Gary Lewis

Thanks, but my heads aren’t EFI so I’ll get along with the OMC ones better. 😉

Yes, air suspension should give equalized loading. But the lines between the axles would have to be large in order to allow quick changes when you hit bumps. That could cause problems since moving a vehicle to the front would cause the front to go down and the rear to go up, making leveling more difficult. I agree with the overkill idea on a simple spring arrangement being better.

Well done, Taden. I see that your post is still there asking about how to pay, but that your address is now gone. 👍 And Jonathan is emailing you so you can discuss the method of payment in a private environment. Bottom line, you don’t want your personal info available to literally everyone in the world.

No, Dad’s truck is an ‘81 F150 4x4 which he bought from a friend that bought it new. It was originally used to to a travel trailer, even though the 351M was ...... gutless. However, with a few goodies, as shown in the signature, it put out 409 HP and 498 ft-lbs on Tim’s dyno. 😉 Anyway, there are several pages in this website devoted to it, and you get there by Documentation/Picture Galleries/Dad’s Truck. Below that there are pages about the engine, wheels, etc. Big Blue is a 4x4 ‘85 XLT Lariat Explorer F250HD. He has a couple of pages on the website: About Me/Trucks I Have Known/Big Blue About Me/Trucks I Have Known/Big Blue/Documentation

That’s strange! Any chance it has just weathered? I guess not since it did it everywhere. Perhaps it was a repaint by the dealer for some reason?

I’m sure he will as he watches this thread/topic, and he will respond. At that point you may want to remove your address.

That was my first thought too, and I almost replied with it. But as I thought about it more, I don't think the leaf-spring equalizing setup will equalize for loading very well. I think it's mainly for angle and uneven ground. It's very effective when there's a fair amount of axle movement (like when one tire starts up a curb), but if you have 10% more weight on the front axle the spring won't be flexed that much more so it won't push the rear axle down that much. Maybe I'm wrong and Gary doesn't need to worry about it, but as I thought about it more I think he probably does have a valid concern. Bill - The trailer does have springs and the equalizing link. But Bob is right, those things don’t spread the load all the time, just in bumps. Here’s what eTrailer has to say about them: So the equalizer doesn’t really spread the load while going down the road. That means loading a trailer to the limit is difficult to do without overloading one axle, and as you said there are times when you don’t have a choice where you load the vehicle due to its length. In those cases you’d better have some reserve built into the load capacity of the trailer. As for the dovetail, I don’t mind the rear of the vehicle being on the dove - especially with a 4’ dove since the angle is effectively half that of a 2’ dove. I chain the vehicle so that it can’t possible shift in any direction, so the dove doesn’t cause a problem with the height of the rear of the vehicle. But maybe I’m missing your point. On the winch height, most vehicles I’ve hauled have rolled well enough when loaded that getting it to the front without the winch being on the deck wouldn’t be a problem. But I see what you are saying about a high/low location option being helpful. However, it seems to me like the low position would always cause the winch lead to hit the deck as the front of the vehicle starts up the ramp. And the shorter the dovetail the greater the angle the line will have to make. As for the brakes, I have adjustable brake controllers for both of my trucks. Unfortunately even the ‘15 model’s factory controller doesn’t have memory for different controller settings so you have to remember the best setting or test it each time, but testing proves the brakes work, so that’s a good test to make anyway. Bob - I think we are in agreement. 👍

Taden - I moved your new topic into this one of yours to keep all of the information together in one place. Having said that, most people don’t want to put their address out for everyone to see. You can click on Jonathan/Ford F834’s handle and send him an email with your address. And, you can edit your post to remove your address.

Taden - Jonathan is the real deal. I know him personally and can say you’ve found a friend. Not many would go to a salvage to get parts for someone he’s never met, but he did it for me as well, long before we met. 👌

Ken - Thanks. We use the same setup. However, it isn’t perfect. I recently loaded a minivan on the trailer I have borrowed and from the way the tires bulged we obviously had more weight on the front axle than the rear. It was a front wheel drive minivan so had a lot of weight in front and it was long enough we didn’t have any options with where to position it on the trailer. And the level of the trailer was whatever it was because this was a rescue mission late in the evening using a borrowed trailer with a friend’s truck. But, it wasn’t too far off of level and yet the tires told us we had more weight in front than back. We made that trip fine, but I’m hearing way too many stories from people I know well about blown tires while towing. Not only did they have to stop and replace the tire, in some cases the loss of one tire led to the loss of the other on the same side. And they were stuck. I don’t want to have that experience. 🙈 That’s the impetus for overkill on the trailer.

That’s a wonderful story! A family-owned truck that goes to Australia because the owner had been there once upon a time. 👍 And, it is such a clean truck. You are going to love it. I can’t remember what engine is in it, but I do know that by ‘81 a CA truck would have had copious amounts of emissions ‘stuff’. So, what are your plans for the engine as well as the whole truck?

You are to be commended! I can only hope that my grandkids take as much interest in my special vehicles. My kids don’t, but I hope to inspire one of my two granddaughters or my grandson.

Famous last words. I sorta started "restoring" Dad's truck with that plan, and now I have a trailer queen on my hands. My advice is to establish a goal or plan, and stick to it at each decision point. Otherwise scope-creep will take over and you'll be where I am.

Welcome! Do you go by Dakota? And, where are you? I ask because some of us have extra parts and if you are close...... Also, tell us a bit about yourself. Do you have a lot of experience with automotive things, or are you just learning? It helps us know how to answer some questions, or what steps to describe. And, what are the plans for the truck? Trailer queen or beater, or something in between?

Welcome to the forum! The best place to get parts depends on what your plans are for the truck. If you are doing a serious restoration you will want NOS (new-old stock) parts as they are usually better than reproduction parts. But if you aren't doing a serious restoration then reproduction parts will probably be what you want and are usually less expensive. Or, if you are just getting it back on the road then a good salvage may be the way to go. If you want NOS parts you need to know the part number and then you Google for it. Fortunately this site has many of the needed part numbers. The headlight "door" as it is called can be found on the page Exterior/Exterior Trim And Moulding and on the Grilles, Mouldings, & Headlight Doors tab. But I don't seem to have a page for the grille, so the emblem part # is E7TZ 9842528-A. Or, if you want to buy reproduction parts, then Jeff's Bronco Graveyard, LMC Truck, Dennis Carpenter, or NPD. Hope that helps. But please share more with us about what the plans are for the truck.

Guys - I'm on a quest to buy a 20' car-hauling trailer and could use some advice. But first, my rationale. Heretofore I've borrowed trailers. The first one I borrowed to bring a truck home shed the tread on two tires - in my driveway after a 200 mile trip, so I split the replacement costs with the owner. Another I borrowed didn't have a spare so I bought one since I was going on a 200 mile round-trip. Then when I borrowed that trailer the next time the pigtail had been accidentally cut off, and several other problems presented themselves. And the big one was when a friend said "I have just the trailer for you to take to Florida to get Big Blue - but it needs a little wiring." However, it didn't have an inch of good wire on it nor any lights as it had been in a grass fire. Plus there were just a few bearing problems. Long story short, with less expense than it would have cost to rent a U-Haul, Brandon got his trailer fixed and I enjoyed a very solid trailer for the trip. Thanks again, Bruno. However, I want to have my own trailer so when I want to do something I can do it w/o finding a trailer to borrow and then fixing it, or at the very least checking the bearings as no one ever knows the last time they were lubed. So, as said, I'm on a quest. And, I've realized that there are trailers and then there are trailers. Most of what I've found, used and new, are on 3500# axles with a GCWR of ~7000# and the whole trailer weighs about 2200 lbs. So you are left with only 4800 as the capacity, and Big Blue weighs about 6500 lbs. Obviously that is a non-starter. Next up are trailers on 5200# axles with a GVWR of ~10,000 lbs and a trailer weight of ~2500. Now we are talking. However, if I load Big Blue up with a tent camper and want to go overlanding with my son in Colorado I'll be pushing the GVWR of the trailer. Further, when I get 10 - 15% of the trailer's weight on the tongue, as you are supposed to do, there's more load on the front axle than on the rear axle. But, the 225/75 R15 LRD tires these trailers use have a max load of 5080 for one axle, and it would be very easy to overload the front tires and axle, which I do not want to do. So, I'm looking at trailers with 7200# axles and a GVWR of 14,000 lbs. Subract 3600 lbs for the trailer and you still have over 10K lbs for the load. And the 235/80 R16 LRE tires have a max load rating of 7040 for each axle, meaning there's a safe margin even when you move the load to the front for tongue weight. And then there's the winch. Most manufacturers put a "winch plate" on the very front of the deck. But I think the winch needs to be on a stand to get the winch ~1' above the deck so the winch line isn't dragging on the deck. Which brings me to my question: What length of dovetail to put on the trailer? Most companies will do a 2', a 3', or a 4'. One of the manufacturers said a 4' is a car hauler and a 2' is an equipment hauler. But, I didn't think to ask him why. I think a 4' dove is the way to go because it gives a more gentle slope that makes loading easier. And, more importantly, the smaller angle should give less of a chance for the winch line to hit the break between the level deck and the angled dove. Your thoughts, please?

Jim - I'd love to have some of it as I'd use it on Dad's truck when the time comes. But, that means there's no hurry as the time isn't coming any time soon.

Welcome, Darin! Glad you found us. And, I'm glad your truck finally made it. I'm looking forward to seeing the whole story on a thread on here.

Rick and Jonathan - The lower moulding with vinyl insert changed as of 4/81 at the same time as the moulding w/o vinyl insert disappeared. E0TZ to E1TZ.

I’ve never see that stuff. Cool!

Bill - Thanks for making the pics bigger. 👍 Jim - That helps my learning on 460’s. Thanks. Now I understand that the valve covers in a pic that Brandon sent from a salvage in CA were probably EFI ones. Right?

Wow! You found a crossmember with a receiver?!?! That’s cool! You are really going to enjoy that. On the overheating, I can’t imagine that actually happening at idle with a new thermostat, newish radiator, good shroud, clean coolant, etc. It has to be the gauge. Can you put the mechanical probe where the stock one is and put the stock one in the thermostat housing? As for the hydroboost, I’m anxious to see the report on the stopping power. Seems like the firm pedal confirms what you’d read, and you obviously got away from the hiss of the vacuum booster, so you’ve already made gains. Just a bit more work and you’ll have a much-improved braking system. 👍 Man, you are really making progress. 🎉

Interesting! Are there any numbers on it? I’ve never seen one of those that I can remember, but until Matt Vose gave me the one that covers the ignition module I didn’t remember that either. But we sure saw one at the show on that ‘85. Hmmmm...

Yes, they are interesting videos. And informative. I do think you have the models figured out, but they they did that escapes me. As for the 5.0 HO, I wasn’t aware that the manual said there was one, but the brochures don’t say it ever saw the light of day. Nor does the catalog. So, I guess you have a unicorn. 😎

I agree with Chris. So, when I said to use tape, I meant on the joints where the foam has gone away. And the pop rivert were to pull parts together that have warped or gapped. Just get it 90% sealed, but not perfect.