Gary Lewis

I believe the Flareside steel bed sides are 14ga, but I'd have to re-check them to confirm. I seem to recall measuring them around 0.060" thick. I had my new stake pockets and extension panels made out of 16ga iirc. I must check my notes tonight and see if my memory is serving me correctly. I have a little Lincoln welder and they are so easy to dial in for that thinner steel. There's a chart on the inside of the side cover, and that gets you right in the ballpark. A couple tweaks from there and you are golden! These are my fake spot welds below. I get .043" on the piece of floor pan I have laying here. This chart says that's 19 gauge.

Good for all Bullnose vehicles, and doesn't need to be repaired.

Welcome. Except, Jim's email to you specifically said: But your post here is not in the New Members Start Here folder, so we don't know that you've read the guidelines. Please go to the New Members Start Here folder, read the guidelines, and then introduce yourself by starting a new thread/topic in that folder. After that we can come back here and problem solve.

Then it may be a thermostat issue. As easy as they are to change I think I would if this trend continues. But, is the radiator full? Obviously don't open the cap when the engine is even warm, but make sure that the radiator is full and that the overflow reservoir has coolant in it and that the hose is to the bottom. If not then you may have a bubble of air and that can cause swings in the gauge. Getting air out of a cooling system can be done in a variety of ways. The fastest is to open the system at its highest point and bleed the air out. And the highest point on yours is probably the heater core. So to do that you'd pull a heater hose off the core and then fill through the hose until coolant comes out the top of the radiator and/or the heater core. Then re-install the heater hose w/o losing much coolant. But getting a heater hose off the core w/o damaging the core can sometimes be difficult. Otherwise it is an iterative process of running the engine until it is fully warm and letting it cool, thereby pushing out the air while hot and sucking in coolant as it cools. But the radiator cap has to be up to snuff and the overflow hose has to always be down into coolant for this to work.

What gauge is doing this? Stock or aftermarket? I ask because the stock gauges are very slow to react as they are damped significantly due to the way they work. So I would be surprised if a stock gauge would "suddenly" move in any direction. But aftermarket gauges can do that as they usually don't have any damping. And in my experience you can usually watch the thermostat open and close on one of them, especially a mechanical gauge with a 270 degree sweep. So you may be seeing the engine warming up and then the 'stat opening. If a factory gauge, you could also be having some issues with the instrument cluster voltage regulator - ICVR. It controls the fuel gauge, temp gauge, and oil pressure gauge. So watch all three of those to see if they are doing similar things. If so, the ICVR is glitching. But, you may also be having a thermostat problem. Let's see what your answers to those questions are before we go there though.

https://cgfordparts.com/ufolder/fordpart.php?number=D6ZZ-8501-B https://www.ebay.com/i/274313802812?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-213727-13078-0&mkcid=2&itemid=274313802812&targetid=4580771607727094&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=&poi=&campaignid=395665090&mkgroupid=1234751768217321&rlsatarget=pla-4580771607727094&abcId=1129776&merchantid=51291&msclkid=31543de0d93d17249e4f630c73545e47 https://www.amazon.com/Motorcraft-PW153-New-Water-Pump/dp/B000C5BVQU/ref=au_as_r?_encoding=UTF8&Make=Ford%7C54&Model=F-150%7C666&Year=1985%7C1985&ie=UTF8&n=15684181&newVehicle=1&s=automotive&vehicleId=1&vehicleType=automotive https://www.ebay.com/itm/pw153-motorcraft-water-pump-1969-1988-bronco-E-series-F-series-1970-78-MUSTANG-/163654723127 Thanks, David. Some of those are kinda pricey! And one says it is genuine Motorcraft but is rebuilt.

Thanks, Bob! I think I actually have most of the details captured in my Word document, but should go see. I'm hoping it can be the hand-off document for the kids. I was just talking w/my SiL about this sort of thing last week. Many years ago at their wedding my daughter and I walked up to him under an umbrella I was carrying. I handed him the umbrella and that was all the documentation he got. I promised to do better this time.

https://www.ebay.com/i/133017173307?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-213727-13078-0&mkcid=2&itemid=133017173307&targetid=4580771607727094&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=&poi=&campaignid=395665090&mkgroupid=1234751768217321&rlsatarget=pla-4580771607727094&abcId=1129776&merchantid=51291&msclkid=a33fdfe8a5a516fa354781040be79c2f Yipes! I'd WANT that thing sticking through the roof. It would give me nightmares.

Nope not a thing anywhere from them or others. I guess I should talk to them to CMA should it crap out on me. Gives me something to do today when they open I don't think I would have issues when cold as it does not get that cold here. What does worry me is the Lucas oil I put in the trans is rated GL-4 / GL-5 and they say the GL-5 is not good for yellow metal in trans. Now someone said use Purple Max as it said will not hurt yellow metal but I looked at it yesterday and it is rated GL-4 / GL-5, the same as Lucas but has on the "bottle will not hurt" so what gives? I did find on the shelf Penzoil rated for GL-3 could that be used? Dave ---- I think there are several ways to meet various ratings such as GL-5. And some of those uses chemicals that hurt yellow metal and some don't.

Here's hoping you disappear for a bit and come back happy! Good luck to you, Jim.

Looking great, Angelo! You are going to be impressed with that 400. Rat Fink shifter? That takes me WAAAAAY back! Haven't seen one of those in a few decades. In the cartoons it always stuck through the roof.

Very true. I forget. And that was off the top of my head. But when it comes time to document all this I will make sure to look up what I have.

It still looks like you have a vacuum leak. But lets talk vacuum advance. Where do you have it connected - manifold or ported vacuum? I'm guessing manifold from what you said. So I suggest you move it to ported vacuum, meaning that you won't have vacuum to the advance at idle. The issue is that with manifold vacuum, meaning that you have vacuum at idle, you have so much advance that it is hard to get it to idle down. But if you do get it to idle down when you drop it in gear the vacuum goes away and the idle is much lower. Way too low. Give ported vacuum a try. I don't see in your sig what carb you have so I can't tell you where ported vacuum might be. But usually there's one vacuum connection that has no vacuum at idle and it comes in just off idle. Try that one.

My son is a Toyota fan. Wanted me to build up one for overlanding. They are very reliable and lots of people use them successfully. I'll bet you can keep that one going for a very long time.

Assuming that the hoses fit. I thought about that but decided I wasn't that interested. I want to be able to tell the kids "It is a 1990 F-Series A/C system lock, stock, and barrel." Not "It is a 1990 F-Series A/C system, but with a 1990 E-Series compressor." LOL! It is going to be confusing enough to say: 1996 California-spec 460 w/EFI 1995 Superduty hydroboost brake booster & master cylinder 1995 F-Series underhood electrical system inc alternator and PDB 1995 F350 front axle & ball joints 199X Superduty front springs 1995 E-Series Saginaw power steering pump What have I missed? There's a TON of changes. I sure hope they are for the better!

I'll be using dial calipers. Can break out the mikes if needed. But is it that critical?

Ok. We'll see what I need to do - after I get things apart. Interesting that we've just now figured out that the Sag brackets take M10 bolts and the C-II brackets take M8 bolts. You'd think that would have come out long ago. I'm guessing guys just ream out the compressors and use the larger bolts. But then every time you replace the compressor you have to do that.

Ok, just as I suspected. So you need some adapters. If the larger bit works for me then I might as well make several and send you four. I hope to find out tomorrow.

I have a leftover piece in the shop that I cut from a Bullnose floor, so I'll measure it tomorrow.

I think you have to swap all three, but don't know yet for sure. But, from the engine, #1 and 2 certainly need to be swapped. I have the stuff on the work table in the shop, and I have the Bullnose stuff as well, so will check it out tomorrow.

Yep, it is hot in Okiehoma as well, but probably not as muggy as in AR. Anyway, I'm in the midst of something very similar on the A/C system for Big Blue. I'm going serpentine/poly-groove on it using a 1990 system and have run into the same problems. And the good news is that if you have the full '95 system it'll work. First, the '95 system will have an FS10 compressor that is said to be much better than the FS6 on your '84. But it takes completely different hoses than the '84 system, so unless you want to have custom hoses made you'll want to use the whole '95 system. However, you'll find that the '95 evaporator probably has a tab on it that prevents it from going into the underhood HVAC housing on your '84. Never fear, the guys assure me that the '90 underhood housing will bolt right on, so I think your '95 housing should as well. But, you don't have to change your in-cab housing.

Don't sweat it. If using an I drill bit makes the difference I think it will then I will make you a set as well. But that's assuming that I get everything apart tomorrow. I did stop at O'Reilly's and asked for blue and orange thread locker. The assistant manager looked at me funny and said "Orange?" Sure enough, they had it. So I used a thorough coat of blue on two of my problem children and a thorough coat of orange on the other. What chemical do I need to soak things in to get the thread locker to let loose? Acetone?

David - I don't think so, but I don't know what that one fits as it doesn't show in the catalog. The MPC says he needs D6ZZ 8501-B, which is Motorcraft PW-153. John - You have your priorities correct. But was it close between the kids and the Mustang? And, it is odd that you mention Shelby meet and the drags. I literally just got back from getting my hair cut, for the first time in 3 months, and the lady that cut it, Carolyn Sole, said her kids want to race her Mach 1 on Saturday but she's going to say no. She usually drives it herself, but she thinks it is going to rain and it is a handful in the rain. And, she isn't going to the meet this year either. We are experiencing a serious up-tick in Covid-19 cases here and she's had a kidney transplant and can't risk it.

Boy, there are not cheap: https://www.ebay.com/i/293492688928?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-213727-13078-0&mkcid=2&itemid=293492688928&targetid=4581046486094194&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=&poi=&campaignid=395665087&mkgroupid=1239149814203389&rlsatarget=pla-4581046486094194&abcId=1129776&merchantid=51291&msclkid=6548d467ef511833f6a08a8c2cdb03ac https://www.ebay.com/i/293079525218?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-213727-13078-0&mkcid=2&itemid=293079525218&targetid=4581046486094194&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=&poi=&campaignid=395665087&mkgroupid=1239149814203389&rlsatarget=pla-4581046486094194&abcId=1129776&merchantid=51291&msclkid=289ffdf26ff010e48641a319ac7ab736 Yipes! I guess not! I wonder how Ford handled the wiring length change. Did they add a jumper to go from the connector the 1980 - 85 trucks have under the hood down to the new location? Or is the harness itself different? I ask because if they used a jumper you could get one of the early sensors and speedo cables and revert to the old way.

There's a better version on the page at Documentation/Cooling Systems/COOLANT RECOVERY & WINDSHIELD WASHER RESERVOIRS.