Gary Lewis

Yes, I wish you luck! Hope things go well, but I'm with Jim - you have this nailed.

Gee, might that chicken farmer have been part of Ford vs Ferrari? (By the way, how deep do you have to plant a chicken to get it to grow?)

I was just keying on Bob's statement.

Welcome! Glad you joined. Want to be on the map? You can see it in the menu at Bullnose Forum/Member's Map.

I want to point out something else that I noticed from the picture that I didn't see before. The terminal on the right is one of the new Molex VersaKrimps I ordered from Amazon, while the one on the left is a generic one from my stash. Note the seam on the two terminals. Molex says: Here's the picture again:

Scott - Jim - Just think that there are die for every wire size, not just the even ones. So, for instance, you have an 11 between 10 and 12. But you are right, it looks to me like I won't have to use Magnalugs. And while I might want to use them on things like battery cables, I'll bet that I can crimp them w/o the wings I've been getting.

Ok, here's a prelim report on the new TEMco 5 ton crimper. First, here's the crimper in its blow-molded case, along with all the die and the repair kit. And note how dry things are? My old crimper leaked from Day 1. And here are the first two crimps. Both are, as they proudly say, 10 gauge. The terminal on the left was bare copper and I tinned it myself. The terminal on the right is one of the many Molex terminals I just bought. I used the standard #10 die and the crimp is perfect. Hexagonal with crisp corners, which the manual says is correct for the right die. But w/o the "wings" that the manual says are due to using too small of a die. I'll measure the die and post that info as well as make more crimps and post pics thereof, but as of now I'm a happy camper. This thing can be used one-handed, which means you can hold the wire in with the other hand. It doesn't leak. And it crimps "just right".

Have you read the guidelines? If not, please do so. As for the transmission, you should confirm what it has, or at least came with, via the methods I mentioned above. That's because the two transmissions are quite different and we need to know what we are dealing with.

Time for a brief update, having gotten back from vacation late last night. First, the measurement from the bottom of the drop-in liner's corrugations to the bottom of the tool box is 4 3/4 - 4 7/8", depending on where you measure. So I think w/o the drop-in liner but with the spray-in liner it'll approach 5". Which might mean that a true 5.0" post will work nicely, allowing a bit of room for a piece of weather stripping on the bed sides, both for cushioning as well as to seal the bed. Toward that end, Trex makes a 5" post that, while hollow, has 5/8" sides so should easily stand the load. However, if 5.0" isn't going to work then I'll need to get a 6 x 6 of wood and mill it down to fit. Maybe the Osage Orange? Which brings me to the way the box is currently installed. There are J-hooks going through the "wings" of the box and catching the inside edge of the bed instead of holes drilled through the tops of the bed. This will work nicely 'cause I can put the weather stripping on the bed sides and snug down w/the hooks to ensure the box is stable but not put load on the bed. Having said that, I think I'm going to also put the L-shaped piece in the corners, tying the bed sides to the front panel. I just checked and there's 3" on the sides between the box and the bed sides, and ~1" in front between the box and front panel. So there's plenty of room to put the bracket and bolt heads in there and not have the box rubbing on them.

It was GOOD! Hadn't seen the grandtwins in 6 months and the grand daughter in a year, which is waaaaay too long! But I'm now ready to "keep on trucking".

I think you are going to be "right on". I say that because the jets will work out nicely with the taper above the drilling. And the richer mix is going to increase the vacuum at cruise 'cause you'll have to close the throttle just a bit and you'll be farther away from when the PV opens because of that.

You are probably right on the stone. I've not even been out to the shop since getting back, so haven't eyeballed a jet/stone combo. But hope to get out there in a bit and will do. And I agree on the vacuum gauge, at least for this application. Bob knows he's a bit lean given how it perked up with larger jets. So if he can get it to perform well off the main jets and just dip into the power valve when climbing a big hill or needing to pass, w/o WOT, then I think he'll be "there" on the mains. Then it is a question of when the PV comes in. Is there an area of throttle/low vacuum where the engine is "flat" just before the PV comes in? If so, then go to a PV that opens at a higher level of vacuum. If not, then it is "good enough" time.

Bill - Somehow I missed this in my travels. But it looks like you are making good progress and can correct the minimal damage. Those ARP studs and the forged crank should make for a stout bottom end.

Ah ok. Only thing I am wondering about now is if one could use those main bolts with the stud to attach a windage tray. I didnt see the need to pay extra for main studs especially since I knew I would be using the truck pan and everyone that I asked seems to think the studs wouldnt clear the pan at the rear main. At least if one were to do that it wouldnt change the clamping force of the mains so it shouldnt change the bearing clearance. Its a shame ARP doesnt sell those bolts individually with the studs like that. I haven't done anything to my trucks in THREE WEEKS! As some of you know, that's 'cause I've been visiting my kids and grandkids during that time. We drove 3500 miles from OK to SC to FL, and back. Many thanks to y'all for keeping things going here while I was gone. In fact, I think things may have been busier than ever!

I understand the "good enough". I have a t-case shift lever that's backwards to the pattern on the knob. Anyway, I think I've read that each jet size varies as to the input and output taper. And that some jets with different numbers have the same orifice size but with different tapers. I don't know if that is true, but my memory says I read it at Holley's site or in a book on their carbs decades ago. But if you have a microscope you can see if you have any taper left after drilling. If not, maybe use the next larger bit to add some? Or use a Dremel tapered grind stone, by hand, to at least take the edge off?

I think you can certainly cobble together one running truck from what you have . As for the t-case knob, I'm going to tag two people to this: David/1986F150Six, who has a gift for finding things, and Shaun/salans7, who will know about boots and knobs.

Are these pics before you trimmed the fender liners? They sure are close.

David - I can't find any of those #'s in the MPC. So I can't add anything. But it is a good buy - for whatever it is.

Chris - Welcome to the forum! Glad you joined. You probably missed the email that Scott just sent you to go to the New Members Start Here folder, read the guidelines, and then introduce yourself by starting a new thread in that folder. Many people somehow miss that step, but it is important as we hold people to the guidelines and want to ensure you've had a chance to read them. Have you? On the transmission, both AODs and C6s came in these trucks. But the AOD only came behind the 302 and sometimes the 300 six. So if you have a 351W or larger it will be the C6. However, you can tell by decoding the certification label that is on the driver's door post by going to Documentation/Specifications/Certification Label in the menu. Or, directly to Documentation/Specifications/Transmission Codes. How long has the truck sat? I ask because I know that the C6 can get gummed up after sitting for years and not shift properly. So tell us more about the truck and what's been done to it.

The biggest problem on the oiling system of the M-block engines is that it puts way too much oil to the #1 main bearing, thereby leaving too little for the lifters, and especially those on the driver's side which get their oil after the #5 main. Tim Meyer told me he's turned an engine on his dyno w/o a pan and he could see lots of oil escaping from the #1 main, but not nearly as much from the others. So he came up with some mod's that make a big difference. The first mod is to the oil passage to #1 main, as shown below. The second is his own cam bearings that restrict the flow to the cam, thereby leaving more for the lifters. The combo of those two works well. He built my engine and then ran it on the dyno. After warming it up and then doing six pulls to 5500 RPM it idled at 20 PSI of oil pressure.

Bill - I don't have any experience swapping from one brand or model of t-case to another. Sorry. But did you call Denny's Driveline?

Hard to test w/o getting it fully warm. But if it felt like it was waking up you are on the right track. The power valve shouldn't be open at cruise unless you are climbing a pretty significant hill, so you need to get the engine happy with the jets. An AFR meter will help a lot, but you can do it with a vacuum gauge. That will let you know when the power valve is open and you can tune the main jets to keep it closed most of the time. As for drilling jets, that doesn't always work well in my experience. The jets are tapered to smooth the flow in and out, and if you take the taper out by drilling you may actually lose flow. But, it is worth a try. Good luck!

Jim - He didn't turn while I was behind him, so I don't know. But the center brake light could have turn in it. That would be cool. Yes, I didn't like red so I sure don't like lime green. Scott - We blitzed home yesterday from Nashville. Planned to take it easy and stop several places, but some of them were closed. So Janey wanted to go to Quilt Sampler in Springfield, which is at the corner of Sunshine and Glenstone. Then we stopped at Culvers and headed home. So we were maybe 35 miles from you?

Wow!!! What a difference! HBF is looking good!