Gary Lewis

But, you ask, what about the "step forward" I mentioned in the last post. I wanted to save that for a post all by itself. And that step forward is yet another very, VERY positive experience with the folks at Over The River And Through The Woods. Last night I started laying out the wiring for the Mission Control switches and realized that the front locker switch I bought isn't going to work due to the way the lower LED is wired. The switch I bought only has the negative wire of the LED available as it expects the switch to supply the positive power to it. But OX actually has the switch controlling ground to the motor and then the motor provides a positive signal back to the switch to light the LED. Obviously having power to the negative side of the LED and ground to the positive side isn't going to work. So I called Jim at OTRATTW and as soon as I said "OX" he knew what the problem is. So he's shipping me a switch with the lower LED independent as well as the tool to remove the actuator/rocker, and I'll ship him the other switch back. No charge! If any of you EVER need switches, these are the folks: Over The River And Through The Woods, aka otrattw.net.

Like these, Jim? https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Defender+LTX+M%2FS&partnum=875R6DLTX&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes K02's would be my go-to for Big Blue if I had to buy now. Fortunately I don't. As for Michelins, no thanks. I bought a new set 40 years ago and the belts all separated. Gave me fits trying to find the vibrations that came and went. When I finally found out what the problem was I swore off Michelins. Haven't had a set since and plan on not having one. And on that note, or is it bad, bad, bad vibrations, I took one step forward and two steps back today. The intent was to fix the speed control, so I replaced the servo with another that I had laying around. But while doing that I realized that I didn't have a proper throttle return spring on the carb, only the coil spring around the end of the throttle cable itself. Thinking that might be both the cause of the varying idle speed when letting off the throttle and maybe the cause of the oscillations in the speed control, I added one. Then I took it for a drive. Man, did that spring change things! When warm the idle speed is now ~450 - 500 RPM, and when cold it does NOT want to idle. On top of that, the speed control doesn't work at all. So tomorrow I'll swap the old servo back on and adjust the idle speed to more like 600 and take it for another drive.

Jacob - You might want to take a look at this thread: http://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/Rear-Bumper-Spare-Tire-Mount-Thoughts-td15331.html. I'd start at the back and go forward. I still haven't gotten it built, but plan to do so.

That IS cool!

The 1980 visors carry a D9 prefix, so they are a carryover from 1979. The 1987 visors carry an E7 prefix, so they are new that year. But it may be just like our trucks, that the 1987 and later visors have the inboard stay but are otherwise the same. So if you get the stay with the visors you can put them on and be better than new.

I get up around 6, but just "compute" for about 3 hours. Then I get out to the shop between 9 and 10. And quit around 4. And then start "computing" again. So I only get maybe 6 hours of "wrenching" in a day anymore. Seem to be slowing down in my old age. Anyway, have fun on the Honey Do's, and then on the work.

LOL! My Hella fog light box sat around for a while so I finally asked if she really wanted to wrap it.

It didn't make it, at least that I saw, but I'd figured out what you meant. And while I don't think that is needed as I believe there will be plenty of clearance, it would be a nice touch, making it look like a purpose-built piece rather than just a piece of angle. So I'll probably do that. Thanks. Thinking back on it, that aluminum channel has really be used for a lot of things, including the battery hold-downs and the dip stick stay. But those things don't look like channel, and I might as well make this piece purpose-built as well.

And, the answer is: 73/78 A - - w/intermittent wipers D3AZ 17A553-D *SW-1155-A So the switch can come from a full-sized Ford from 1973 to 1978. But for whatever reason the governor from that car won't work, or maybe won't fit, in the van in spite of the connectors obviously being the same? I think I'd buy the governor as well if I found the switch in a car and see if it won't fit. But the best bet is to find the whole thing in a van.

Right above the start of the 80/86 F-U are two rows of 80/ E 100/350. And they take a D3AZ switch. I'll be back in a bit to tell what vehicles that fits ....

Yep. But it is curious that Vernon chose those tires since off-roading wasn't in his plans. He was planning on pulling a travel trailer all across the US so he and his wife could see the USA (in a Ford) in his retirement. But those tires make a lot of noise on the highway, so sure wouldn't be my first pick for doing what he was planning to do. With the sound deadening and insulation, plus all new weatherstripping, the level in the cab is down to "tolerable". And at speed you don't notice the vibration, but as you roll to a stop you can feel every lug. Some day I'd like to slip a set of "regular old street tires" on there and see what they sound like and how the truck drives. I suspect even the ride would be better as these things are HEAVY!

Bingo! So if we have a pic of the certification label we can probably work out the Cali or not issue and know which of the calibration codes it is. Then I can list that code.

Unfortunately the E-series visors and B-pillar trim is different than the F-series or U-series stuff. Hope someone has some of it for you.

Unfortunately, Cory is right - the vans use different switches and governors than the trucks. See below. The UZ on the governor means it was made for the vans, but the AZ on the switch means it was made for the full-sized Ford cars. IOW you can get the switch from a Ford car, and I can determine which ones if you want. But for some reason that governor isn't the right one. As for repairing the delay module, that info is on the page at Documentation/Electrical/Windshield Wipers.

Thanks, Jim. Vernon picked the tires. And like you, they are a bit too aggressive for my tastes. But at $1000 to replace them I think I can live with them. And with an "excellent" off-road performance rating I guess I'd better give them a chance.

Ok, I understand what you are saying. However, I don't think that's a problem. In the pic below I've put red arrows to show the tight point at the moment - where the two arches are that hold the control box on top. But when I move the light forward to hit the bumper's upright, which will let me take 1/2" out of the top of the angle, there should be plenty of room to get the cover over the winch. Also, I just did some Photoshop magic and put another arrow in on the clutch handle. That arrow is the length from the midpoint of the center pivot for the handle to the far right/back end of it. But I then moved it left/forward so the other end of it is in the middle of the pivot and it looks like it would just clear with the top of the angle at 1 1/2". So taking that 1/2" out of it will make it clear for sure. I just didn't try today as I didn't think it would clear.

Scott - Thanks. Bruce - Not sure what you mean. The 1 1/2" angle clears the winch, but just barely and not enough to get the cover over the winch. But by making the top of the angle only 1", which I think is all that the light's base needs, then it'll let the cover go on easily. And hopefully it'll let the clutch lever be fully rotated. But I may have to mill out the curve below the light's base to allow the large nut they sent to have a flat surface to go against. Is that what you meant?

I could have two brackets, but I don't think that solves the clutch handle problem. I'll have to look tomorrow, but I think the clutch handle is almost straight behind the light. So if the light is going to be in that spot it needs to move forward and the bracket can't come any farther back than the back of the light's mount. I think the simple angle bolted into those two holes is going to work. We shall see.

Don't miss that I've done it as a test. My wife and I both like it, so I think it is a winner. Thanks for the idea!

I'm not sure what a "regular old street tire" is, but there's not much "regular" or "old" on this truck. The tires are Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx LT285/75R16's, and each one is rated for 3750 lbs @ 80 PSI. And they have an aggressive enough tread that I picked rocks out of it today after it had been on the road up to 70 MPH. Plus, the tread makes a lot of noise on the highway. They were on the truck when I got it and they have lots of miles left in them. As for the switches, they are mounted in a medium-duty radio bezel, not one from one of these trucks. lol Well what I mean is they are just plain street tires, highway tires they arent offroad tires like my 31x10.50-15 all terrian tires from BFG. Mine are not that noisy, the old Discount Pathfinders I used to have were quiet and these are quiet as well on the highway but everyone swears by this other brand that the name slips me right now but those I have always heard them noisy on the road. Ah kinda like the speedometer I got which is a NOS replacement for the heavy duty trucks that has the 1,000,000 odometer which I had planned to swap the wheels over to my speedometer I currently have with trip as I use my trip to gauge fuel consumption between fill ups. Thought they were the same with narrower wheels but doing some measuring it appears that it wont be a direct swap. Shouldnt be a problem if I go with the Dakota Digital cluster even though I hate the idea of having a digital odometer. I don't think you know your Cooper tires. Cooper says this about them: Discount Tire says: Tire Rack says: Doesn't sound like a "regular old street tire" to me.

Clay - Email me your address unless I already have it. I'll try to get it out tomorrow.

Thanks, guys. But this piece of angle isn't what I want to use. It is just a piece of sheet metal rolled into roughly a right angle. I don't think it is stiff enough and it has some extra holes. So I'll be looking around to see what else I have, which might turn out to be a piece of that aluminum channel I made the stay out of. It is plenty stiff, but the radiused corner may be an issue. I'll have to see.

I actually have an extra Saginaw pump from U-Tech you can have. It got a little beat up in shipping but it is only cosmetic. Or, I can just ship you the extra C2 pump with the pulley still on it. Worked fine when I took it off of Dad's truck. Pretty sure I still have it and I'm going with a Sag on that truck as well. But the serpentine system looks great. And you can replace that Techumseh compressor that is/was on Rusty. However, you will then start running into the what-hose-to-use-here problem that others have had.

Apparently it was Google Chrome. I closed and re-opened Chrome and things are working much better now.

Sort of. I got in the habit of covering it a couple months ago because it was always getting covered in dust. There is a garbage can in front of the truck where Mrs. Rembrant takes the Dyson and dumps it out and then uses compressed air to blow it out and the dust all over everything...lol. That and just the dirt in general that accumulates in a working garage. Dust, sawdust, dirt, leaves, whatever. I just found it easier to whip the sheets off it and it was always shiny clean and ready to roll. But yes...winter is here. We haven't had any snow yet, but might get a dusting tomorrow. Where I live we usually don't get any snow that sticks and stays until well into January. The road salt is the issue, and if it's not on the road tomorrow it will be soon, and that is the official end of the truck season for me. So ya, it's covered for the season, but it was kinda covered anyway;). Makes sense to cover the truck w/that going on. As for the snow, we have our second round going on as I type. And this time it has been below freezing for a couple of days so it'll stick. But we won't get much as I'm sending it on to Jim and then to you, Cory.