Gary Lewis

I'm not sure what would be needed beyond this post. But maybe we should ask taskswap?

Dave - We are completely together. As you said, it takes everything working before the ECU will unlock the timing. And that can be a really tough problem to solve. It is one thing to fix a system that has been working and just failed. But to fix one that hasn't been working since before you bought it might be a bridge too far. The difference is that you can rely on the system to tell you a few things that are wrong. So if something just failed it can probably ID what the problem is. However, if the system doesn't see the feedback carb, EGR, and other things it is going to be overwhelmed. So I'd do the timing test. And unless you need to pass emissions testing, if the timing is locked I'd convert to DS-II.

Yeah the lock bodies are only "handed" as far as the lettering is concerned. I'm lucky enough to have both face plates, I'm just missing the black slider and spring plate from one side. I can definitely confirm that these take paint well, either the S.M. Arnold "Plastic & Vinyl Refinisher" or the Coverlay paint LMC sells. I bet if you wanted to, you could sand/file down the letters prior to painting the trim ring and it would look alright. Thanks! Well, don't congratulate me until I'm done. Today was sort of a wasted day. After botching the paint and clearcoat on the hood, I bought a shiny new buffer and botched the polishing job on top of it all. I went a little too hard in some spots and wore through to primer, and generally failed to get a smooth finish anywhere else. It doesn't really bother me, I learned a lot from this process, so maybe one warm day in future months I'll strip it back down and redo it. Haven't done anything else though, which is the main setback... And my radiator box arrived from Jegs with a nice hole beaten into the side of it: I'm conflicted about it, definitely need to reach out to Jegs. On the one hand, it doesn't look so severe that it actually poked any holes in the radiator, but it DID go enough to bend a few fins. I don't know I'd ever really trust it, and I don't want to wait until after I install it to find out there's a leak... I'm sure Jegs will take care of it... But it's the delay that's the big issue... Glad the locks are working out. I plan on using them in Dad's truck, so I'll follow your lead. Bummer on the radiator. I faced a similar issue as the sealing surface for the cap on my Champion was scratched. I thought I could file it smooth but didn't want to do so until I asked, so called the vendor. He agreed with my approach but said if it didn't work he'd ship me another one. It worked.

I have quite a bit to report. First, we took Big Blue for an 80 mile test run today and the seats are a hit. Janey said she was skeptical when I first suggested them, but believes they are more comfortable than the bench. She likes the angle they sit at and the height. Plus, she said they cushion the bumps better. And she likes the arm rests, although she used the left one more than the right one. But to me the left arm rest is ideally placed to let me rest my arm on it and hold the steering wheel. On the other arm () the right arm rest is oddly too close to me and I prefer resting my arm on the console. And, speaking of the console, it is a big hit as well. I need to move it back ~4", although that isn't likely to happen before the trip. But it stores a lot inside it, holds drinks very nicely, and has a nice place on top to put food when we stop for a snack. So, when we get back from this next trip I suspect I'll be in the market for a pair of captain's chairs with arm rests. However, the jury is still out on the arm rests, so I may instead want to use the low-back bucket seats that I've been offered. We shall see. However, Janey was having a hard time staying out of the sun on our trip as there's glass everywhere on the truck, so when we got back I texted the window tinting guy. He's on the mend and is going to do the truck tomorrow so we'll have the benefit of the UV blocking for our trip. Given that, I pulled the door panels so he won't have to. (I know how they go on/come off quite well.) That gave me the opportunity to start the swap of the speakers. I didn't get done today as a lot of metal has to be removed to stuff these bad boys in. I think the hole has to be 1/2" larger, meaning 1/4" all the way around. I'm almost there on the passenger's side and will have to finish that on Wednesday after getting the truck back. But here's a comparison of the speakers. And since it is hard to tell them apart, the mighty Sony Explods are on the top.

I am happy to say the heater works pretty well. It is hard to say as although it was in the 40's this morning when we left for the test run the sun was coming in strongly so little heat was needed. But we cranked it up anyway and got good hot air out of the floor vents.

Dave - I agree with you, except ... if that Holley isn't a feedback carb then the ECU is going to have its knickers in a twist and the ignition is going to be locked. In other words, the system is in limp-home mode. And if that is the case then there are two choices to make: either put the system back to original, including with a feedback carb, or strip the system off and go to a standard DS-II system. So before I went very far hooking things back up, I'd want to determine if the timing is locked. And to do that I'd put a timing light on it and see if the timing changes as you raise the RPM. If it is locked it won't change. If it isn't locked it'll change a bunch. I found out about this the hard way - I bought a truck which had the feedback carb removed and a standard carb put in its place. The timing was locked and yet the truck ran ok. However, it didn't really have the power it should have had, and the MPG was about 10. After realizing that finding a feedback carb was going to be difficult, and even if I did the rest of the butchery done to the system would make it difficult to correct, I pulled the EEC-III system off and went DS-II. The power and MPG both came back nicely.

Yes, this is still a good thread. And the panel looks wonderful! Well done! Plus, even I can follow the directions.

As you guessed further in your reply, it's for a 7-pin connector: 1 - LT / Brake 2 - RT / Brake 3 - Running Lights 4 - Ground 5 - Electric brake 6 - Reverse 7 - Aux The seventh / aux pin is a dedicated "hot in start/run" circuit typically on a 20-30A fuse and a 10ga or similar wire. It's typically used to help charge a battery on the trailer although in practice most folks find even at that rating, it's such a long run that the voltage drop stops you from getting full value out if it. All my current trailers have their own solar chargers but I like to have the circuit available just in case. I considered a tee but decided against it for reasons I hadn't mentioned here before. My harness has been cut and tapped a few times already, for what I can't say. But I have loose wires hanging all over, and worse IMO, wires that were tapped with those awful blue wiretaps and then REMOVED, so you can see bare copper corroding away through the insulation holes. My reverse lights just don't work at all, and two lights are missing all the way - including their sockets. So I'm thinking I'll just follow the wiring forward until I find the first un-molested section of the stock wiring, then build a loom back from there with a Weatherpack for the trailer connector in case I ever want to replaced that connector. Did a little "Rattlecan Rhumba" on the hood today. It came out fine. I had a few small runs but it was in the clearcoat so you don't notice unless you're close. The pic below isn't that flattering - it looks better than that in person. I think I was picking up reflections of stuff in my garage on the nose. This is the first in probably 20 years that Rocky has been remotely "shiny"! Yes, I wired Big Blue for a 7-pin connector. And it is wired to match my 2015, that has it from the factory. Plus I have the 7 to 4-pin adapter. So I'm set. And your paint job looks good. I think you are getting what you were looking for - a better paint job that you aren't afraid to use.

So sorry to hear of your friend. It is so sad to hear of all those this virus has taken. I know several who have lost loved ones to it. I lost an aunt who, ironically, got covid while hospitalized after falling and breaking her leg. One of my childhood friends lost his father. We almost lost my mother-in-law to covid a few months ago, but thankfully she was able to come home from the hospital after several weeks. My wife, who is an RN, was able to go stay with her parents and give her mom lots of one on one care once she was home. I am certainly blessed to have just a mild case so far. I've got to force myself to take the next few days to just rest rather than be the stubborn male and try to use my quarantine time to get work around the house done (I REALLY want to get back to work on my shed project, lol!). Thanks. This virus is awful. Many have lost friends and loved ones, or had them damaged to the point of needing surgery for heart problems or oxygen for lung problems. And right now the #'s of new cases here in Okiehoma are exploding. As said on another thread, I was to have the windows tinted on Big Blue over the weekend, and the guy came by to see the truck on Friday night. I saw him pull in and went out as as I did he put a mask on, saying he was starting to feel poorly. I put my mask on and we stayed outside the whole time and didn't get close. The next day he texted and has come down with COVID. Stay safe! Take all precautions, and if you get it take the time to recover fully.

I don't know if it is chilly inside. We will find out today as we are going to take it out while it is cool enough to need heat. The previous trips we didn't need heat. It is a 195 'stat, and it gets to at least that on the aftermarket gauge that has real numbers on it.

Thanks. I appreciate it.

Thanks! If they hadn't told me this was covid, I'd have just thought (I did just think) I had a cold or maybe a sinus infection. I'm very blessed that it's very mild for me so far. I know many who were not so lucky. That said, this video was the day before the diagnosis, and, watching it, it sounds like I'm out of breath while taking the video, and I didn't even realize it! I noticed that cassette player you mentioned but assumed it was aftermarket. Is that factory? Here's a screenshot of it from the video. Glad yours is a mild case. Some aren't so lucky. I was just informed today that the owner of the local auto parts store passed away from COVID. I knew David quite well. You may be right that the stereo is after market. Here's the best shot I can find of the one Ford supplied, and it doesn't look the same:

Part of the state did get hit pretty good but around here, Raleigh, we dont have the equipment, sand / salt spreaders or the supplies, sand & salt. We get about a 1/4" of ice with rain on to of it and only got up to 40*f and going to drop to high 20's tonight . When worked called I told them there was still ice on everything and getting colder and did not see where it would be safe to drive come morning. An hour later a email was sent out to drivers that no trucks out of Apex, 45 mins from me where my truck is parked, is to leave heading north & west before 7am. I did not see a lot of traffic pass my house today and I live on a pretty main road so that had to say something of the roads. Dave ---- Right, you folks don't have the equipment for that. When we lived in Chicago they proved they know how to deal with it. I was impressed. Glad you didn't have to go out in the middle of it.

The angled ones were on the 1982 trucks as well. They may have been phased out mid-year, but they were definitely installed on 1982 trucks and Broncos from the factory. Thanks, Shaun. I'm just going by the MPC, but I thought that some 82's got the angled ones. So maybe '82 was the transition year?

Very nice! And not too expensive. Go for it!

I do have a heat gun if needed. Did some cleaning of the console and testing today. Here's a shot of my coffee tumbler in the cup holder with the spacer in. And the Yeti tumbler is setting in w/o the spacer. But the coffee tumbler is very close to the shift lever in 2nd, 4th, or Reverse. So I really do need to move the console back. Wonder if I can get that done before the trip? And here are the spacers I'm talking about. They just push into the console, so I took the right one out to put the Yeti in.

Wow! You must have had quite a storm to shut the state down. But at least you fixed the leak, and $81 isn't bad to fix it.

I'll find out tomorrow about the heat. We are taking BB into Tulsa on an errand and will need the heat. Hopefully it'll work well. But, if not I'll have to investigate. However, it was a new heater core, new radiator, new hoses, and a new engine when I put it together a few months ago, so I doubt it is clogged. And, I have two batteries - some of the gassers came with an auxiliary, and BB is one of them.

Well, the seat brackets aren't as I imagined them. As it turns out the bottom of the track, the bit with the ratchet, bolts to the floor, and the top of the track bolts to the seat. So, any frame that is bolted to the top of the track would be adjustable fore/aft. And each bucket/captain's chair is also adjustable. It might be ok to be able to move the "base" fore/aft to get it just where you want it, but you wouldn't want that adjusting lever sticking out, so it would probably get cut off. Anyway, here are the track themselves: And here's how they bolt to the seat:

My argent/chrome grill has the same numbers on it: E3TB 8150-AA. But the darker grille, maybe charcoal, and chrome grille doesn't have any numbers. And it feels a bit lighter. Perhaps it is aftermarket?

Keep in mind that I have no recollection of what vehicle my sleeves came out of. They were just the best ones I found that day at the junkyard. And my seat belts are aftermarket. So it's really not a close comparison. On heating the sleeves without damaging them with a heat gun, what about soaking them in boiling water? That would limit the heat, and if the plastic is something like nylon that absorbs water, that will also make it expand and get less brittle. Dane - Maybe it is the lack of the heat? Your trucks seem to stay "right" far longer than ours. Bob - I'd wondered about hot water, although I wasn't thinking of boiling water. But I might give that a try - if I go with the captain's chairs.

That’s how I meant it. And since the plastic is available, if I keep the captains chairs I’ll add it to my inboard belts and effectively have the full set.

The angular mirrors were used 1980-81, and the rounded “aero” mirrors were introduced in 1982. You can see that on the Parts List tab on the page at Documentation/Exterior/Exterior Mirrors.

Pretty! But it was expensive as well.

Those must be a snugger fit than whatever I ended up getting. I was able to pull the floor end through the sleeve without a heat gun. I guess that's one benefit to living in the rust belt. Our metal goes away, your plastic goes away! (I'd rather keep the metal...) I'd be less concerned about strength (I know you'd handle that) and more about aesthetics. Not by any means implying that I think you're a hack! But that's the harder thing to do. Will these show at all? If you're confident that you can make them look good enough for how much they'll show, I'd say go for it! Bob - Interesting that there are different "fits" to the sleeves. As for what goes away, I'm with you - I'd rather the plastic goes away and not the metal. So, maybe we need to move to where Dane is? Rain so less UV and no salt. Concerning the aesthetics, yes the pan itself can be seen so it is likely the angle could as well. In fact, in the closeup of the previous image, below, you easily see the outside edge of the base and that can't be masked. So if I use angle I'll want to round that corner, probably taking a wedge out of the top and bending the corner rather than cutting and welding it. But even then the fact that it is angle, with the crisp edge it has, can't be hidden. Given that, the factory base will probably go in Dad's truck and the fabricated one in Big Blue.