Gary Lewis

I've just cut the line with a tubing cutter and put a hose on. I did double clamp it, but never had a leak. If you put any flare on the line I think you'll risk cutting the hose with the sharp end of the flare. And it will make it hard to get the hose on. So if you flare I'd use a flare-to-hose barb connector. That would give the best seal and the least chance of having the hose come off.

That should work perfectly. I think you currently have the wrong one.

Good idea!

Well done! Glad she's purring.

By "original", do you mean what one of the parts stores has? Or, do you mean buy one with the right part number? You can get the part number here: Documentation/Driveline/Brakes and then the Master Cyl's & Boosters tab.

Cool! Looks perfect - or will do when you get the hole small enough to tap. I like the way you held it down. I find that machine work is like chess - you have to think through everything to come up with a process that will actually work.

I've included two pages from the 1985 EVTM. As you'll see it says "zero to nine seconds, depending on engine coolant temperature." And the first page shows that the temp switch closes at 112 degrees, F. That would suggest that if that switch is bad you won't get proper glow plug heating. HOWEVER, the schematic shows that the temp switch is only used to power the Cold Idle and Cold Advance solenoids. If that is true, and the 1986 EVTM shows the same thing, then I can't see how that switch would cause problems with the glow plugs. But, it does say the Glow Plug Controller is "threaded into the left-hand rear top of the engine block", so perhaps there's a temp sensor in it that is not shown? I hope someone actually knows how that works. Obviously I don't.

All the Midland FRS/GMRS radios are 50ohms on the antenna connection. For a run that short, any of the usual 50ohm cables will work. I'm not a fan of RG58, but it gets plenty of use. Your usual favorite ham sources can provide mounts and FRS/GMRS tuned UHF antennas. Getting a GMRS license is just a form and $70 for 10 years. One license covers a family. I don't know if there are GMRS repeaters that cover the trails you're interested in. The license is cheap enough I got one just to be safe. Thanks. I appreciate the tips. I did look today and the back of the cab, close to the bed light, is pretty flat, so it shouldn't be a problem to put a connector there. However the inside panel of the roof curves a lot right there, so a hole will need to be cut in it to install the connector. And, on a different subject, this came in today. Maybe I'll get to install it tomorrow, but it is pretty!

By golly, you are right. Here's your pic vs the master on Big Blue. And the lid looks backwards on yours.

Did you notice a change with just the front?

Yippee! I'll bet that 400 has some zip! I sure hope you get more miles on Rusty this time around than you have in the past. And, it looks good as well.

Welcome! Glad you joined. Where's home? I ask because we have a map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu) and we can add you if we have a city or zip. On the master cylinder, that looks like the right one. I'd recommend that you go to Rock Auto's site and see about getting one from them. This link should take you right to the master cylinder's for your truck. I hope.

And here's . More of a flop than a roll, and it wouldn't ruin anyone's life, but it could sure ruin a day. I showed this to Lesley and she said "he's just driving on a dirt road!" Keep in mind that it's hard to keep a good perspective on what horizontal is in pictures and videos in the mountains. This is going down a steep hill and he drops the left front into a hole. You can't see it very well, but I strongly suspect that if he'd veered left a little before that he'd have been fine, with both front tires going into the hole around the same time. Ok, I've now watched the SuperDuty go down Black Bear. He made it look fairly easy, but I can see how tight it is and how rough it is. And, I see the "flop". In fact, I could see it coming in the shot from the rear. And I agree that turning left would have saved him. But, neither my brother nor I have that much experience, and it would certainly ruin our day if we flopped a vehicle over. So, I'm not too gung ho 'bout tackling Black Bear. I'm not at all saying we won't, but I'm being a bit more cautious. And, on a slightly different subject, our daughter asked today for LOTS of detail on trips we've taken, including pictures. Janey found the pics of our Colorado trip when we rented the Jeep, and there's one of us on top of Cinnamon Pass - and everyone was smiling. Plus, I got an email from my brother saying we need to nail down a date and a place to stay or places will fill up. So I guess this is happening!

I've had to remove the dash pad to get the A-pillar trim out. Getting the bottom of the trim out past the pad is very difficult. As for the trim itself, you may be able to glue it on the backside. If I remember correctly they are ABS and PVC pipe glue works. Or epoxy. On the dome light, they all seem to be pitted. I've thought about powder coating the one for Big Blue, but since I'm going with the Highliner won't need to do that now as it has its own dome light. And, btw, I don't think I have a good lens. But have seen them on ebay.

While on Youtube get the "embed" code. On here tick the "Message is in HTML Format" box and paste the code into your post. But you'll then find that in HTML format hitting "enter" doesn't create a line feed in the post when you preview. To get a line feed hit Formatting and then hit Line Feed. That will put the right code into your post for a line feed.

Looks great! I don't think I'd go back with white. But red pinstripe?

First, I've been BUSTED! Janey went to my email to see if her Amazon order had gone through and saw the email notification on my post that said she's sitting beside me and I will watch your video later. And now she's watching the whole video that you posted of the Jeep rolling down the mountainside. Anyway, good ideas on the trails, Bob. Thanks. Imogene is a good idea. In fact, the family we caught up to on Ophir had just done Imogene and he was still "puckered up" as he said. He thinks it is a 3 on a 5-point scale, and it was the first trail they'd done. Which is why he was sitting there looking at the Ophir road when we pulled up. Looking at the Ophir road from the bottom it appears to be a very narrow road carved into the side of the mountain. But, as Janey said yesterday, it isn't bad at all when you are on it as then you can see it is quite wide. So that family had no problems at all, and when we stopped at the top and took pics for each other they were happy they'd done it. As for Engineer, the other trails are good options to have. We can see what the gals think and always change the plans. Thanks!

Very nice! I like the upgrades. But I'm not a big fan of the patina. While painting the rest of it, why not paint the exterior as new? Over time I think patina will be less and less appreciated.

Looking good, George & Nick! Lots of work, but it is coming together.

Ok, I hadn't gotten to your post about Brutus when I responded, but now have and think I see what you are saying. In this pic you show what someone, possibly http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/uploads/6/5/8/7/65879365/florida-man-42_orig.jpg, did to the door to get the 6x9 in. Ouch! I don't think I want to do that to these doors. And I can see the vent you are talking about placing the 6 1/2" speakers behind. I think that's an '87 and later door pocket/vent combo, and BB's pocket is full length so I don't have that vent. I'm going to pull the door panels off today to see what I have.....

Yes, BNC is very popular. I was blown away when I saw the SO on the Midland radio. For something that small I wonder why they used the connector we used on big ham gear? I associate RG8 or RG9 with the SO/PL connectors. But surely they are using RG59 on the antenna, and that I've always seen that used with the BNC connectors.

George - I think I see what you are saying. On Brutus you intend to put a 6x9 on the bottom/front of the door and put a grille on it. Right? If so, that won't work for Big Blue as he has a carpet storage pocket covering that spot. But, I think you are saying that you already have 6x9's in the doors. Is that correct? If so, why can't I put the 6x9's that put on the outside of the door panel in the door? They are decent speakers, so if I don't have to cut the door up I could at least try them. I'll get the details on what they are later, but what did you have to do to mount yours?

Bright colors look GOOD on a Bronco!

Dane - You got it. Jim - I agree that the bulkhead connector will be fine. It is more the length of the lead-in that I'm questioning. It might be tuned to the length of the whip. But they specifically said the lead-in is 6 meters long and 462 Mhz is .65 meters, so I don't think so. However, I'll call on Monday to find out. And, come to think of it, I wouldn't have to use SO/PL connectors. I could go to the BNC connectors, which would increase the probability of sealing on the curved surface of the cab. I haven't taken a look at the truck since I came up with this plan, but will do in a bit....

I believe a TrueTrac will work just like an open diff in this situation. A clutch-type limited slip will offer some braking (the torque it takes to slip the diff), but I wouldn't count on it. Only a locker (or spool) will prevent either tire from rolling if the other loses traction. Bob - Janey is sitting beside me so I'll watch the videos later when I get to the shop. But thanks for the commentary. And the cautions. They will be heeded. What I'm thinking we may do is to run Last Dollar Road and then Ophir Pass on Day one with our wives. Then on Day Two take them up to Animas Forks and do the Alpine Loop, although the last/north west section of that may be too much for them. Then on Day Three they may stay in town or rent a car and drive down to Durango for the day, and my brother and I'll tackle something like Poughkeepsie Gulch. Then, depending on how confident we are, we MIGHT go for Black Bear the next day. Or, maybe not. By then we'll know something about ourselves and our machines, and can make a better decision.