Gary Lewis

Dane - I just edited the file to say "Add more" hose clamps. As for knives, I have a box knife in, but had forgotten my Swiss Army tool set. I bought it in Nuremberg a few years ago on a trip, and have never really used it. So it is now on the list. Thanks!

Well, I need a little help from my friends. I started making a list of the things I'm going to take to Ouray, and would like y'all to tell me what I'm missing. I still have some work to do consolidating the two tool boxes I had into the one that will stay in Big Blue, but about the only things left to add might be some smaller sockets. Beyond that I think I'm "there" on tools. So, what am I missing?

Good job on the pics. MUCH easier to see what you are talking about and how well things turned out.

Yeah agreed, my mileage is pretty miserable, somewhere around 10-11. I thought that was low, but I looked it up and that's pretty much what they were getting in 1981. The 95 I am looking at shows 14/18 with a combined rating of 16. That's probably about what my 2006 F150 with the 5.4 gets. So would definitely consider swapping the entire drivetrain. I bet the 95 version of the 351W was putting out better power/torque numbers as well. With the donor it shouldn't be too bad. And you can't beat EFI. Even if the '95 is EEC-IV it would still be much better than a carb.

I like that pan. I strongly recommend that everyone add a way to drain the pan when it is off, and that is one way to do that. But, it is expensive. And while the fins probably help some in cooling, you could probably get much better cooling out of an add-on cooler. So unless you just like the look of that pan and don't mind spending the money, I'd suggest: Hayden Automotive 403 Ultra-Cool Tube and Fin Transmission Cooler: For $25 you get more cooling than the pan could possibly give. But this is just one of many options. And you'll have to cut the line from the tranny to the existing cooler in the radiator and tap in. Dorman Transmission Drain Plug Kit: For $8 you get an easy way to drain the tranny.

Randy - Do you have the pics in a larger format? Probably so big that you chose Resize/Big? If you do/did then you could edit them down to under 1Mb and get them larger on the screen so we can see the details better.

Thanks for the info, guys! The I-beams are solid, they appear to be a forging. What does that tell us? I think I remember seeing somewhere when shopping for ball joints about an 8/81 cutoff, so I think there may have been a very short window in the 81 model year where ball joints were used instead of kingpins. One donor truck I am looking at is a 95, it has a 351W (which I think would be a hydraulic roller motor), and what the ad describes as a "4D03" transmission - I think the seller means an E4OD. So that is an electronically controlled C6 with an overdrive, as I understand it. My question there is, is the trans controller separate from the engine controller? In other words, can I plug that transmission behind my carb'ed 351W running the trans controller only? If they are all one unit, I would either have to run the full 1995 engine/transmission package (I'm not entirely averse to FI), or see if someone makes a stand-alone controller for that trans. Any info appreciated there. I'll let the others continue to answer questions re the suspension, but the E4OD's controller will be the EEC computer that also runs the EFI. So unless you are going with full-blown factory EFI then I don't think that is the controller for you. I've heard you can run the factory EEC from a diesel truck, I think for a 7.3L which wouldn't have had any/much electronics. Or you can go with an aftermarket controller, like a Baumann, but they cost ~$750. Having said that, I think the E4OD is a big improvement over a C6 as it has both the overdrive and the lockup torque converter.

That's cool! As for sealant, I've not used any. But I do realize the firewall isn't very flat, so maybe some sealant would be helpful. I guess I'd say RTV. The black kind?

Wow! Well done, Randy! Both the writeup as well as the actual work itself. I had no idea that a vinyl fabric could be stretched that way. Or that much. I'm guessing the "4 way" stretch was a big part of that. Right?

You are right, it needs FAR more pictures. But from what little can be seen in the one pic, it has promise. Having said that, I'm not going anywhere. Waaaaaay too much to do here to take on another project. But someone should!

I looked my stash over today and found that I have two complete sets of supple HVAC vacuum lines. And it will take both sets for Dad's truck since I want to have the third hose going from the control head I modified to control the shutoff valve. That way I'll have the heater shut off in both Vent and in Max A/C. Unfortunately I didn't think about that when I ran the vacuum lines on the '90 HVAC system I installed in Big Blue. There was plenty of room to run the 3rd line and I could have modified another early control head to replace this one. But I didn't think about it so now I'm going the easy way and just using the Recirc vacuum to control the valve. But, I guess with the kick panel vents I still have cool air available.

Now, that's what I really need, another project! (But I wish I could!)

That's a cool tee! But it appears to take the 1/8" OD hard line. Not sure I have any that isn't brittle, but I do have 1/8" ID vacuum hose, so am going with regular brass tees, as shown on the left, with the Dorman on the right. I'll use those pics and part numbers in what I write up. Thanks!

Dane posted in the wrong place. So I moved the whole thread to the right place. Not only is the Bronco gone the thread is gone.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I decided to install the vacuum-controlled shut off valve in the heater hose. I'd taken my own advice from the HVAC Systems page and ordered a valve for an 1984/85 Tempo/Topaz. Supposedly that takes an E4FZ 18495-A, which to Four Seasons is a 74614. But when I pulled it out of the box I realized it is closed with no vacuum! Sure enough, looking at the Four Seasons website a 74614 is normally closed and opens with vacuum. But a 74612 is normally open and closes with vacuum, so that is now on order and the other is going back. Once I get this figured out for sure I'll update that web page. But I'm going to include how I plumb it in 'cause it is pretty easy. The fitting on the recirculate motor is 1/8", so I will use a 1/8" x 3 tee, put the truck's fitting on one side and use 1/8" vacuum hose to go to the recirculate motor and to the valve. But the new valve won't be in until Monday, so this project will have to wait.

Yep, it is gone, in more ways than one.

The grommets came in so I got the hoses run to/from the tank. Sure wish I had the fittings as this thing would be wrapped up pretty quickly. Here are the hoses in the toolbox. I'll put mount points on the front wall to hold the hoses in place once I get the fittings and get everything in place. And here's where they come through the bed, ready to be connected to the tank. And, btw, the "in" hose from the compressor lines up with the 1/4" NPT fitting, and the "out" hose lines up with the 1/2" NPT fitting.

I think a separate thread would be best as the title will bring attention to it. Something like How To Repair A Dash Cover or somesuch.

Would you mind doing a how-to on that? I think a lot of people would be interested.

Wow! Nice job! Tell us more, please, about what you did to the dash cover? It looks like you used the expanding foam to fill the cracks. And you cut out the speaker opening. But what did you cover the whole thing with? How did you bridge the speaker opening?

You are now on the map.

I don't think it was all that hard. I think I had to cut off or drill out some melted-over plastic rivets, and then probably drilled and tapped them and used small screws to put it back together. And silicone spray as the lubricant.

Yes, it can be within the module itself. I once took one apart, cleaned it, lubed it, and then glued it back together - and it worked!

Dave - You can jump the low pressure switch to force the compressor to run, and you should see the effect on a set of gauges if the compressor is working. Is that what you mean?