Gary Lewis

Jonathan - I think you'll be fine with those dimensions. You should be able to do your wiring and plumbing. And you are thinking through where you put the plumbing. I like that.

Bill - The three 15A fuses go to the 87 terminal on their onboard relays. And given the way I'm wiring the lock & unlock relays if they were to be picked at the same time there would be no current flow at all. And the lights relay is the same - the fuse goes to 87. So I'm struggling to see the need to have a separate fuse block. Do you still think so? But I like your installation. Looks great. But where is that? Yes, above the glove box, but....

There's a question below for y'all. http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/uploads/6/5/8/7/65879365/waving_orig.gif I got the security system mounted today. I cut a sheet of aluminum to fit, put a couple of screw holes in it, and then stuck it on the HVAC duct with Gorilla double-stick tape. In the pic below you can see a white spot on the back side of the module, and that's the connector for the LED. I put the LED in the front/center hole of the speaker grille of the dash cover after determining that it is possible to connect the LEDs wires to the module with the cover laying in place. You get it in about the right position, tilt the back of the cover up, and there's just enough room to plug it in. And right by the white connector is the little bitty antenna wire. It'll be standing mostly up when I put the dash cover on and as I lower the cover it is supposed to bend forward but stay up against the cover. The idea is to have it above the rusty speaker bracket so it isn't shielded by it. In addition, I got the valet switch installed, and that's its wire is laying on the speaker bracket on the left. Now for the question: See all those fuse holders? There are 4: 15A: Door Lock 15A: Door Unlock 15A: Light Flash 10A: Security Module I don't like having them hidden, so I'm thinking I'll cut them off and just use a 15A fuse in the fuse block for the circuit that powers them. Granted that's more than the module itself needs, but the wire to it is more than rated for 15A. And you can't be locking and unlocking at the same time. Plus the lights should never be flashing when the doors are being locked or unlocked. Thoughts?

Have you found the instructions on how to adjust the ignition switch? Documentation/Electrical/Ignition and then the Ignition Switch tab.

That's why I said that. If I had it to do over I'd not do it that way again.

BB came with a Powermaster starter and alternator. The alternator was bad from the start but someone had left the 1G harness and regulator in place so I fixed that quickly. Then I contacted Powermaster for parts and they said I'd have to send it in, that they don't sell parts. So I was done with their alternators then and there. But the starter works, so while it does I'll use it. Then go with a later model PMGR as I think it'll fit fine.

Showed Janey the pics on that thread, Chris, and she wants to go. But they we talked about bears and tent camping and she started looking for hotels along the way. And finding none she's cooling off a bit. Just talked to Ed at Powermaster about the starter, and he said I should NOT use a Bosch relay. Use the fender-mounted relay to pull in their relay/solenoid. Guess I'll change.

Frank - Today's the day! Hope all goes well. Jim - Sorry to see that. Is the '87 door much the same as the Bullnose? IIRC, I did Big Blue's through the glove box and radio area, with those items removed. Was literally a huge pain, and I had the cuts and scratches to prove it.

If you do decide to replace the master I'd recommend going with the later model one that has a plastic reservoir. They don't leak at the cap the way the cast iron ones frequently do and you can see how much fluid you have. In addition, it is easy to bleed the brakes on them as you can modify a cap and put a few psi of air pressure on the reservoir and then pressure-bleed the brakes. Open a bleeder valve until you don't get air bubbles and you have clean fluid. I use a pressure regulator and my shop compressed air, but others have used a garden sprayer to pump up a little bit of pressure.

I'm on board. Here we go! Bloomin' Onion here we come! Nice looking truck. Is that a Medium Blue interior? It looks greenish, which would be Spruce in '81, but surely not with a blue exterior. And what are the things on the sides of the bed? Some kind of tie downs?

Yep. A bad master will kill a vacuum booster pretty quickly. But make sure you do NOT adjust the rod between the master and booster. There is an adjustment where the ball on the end can be turned in and out, and the adjustment is critical. In too much gives you slack in the pedal, which isn't bad but reduces the stroke you have. But out too much will cause the brakes to drag, which causes them to heat, which causes them to drag more, which..... and pretty soon they lock up. Don't ask.

Jonathan - You answered a question I was going to ask about electrical, and I assume, plumbing. Do you run conduit? And will you use PEX for the water? And since you'll be on a crawl space, I assume everything comes up from below? If so, how high did you say the crawl space is? How easy will it be to run things later or will you do it first and frame around it?

Oh, a newbie that hasn't seen my analogy! These truck are like onions. We keep peeling and crying, peeling and crying. But eventually we have enough onion rings to have a Bloomin' Onion!

Yes, correct, and they’re always rusted out. Yes, it IS the fifth Saturday! And much to do today. Like you, I really like to knock at least one thing off the list, even if I have to divide the things on the list into really small steps. Glad the JB Weld will work there. That's a fairly easy fix then. And it won't rust.

Thanks, Chris. I've now read that thread and will go watch the videos. That is REALLY quite an adventure! JJF20 is right, people are going away from CB and even ham. I assume the VHF he recommends is GMRS, which is what I have. And the other suggestions are good as well. Hope he gets it together and puts some miles on before leaving. I'm finding teething problems with Big Blue as I shake him down, literally.

I hope so, but in direct contact with gas JB Weld softens. So maybe just vapors it'll be fine?

Yes, I'd replace the booster. If you are feeling air then it is bad.

How 'bout Dad's truck? This one has to be done for the trip to Colorado in about July. 'Tween now and then the security system installation needs to be finished, the bed gets lined and the bed cover installed, and the compressed air system installed. Then the A/C system needs charged and some minor things done, like the hangars for the mike cord painted and installed. But, Janey and I have other trips planned. For instance, we intend to make the whole of the ~490 miles of the Greencountry Offroad Adventure Trail - GOAT. That's in northeast OK, and will take about 3 days. We'll spend 2 or 3 nights in hotels, probably 1 night in Tahlequah where we met at school, and 2 nights in Grove, where she lived and we were married. In fact, the "trail" goes in front of the church building where we were married, in front of the house where she was living then, and in front of the cemetery where her parents are buried. In other words, this will be a trip back in time for us.

But Harlow isn't "London". Right? Just like Watford isn't. In fact, my understanding of Moor Park, where we lived, is that it isn't in Greater London. But Northwood, which is immediately south of Moor Park, is in Greater London. Which is interesting because the street behind our house, Batchworth Lane, looks to be the dividing line between Moor Park and Northwood. So we might have been out of Greater London by about 75'. Anyway, loved living there. Hope to go back.

Yep, I understood that, Jim. But we are running different starters. I have the Powermaster unit, so emailed them to see how much current it takes to pull their relay/solenoid in. As for what I did today, I got the power wired up for the security system. Actually I added two wires. Was going to use the "tap" that Scott sent me but realized that it is for the power windows and those aren't hot at all times, which is what I need for a security system. But I had the harness from a truck with power windows and locks which had both the windows and locks taps, and installed those. (So I'll return yours, Scott. Thanks again.) So now I have the always-hot power for the security system and switched power, which I think I'll use for the USB charger in the ash tray. (It was installed quite some time ago but hasn't been connected since I didn't want to have a continuous draw from its LEDs.) And I got a start on the mount for the security system. The plan is to attach a 5 x 8" piece of aluminum to the HVAC duct with double-stick tape, which will go right below the center speaker mount. I'll then screw the Code Alarm module to it, which means I can take it out later if I need to do so. And, it'll get it up enough that the stubby antenna can be up next to the dash cover and not completely masked by the grounded metal of the speaker mount. Then I need to run 4 more wires through the firewall for the siren, hood and tool box pin switches, and the control wires for the bed cover. Put the lock motor in the passenger's door. And connect up several wires in the cab like the dome light circuit, parking lights, horn, and valet switch. But I think I'm going to get there - one of these days!

Don't think I've been to either place. Closest would have been on the M25. Anyway, just wanted to remind you that some of us know the term "London" is rather generic and there are places w/in the M25 even that aren't truly in London.

London? Or Mayfair? Or born within the sound of the Bow Bells? Maybe Golders Green? Or out as far as we were in Northwood?

Yes, I think you are right, Scott. The price guide says: Trust me, I've been handling several of the window/lock harnii for the last two days and they are one. One set of connectors, wire looms, etc. So, I'm

I did not know that. I've only seen trucks that have both power locks and windows. Learn something new every day. I'll have to take this into consideration. I may be wrong on that. But in the price sheet I see Lock Group separate from Power Windows/Locks. But I don't know what is in the Lock Group. May not have been power locks.

The bezel installs from the front just like before. The main attribute I'm designing the sleeve for is to fit through the same hole so the door panel does not need modification. And yes the factory metal clips still hold the bezel to the door panel. Then you would slide the switch with the wires attached in from the back side, put the new plastic clip in place and mount the door panel. I got this idea when I had a full set of switches and bezels listed on eBay where one of the three bezels was unbroken. That set sold for well over $100. The buyer messaged me that he bought everything just to get the one unbroken bezel, and was very excited about it. I was thinking $49 for a set that would fix the three bezels on a single truck. Well below the cost of unbroken bezels. Your thoughts? The quick release clip is really more of a particle solution. I'd use screws to hold it on, but there is not enough surface area to create a strong enough screw hole. I'd also considered making the sleeve larger and installed after bezel is already in the door panel. However this would permanently attach the bezel to the door panel which seems like it could create a whole new set of problems. If I were dealing with broken bezels I'd pay $50 easily for a set of three. But some trucks came with just locks or windows. Will you sell smaller sets? (I don't need them, but am just asking.)