Gary Lewis

Carl - Jim is right on at least some of the things in the snow plow package. I have the 1980 Dealers Fact Book but don't have it up on the site, although I do have the 1981 version on the site and I doubt it changed in a year. In the menu go to Documentation and then click on Literature. That will open a page with a spreadsheet that shows all of the literature on the site. Go down to Dealer Facts Book and click on the link for 1981. Then go to the F-Series tab, the 4X4 tab, and then the Optional Equipment tab. If you scroll down to Packages/Groups you'll see that the snow plow package is discussed. But it doesn't say what is in it. However, if you go to things like Shock Absorbers and then Stabilizer Bars you'll see that they are included or required with the snow plow package. But there are other things, like cooling & batteries, that changed if you had the snow plow package, so read through all of them and you'll figure it out. And, by the way, you shared a link to your report. But do you want your report to show in the thread? I can do that.

Thanks for the offer. I supposedly found a NOS one at $7.99 but it won't let me order it saying "The offer is not up to date." I sent them an email so we will see. Next up is $24.24 inc shipping. I'm inclined to order it, but it doesn't have the yellow connector clips that the NOS one does. Are they important? I got notification that the new radio shipped today, so I probably ought to go ahead and order the $24 one if the clips aren't needed as when I get the switches wired I'll want to install the radio.

Well, you have lots of tools in yours, but .... And, BB does set a bit high, probably higher than Lil' Red, much less Darth. Guess I'd better weigh him sometime.

Mine's probably the "lightweight" of the bunch, but with dual batteries, winch bumper, winch, and D60 it ain't light. Then there's the tool box in the bed that although it might not be as big nor as packed as those on Jim's truck, still has chain, ratchet straps, recovery gear, hand tools, and soon to be an on-board 1.5 HP air compressor driven by a 3000 watt inverter. Gee, I hadn't thought about all of that stuff, but it does add up.

I just noticed that it is rated at 225 lbs. I'm pushing 200 with my boots on, and I've picked up the monster starting battery while standing on that thing, so it isn't like a fuse and breaks at the rated limit.

Wow! THANKS! You found a good pic of the back of the radio, here for future reference, and figured out how to use the Ford bracket to mount it. Wonderful! On the mic, maybe it can go in before the bracket goes on? Or the bracket spaced back? Is there any adjustment for depth? So, now I need to find an E3ZF-18888-AA. (Yes, I know that's an ID#. ) I've found several of them with a quick search, so that shouldn't be hard. Does it fit tightly over the support? Again, THANKS! I would never have figured that out.

Was going to say the exact same! That just took place at the top of my wishlist. I don't have room in the shop for that, but couldn't live w/o this from Northern Tool, although Harbor Freight and several others sell them as well:

Which is why I suggest cleaning and lubing the switch.

So it is a Centurion. They made some cool stuff.

I'm not sure what the back of the new unit looks like. There's an illustration of it in the owner's manual, which I've downloaded, but it is just that - an illustration - so it may not show everything. But from what I see there's no stud nor way to mount it back there. If that is the case then I'll see if I can use the sleeve from the existing radio or make something similar to install back there for the unit to slide into. But, tell me more about those brackets? How do they attach? To what?

There's another problem. See if the writeup on the Ignition Switch tab here helps: Documentation/Electrical/Ignition.

No way those are the tailgate panel letters, those are definitely the hood letters from a 78-81. They're way too small and the pins on the back are too long for a tailgate panel. I have no idea why they're grouped with a set of 85+ emblems (no Lariats in 83 or 84, and no diesel in 82) unless an 80-81 hood was on the truck they pulled the emblems from. Good points, Shaun. That is a really strange mix of badges.

Thanks, Scott. Now it is time to wire up Mission Control. That's going to require removing the dash pad as I need to run more wires through the firewall for the backup lights, and the best way to do that is along the same path that the other wires take. And having the dash pad off might make it possible to see behind the switches to determine how much room I actually have for the wires. In addition, I'm hoping to be able to see the back of the radio with the pad off. That is because I'd like to support it in the back, but it is difficult to see, much less get to, from the bottom. Heretofore the aftermarket radio has been supported via the tabs being bent over on the mounting sleeve, but that seems to be a poor way to do things on a truck that is supposed to see a lot of rugged roads.

I can do that tomorrow if no one else has.

Tomorrow night for Saturday morning?

It might be the chain or gears, but I think it is more likely that it is a u-joint. There are u-joints on the rear driveshaft, front driveshaft, and the front axles. U-joints are very prone to failing, so I suspect you have at least one that is bad.

Looks great! That one scuff is pretty minor.

Got the padded clamps in today, so I got the power and ground leads to the inverter finished. You've seen the rear of the wiring, and here's the front of that wiring going up the fender liner: And here's the ground. I tapped a hole in the frame 5/16-18 and cleaned the surfaces to shiny metal, and then painted them with aluminum anti-seize: And, here are the results of a test:

Congrat's!!!!

I was guessing 3-5 amps, so I was happy to see that it was 4.67 lol. Technically, it should be a little less as I think most trucks are going to be running at a higher voltage than 12.8v aren't they?. I haven't checked my truck's old 1G 40amp alternator, but I know my cars were running more like 14.25v (I usually have an Ultragauge installed in my daily drivers). The current draw on Big Blue's FS10 clutch is 3.8A with battery voltage at 12.5V:

Wow! That would be cool. But, I want them for Bullnose trucks, not Mustangs.

I wouldn't worry about the speedo as that should be easily corrected. And I don't think they would change anything on the alignment geometry, if that is what you mean. But, Rusty is running 31's and they rub the radius arms as you get close to full lock on turns. I think Clay is installing a lift to get away from that. Also, you need to consider the width of your wheels vs the tires you get. I recommend going on Tirerack.com and looking at the specs on the tires you are interested in. That will give you the min and max wheel width for them, and you need to make sure yours are in that range, preferably in the middle.

They want real money for those, especially the black ones!

It would be, indeed!

That was quick, but I'm not surprised.