Gary Lewis

That's an interesting scan. (Didn't read it all, but lots of it.) I wrote a research paper about 15 years ago on the standardization of thread sizes. Not sure where it is at the moment, but what I found was quite interesting to me. In the US standardization happened by industry. For instance, in ship building, in automobile manufacturing, in the aircraft industry, in woodworking, in watch making, etc. And there were overlaps, with things like one industry having numbered sizes, like 8-32, 10-24, 12-24, and 14-20. Yes, "14-20". Not "1/4-20". Those are two different sizes and came from two different industries. They look to be the same but a #14 screw is slightly smaller and the nuts won't go on a 1/4-20 bolt. So when consolidation happened we needed to lose one. (But I still have 14-20 taps and die.) Lots of that kind of thing happened as we standardized. But the real standardization came during the two world wars. Allies found they couldn't exchange parts. In fact, they didn't have the right tools to work on each other's gear. So standardization happened.

I still think we need the Bill/Numberdummy emoticon that, when clicked, sticks in "ACES" for Another Clueless Ebay Seller.

Does it have a Ford VIN or does it wear a bowtie?

That thing doesn't know what it is! Bricknose door panels and Bullnose dash. Bricknose front clip and Bullnose rear. And Chevy terminology and "vertical tweed broadcloth" make for a rather ..... misleading description. I guess my question of "why" would be answered with something like "because"?

Whitworth!?!?!? Only a few of us on here are old enough to know 'bout them. Or, maybe some that are into bikes. I'll bet even Matt in the UK doesn't know Whitworth. On thing I loved about that standard was that the wrench size referred to the diameter of the bolt. So a wrench marked 3/8 went on a bolt head or nut for a 3/8" diameter bolt.

Haha, I don't know about L.A. Jim, but the entire state of California does. Gary, I've been really amazed seeing people posting about how far south the cold weather and snow is this year. It's really something to see (scenes have been popping up on all the truck and dog pages I follow lol). The good news is that the bad weather makes for good garage days;). Ask me how I know;). Yes, the cold has gone WAAAAY south. We used to live in Houston, Katy really, and today they are down to 16F. When we lived there we had a cold snap and a high percentage of people had pipes freeze. Turns out they bring the entry pipe up outside the stem wall before going into the house. I think that's downright silly since it takes no more pipe to bring it up inside the stem wall. And, sure enough, on TV just now they showed people trying to thaw out their pipe where it enters the house. But they've also just come on TV and asked everyone here to lower their thermostats. Apparently many of the natural gas wells are freezing up and the production has been cut by 1/3. And on top of that they are having trouble generating enough electricity for all of us. So, we've cut the temp back and will be huddling under some of Janey's quilts. Y'all be careful!

There are so many different ways to do it, each with their own advantages and disadvantages, that we could debate it ad nauseam. Oh wait! We already have! So I'm planning to continue with the options we have. They may not be the best ways, but they are reasonable ways. Given that, I'd like to have help making sure I get these alternatives explained correctly.

While I think this approach would work fine, I doubt anyone would really do it. To me you are either looking for accuracy, in which case you'll monitor the battery via a relay, or ease of installation, in which case you'll connect the LG/R wire to the R/O wire and ground the Y/LG wire. Done. Saying it another way, why go to all of the work to tap into the meter circuits at the cluster connector only to monitor the changing voltage in the cab? It seems like a lot of work to get mediocre results.

Yep! And, following your lead, I can go back to a clock later if desired.

The LG/R wire is coming from the ignition switch in both cases. In the case of the warning light it comes through the light first, and in the case of the ammeter it goes directly to the regulator, as shown below. And yes, you could shorten the run by finding key-on power under the dash. But you'd also have to find the wires to the voltmeter under the dash, and they aren't that easily accessed. Easiest way is to pull the gauges and wire just ahead of the connector.

That is cool! Weld the boxes to the frame and bolt the CV front end on.

I need you to verify that I made the correct wires red.

Ok, I think I see what is being said about the 2G regulator plug. But we addressed the needed 3G harness on the tab at Wiring It/3G Harness. So we've effectively said you need a new regulator plug. However, your point is that if you have a 2G regulator plug with 3 wires you can use it on a 3G. Right? If so, I could say that in the discussion about the regulator plug. As for the relay being used with the LG/R wire, it is - in the situation where you want to monitor battery voltage. Here's the way I understand how we are using that wire: Warning Light: LG/R wire goes directly to I terminal on the regulator Voltmeter Reading Ignition Switch Voltage: LG/R wire goes both to the I terminal as well as to the positive side of the voltmeter Voltmeter Reading Battery Voltage: LG/R wire goes to both the I terminal as well as is used to pull in the relay. But, note that the way I had the relay wired was W.R.O.N.G! I've corrected it now, but previously I was setting the voltmeter up to read the difference between the battery voltage and the ignition switch voltage. Anyway, I've now changed the wires to red and wrapped the sense wire, the one going to the A terminal on the regulator, back to the alternator's output, as we've discussed. And, fixed the error in the relay wiring. With that I believe the 2G wiring when monitoring at the battery is both correct and done. Please check it out.

Didn't get a lot done on Big Blue today, and certainly very little that can be seen. But I started by going through the switches in Mission Control and checking their connections against my schematic. Boy, am I glad that I did, for two reasons. First, because I discovered that the switch for the OX locker works backwards from the convention I'm using, which is that pressed in/forward at the top is "on". As it turns out the switch I have, which is the 2nd switch I got, is backwards, and pressing in at the top would unlock the locker. So I called OTRATTW and ordered another switch. Fortunately he had a DPDT switch in stock that will work fine, so it will be on its way tomorrow. Second, because I discovered that there are several different pin-outs on the switches, depending on the style of switch. So I mapped each one of them on my schematic, and now know where all of the wires are to go. Then I started to make the harness using a plug that I had laying around instead of cutting up the nice pigtail that Scott sent. Then I had a thought - is this the correct side of that connector? Sure enough, I was getting ready to wire it up using the male connector, which wouldn't plug into the male connector already on Big Blue. After a lot of searching I came to the realization that the only female connectors I have that will plug into that male one are on the two clocks I have. So, I did what some will think of as sacrilege and cut the connector off one of the clocks. (Anyone want a clock w/o a connector? Free to a good home.) And here's the start of my harness, plugged into Scott's pigtail, which I shall return. Maybe tomorrow I can get started on the wiring to the switches themselves.

If you use the LG/R wire to power the volt meter you do not need a relay. The voltmeter would only get power with the Key ON. It is my understanding that you added a relay, when the voltmeter was reading "always HOT power" near the battery, to eliminate the parasitic battery drain ( .068 amps). Using a relay with a idiot light would cause a constant current flow through the light bulb filament, and a series circuit. You should test this on the bench with a relay - light combination. Or maybe the ALT would source the needed current for the relay. This is not something I would not recommend, at least at this point, to many unknowns. Regarding the 2G harness photo, showing the cut points: Keep in mind you will have to replace the voltage regulator plug with a NEW plug that has all 3 wires. Jim #2 Jim - In reverse order: When you say "you will have to replace the voltage regulator plug with a NEW plug that has all 3 wires" do you mean a new 3G plug? As I said above, I don't see a need for a relay when there's a warning light. There is no voltmeter and we added the relay for the voltmeter. And you are exactly right, the relay is to eliminate the constant drain of the voltmeter when the engine is off. As for the LG/R, you are right that you can use it to power the voltmeter w/o a relay. Which is why I've shown it that way on the Monitoring At The Ignition Switch tab under 2G. (I want to get the 2G tab done before moving on to the 1G tab.)

In a Bullnose, up through 1985, you get either a warning light or an ammeter. Not both. We are converting the ammeter to a voltmeter so need a relay. But with a warning light there is no voltmeter so no need for a relay. Just use the wire from the light to bootstrap the alternator in, like was done on the 1G.

That’s cool! I used to get them regularly, and was in the stores frequently, especially back when I was active as an amateur radio operator. But even later I bought many, many things fro them. I think there is still a store, or at least a building with a sign, in Claremore.

The body dimensions are exactly the same for all of the F-series from F100 through F350. Said differently, they used the same body panels on all of them.

Guys - On the version with a warning light there won't be a relay. Just the light, with its resistor in parallel, going right to the alternator to bootstrap it in. That's the easy peasy one - that I haven't tackled yet. So, what am I missing?

Makes a huge difference. And, by the way, those visors and the catches were brown. SEM to the rescue.

Now there is an answer to something I've been looking to address! I hate my sagging visors!!! Nice Truck Tim! For those that don't know, the later visors have a place for a catch on the inboard end. They outboard end bolts in where the original visors go, and you have to drill two holes on the inboard end there's no problem doing so as that's what the factory did. Here are two shots of the visors on Big Blue, and while I have a Highliner in, you can easily use these visors with the factory headliner or even w/o a headliner.

Shaun - You have me confused with Numberdummy, who seems to think the MPC is infallible. I know there are errors galore in it. My copy is marked up all over the place. But it is far, far better than nothing. John - Thanks for the measurement. Bill - Thanks for that. I'm still trying to get my head around what you said so I may have more questions.

Morning, John. And a COLD morning 'tis. Showing -3F here and still snowing. Have maybe 4", although that is very hard to tell with the blowing, and supposed to get another 2 - 4" before it quits today. And then we are to get another 4 - 8" tomorrow night! Anyway, good catch on the wire from the alternator to the megafuse. And, I was planning on wrapping the Y/W wire back to the alternator's output. Plus take the color off the alternator's output wire as not everyone will have a BK/O wire. Thanks, I'll work on those things in a bit. Anything else?

Yes, that stuff is hard to find. But, you are really making good progress on the paint. Wow, what a difference!

Nice, Bill! Can't tell the brand, but the accuracy seems good.