure how the lines get run to what vacuum motors when I get to that point. Gary, Thanks on the gauge looks. At this time I am going with the stock 194 bulbs. As said the filters were in great shape, no frosting at all on them and why I left them. Unlike the ones that came out of my trucks cluster. They were dried out, turning white and some just fell apart as I was removing them from the cluster. If the ones I left in look like the truck was kept in a garage & out of heat and if they were even a little bad they would of been pulled. Now if I feel I don't get the light needed to see the gauges I will pull them and replace the bulbs with 194B (B=blue) as I seen posted. I think going with LEDs they will be too bright and with out work (resistor that you do) or special LED bulbs I would not be able to dim them, time will tell. Dave ---- ps: just got thinking of the HVAC panel lighting. I think 1 of the panels has the light need to see what that is like. While we went to great lengths to make David's LED's dim, in the end it wasn't worth it and he usually runs them on full from what he said. So, when I did the conversion on Big Blue I didn't bother and I like them on full.

Wow - that's the most simple vacuum diagram that I've seen on these trucks!

Yes, I got the fuel lines with Huck. But they are really just a big Y, with the supply of both tanks Y'd and going to the supply side of the filter, and from the filter to the regulator. And the return side Y's from the tanks and goes to to return from the fuel rail. So I can cut off bits an pieces from that to use and then graft on. For instance, if the reservoir/valve was properly placed I could cut the supply and return lines just after they Y and put new connectors on to go from the reservoir/valve to the high-pressure pump. But, that may only save a fitting or two and a few feet of line. What were you thinking?

Sounds like a plan, Ron. Have the 3D printers improved in the two or three years since we started playing with printing things? I ask because the fog light bezel is going to need to have very smooth and precise features, and last I knew the printers weren't that good. Maybe they are now? Also, don't miss Grumpin's "That Dash Patch sounds interesting" in WHYDTYTT. Perhaps you want to put up pics in the Picture Gallery of the patch and how to get one, and then share a link with Grumpin?