Gary Lewis

Sorry to see that you, and others are having problems with FTE. But glad you'll do your thread here as I want to follow along. And Redhead looks to be a keeper. Straight and reasonably rust free. Too bad about the steering column, but you'll get that sorted easily enough.

Glad to hear that the engine runs so well. I'm not looking for a race car, or even a race truck. Just one that runs well. I'll give it a try. Thanks!

I've not experienced a transfer case spinning easier in one direction that the other. But the rear axle will if the brake shoes are lightly touching. Because one shoe is self-energizing, meaning if it touches it'll get pulled against the drum, they can spin easier one way than the other.

If I was picking I'd pick the 1345 over the 208 and the 1356. It is supposedly a bit stronger than the 208, doesn't have the oil pump problem of the 1356, and has a slightly lower gear ratio than the other two.

You'll be adjusting everything now. But at least it'll run much better at idle. May not make much difference elsewhere, but surely will at idle.

I've never seen the u-bolts that stubborn. But those are surely the original u-joints, so the bolts have been in there a looooooong time. Glad you got them out. The new one should make a big difference.

Man, that's going to make a big difference! Eddy's don't like more that 6 psi or the fuel level may creep up at idle, making the AFR go rich. In fact, it can go so high that fuel spills into the throttle bores. So you want to keep the pressure down. I set mine to 5 1/2 psi.

Now I am back in the house I can post more pictures. What are those plugs or covers for? The knob circled below, and its mate on the other side, are where the sway bar bracket goes. They hold the bracket and, therefore, the sway bar in place.

That is a LOT of work! Well done! I'll bet you are tired and sore. Too bad about the ibuprofen. That stuff sure helps me from time to time. But I hope tomorrow you feel great and get the welding done.

I guess it was a bit more than "moist"? I'm sure the engine has been burning a bit of ATF. It will thank you, as will the hose.

Glad you got it off. And it is good that there's no sludge.

Thanks! We are really looking forward to it. Oh yes, I forgot to include a pic of the cover to the fuse box to show how I've done that. Three of the fuses I've used aren't shown on the cover because they weren't used in '85. But I added them and wanted to make sure that people can find the correct fuse if there is a problem.

Hmmm.... I'm almost there. A few years ago it was all "Look what did!" Now the only thing left he did is the rear diff and rear brakes. Pretty well everything else is ME. It is a good feeling. Go for it!

I've checked BB over stem to stern and am sure he's ready to tackle the GOAT. And my inspection determined that the brake leak appears to have been fixed with the last tightening I did of the line going into the splitter at the rear. I say that because we put over 200 miles on it a week ago and the bit of blue paper towel that is wrapped around that fitting is still dry. However, I still have some very minor drips from the power steering system, but I'm not too worried about them at the present. But, the console won't make it in today. FedEx re-revised the estimate and it is now supposed to be in tomorrow. Also coming tomorrow is a smaller rivnut tool. Turns out that the other one I have only goes down to M8 or 1/4-20 and I want to install some rivnuts to install the mike holder and cord hook for the GMRS radio using smaller screws. I already have the rivnuts, but no adapter for the tool I have, and adapters are ~$10/each. So it was less expensive to buy another tool with the adapters. But this one is also a one-handed unit, so it'll be easier to use on the Highliner. I played with some plastic like the Highliner is made of and was able to manually set a 10-32 rivnut using this setup: rivnut; 1/4-20 nut w/serrated lockwasher; 3 flat washers; regular 10-32 nut - all on a 10-32 screw. Hold the 1/4" nut firmly against the rivnut with a wrench to keep it from turning and turn the #10 nut with another wrench to expand the rivnut. It worked fine, but it is hard to tell when to stop, is fiddly, and takes both hands, which might be a problem up over my head. But the rivnuts did expand in the plastic w/o breaking it, and the holes I drilled were just big enough for the rivnut to slip in.

I'll use this thread to keep track of the vendors I've contacted for certificates, discounts, etc. Rock Auto: Sent Cynthia (marketing@rockauto.com) an email on 6/5. See responses in later posts. LMC: Send Emily (emilyc@longmotor.net) an email on 6/5 and copied Keith Dickson (keith.lmctruck@gmail.com). As of 7/26, having gotten no response, I've emailed both Emily and Keith again. Got a note back today, 7/26, from Ce Ci as Emily is no longer with LMC. She gave me the form to fill out and I did and sent it back in. NPD: Sent Darrin Dewey (ddewey@npdlink.com) an email on 6/5. As of 7/26, having gotten no response I called and was told it is now Marcus Hall that I need to speak to. I left him a voice message and also sent an email to what I'm guessing is his email address mhall@npdlink.com. Dennis Carpenter: Sent an Anita Parks an email on 7/26. Jeff's Bronco Graveyard: Sent them an email on 7/26.

I'm glad the engine wasn't hurt! How do you like that carb. I have one of them on the shelf and should really try it in place of the Edelbrock that's on the truck. How is it working for you?

I'll hope with you. New fluid can make them much better.

That's what we found, you might find a nice house but if it had a shop it wasn't what I wanted. So we found a nice house with room for a shop and built what I wanted. If you really want a lift I'd suggest you have a minimum of a 12' ceiling. Might is slightly less, like 11' 11", and it has been a minor problem. The lift works but it is on the lower of the two settings and has put marks on the ceiling in a couple of places.

Sounds like "gorilla snot" (aka weatherstrip adhesive) was used to cement the gasket in place, and the bolts picked it up when pushed through. Without having it in my hands, that is my guess anyway.... Yep, gorilla snot is exactly what I thought of. If it got on both sides of the gasket you'll have to use some force to get the covers off. It is tenacious and stringy stuff, so it won't just break free with a couple of love taps.

Yes, that is supposed to have the kickdown/downshift lever and associated linkage on it. I've included the cross section illustration from the factory service manual section below. That section is available at Documentation/Driveline/Transmissions/Automatic Transmissions/C6.

That's a beautiful truck! Don't see the green colors all that often, but they sure look good on there. I'm guessing the seller consulted Hagarty as the valuation of $19.9K comes in pretty close to the current $20.9K of a #2 vehicle. And that may be a "2.1" or thereabouts.

Looking good! Your work is really paying off.

It is the "arms" or brackets that are different. The bumpers are the same. Go to Documentation/Exterior/Bumpers and then the Rear Bumper tab to see the part numbers.

There is only one hotel in Skiatook, and it is the Osage Hotel/Casino. I've gotten them to reserve 10 rooms for us at a discounted rate, but at this point I don't know what that rate is. The letter I got from the lady that does the reservations is below. Note that you can click on the link, click on Group Sign In, and sign up using the code Truck21. You will have to use your own credit to do the reservation as well as pay for it. And, the last day they'll hold the rooms is Aug 13th, so any rooms not spoken for at that point will be available for others to book.

This is the flyer that is being used for advertising. I'll update it as better info becomes available.