Gary Lewis

Oh, ok. You are right, the pics don't really show it. But I'm glad you made progress.

I'm confused. What are you trying to fix on the bumper?

You have your wife working on the truck!?!?!? Anyway, glad you got the blend door fixed. That's a major accomplishment in my book.

Yes, it sure would be good to hear that story. And whomever cleaned it up did a superb job.

Bill - Are you saying you can use that switch and a couple of those connectors? And you'll have push on/push off on the hazards? Sorry, but I didn't fully understand.

I don't envy you. Been there, done that, and had the cuts to prove it. There's no safe way to reach in there and work on that door. Good luck!

Or you could simply use the calculator at Documentation/Driveline/Calculators. Lets you see the various transmission and t-case options, change the tire size, pick the speed and see the RPM or pick the RPM and see the speed.

That probably is the white/black wire headed up to the choke. Not much else it can be - right?

I think that's the real deal. If not, it is an extremely well done restoration that would have cost a MINT! Notice that color of the various interior pieces isn't exactly the same. They would be if they'd come out of the same can. But from the factory they didn't quite match. As for the engine, it is a 351M and I call that family the M-Blocks. Ford called the 351 of that family an "M" but never called the 400 an M as there was no need to put an alpha character on it since there was no other 400.

Nothing to show yet 'cause I'm in watching "the game". But I did get the "goal post" made, meaning the uprights and the crossbar. Need to clean up the welds just a bit, but it is solid as I welded the uprights to the crossbar in 3 places. The reservoir nestles in perfectly and the holes in the ears, such as they are, align nicely. So the next step is to figure out how long the upper and lower "arms" should be. In the pic below you can see that the liner drops away where the top arm goes, so that arm won't be very long. But the bottom arm can be longer. I hope to lay it out so I don't have to drill more, or at least many more, hole in the liner. But we shall see.

Looking great, Cory! It looks like it is ready to drive. And you will be, soon.

I've gone back through your calculations and I don't see anything wrong. But I'm no pro at this.

Let's try this, although it is not to scale. All of the bracket pieces are 1" angle, with the heavy line representing the edge facing up. The two black pieces top and bottom run fore/aft and will be bolted through the fender liner in a couple of spots each. They are welded to the red uprights, to which the yellow ears of the reservoir bolt. The greenish piece ties the top/inboard and bottom/outboard legs together as well as provides a place to weld the black piece going off to the right/front, where it will be secured with the existing bolt for the PDB.

Ok, I think I have it. In this pic you can see that the PDB and the reservoir will be sitting at one level of the fender liner and the battery tray at another. So it wouldn't be easy to tie the reservoir mount to the battery tray. However, what you can't tell from the above angle is what is shown in this shot from the rear - that the inboard mounting bolt of the PDB is easily accessible from the rear. So it would be easy to put an arm from the reservoir's mount to that bolt, which would stabilize both the PDB and the reservoir. Basically what I'll do is put a piece of angle between the uprights at the bottom, which will ensure they can't flex. And then I'll weld another piece of angle to that one that will run forward and be anchored by the bolt you see. As said, that will stabilize both pieces but won't be in the way. In fact, it will be hard to even see.

Hadn't thought of using the cooler fittings. But there's really not much room there either. As for boxing in the reservoir, I don't think that will be necessary as the reservoir itself is stiff and the arrangement won't allow much movement side/side. However, you have a good point about the fore/aft as even the PDB can rock that way because of the plastic of the fender liner flexing. But I don't think I want something across the top as that would prevent opening the PDB. So what about having an arm from the bottom plate/strap that goes forward and ties into the base of the PDB? Or maybe even up to the battery tray? I'll look at it a bit more, but I think I can make it rigid enough via bracing on the bottom such that straps on the top won't be needed. Thanks!

Well done! I like the finish nail idea. I've used small screwdrivers and they keep slipping, so I think I'll adopt your plan, Stan. When you put them back together they should have some goo in there to prevent moisture from getting in. I suspect dielectric grease would be the best, but I've used a very thin coat of aluminum-based anti-seize applied with a Q-Tip. I just coat the male prongs and that seems to let things come apart easier next time as well.

You have to call RuffStuff and request the 12". They're a niche size, so they aren't on the site. Ordering mine was quick and easy, I think my order took 3 minutes tops. I went back and checked, and they didn't charge me more for the longer length. How are the UBoltsDirect version formed? From their description, it seems like they're cut. I'd bet the UBoltDirect are cut. So if I like the suspension, and I'm sure I will, I'll call RuffStuff and order them. Thanks. Speaking of liking the suspension, the t-case seal isn't in so it'll be tomorrow, if then, before we get to test it. I'm anxious to do so as I think we are going to love the ride. Or, maybe I should temper that and say the ride will be much improved. It isn't going to be like Dad's truck, but at least I think the springs will flex on bumps now.

Ha! No brakes, no booster, no master, no lines! Also no driveshaft, and no hydraulic clutch line! I'm going to get the hydraulic clutch working tomorrow and stick the drive shaft in it so I can move it around inside the shop. Congrat's!!! That is SUCH a GOOD feeling!!!

No! They have even smaller engine bays! But yes, it is full. And by the time the EFI air box and PDB are in there it'll be done. Toast. Chockablock. Which is why I'm doing my due diligence. Planning ahead. I don't want to make new battery cables and then discover I need to move things.

That's great, Cory!

Well this is screwy! I sent that directly to Gary via email as I was pestering him about G3 stuff. Did not expect to see it here. But hey Scott, thanks! I forgot about that blower relay mod, thanks for reminding me, Scott! Thoughts on that relay/junction box? Wow! So many thoughts and so little idea of how to express them. I'll try, but want everyone's feedback, please. But first, I think you replied to a notification email from the forum, John, instead of emailing me. That would explain how it got here. But on your question about the EFI PDB, unless you are like me and want to use Ford parts, Scott's approach with the aftermarket PDB will be easier. I'll let him address that. However, that does bring me to one of the things I like to do - use Ford parts in/on my Ford. Which is one of the reasons I like the idea of using the original reservoir. And I really like causing the Ford gurus to scratch their heads and say "Wait, why is that part over there? It is the right part, but shouldn't it be over here - where the factory-looking air box is?" Or, "I didn't know Ford put EFI in a Bullnose. But those are all Ford parts, so they must have?" Anyway, essentially I'm out of room at the inn. With the aux battery and extra PDB on the passenger's fender there's just almost no room for anything else. For instance, y'all probably didn't know that there's a fresh air intake duct that goes right through one of the places you mentioned installing a coolant recovery reservoir. With that there's an opening between that air conditioning tube and the radiator of 2" wide by 8" tall, which I think is too small. But on the passenger's side there is a bit more, like just less than 4" wide by 17" high. Still, that's not much. And if you are already over to that side with the coolant overflow hose why not just go on to the reservoir I'm talking about, which would serve both coolant and windshield washer? Toward that end, I spent quite a bit of time figuring out how to do it. At first there wasn't quite enough room between the PDB and the A/C drier, but I rerouted the battery cables and shifted the PDB forward 1" and that did the trick. Here's a pic of where it would go. At first blush you'd think it needs to come back, meaning toward the fender, a bit, but don't forget that the hood hinge pivots down there, and in this position the hinge misses by 1/2". But, all is not lost as there's room between the hinge and the fender to install relays, like for the blower motor. I could do that with one of the Ford relay "hoods" or maybe just the single relay I got from U-Haul specifically for that purpose. But I might re-wire the PDB to handle that. In any event, I think there's plenty of room for relays. Now for how I think I'd do it. In the left pic you can see an outline. The green represents a piece of 3" strap, held to the fender liner via the holes that are already there. Then on the ends you see two pieces of angle, drawn in red, which are welded to the strap and are standing straight up. And in the middle in yellow is the reservoir. In the pic on the right you see the reservoir in place and the red pieces of angle in position to capture the ears of the reservoir and support it. THOUGHTS?

I'm bleeding right now from cleaning up an air inlet I needed to show someone how little room there is under the hood of these things, so I can sympathize with you. A third, and even a fourth, hand would be handy (get it?) on these connectors. They really are a pain. As for PB Blaster, I doubt it'll help but I don't believe it'll hurt if you then clean the connector well.

They are a PAIN! And I frequently break a tab. Anyway, on some of them you slip a really small screwdriver in an lever them apart. Pull on the wires as well.

I'm challenged in many ways, but general computer usage isn't one of them. As for spelling, Mark Twain once said “Anyone who can only think of one way to spell a word obviously lacks imagination.” You just have a good imagination.

That's great! Thanks for posting that. But just so it won't go away, let's capture that here: