Gary Lewis

Bob - I fully understand about carrying those rotors. Big Blue's are probably about the same - HEAVY! Bill - Looking excellent! Hope you get the second color on tomorrow. And in the background, that's one of the vans with the midship engine?

Cool! Glad you got it figured out.

Amazon has both the Eastwood and the 3M. The Eastwood is $21.99 and would get to me between Nov 9th and 17th if ordered now, Oct 30th.. The 3M is $23.38 and would get to me Nov 1st if ordered today. If Eastwood wants to sell to me they are going to have to dramatically step up their delivery times.

480 trucks/day. Got it.

Ok, several things to report. First, I got 2 lbs of 3M Strip Calk on order. (Yes, that's how they spell it.) I'll use that to put the vapor seal on the doors when the time comes. Second, I spent quite a bit of time looking for the right "christmas trees" for the door panels. The master parts catalog doesn't seem to show them for our trucks, or at least I can't find them. But it does show them for the little Bronco and the Aerostar. And the part number is N801925-S. Clips & Fasteners has them as part PAS1575-25 and says they are N801925-S. But oddly enough they say they are for 1981 and later trucks, as shown below: Bottom Head Diameter 25/32" Top Head Diameter 1/2" Stem Diameter 5/16" Stem Length 5/8" Ford # N801925-S 1981- 25 Per Package Package Price: $3.99 So for that price I ordered two sets as it takes about 25 for each door when you include the map pockets. Then I heated and rolled the sound deadening I put on yesterday and then added the 2nd layer across the middle of the door. With that done I made the mirror brace and used the new process, meaning that I screwed it down on one of the screws and then tapped the other through the rivnut. That seemed to work pretty well. And then I turned to the door lock problem. After playing with it a bit I realized that it worked fine with the window up, but not with the window down. So I started looking at all the linkage as I moved the window and discovered that the plastic retainer for the link from the outside door handle's push button was touching the back side of the rear channel for the window. So I moved the window channel and the door handle away from each other as far as they'd go. And I lubed the back of the channel, and it now works nicely. And with that, I think we are ready for a trip tomorrow.

This page attempts to explain what vacuum lines/systems you need: Documentation/Underhood/Vacuum Systems. Oh, and the evap system like you mentioned. As for where to start, I don't think I'd spend very long trying to fix what you are going to remove. Maybe give it a shot, like an hour at the most, and then move on to installing the DS-II system. And a build thread would be good. But that's your call. I like having one place to go looking for the things I've posted or people's answers. So one thread for the Bronco would be my approach. But again, that's up to you.

That reminded me to test Big Blue - his wipers shut off with the key. Is it possible that your radio is backfeeding? Can you unplug the radio and test? A Mini Pickup! That's cool!

George - I've read and re-read your post and think I understand. I'm sitting here wondering if the door pockets could be reversed, meaning that the right one would be used on the left door and vice versa. If so, I think you could easily put a 6x9 in the bottom of the front of the door. But, I'm not sure that the rear of the door pockets would clear the seat. Or that the shape of the pockets would work. Can you check? As for Big Blue, what I'm thinking about doing is to put a powered "subwoofer" (I agree with you that's a misnomer) under the seat. Something like the Sound Ordinance B-8PTD might do it, and the existing head unit has sub-outs. Then use the front channel to power the 6 1/2's and the rear channel to power the 4" speakers in the Highliner, which would use up the little bit of power that head unit has. I'm not looking for a "serious" system. I've been there and done that previously. But I want a decent sound in the truck for the long trips I hope to take in it to Colorado and elsewhere to use it. And since I have the Sony system and speakers and the Highliner on its way I'm just looking to augment that setup. We plan to take the truck out tomorrow for a drive and I hope to have the 6 1/2's in for that test. I'll report back.

Gary, Wouldn't it be cool to talk to a Ford insider from back in the Bullnose era? I'd love to know more about the manufacturing and production numbers. Yes, it would! I'd like to know about the buck tags. What did they tell them. How did they use them?

The Marti reports are cool! And it is amazing to think about changing a plant over from one year to the next, much less one generation to the next. Plus training the production crew. And then being there for the first few days while they get going. That's a daunting task.

In comparison to the Bronco, that one sure looks plain. But it also appears to be solid. However, the interior looks like it it worn out. Underhood looks original, so maybe it hasn't been hacked.

I like it! And for a dollar I'd load up today. Amazing how well the interior has held up but the exterior paint has gone away. Sitting outside with frequent rain but low UV?

You are welcome! Helping is why we are here.

I think Option 2 would be what I'd do. Actually, I'd put the DS-II system in and get it running with that. Then I'd swap carbs. That way you'd know what the issue is if it doesn't run. Then you can remove the DS-III system and get ready for the 2150, intake, exhaust, etc. You'll have the truck down shorter periods of time and can even measure the difference in MPG, if not power, as you go.

Pretty truck! Bet you are proud of it!

Yep. Pretty sure Big Blue is the same. Will confirm in the morn. Which fits with the schematic.

Yeah, rear overhang can be an issue. Ya know that left side that I said pointed you at the sky which could be a little freaky? I'm thinking Big Blue won't be doing this: http://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/file/n13104/DSC_7648_Poughkeepsie.jpg Nope, BB won't be doing that.

I'll do that. I'll measure it 12 ways from Sunday and someone may chose to draw it up on CAD. And since they are no longer being produced no one is going to complain.

I'm lost. You are running a Painless harness? Can you tell us how you wired it with respect to the wiring below? I think you are lacking a ground. What usually happens is that w/o a ground the light works when the headlights are off as it grounds through the low-resistance headlight's filament. But when the headlights are on that doesn't work.

Congrat's to both of you.

If you aren't running the charcoal canisters then leave the bowl vent open. And the port on the bottom of the choke should certainly be plugged. Otherwise you are pulling unfiltered air into the carb and then into the engine. As for that port, I don't remember which port is which on those carbs. But you want a "ported" connection, which means on that doesn't have vacuum when the engine is at idle but has full vacuum from just above idle all the way up. And that fitting should be connected to the vacuum advance on the distributor.

I don't know what you'll think after seeing it. That's why I suggest coming in from the top. You can get close to all the hard stuff and walk to scout it I wouldn't suggest winching over the right line like he did. It's not the worst thing in the world to do, but the issue on the left line (of the right side) is traction, not clearance. You can winch there without dragging the undercarriage. However you could try to crawl the right line and stop and back down if you are going to high-center (and then winch up the left line). But don't forget about your first statement above either: "I'm not sure I want to tackle The Wall." This is the hardest trail in the Ouray area. Feel free to pass on it if it doesn't seem like it'll be fun for you. A problem I see is the rear overhang on Big Blue. If I didn't drag going up I'd hit the rear bumper backing down. So I'm not sure I can do the right line. But I do want to see the place. And I might try it. We shall see. As for passing, if that's the only thing I don't do up there I'll be surprised.

Andre - I haven't tested Big Blue, but I thought that when you turn the key off the wipers stop where they are and don't continue running to the Park position. If I'm right, yours is wired differently that the norm All - Can someone confirm that? Do your wipers stop when you turn the key off? Andre - I'll check Big Blue tomorrow if no one else beats me to it.

Yes, they are a bit different. But I can't, at this point, say what is causing the problem. Perhaps this link is it? The issue is the you can't always unlock the door, either with the key or with the pin on top of the door. When that happens you just can't move that linkage far enough. So it may not be that link. I'll spend time tomorrow working through the setup and see if I can figure it out.

I think you'll have a problem clearing the window. The magnet on these Sony speakers is ~3 1/4" in diameter. And since magnet size has a bearing on sound, I doubt you'll want to go smaller. So I think you'll have problems. But let us know how it goes.