Gary Lewis

Some times all it takes is a bunch of new parts to fuel the excitement and then a whole lot gets done. Looks like there are plenty of parts to cause lots of excitement!

Got it on the files. On the hydrodipping, since I've never been around it but have read some about it, can it be done on surfaces with compound curves? Or just simple curves? I was thinking about the instrument and radio bezels on these trucks. The Rosewood that was used from 80 - 84 is hard to come by in good shape, and the burled wood used in '85 and '6 is usually purple by now due to UV fading. But underneath those decals the bezels are smooth. So if we found good Rosewood or burled wood material, or maybe even carbon fiber looking stuff, could they be refinished via hydrodipping?

Dave, I was actually able to get the tires installed yesterday. Ever try to install a set of tire/wheels without lifting them?>..ha. It took a little screwing around with the jack, but it worked. Anyway, I know that 31's on 10" rims is probably not the preferred set-up, but I was wanting this arrangement, and for all intents and purposes, this truck (if I can ever finish it) will not get driven very much or very far. The tires would rot before I'd ever wear them out. It really IS just a project for something to do, and something to play around with when done. Anyway, I ran into a bit of a snag yesterday. I'm trying to finish up some engine bay work before I install the core support. I need to do fuel pump, oil filter, steering box, wiring, etc...just a bunch of stuff that will be easier without the core support in place. I wasn't planning on changing the water pump right away, but when I pulled the short little stub of hose off it yesterday I found the hose barb was rusted out, so I guess I need to add a water pump to the list. Problem is...how to remove that darn clutch fan on the 300 when it's well rusted in place?? I have a wrench that fits it, and according to my searches it is reverse thread (right to loosen), but how in the bloody heck do you hold the water pump from turning? I guess I'll have to make some kind of plate that bolts on to 2 or 4 of the pulley bolt holes on the water pump? And then...pray (with a hammer) that I can break that clutch fan loose? Any tips or tricks from a 300 inline 6 guy? The tires and wheels look very good! And I'm glad you figured out how to get them on w/o lifting. As for the fan and water pump, I'm with Jim - do whatever is needed to get it off. Can you cut a semicircle out of a piece of angle, drop it down over the flange, and tack weld it to the flange?

You are making progress! And, as Jim says, progress is good! But, are you aware that the v-belt and serpentine water pumps rotate opposite directions? IOW, you should change to a pump for the serpentine setup. As for the pedal box, there are illustrations as well as instructions from the factory shop manuals on the page at Documentation/Driveline/Clutches And Linkage. But, you do know that the 94's pedal box won't fit? The pedals, springs, and bushings will fit in a Bullnose manual transmission box, but you have to have the Bullnose box.

Man, that thing looks SOOOOO much better after cleaning. Just that alone is worth a WELL DONE! Looks like it is going well. And you have good weather in which to work.

Andre - Thanks. But when the shop checked the alignment they found it was actually toed out, so they dialed in the factory .06 degrees and it steers much better now. No perfectly, but like it is a big, lumbering truck - which it is. But I think it is what it is at this point - good but not perfect. However, I don't have a steering damper, so will consider that. Thanks!

Sam - Thanks. I've also had some problems with the pins making sure they are captured properly. Dane - Thanks. Trico has been my go-to brand for years.

Thanks, Sam. I appreciate that.

Wow, that's quite a shop! And, quite an offer! I wish I knew something to take you up on at the moment, but I don't. Having said that, I have a feeling that I might in the future. The thing I have in my mind is a box of some kind to enclose my Cole Hersee Smart Switch, shown below. It is currently VERY exposed and since it has #2 wires to both batteries on each side, there's lots of juice. So a wrench dropped on it could be a bit of a problem. I'm sure to have to move it as I rearrange for EFI, but when I figure out where it is going to go then I might draw something up that I'd like to have printed. What kinds of formats do you use?

Bill - I've done some comparing of the vacuum and electronic speed controls and it does look fairly easy to use the electronic in place of the vacuum, with one exception. There's this statement in the EVTM about how the electronic unit works: "Utilizing a vehicle speed sig­nal from Programmable Speedometer/Odometer Module, increases or decreases vehicle speed to maintain set speed." I ain't go no PSOM. But, before I realized that there's a transducer input on the vacuum system and none on the electronic version I created a spreadsheet to compare the use of the three wires in the horn pad as well the one to the horn relay. As shown below, there is only one difference, and that is the BK wire on the vacuum side and LB/BK on the electronic one. And I'm not sure what to think of that. As you can see in the schematic below for the electronic speed control, they don't show the LB/BK wire as grounded. But there are only three connections for the horn pad, and one of those is ground. Right? So, how could the LB/BK wire not be grounded? In any event, since I don't have a PSOM I'll continue on with the vacuum speed control for the time being. But thanks for the offer.

Congrat's!!!!

Congrat's! I may be ahead of you on testing with one. Scott's shipped his to me.

Welcome! But, as said on the thread in New Members Start Here, tell us more about yourself. And about your truck.

I was thinking of powder coating the arms I have. But you shouldn't powder coat springs so that meant it wasn't going to be easy. Someone, Jim I think, pointed out that the J-hook arms went right on our trucks and they come powder coated. Problem solved. But I haven't installed them as I haven't bothered to get blades. The other day we had Big Blue out and got covered with road spray several times, only to discover that the washer didn't work well and the blades were bad. So Janey said "You need to get new blades." I'm just trying to follow my wife's orders.

It is already sold. Is it on its way to you?

I guess they fit everything! I looked at both of our newer vehicles and they both have the J-hooks. So when I wanted new arms that seemed like a good way to go.

Nice looking truck! But which set of wheels does it have on it now? And, tell us about your self. Like, where's home? I ask because we have a map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu) and we could add you if we had a zip or city.

Jim - I was about ready to pull the trigger on the Bosch Icons, but I thought I'd wait maybe until after Christmas as I've spent a ton lately (this year?) on the truck. So that gives me time to get other input.

Aaron - Glad you are making progress. As for the extra fitting, that isn't a problem. Just put a cap, or a hose with a plug in it, on that port. And put all the lines back on the ports from whence they came. That port isn't needed in your implementation or the original carb would have had a port there.

I don't know about the adapter, but I wanted new arms as mine were getting in bad shape, so ordered the hook-style. But you are saying that new blades come with an adapter to allow fitting to the pin-style arms? I guess I've not bought wiper blades in a while. Now I'm looking for good wiper blades. Bill recommended the AutoZone Duralast. My reading says that the Bosch Icon are highly rated. Other ideas?

Bill - It looks like there is an ID # on this speed control board: E3AF-14A608-DA.

The replacement/updated switch is only $30, so I think I'll just go that route so I won't have to worry about the red switch. But for now, I'll unplug the red top switch until I replace it. I think that's wise, Shaun. You'll sleep better at night.

You can't tell until you drive a while. Hope it works well for you.

Thanks, Bob. I think I'll try the 20's. That is what Blue has on it and I thought about pulling those to try them, but if Jim has 21's on I should be safe with the 20's.

I don't know if the squirters are adjustable on the Bullnose nozzles, but I'll see.