Gary Lewis

Yes, thanks to all that voted! As for my part, it has been fun. Less work in some ways than the in-person show, but more work in other ways. So, now we need to let the dust settle and figure out what to do for next year. But right now let's just enjoy that it is done.

The results of the truck show polling are in. Ding, ding, ding, we have winners! The total voting results are in two places for your review and comparison to the polling threads. They are on the Results tab on the page at Truck Shows/2020 Truck Show, and they are in the Polling Results thread in the 2020 Virtual Truck Show folder. (Having said that, the spreadsheet shown in those two places was manually generated by me from the 6 polling threads, so there is a possibility it is wrong even though I've checked it closely. If so, please let me know soonest before I ship the winnings!) So, please congratulate our winners! I know they, and all of those that entered, took a lot of time to create the entries. And I know that I really, REALLY had a hard time decided which truck to vote for as there were so many really good ones. Best Story: Jochen Tillmann's Mein Laster from Germany. In addition to the trophy I'll send one LMC $50 certificate. Ugliest Truck: Bill Vose' Darth from the USA. In addition to the trophy I'll ship two $25 Rock Auto certificates Closest To Stock: Matthew's Truck Of Doom from the USA. In addition to the trophy I'll ship two $25 Rock Auto certificates People's Favorite: Cory's Blue Mule from Canada. In addition to the trophy I'll ship one LMC $50 certificate. Best Upgrades: Big Blue from the USA Best Engine: Dad's Truck from the USA

Here are the results of the polling for the 2020 virtual truck show:

Depending on which pump you are using you could have too much pressure. Do you know the pump model or #? And are you running the three piece gasket/spacer setup?

Congrat's! You are making progress, but there are apparently several problems. First, RTV doesn't work well around gasoline. So using it on a carb gasket is not a good idea. And the two black marks suggest you have a mismatch between the carb and the intake. Like maybe a spacer is missing. Can you post a pic of that area and especially the black marks? It runs in my mind that Edelbrock sent a thin steel plate that was to go between the carb and the intake on some applications to close off a passage, like the EGR. It was to be carb, gasket, plate, gasket, manifold. Do you have that? Second, if you have the idle mix screws all the way in and the engine is still running then there's another source of fuel to the engine than the idle circuits. But the only way I know of that happening on an Edelbrock 1406 is if the fuel level in the carb is too high. Or if the check valve has been left out of the accelerator pump mechanism. Edelbrocks only like about 5 psi of fuel pressure. More than that and the fuel level at idle can rise because the pressure is lifting the float via the needle. What pump are you running? And if you've answered all of these questions before I apologize as I've not taken the time to go back over the whole thread. But I didn't see the answers on this page.

I've not done it, but I think you just need the dash harness. But, bear in mind that the function of the fuel tank switch changed over time, as did the speed control wiring. So if you have dual tanks or speed control you want to stay as close as possible to your year.

Did you click on the blue boxes? Most of those take you to a page with a description of the fastener, and many have links to where you can get them.

Have you looked here: Documentation/Interior/Interior Trim? Click on the blue boxes.

Got a bit more done on Big Blue today, in spite of it being Sunday and there being a truck show going on. First, I got the front hitch receiver installed: Second, I lubed the speedo cable. I broke into the cable at the speed control's transducer which let me pull the lower cable out easily. And in spite of having lubed it quite recently with a graphite cable lube it sure looked dry. So I used a grease pencil meant for speedo cables and put it back on. But the upper cable won't come out that way as it has a plastic collar on the other end so has to come out via the instrument panel. Have I told you how much I dislike having hard-wired gauges screwed to the instrument bezel? Fortunately the bezel didn't have to come all the way off, but it sure limited the ability to reach in behind and release the speedo cable or pull the inner cable out. Man, that is hard on hands! But I got it out and lubed with the grease pencil and put back in. However, I noticed that the dummy that put the gauges in didn't bother to put the 4 screws in to hold the cluster to the dash. So I had to find the screws and do more contortions to get to those holes and get the screws in. But they are in and that's probably one more rattle cured.

You are looking a little long in the tooth there, Sam.

I forgot to update that. But the bottom of each poll shows when it ends. Or at least it shows me. Does it show you? Roughly at 10:30 CDT tonight. Each one is different as it was exactly four days from when I posted them and it took me a while to prove each one and hit "post".

Have you tried grounding the DB/Y or Y/LB wire with the switch turned to that tank? You don't even have to pull the wire off the tank. Just put a jumper on it to ground and turn the key to On. The gauge should go to Full within a few seconds. Or put a test light on the wire at that point and it should pulse. That proves that the wiring to that point is good. If that doesn't work then go to the DB/Y or Y/LB wire going into the tank switching valve and either ground it or put your test light on it. And if that doesn't work, check the Y/W wire at the tank switching valve.

Thanks for the suggestions. We'll take them into consideration in the future. As for having a picture with your truck, the statement was "And please include a pic of yourself by your truck...." It wasn't a requirement, but now that you guys mention it I was one that didn't. On the classes or categories, remember that this was in place of the in-person show so we were doing it in that vein where everyone can be considered for any class. So that's why we continued that theme. Similarly the in-person show gives voting rights to everyone that comes to the show, regardless of whether or not they enter. But, as I think about it, we deviated from that. If we'd done it in that mode we'd have allowed everyone on the internet to vote, not just members. But, if we did that someone could get all of their friends to vote for their truck and stack the deck. As for asking questions about a truck, that would require that we put each entry up in a thread, not a web page, so you could respond. We could do that. It wouldn't be that much harder as I think about it. Anyway folks, keep those cards and letters coming in!

Thanks, Messaged Cory. He suggest to use some Channel Locks, Got them out in less then a Min. Made some more Progress today, still have more work to do. Got the trans and clutch and flywheel all off, see that I have a duel drilled flywheel, hopefully it can be re-surfaced. Was not sure an Early 81' would have it but glad hope is it is save-able. My greasy trans. Refreshed the pedals, Painted an greased the movements, Found the Clutch pedal for Hydro and Manual is the same, just the rod is holds it all is different, it starting to feel like I'm going to complete it. Trying to have it all completed for a meet next weekend. Looks good, Eric! Well done. And I'll bet that flywheel can easily be surfaced.

Before we get to any specifics, make sure you want to do this. You do know that you have a 14-pin harness and you'll need the 18-pin harness. Right? If so, you can use any 1982 - 86 harness for a truck with gauges. And, you can use a 1980 harness for a truck with gauges but some of them will have to have some of the wires moved in the connector, which is easily done. Does that help?

Yes, I'm hoping that more vote today. But Sundays are typically kind of slow. As for the Ugliest Truck vote, think how Bill is feeling - Darth has 7 votes to your 1. Maybe this category wasn't a good idea? I hate hurting people's feelings.

As long as you are playing with the DB/Y and Y/LB wires you can't hurt anything. You can ground one of them and, assuming the switch is pointing to it, all that can happen is the gauge goes to Full. Or put your test light on and, as Dave said, it should blink. And Dave is right that your truck should have the ground for everything in the rear going to G701. You can see that on the schematic below for the fuel system, and on the page below that you can see that G701 is behind the instrument panel near the right side of the radio.

Yep. I kinda like it as well.

As you know, I like the bullet hole wheels. But they don't seem quite right for an F350, or a wanna-be F350 like Big Blue. And the Cragar Soft 8's are similar in my thoughts. Kinda fancy for a heavy duty truck. So my likes run to the stock-style wheel.

Tranny cover looks good. On the steering column, the factory shop manual section is here: Documentation/Interior/Steering Column. It appears to have the 3-speed linkage instructions on Page 18.

Thanks, Rob. It certainly is progress, one small step at a time. But collectively they all add up. Janey and I are planning a long, maybe 300 mile, outing one day next week in Big Blue, so I'm getting him as clean and quiet as I can get him for that trip.

Thanks, guys. It has been a lot of work, but even with the low vote count it has been worth it. To see all of the trucks entered as well as the write-ups, that's been truly amazing! Is there any reason to extend the voting?

You asked that question three days ago and I answered it here with "The alignment specs are on this page: Documentation/Suspension & Steering/Alignment."

Ticking things off the list is FUN! Good job, Shaun!

Bill - That's a cool project! Wow, that looks involved! A '39 Chevy? Did it have the weird gear shift with a little linkage and a big linkage? The little one determined whether the big one was in the 1st/2nd pattern or the reverse/3rd pattern, and on some cars was controlled by vacuum. High school friends and I made a '37 Chevy panel truck into a dune buggy and it had that tranny. Man, that thing was a pain! Cory - You are making me jealous! Today would have been the day for the show, and I sure miss it. But the Blue Mule looks great there. And I agree about the Bullnose trucks. Most people don't know that there's a big difference between '86 and '87, and then again later. They don't see the rounded wheel well openings, the Euro look headlights, etc. So even the Bullnose trucks are thought to be "new". To me they are the last of the classics. Yes, they are modernized compared to the Bumps and Dents, but they are still more truck like than the later ones.