Gary Lewis

Chad - First, thanks again for the Bronco bucket seats. Just got home late last night and will be reporting on them soon. And, btw, I had a sticker for the forum laid out in the truck for you but forgot to give it to you. Will mail it to you soon. Second, brake mod issues are complicated, which is surely why you've not gotten a response. But let me try to find the spec's involved and let's see if we can find an answer. The standard brake wheel cylinder for your Bronco was 1" in diameter, and an '84 and later F350 SRW would have a 1" wheel cylinder. However, the MPC seems to say that they are different part numbers, although I can't really confirm that as I can't find the number for the Bronco, but the F350 is E2TZ 2261-B and E2TZ 2262-B. So, I'd go back with the appropriate cylinder for the Bronco.

I'm guessing that the reason the RPM's went up is that the fast idle kicked in, which is exactly what it should do. The fast idle RPM is adjustable, so that's not a big worry. And it may have died because the choke didn't come off very fast. There are two ways to hook up a full-electric choke: Quick & Dirty: The white/black wire (white with a black stripe) comes from the alternator's stator circuit and supplies ~7 volts. This can be used to heat the choke but it will take a lot longer than full battery voltage. I've used it and it works fairly well. Proper Way: Ford used a relay, as shown below from the '85 EVTM, to power a full electric choke. The relay gets its power from the always-hot terminal of the starter relay and is pulled in by that white/black wire from the alternator. If you don't mind doing some wiring then go for the relay. But if you just want to get it on the road for a test use the wire from the alternator. It won't pull the choke off nearly as fast as battery voltage, so you'll have to adjust the choke some.

Bummer! As you said, things were going so well.

Yep, I have it. I've been on a trip but got in this evening and there it was. Thanks for the bracket and connectors, Mark. The ECU is available to whomever needs it.

Looks very good. I think you were right to replace the metal, and I'd bet the deadener is as good as the other stuff.

Well done!

That’s great news. Glad it really feels good.

Well done! Now for the “here’s how well it works” report.

Good luck on both issues!

I think I had to get into the third quart, but just. So two should fill a system w/o hydroboost.

That seems like a good plan. And should give a decent finish.

Yes, that IS pretty! Good luck with it.

Yes! Start the truck! A C-II will push fluid out through the vent in the lid if you turn the wheels with the engine off. And there will be fluid everywhere.

Excellent!!! Thanks.

Well done! Would he like to share his plans?

Glad you got the parking brake to work some. But as the shoes wear and everything centers up I think you’ll have to tighten the brakes a bit more. Or, back up and stop several times. The welding looks good. I’m anxious to see the winch support come together.

I think my problem was the luck of the draw, and it was compounded by the drawing being wrong. I think HF would have had the part if we’d been able to find the part number. But their support people knew nothing of the machine while Grizzly’s did. I still buy HF stuff, but were I to buy a lathe or mill I’d look at Grizzly as they provided excellent support.

As far as I know, Dave, nothing was upgraded. And I've not moved anything in the last two weeks. So I'm curious to see what you find.

Nice looking truck, Angelo. My, you are getting quite the stable. You'll have a Ford museum!

Yes, certainly Projects is the place for this. And while I don't have the files quickly available I think the thread back on FTE on Dad's Air Cleaner should suffice. Start here.

Bummer! No chance to put it in a press to straighten it? If you were doing it over again could you bolt the tacked pieces to the box and then do the welding?

When I encounter things that appear to be the same it suggests to me that they are. I believe that the Chinese buy an original, reverse engineer it, and then hand out the plans to a manufacturer who makes them and then markets them under several different brands. In other words, since many of the spec's are the same I'd bet they are the same. I ran into this several years ago with a lathe/mill/drill I wanted to buy. Harbor Freight made one that was fairly well liked so I bought it. But one specialty tee-nut was bad on the one I got so I pulled out the drawings to find the part number. Lo and behold the drawings were wrong. It was a completely different part and the way that nut was drawn was wonky. Like the drawing we did in drafting where it was impossible to make. So I called HF customer support and got no where. The young lady I drew had never seen one of those machines much less used one, and couldn't read a CAD drawing. So I did some research and learned that several others sold essentially the same machine, including Busy Bee and Grizzly. I downloaded the Busy Bee manual and it had the exact same error. I downloaded the Grizzly manual and it had the exact same error. Given that I called Grizzly and when I told the gentleman that answered what part was bad he said "Let me pull the drawings and find the part number." I waited and then I heard "You can't even make that part!" And I laughed. So he said "I'm going to go take one of those apart and find out what the part number is and I'll call you back." In 30 minutes he did and said "They are $2, how many do you want? And, we are changing the drawings." Now I'm a Grizzly customer.

Glad that one leak was so easy to fix. As for the drain plug, I don't know what was original. But there's no harm in a magnetic plug and if a rubber washer works, wonderful. On adjusting the brakes, I was taught by my father to tight the adjuster until the wheel won't spin by hand, then bang on the backing plate with a rubber hammer/wooden mallet and adjust again until it won't spin after banging. That centers things. Then back off 10 clicks. That approach has worked for me for over 50 years, so I keep using it. I'm not saying it is the "correct" approach, but it seems to work.

I am too!!! It will be well thought out and executed, I'm sure.

Better late than never. And replacing the flywheel, if that’s the issue, is best done now as well. Anxious to see how you do all of this.