Gary Lewis

I've not done it, but I think you can pull the small hex bolts as well as the hose clamp that holds the filler neck to the bed and let the filler neck stay with the frame. On the taillights, I think you have to pull them to get to the bulb sockets, which twist into the lens itself. So pull the lens, take the socket out, and then I think you can raise the bed.

That would be helpful, Jim. Thanks!

Well, I just got off the phone with Kendra at ACC. She really knows her stuff, but I almost drowned in all the information. Let me try to document some of it: Mass Backing: It is available on either Cut Pile or Essex, but you don't see it as an option until the very last step in the check out process Colors: Their color names have nothing to do with factory color names. So just because they call one color Regatta Blue doesn't mean that it matches Ford's Regatta Blue. And, Cut Pile colors are completely different than Essex colors. In fact, the Essex colors were never offered by Ford. For example, you can order Midnight Blue in carpet for a '78, an '85, and a '96. It'll be the same color, but it will not match anything Ford offered. Holes: There are no holes cut in any of the carpets. 2wd vs 4wd: She said that there are differences in the floor pans for 2wd vs 4wd. Apparently she is including the transmission cover in "floor pan" as an auto-transmissioned 4wd truck has a transmission cover that an auto-transmissioned 2wd truck does not have, so I'm guessing that's what the difference is. But, she said there are other differences between the 80/86 and the 87/96 floor pans, like the foot wells and the risers for the seats. And given those differences an '87/96 carpet is not going to fit a Bullnose truck perfectly. Curtain: The fact that they don't offer a curtain, or back-wall carpet for the Bullnose truck while they do for the 87-96 trucks means that something changed between the two cabs. She doesn't know what changed, but the 87/96 curtain won't be a perfect fit in a Bullnose truck, which is why they don't offer it. But it may work fine - she doesn't know. So, I have them sending 5 blue samples: 839 Federal Blue; 8082 Crystal Blue; 9304 Regatta Blue; 7766 Blue; and 1044A Midnight Blue. All but the latter are Cut Pile colors as they are the only ones that will match the factory color. Midnight Blue is the Essex color. So, now I'm going to beaver away and get the "insulation" in so I can lay the original carpet in and see how well/poorly it fits.

Or, take the vacuum hose currently connected to manifold vacuum, which should have ~21" @ idle, and connect the "distributor end" of the hose to the carburetor vacuum [Venturi] port. Perhaps the greater vacuum will suck out the obstruction? Certainly can't hurt anything. And, it might fix it.

What a timely post!!!! We just two days ago agreed to go to "the west" in October with the friends that we were to go to the UK with in Sept/Oct - which has been canceled for obvious reasons. Then we discovered that New Mexico is pretty much closed so we are now looking at Colorado. I've created a draft list of things to do, and in the "Southwest/Durango" section I've included "Jeeping". So, if we were to rent a Jeep in Silverton or Ouray, where would you suggest we go? And it really needs to be fairly easy. Nothing technical or difficult at all. Just scenic. But, I will also watch those videos. Thanks!

Gary, we saw this on the Carter YF on my truck. It had about 5" Hg @ idle and never exceeded 11". Yes! That's where it was. Jonathan - I'd be tempted to put a bit of compressed air on that port and see if it is just clogged. It is really just an opening into the low pressure area, so it wouldn't take much grease to clog it.

True, I think that happens alot with many different items. With that said, HF has those air dryers Gary had mentioned earlier. I have one on the docket. We are almost done with the down stairs floor. We have been struggling with the massive amounts of glue, and grinding the concrete, but are close. When that is done I will be pouring the pad for the shop. That should be happening by the end of the month. Exciting times!!! I remember pouring the slab for the shop. Man, that was WORK! But it was also exciting.

I'm using a blast cabinet from Grizzly Tools, but it is also available from Northern Tools as well as Tractor Supply. In other words, many of the Chinese-made tools, including blast cabinets, are similar if not the same from vendor to vendor. I used to have a cabinet from Eastwood that worked, but not all that well. Here's what I've learned from my two cabinets: Loading: My Eastwood cabinet had side doors, and I really didn't like them. There's always media built up on the sides and when you opened the doors it fell on the floor. My current cabinet is front-loading with the whole front opening up via lift arms, and that is highly preferable. It not only keeps so much media from falling on the floor as well as facilitates loading, it makes changing the plastic lens that protects the glass much easier. Light: The Eastwood cabinet had a magnetic light on the outside that was supposed to shine through the window and illuminate the part. But with the window getting dirty quickly the amount of light getting in is greatly reduced. Instead, get one that has lighting inside. Mine has a light on the top that shines down and it uses several LED tubes with a plastic lens to protect the glass. It is FAR better than a light shining in through the window. Size: Go as big as you can afford and have room to house. There will be many times you want to get a bigger part in than you can, or need to turn a part to get to different side, and a small cabinet prevents that. Filter/Dust Collector: The Eastwood cabinet suggested that you use a separate vacuum to pull the dust out. It never, ever worked very well. The new one has an included dust collector and it works MUCH better. You will not believe the amount of dust generated, and it has to be removed from the cabinet or you can't see to work. Media: There are lots of different approaches, but what I've settled on is crushed glass. I tried coal slag, but it is easily crushed and makes a huge amount of dust. I tried sand, but it really shouldn't be used. I've tried walnut hulls, which work well for softer things but doesn't do much on rust. And I used aluminum oxide, but it was very aggressive. But the crushed glass seems to do the best and last long enough.

Jim is right, the EVTM's are a lot easier to understand than wiring diagrams. They break each system into a page or two and describe how the system works as well as how to troubleshoot it. So, what is the question on the dash/door lighting? Is there a way I can map it out for you?

Uh, I think you are applying the mass damping over the insulation (as a decoupler)... I mean, this is the right way to do it, but you have your terminology reversed... Jim - I'm not sure I follow. But I think we are together. I put the sound deadener down first, then a layer of closed cell foam "Noico RED 150 mil 36 sqft Сar Sound Insulation, Heat and Cool Liner" on top of it. Then I plan to put the mass backed ACC carpet on top of that. So the foam will act as both an insulation and a decoupler. Is that what you meant? Or am I being obtuse? As for the thickness under the pedal, you have a good point. But at this point it is down. So I may have to do what I've wondered about doing - lengthening the pedal's arm. I've not checked so I don't know how far I can go and still keep the cable happy, but I've thought that cutting the round part of the arm and adding a piece of tubing to lengthen it would work. Thoughts?

My father pulled me out of my '58 Bel Air when it caught fire from welding. We put it out pretty quickly with no damage, but I sure couldn't see it with the hood on. And I couldn't understand his yelling, so he grabbed me and pulled me out. And I'm sure I was using 6011 as that's all we used.

If I remember correctly, some of the YF/YFA's had a strange ported vacuum that only reached ~10" of vacuum at cruise. Might that be what you have?

The joystick in both the Murano and the GLK allow you to move the cursor on the map, zoom in or out, and select things, with your arm laying comfortably on the center console and your right hand easily tilting, rotating, and pushing the joystick. On my Sync, in a bouncy pickup no less, you have to use your finger to drag the screen to go to a new position, and once you find it you have two minutes before it reverts back to where you are. As for zooming, you have to touch the + or - button on the screen, which requires you to take your eyes off the road to find and then steady your hand on the bezel of the screen in order to touch it. And selecting something also requires touching the screen. In my humble opinion, the Sync system on my 2015 F150 is FAR inferior to either the 2011 Murano or the 2014 GLK. I hope the one in your Flex is better than mine.

I know that this isn't a truck story. In fact, it isn't even a Ford story. But it is a story that I think you might like... I may have mentioned about three years ago on another forum far, far away about an article in Hot Rod re the 1965 Malibu SS of a friend of mine, Cliff Gottlob. That article describes the Malibu I helped unload off the transport one summer evening in 1965. I'd started hanging out with Cliff a bit before then and had gone to at least one, and probably more, Corvette club meetings in Wichita with him. One evening the phone rang and he said his Malibu had come in and he wanted me to come help him get it off the transport. You might ask why he didn't start it and drive it off, but that wasn't the plan. He was going to blueprint that engine before it was fired. So we rolled it off the transport and onto a trailer and he took it to his shop - the same shop where I'd pulled the 348 out of my '58 Bel Air and put it in my '58 Impala. If you want to know more of the story read the article in Hot Rod, although that car was never lost. But now lets turn to a call I got from another friend yesterday. It seems that the '67 Vette that Cliff had raced for years has been restored. This article in Vette Views Magazine tells more than I ever knew about the car, although I'd seen it run many times and had been around it quite a bit. But what that article doesn't say is what my friend called about yesterday. The results of the Meacum auction that are mentioned in the article. The last bid for the car was $3.5M - and it didn't reach the reserve.

Thanks, Rob. Good to know. While I'm on a roll I'll put the sound deadening up there, but hold off on the insulation. I can always put it on later. At this point I'm going to leave the trim off, meaning the corner trim, kick panels, etc. I want to paint them as well as the Coverlay dash cover with SEM and get everything to match. But I'll wait until I get the thing on the road to do that. Maybe tomorrow I can get the insulation finished and the carpet laid in to see how it is going to fit. Call ACC to get my head around what the options are, and probably get samples in the mail. And maybe the t-case shift mechanism and the tranny's shift lever in place. Then soon I want to get the seat in, the front fuel delivery module in, add the tranny, t-case, and power steering lube, and it'll be time to fire it up!

Congrat's!!!

I removed 14 more rivets this morning! YES, it is a thankless task. That's 38 rivets this week, and I still have to remove all four leaf spring hangers, and I'm planning to remove the front cab mount brackets as well. This is middle crossmember, the one over the rear of the mid-ship fuel tank. It is in much better condition and only has a couple thin spots I'll have to patch and reinforce. Not so bad. Problem is...I got a twinge in my back while doing this, so I'm out of commission for a little bit while I wait for some pills to take effect. Off to watch Motor Trend for a little while...lol (Junkyard Gold, Roadkill, and Engine Masters). It took as long (or longer) to remove the four bottom rivets as it did the 10 on the top. That sh!t is UNFUN. Gary, it works super well, at least on the frame rivets. So this is my new procedure: Shave the top half of the rivet head off with my zipcut disk so I can locate the center easier, and center punch it. Drill 1/8" pilot hole, and then a 3/8" hole, both far enough through that they pass through the hole in the frame. One little touch with the air chisel, and I'm serious those heads launch into orbit...they just dissappear. The rivets in the crossmembers however are not as easy...the heads are harder to remove for some reason, and take some work. So 38 rivets removed this week, and according to my math, I'll have about another 30 or so to go. No big deal. No wonder my back is sore...lol. Happy Sunday guys. Thanks again for all your help. Well done, Cory! You are busting right through those rivets. We need to write that process down as it is probably the best way to remove rivets.

Yep. You can check the function of your module by pulling the red/light blue wire off the start relay with the truck running and put 12v on it. If that function is working the timing will retard, which you can check with a timing light or just notice that the RPM will drop.

Scott - You are now on the map. I made it Scott/Berrybunch, and I'm not saying that Malachi can't be part of your membership. But since it is free he may want his own. As for DC, I've been there many, many times. But haven't spent much time in southern Maryland. Hope he likes it. And don't worry about "this forum stuff". We aren't too worried about things. We just have fun.

Congrat's!

Rob - I am still planning on the Highliner. Do you remember if it goes up into the recesses of the roof? IOW, can I put a layer of sound deadening and insulation up there and still get the Highliner on? As for what I did today, I got about half of the insulation on. And I take back my thoughts that the adhesive might not be up to the job. Several times I had the adhesive stick to my fingers so well that it pulled foam off the mat. So for the first layer I'm pretty sure it'll be there forever. But I doubt you could stick another layer onto the first layer of foam and get it to stick. If layering it I think the spray adhesive would be needed.

Well, thanks guys. I think. Shaun says 2wd for sure. Cory says "I don't think it matters...". And Rob says it doesn't matter. () On the other hand, ACC's site makes you choose if it is 2wd or 4wd, and RA has differing part numbers for 2wd vs 4wd. So obviously this will be a question for them tomorrow. Let's talk seat belts though. Are the '87 and later seat belts, not the shoulder belts, in the same location as the Bullnose ones? IOW, if there are holes, which there may not be, they'd be in the same spots? And, where does the "curtain", meaning the carpet on the back wall, attach? As for color, a dark blue would be fine. Maybe the Midnight Blue. I'm probably going to have to ask for samples.

Welcome, Scott & Malachi! Glad you joined. Love the story. Are you Scott or Malachi? Where is your son on his mission? Surprise! Would you like to be on our map? Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu. Normally new members start in the New Members Start Here folder since we want to ensure they see the Guidelines. Have you seen them? And, we are here to help with your project.

Welcome! Even w/o a Bullnose you are more than welcome. This is a good place from which to learn about them. Lots of people here who know a bunch about them. Norman? Skiatook myself. Would you like to be on our map? Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu. What do you do in OU country?

Not sure what that means. But the pics are as big as I can make them now.