Gary Lewis

Nice, but I think I've seen it before. Interesting that it is a manual transmission but says "firm shifts".

I like the idea of a filler plate. And I like the idea of a place to hold 3D drawings that have been printed. Just haven't gotten to it yet, but will.

I like the wiring diagram. And I agree with plugging into the headlight harness. But, I don't agree with what I think you are planning on the starter. If you are planning to run a relay in the PDB to directly pull in the starter I think you are going to have problems. I did that initially and ran into problems of the starter chattering. By that I mean it came in, dropped out, and came in again all in a few milliseconds. Sounded horrible. So I called Powermaster since I'm running one of their starters and whomever I drew as a tech said NO!!!! Do NOT use a cube relay. Pull it in with the fender-mounted Ford relay. (Those weren't the exact words, but pretty close and the emphasis was there.) I rewired to use a fender-mounted relay and the problem was solved. And, by the way, I'm not saying Powermaster doesn't make good stuff. Just that I want to be able to replace the alternator with something off the shelf or from a local salvage w/o rewiring, and that won't work with their alternator. But it can work with their starter.

I think it probably sent the message. It just doesn't look like it did at the moment. Try again and tick the box to send a copy to you. Then you'll know.

I don't have one to measure, but if you go to Documentation/Manuals & Literature and then click the 1985 on the Body Builder's Layout Guide line you'll find a whole bunch of dimensions. Hopefully it'll have what you want. But, I'm going to tag Bill/85lebaront2 as he has a crewcab and can measure. But what length do you want measured?

I'll guess that it is a 4" lift. But with 35's it might be a 6".

If you look at the 1986 brochure (Documentation/Manuals & Literature then click the 1986 in the F-Series Pickup Brochure line) you'll see that there were three trim levels: Standard; XL; and XLT Lariat. And if you look closely the Standard isn't said to have a headliner and the XL did come with one. So you apparently have the Standard trim level. But, tell me more about what badge you need. You should have the F150 badge and then, looking at the picture in the brochure, there's another badge under it. I can't tell for sure, but that may be a "4x2" badge. Which do you need?

I like that plan - save for the possibility of the Powermaster. I am NOT a fan of those alternators and that's because they don't sell parts for them. You are supposed to send them in for repair. Yeah, sure, when mine goes out in the back of beyond I'll wait for it to be shipped both ways and repaired. When I got BB the Powermaster failed. So I called them and discovered the above. Scott now has that one, but it took me several years to find someone who would take it. Now I'm running a stock 130A 3G, which I can get at any parts store. However, I have nothing against mod'ing the 3G for more current 'cause you can still downgrade to get home if that one fails. In fact, I've already done that for Dad's truck. As for the power distribution box itself, I'm running a '95 F-series PDB and it houses a number of those relays and fuses. But Scott/kramtocs is running an aftermarket box, which might be easier. And I replaced the fuse links with fuses: Ckt 37, which was Fuse Link M to the main fuse box in the cab, has a 60A fuse Ckt 38, which was Fuse Link L to the headlight switch and some fuses, has a 20A fuse Ckt 37, which was Fuse Link S to the fuel pump, has a 20A fuse

Sounds like a good plan. You are now on the map.

Some of you know that I'm debating having either buckets seats or captain's chairs rebuilt & recovered to fit in Big Blue. In fact, I've installed the captain's chairs for Dad's truck in BB and will be taking off on a road trip in a few days to test them out. And if I like them then I'll be considering how to install blue ones. The way they are installed now is using one of Ford's brackets, shown below, that bolts right into the regular or crewcab floor and the chairs bolt to that. But as I only have one of those, and since they are expensive, I'm considering other options for Big Blue as I plan to use that one for Dad's truck. There are two options swirling around in my brain, but they are basically the same, only differing in the mount that attaches to the floor. The one on the left, below, uses some left over brackets from the captain's chairs. As it turns out, the outside brackets bolt to the RC/CC floors. The one on the right uses bench seat brackets, which obviously bolt on perfectly. The left approach puts the top of that angle ~3" off the floor, but the one on the right puts it ~2 1/2" off the floor. So that would allow a 1/2" spacer to get the captain's chair adjusters above the bench seat adjuster enough to clear. (I'd cut the arm of the bench seat adjuster off.) The angle is actually bed rails and is 1 3/4" wide by 2" high. My thinking is that if they handle the load of a bed across 76" then they'll easily handle two adults + the chairs across 44". The overall shape would be basically a ladder with cross pieces welded in where the inside tracks go, and maybe another pair where the console goes to provide mounting locations for it. Thoughts? Questions? Suggestions? http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/uploads/6/5/8/7/65879365/waving_orig.gif

Welcome! Glad you joined. Your son stole that Bronco! The captain's chairs alone are worth twice what he gave - I know 'cause I'm looking for a blue pair myself. And if there's minimal rust he got a really, REALLY good deal! So, where's home? I ask because we have a map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu) and can add you with a city/state or zip. Hope you and/or your son will start a thread in the main section or in Projects on your Bronco. I'll follow along.

Yup! Thought so, Dane. On the inboard sleeves for the seat belts, I got responses from both companies and updated the previous post, but will put it here as well since others may not see it: SeatBeltsPlus: They have the whole belt set, but they are $320 and don't come in blue. But I asked them if the inboard belts are available and their response was "Thank you for your question. We sell those buckle sleeves separately from the seat belt, but the seat belt itself can not be sold as separate buckle/clip side. Here are links to the sleeves. They say "Jeep", but they are the same sleeves used in the Truck kits. Left Side Right Side" SeatBeltPlanet: They have the whole belt set which is $253 and does come in blue. But I asked them if the inboard belts are available and their response was "Buckles and tongues are designed and built as matched parts. The tolerances and engineering specs are very specific which requires that they be used with their matching part from the same manufacturer and same batch. Non-matched parts may latch together and even stay together under light loads but are likely to separate in an accident. For this reason, Federal Motor Vehicle Standards require that we only sell complete seatbelts. Keeping you and your family safe is our #1 goal!" So, what I take from that is neither manufacturer sells the inboard belt with the sleeve, apparently due to safety concerns. But Seat Belts Plus sells the sleeves for $25/ea.

That's interesting. It should be Kit "H" from the TSB shown below, which fits a truck with a 351M or 400. And the description for each kit is: "It consists of an in-tank fuel pump, vapor separator, and a vapor return system, along with related fuel lines and electrical wiring and devices." But I don't see a pump vapor separator in the picture. So I'm guessing that the kit isn't complete. And there's a note about that: "Initial supplies of the dual tank kits will not include partof the modification. Therefore, the dealer technician will be required to apply an instruction label to the dash of the vehicle and to fill out a postcard (both included in the kit) which will enable Ford Motor Company to complete the modification at a later date when the required part becomes available." So, is this one of the "initial" kits?

There are always regrets. Frank Sinatra sang "Regrets, I've had a few" in the song My Way. So it seems likely that when we build our trucks "my way" we discover later a few things we'd have done differently. But you are making good progress. Keep on keeping on!

No, not a bad price - if you are looking for one to beat on. But given what some other trucks look like out there it might not be the best choice for a restoration.

Some people shouldn't be allowed to work on vehicles. It isn't unusual to find some of those issues in a truck, but you seem to have hit the mother lode! Wow, what was he thinking? Oh wait, he wasn't! But at least you are finding them before they cause all sorts of problems. And when you are done with all of the inexpensive but painful work the truck should be solid.

Man, I'd be upset if I lost one of the spacers. They are just the right size for the normal soft drinks we get as well as our travel coffee mugs, so I'll make sure to put them away carefully if we take them out. And I can see how the arm rests might seem like they are in the way in traffic or challenging times. But I'm not sure they really are as I drove with them most of the time yesterday and had no problems. However, when I first put them down it seemed like they might be in the way. As for that Stanley mug, 20 ounces is a lot of liquid. I'd have to take rest stops quite frequently if I was drinking from that thing!

I'll probably just end up modifying the one I have. It'll be easier in the long run. I remember years ago when I had the F150, I didn't see the need for a 3/4 or 1 ton truck. But now that I have one, I'm now more interested in heavy duty trucks. Funny how that works. Why not both? And a Bronco as well?

Yes, they currently hit the rear window. But that's the initial installation. I'm thinking I might be able to shim the rear mounting point to tilt the seat forward a bit. Or, perhaps I have the mounting brackets in wrong? I seem to remember that I installed the tapered brackets with the one marked "R" on the left and the one marked "L" on the right. Perhaps they are tilting the seat the wrong way? So I'm not ready to say they don't fit well.

We will be happy to help you. But it would be a big plus if you have the calibration code. It'll be on a sticker on the valve cover, and it'll let us find all of the part numbers.

Shaun - I hadn't noticed it, but now that you mention it you are right - you may need it, or something like it. Cory - I'll take the 8-luggers. You take the 5's.

Nice! But, as you know, I really like the F350. Ford finally brought the solid axle/leaf spring combo back, but only in '86 and only on the F350's.

For an update on this, I installed the captain's chairs for Dad's truck in Big Blue yesterday, and took it for a spin today. Janey and I really like them, but I won't be 100% sure I want another pair until after we take it in a 3-day trip, which will be soon. We think the chairs are more comfortable than the bench, and even soften the bumps better. And, we like the arm rests, but they may not be a necessity. IOW, the low-back buckets might be a good compromise. In fact, in one way the low-back buckets would be better - the back wouldn't hit the rear window. But the captain's chairs do hit, and that's a bit of a problem. First, they'll wear the window tint film. Second, they squeek.

Welcome! Glad you joined. Where's home? I ask because we have a map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu) and we can add you with a city/state or zip.

I am very glad that you are keeping the truck in the family. But getting an EEC-III system back into operation isn't an easy task. I looked into it on the '82 I bought and decided against it. Instead I cut the wiring that went to the ECU, which was under the seat for 1982, and then followed each wire back to its "system" and removed that system. In the end I had a tote full of "stuff", including the EGR system, TAD and TAB relays, MAP sensor, etc. Then I replaced the distributor with a DS-II unit, bought a DS-II ignition box and DS-II engine wiring harness and installed that. The truck ran much better when I was done. But, if you want to get the EEC-III system working we will help you as much as we can.