Gary Lewis

I'm looking forward to it!

That doesn't sound like fun! And that concerns me since I plan to take Big Blue off road, where stalling could happen. But, I have a transfer case (BW1345) with a low gear and the ZF5 w/a 5.72 first gear, so hopefully the 460's compression will stop it if need be.

Update on the U-Fail debacle. The tire that AAA put on here in the Tulsa area two days ago blew out today in eastern TN. The guy that came out said the previous guy put a used tire on, which is probably what he was told to do. But this guy put two new tires on. However, he said the tire has rubbed on something and suspects a broken spring pack. But the kids have weighed the truck and they are 2000 lbs under the limit. As for the Subie, our daughter said "She's just particular about how long she stops for. Once we stop she would like to rest for awhile, thank you very much!" And our SiL said "As long as we don't stop and cool off we are fine." I take all of that to mean that the car is going to push out a certain amount of coolant on each drive, and if you stop and take off again it'll push out more. As a father and grandfather, THIS IS VERY CONCERNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unfortunately broken bolts in Ford water pumps is all too common. And I've had to drill some out as well. but hopefully you can get to that one with the pump off then heat it and cool it several times. I like to get it as hot as I can and then cool it with PB Blaster or some other penetrating oil. My thinking is that the thermal shock helps to break the bond the rust has and then the oil can creep in. On the tab, I think Jim will have a recommendation as he's into chemistry and adhesives. If not, I have some in the shop and can get the name of it tomorrow.

Congrat's! Well done! Glad it worked out so well. And I cannot wait to get the same silly grin on my hydroboost swap.

1980 through at least 86, if not later, fit. You can see the fuel tank part numbers at Documentation/Fuel Systems/Fuel System Part #'s/Fuel Tanks. But, as you'll see, in 1985 they went to a 4" opening in the tanks to be able to get the pump in, so you need one with the larger opening.

Ok guys, I need some help thinking through this. I have the speed control cable bracket mocked up, as shown below, and before I weld it up I want several others to look it over, please. Two questions: I ask because I'm not placing the speed control bracket in the same position relative to the throttle bracket as the factory does. Here are the differences: But, it really appears to work. It will pull the throttle to where the secondaries are ready to open and not go farther, but that is just because it runs out of travel. And since I have the required amount of slack in it, which is 1/16 to 1/8", there's nothing more to be done. Here it is mocked up: And here's a comparison of mine vs the factory bracket, where you can see the difference in the speed control brackets:

I'm in Okiehoma, near Tulsa. We've see 114 above and 14 below, real temp. And I've seen 30 below "feel like" temps. But all of those are very, very rare. Yesterday and today we had a very welcome thunderstorm that has kept the temps in the mid 80's both days. But it was supposed to be about 100.

Welcome. I went through a lot of this a few years ago when rebuilding the engine for Dad's truck. At the time only Tim had the pistons, but Scott said he now does. Both are members on here and are very reputable.

Yep! As for Janey, she said she thinks you guys are sharing me with her.

See, already I could give you bad info 'cause you didn't tell us about your truck. You didn't say what engine and the fuel pumps are pretty specific to the engine in '86. But, I'll tell you up front that this is an expensive area. And running dual tanks makes it much more than doubly so. I'd consider a Bronco 33 or 38 gallon rear tank and forget the midship tank. Anyway, tell us about your truck, preferably via a signature so we do not have to ask again.

Sure! But tell us about your self, and your truck. And if you want accurate answers then you should create a signature that tells us about your truck. Otherwise we'll forget and guess and you won't get good answers. How-to on Signatures is at Bullnose Forum/Forum FAQ's in the menu. And, speaking of the menu, go to Bullnose Forum/Members Map and you'll see where many of us are. Give us a city or a zip and you can be on the map as well. Pics? How to post them are in the FAQ's if you have problems. But we have a saying - w/o pics it didn't happen.

Well, let me suggest a minor change or three in your plans. First, I wouldn't build a 351M. Instead, find a 400 crank and drop it in. The extra 1/2" stroke will do wonders for torque. But maybe more importantly you can find pistons for a 400 with any compression ratio you want, but not so for a 351M. Those will be limited to 8:1 rebuilder pistons. Tim Myer @ Tmeyer has the 400 pistons, and Scotty @ Parkland Performance says he does as well. And other than the crank and pistons, which you were going to replace anyway, there's nothing else to change to make a 351M a 400. Tim did my 400 and it put out ~400 HP and 500 ft-lbs on his dyno. I wanted low RPM torque or he could have gotten bigger numbers, but I was happy with those. And on the tranny, if you are going 4.11 gears and are going to drive it daily I'd recommend the ZF5. Unless you are running really big tires you are going to be turning 2900 RPM at 65 MPH with a 4-speed. (Use our calculator at Documentation/Driveline/Calculators.) But with the ZF5 you'll be turning 2200 RPM - assuming 31" tires. But, while a ZF5 will bolt to an M-block nicely you'll have problems very early on. See the ZF5 Behind An M-Block tab on the page at Documentation/Driveline/Transmissions/Manual Transmissions/ZF5 for an explanation of why. But, as it says, Tim also has an adapter that will fix that problem. But, a ZF5 was designed for a hydraulic clutch linkage, so you will either need to convert to that or modify the clutch release lever. And whatever transmission you chose, if you do a hydraulic linkage you should consider the firewall brace.

I'm going to paste the majority of my previous comments from your New Member thread here, and then add on to them: Here are some things to consider. First, there are basically three 4-speed transmissions with a granny low. You can see their gear ratios on the page here, but all are 1:1 in 4th: Documentation/Driveline/Calculators. But, why a 4-speed? Why not a 5-speed since that would have an overdrive. Perhaps that unusual 3.22 gearset is high enough? NP435: Lowest 1st T-18: These were typically used behind any of the engines except the 460 and the diesel. Good low gear. T-19: These are basically the same as the T-18 but were used behind the 460 and diesel and have a pretty "tall" first gear, although it is synchronized where the T-18's isn't. Also, tell us about the engine. I think you said 351M, which is a good engine in my estimation. But unless you've performed some magic with it, like a new straight-up timing chain and a 4bbl, it is probably not all that strong. And that could play into your gear ratio choices as you may not want to go too high if you don't have a lot of power. And the NP205 should bolt right up. That's a stout t-case, but heavy.

Yep, has a good eye.

Two of those kits =$26, plus two headlight sockets @ $2 each and you are now in the ballpark of the LMC & the JBG. But you'd have good relays. But the thing I see missing in these kits is a fuse or, as I like to do, an auto-reset breaker.

Great minds thinking alike! Thank you David, that was a compliment. Jim - I knew where you were going with the previous post, and his answer proved you were right. But it is raining here so we are sitting on the porch enjoying it and I'm .

Jim may not be back quickly to tell you, but you've done what he thought you might have done. The fuse links belong on the battery side of the relay, not the starter side. Doing it your way you have no power in the cab with which to pull in the relay. Move the fuse links over and I'll bet it works.

Yes, some of those shots look like they belong in a brochure. Like this one: Or this one: And this one:

Post pics, Scott.

From India? https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hella-Universal-H4-Headlamp-Wiring-Harness-With-Relay-System-130-100W/383409066753?epid=16023754054&hash=item5944f61301:g:7PEAAOSwn~Jd~4FN I like that one, David. And while it is more expensive than either the LMC or JBG unit, it is 1/3 the price of the Painful one. And the use of what appears to be a standard relay would be appreciated.

That is correct. I purchased 2 replacement relays [one for my truck and the 2nd for my son's truck] @ ~$4.98 each, just in case. I have not needed either. The replacement relay from JBG appears to be non-standard as well. It is a shame that the vendors and making them that way since it suggests you might want to carry a spare. Otherwise you could drop into any parts store and buy a Bosch-style relay if you needed one. But, I guess that's a small price to pay. You could buy this Painful harness for $150 and it appears to use standard relays.

You did notice a difference, at least in sound. I've driven trucks that had that whoosh and the booster worked for years. But they still had a vacuum leak. As Jim said, there's a check valve, but it may not have stopped the sudden burst of pressure. You should ensure it is working. And fix the backfiring before replacing the booster.

Interesting!

My tombstones don't seem to come apart and the brass contact goes all the way around, from one pin to the other. Looks like they put it together and glued it, but even if I could get it apart I think the contact wouldn't work if I cut it in two. Plus, there's no way to connect to the 2nd contact as there's only one hole for a wire. And yes, I did see the bulbs are directional. I'm cutting out the ballast and will wire all of them in so the bulbs all point the same way. On the headlight relay harness, yes I'd buy one in if I were doing it today. (That's not 100% true as I just recently built my own for Big Blue, but it was in conjunction with all the other wiring and I wanted the relays in the power distribution box, which an aftermarket harness wouldn't do.) This one from LMC should work fine, although some have said it uses non-standard relays so if one goes bad you'll have to get a replacement from LMC. This one from JBG would also work.