Gary Lewis

Bob - It really WAS cool! I grinned ear-to-ear. And later I realized it was 94 degrees out and I just had the windows down and didn't notice the heat. Jim - Like Scott I didn't find any shops near me that do mandrel bends. I've looked. I'm sure there are some in Tulsa, somewhere, that do it. As for the single vs dual, I see what you are saying about extra surface area and cooling. Makes sense. But I've always liked duals so want to go that way. But I will add the X or H. Forgot to talk to him about that, so will today. Jonathan - The ZF works very very well on Big Blue. 2nd gear is just right for starting and dropping it into 5th is so calming. Seems like a much more modern truck. But one other difference I can tell is 3rd gear. The T-19's 1.79 ratio meant you could putt putt around city corners in 3rd easily, although it wasn't quite tall enough when on the road as there was a big jump to 4th. But the ZF's 1.61 seems to fix that problem. I can still get around corners ok in 3rd, but it'll take you a lot faster when you rev it up. Scott - Thanks, but I have the cobbled-together exhaust on and that path is surely what he's going to have to use since it is about all that works. And it sounds like it is the same as yours. But I like the idea of the connections to the rear and will ask about adding them. He will call them "ball and socket" joints as he did yesterday when we were discussing what the connections are from the headers to the collectors. He likes ball and socket much better than flange and gaskets, but says he has the gaskets and the latter will work fine.

I have the skills to do CAD, but not the time at the moment, what with the show going on and the work on Big Blue. (Check out the show: Truck Shows/2020 Truck Show in the menu. You can enter, but time is limited.) But I can try the scanning approach and send the pdf to you and you can see what you think. Or, take Scott/kramttocs up on his offer. Maybe it would be easier to draw it yourself than start from a pdf? Which approach do you want to take?

Thanks, Bruce. I have tabs open for those now and will check them out.

My wife and I had a similar conversation yesterday, but in reverse. She recently had the kitchen cabinet doors refinished by a local guy that did a great job. But as we drove by his place yesterday she said "I need to refinish that table. I can do it." I said "Pay him. He did a great job, can surely use the work, and you can use the time to do fun things."

Excellent! Glad it is working out, all the way around. 👍

Bruce! You are still reading the mail! Cool! Bob - Have a good, but safe, time. But I don't think we are ready for an offroad park. Instead we are looking for some rugged roads that have some scenery. Maybe southeast OK?

Where are you headed in MO? We are looking for decent places to take Big Blue since the Oklahoma Adventure Trail is rather tame. (I assume you heard about that?)

Well done!

Well done!

Scotty just replied with this: And the emphasis is his. So, it looks like that's settled.

I don't want large turnouts, but might go with stainless tips - haven't decided. But I did send a note to Scotty, so we'll see what he says as well. And I understand you want the exhaust to move, but keep restrictions done. These won't be mandrel bent, so that will bring the flow down some. But your single 3" pipe gives 7.07 sq inches and two 2 1/2" pipes would give 9.82 sq inches, or 39% more than yours, which is probably more than adequate.

Oh I know...lol. Maybe I'll grind it some more, but it actually looks better in person than in the pics...lol. I'll just spray some rustproofing over it..ha. Sometimes you just have to know when to stop with these trucks. I look at my '84 all the time and think, I could spend another $5000 on the truck and not increase the street value by a single cent...lol. Yep, that's a problem I have - knowing where to stop. But your welding is looking good!

Ouch! I'll bet that hurt! Anyway, that EEC-III system might be of interest for those in CA, like you said.

Those look good, Cory! And, that sounds like a reasonable plan on tires for wheeling vs street use. And with the noisy tires on just for wheeling it won't be a problem in the Bronco, but I assume the noise won't be heard in the tow vehicle?

Ding, ding, ding! Looks like we have a winner!

I wish we could have that around here. My truck would be very happy! Well, at $3.49/gallon that stuff is pretty precious, but it seems like good insurance while I'm breaking it in and fine tuning. Anyway, Big Blue goes in for alignment in the morning, and he has an appointment at the muffler shop on Thursday morning. The plan is to go with 19" Magnaflow "SUV" mufflers, which I thought I could easily find online. But I can't and the place is closed, so I'll check in the morning. Anyway, it'll be true duals and exit behind the tires, right and left. But the question is whether to go with 2 1/2" or 3" exhausts. The collectors are 3" and he stocks both tubes and both size mufflers. Recommendations? Also, I'm a bit concerned about the cooling system. I confess I didn't follow Bill's recommendations very well and didn't get the system completely burped as I didn't leave the radiator cap off as I filled via the heater hose. I hope that there were pockets of air in the system and I've had to add coolant twice now and it still isn't full. Tomorrow I'll leave the cap off and pull the heater hose off again and fill the system properly.

Good old Mr. Bass? With or without alcohol? Yep, Mr Bass and 91 octane w/o alcohol. Hopefully I can run 87 octane, but until I know for sure....

Did BB have a Sun II or some other tach? The Sun II is not all that big. Someone installed one in my 75 Gremlin before I go it I think there is to much done to it for the money but what do I know I am cheap Dave ---- Autometer, I think. Massive.

I forgot to comment on the fuel pressure. Yes, it does appear to be rock steady. And all I'd have to do to test the front tank's FDM would be to plug it in and flip the switch. Who knows, it might work.

John - There are always niggling little problems like this, so I shouldn't be surprised. I'll get them worked out. (I'm saying that as much to me as you.) Jim - I don't remember what I did on the splines, but something isn't right. I'm going to see how bad it is in the morning and see if it can go in for alignment the way it is. As for the P/S, if it appears to be the pump I'll probably pick the rebuilt one up from DeWayne while I'm out tomorrow. But I'll wait a while to make changes on the rear suspension. I want to get this thing together and enjoy it a bit.

Thanks, guys. I did enjoy the drive. Put about 25 miles on it, including several runs from 1500 to 4000 at WOT and several other WOT tests in higher gears. It runs! Here are some observations: Gas: I thought I had ~7 gallons in the rear tank when I started the truck the first time. It has run for maybe 30 minutes before today's drive, and I noticed the gauge was getting pretty near 3/4's so I stopped at "our pump", David, and put 18 gallons in a 19 gallon tank. But, I can say that for the first time ever I could put the pump on auto and it never tripped off. Power: It has very good power. Maybe not quite as much at idle as the previous engine with the Edelbrock cam had, but it has more above 2000 than the Eddy had. Idle: Things are smoothing out somewhat in the idle, perhaps from breaking in the rings, or maybe due to the fuel pressure. Fuel Pressure: Speaking of that, the pressure now sits squarely on 5 1/2 psi, which is where I've always run that regulator. Note that the return-style regulator was set at 5 psi, and I'm using the same gauge, so obviously more than 5 psi was getting through in order for this one to pass 5 1/2 psi. Ride: Much improved on the front axle, but it doesn't seem to have done much for the rear axle. I haven't jumped any kerbs as I don't want to abuse the truck and there's still that massively-sprung rear axle that has to hit. But I have hit a number of significant bumps in the road that used to have us checking our teeth afterward, and the front is much better. Tranny: Love the ZF5! Second gear is great for starting from a stop, and that 5.72 first gear is wonderful for creeping. But the best thing is the overdrive! That 1800 RPM at 65 is magic. Sooooo much better than the 2500 of the T-19's top gear. (And it purrs, or maybe growls, nicely at 75 MPH.) I'm planning to take it in for alignment tomorrow, assuming the diaper isn't too wet, and maybe get the exhaust on Thursday. As for the t-case Jim, I'm not sure how it stacks up but I thought I did it according to the book. But I think it is coming through the splines, so will have to drain it and check it out.

Yep, it is a fresh t-case. And yep, I've used 4Lo for putt putting around. Cleaned up the spot on the floor an worked on other things, only to find another drip. From the nut of the flange. Apparently the same mechanic worked on that as put the plugs in. Just got more coolant and DeWayne says the has a rebuilt Sag in stock for $50. We shall see, but it might be the reservoir seal and a new o-ring comes with the rebuilt one, although you re-use the reservoir. So, assuming it doesn't leak..... And, for this test drive:

Nope, that puddle was red. Amsoil from the t-case. Appears to have come out past the front seal. Wasn't thrown, but dripped off the slinger flange on the yoke. Wondering if it'll "wear in"? As for the purple stuff, it appears it came off either the bottom of the reservoir or the outlet fitting, which was tight but is not tighter. So I put a diaper on it to see if I can spot where it is coming from. But the good news is that I got the fuel pressure gauge to clear the air cleaner. Think I'll take it for a spin.

I realized last night I have one of those brackets, as shown below. And, while I don't want to sell it as it is part of a whole "kit" to put A/C on one of these trucks, I could measure it & draw it up so you could have one made. It is a piece of 5/16" plate and it should be easy to fabricate.

Well, E3TZ 9189-C is the wrong valve for your truck. Here's the illustration of the right valve. Correct? A major change is the way the hoses connect. In the pic below you'll see a hose barb on the E3TZ 9189-C, meaning a rubber hose goes on it. And on the right you'll see the quick disconnect type fitting that I think your truck has. I say that because you can see them in the illustration above. And they don't interchange. So, I think the part number you need is E5TZ 9189-B.