Gary Lewis

Don't laugh - PT109. We were listening to the radio recently and that song came on. So today as we were discussing what to watch we decided on that one.

We do have a page: Documentation/Engines/Drive Belts.

Yup, that's where it's at. I think in actual operation (driving) it will be fine, since there won't be that big a difference between the manifold temps and the radiator temps. I think that's a product of the thermostat having to come up to temp before the radiator sees any heat, then the radiator itself is slow to heat up and transfer heat into the sensor. Once everything is up to temp, I think the fans will respond much sooner, with regards to the temps in the intake manifold where the gauge sensor is. Pete Yes, I think in actual operation it'll be better. But at least you are watching it closely.

Sorry you lost the battle to the stump. Must have been a big stump! As for what I did to my truck, over the last several days I've been driving Blue on our jaunts to decorate graves. Just pulled into the driveway and have driven 435 miles and the Lie-O-Meter says I've gotten 22.5 MPG, which is pretty much the best I've ever gotten. I've not filled up yet, but typically the LoM is off by 7%, so that translates to 20.9 MPG. But at least it will be north of 20.0 MPG, and that's excellent in my books. I think I've finally figured out how to drive Blue for max economy - do NOT light off the turbos. For the 435 miles I drove the speed limit, which included probably 100 miles on the turnpike at 75 MPH. But, I didn't use cruise control at all, and I kept a close eye on the boost gauge. If at any time the gauge started to show some boost I backed off the throttle. And on a 65 MPH stretch of highway that usually meant we'd crest a hill at 60 MPH. I'm not saying that's the best way to drive, but I found it interesting that by babying it I could get what is probably close to 21 MPG out of a truck that can tow so doggone well.

Jonathan & Perry - I really want to see this come to fruition, so if it takes sending my to-be panel so be it. Let's make this happen.

Amen, brothers! We have remembered all weekend. And plan to watch some movie tonight that reminds us more.

First, I'm sorry for your loss. As for Memorial Day, we did decorate graves twice over the weekend, and plan to watch some appropriate movie tonite to help us remember. Credit card adjustment? Is that to use a credit card as a gauge to position the choke? I do think it is likely you will need to adjust the choke slightly from season to season to get the best performance. But it won't be required to drive the truck, just helpful to get the best starting and warm-up. But on the stumble, you may have solved it with the replacement of the rubber plug. That could have leaned the mix just enough to cause the air/fuel mix to be a bit too lean for good performance. Well done! On the stabilizer, I'm disappointed in Monroe. Shame on them for such poor fasteners. But, I am glad the stabilizer helped the steering. I'll probably wind up installing one, but it won't be that one!

Love the Bronco! Would love to have one some day.

That's one of the main reasons for the site - documenting what we do on/to our trucks. PLEASE go for it. As for the license plates, I don't see the problem but perhaps someone else does. You drive around with the plates showing 24x7. And someone could easily take a pic and post. What's the big deal?

You are RIGHT! Good catch. My bad. But I think I remember having gotten carpet samples from ACC directly. So, I'd check with them. Also, Stock Interiors is a reseller/retailer of ACC, so why would they have different #'s for the colors if they are selling ACC carpet. If ACC can't help perhaps Stock Interiors can?

A few weeks ago someone asked for a recommendation of someone who would mix the SEM paints and ship them. I did some sleuthing and called several outfits, all but one of which said "We don't do that." The one was Vinyl Pro. I spoke with Robin there, and she said they certainly do that so I added a link to them on our page on interior paints. And she volunteered to look at our site. I sent a link to that page to her and asked that she take a look and correct it if wrong. She sent this note back: So I'm glad you had a great experience as well. We need to share this info 'cause it makes a huge difference when you get that kind of service. When I order, which will be soon, I'll order from them and I'll get the Preval sprayer. Thanks for the tip!

Troy - That's bizarre! Two different sets of #'s from their own site. The snag on the left is from your link for an '83. The snag on the right is from my link for any Bullnose. And in both cases I've selected Cut Pile. If it was me, I'd send them an email now explaining what the problem is and giving them a permalink to this thread. Then I'd be on the phone on Tuesday to follow up. To me, we are trying to help them understand that their website has a problem. And, while on, I'd order a set of samples of various blue carpets.

You are now on the map. And the pic of the 250 came through. But the pic of the Bronco stops at the top of the cab for me on the forum. However, in the email notification I got I can see the whole thing. So, folks, what do y'all see? EDIT: It now comes through, so disregard.

Glad to know the color worked out great on the plastic. On the carpet, I'm confused. Below is what I see on their site for the optional colors for a 1980-1986 Ford Full Size Truck, Standard Cab Carpet, 2 WD 4 Speed. And I don't see any of the #'s you listed. But, I do see "If you are not 100% certain of the correct color, please allow us to send you samples by clicking here." So I'd get samples from them. And then you can tell us what the right color is!

By the way, I should have said that you are a full-fledged Member and can post anywhere. And, when I looked that up I realized you registered last June! Wow, you really have been lurking.

Welcome, Flint! Glad you finally quit lurking. "Nearby mountains"? Where are you located? Would love to put you on the map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu) if we had a city or zip. Hope you'll start a thread or two to show us what you are doing. But feel free to post some pics here, there, anywhere. We want to see!

Voltage of 12.1 is bad news. Something is pulling the battery down during the night and you have to figure out what. One way to start is to pull the positive battery cable and put a test light between the positive post and the cable. With the door shut so the dome light is off the test light should not come on. But if it does start pulling fuses one at a time to see which one shuts the light off. But it is entirely possible that you won't find it by pulling fuses since a lot of things are protected via fuse links and not fuses. If you don't find it via pulling fuses then you'll need to do a bit more sleuthing. You can pull the fuse links off the starter relay and see if the problem goes away. But, you may have a blown diode in the alternator, so pull the connection to the alternator and see if the light goes off. Again, don't forget that the dome light will cause all sorts of false positives if you leave the door open.

I'll see if I can figure it out from the dealer's fact book, but it won't be until later today or, more likely, tomorrow.

Hello! I would check the voltage of the battery when the engine is running. It should be around 14.4 volts. If it is only around 12 volts or so the alternator isn't working correctly. Then check the voltage of the battery the next morning after you've driven the truck. The voltage should be around 12.8 volts. If it is much lower than that you may have something in the truck that is pulling the battery down. To check that, pull the positive battery cable off the battery and check for current flow from the battery's positive post to the positive cable. You shouldn't see more than about .020 amps. If more, you need to find out what is doing it. Or, you may have a bad battery. Over here the auto parts stores will test the battery. Can you have it tested?

HB - I'll try to dig up what the handling/suspension package entails. But that won't be until later today or tomorrow as we are taking a trip to decorate graves again today. Dennis - Are you saying the old YFA had all of those symptoms? Hope so and not the new one. Guessing it is the accelerator pump that's bad on it.

Nice! But you'd be called OJ everywhere you go. Still, it isn't a bad truck. Bu then they'd sorted out the exterior so it even looks pretty good.

Great job, Cory! Well done.

Barry - Here are some pics that I hope will help. First, a door panel w/o any trim but showing the holes where the trims' tabs and fasteners go. The round holes take studs that get a nut pushed down over them, and the slots take a tab that gets bent over. And here's the chrome trim showing its tabs and studs: And here's the best I could do on a Rosewood panel. It is the later 85/86 velour insert, but it fastens pretty much the way the Rosewood insert would.

Thanks, Jim. The connector and wire on the left will go out Tuesday. The one on the right is a factory wire from the connector on the firewall to the passenger's side where the light goes. And, I checked - the connector plugs into Big Blue. Anything else?

No, there's no way you could SAFELY turn 16 - 18 year-olds loose with THAT today. That beats my story, for sure. But my buddy and I, at the same age, built a Tesla coil - in his parent's basement. Unknown to them 'cause they didn't have a clue about science. We got a carpet core, which was a really hard cardboard tube about 8" OD and almost 6' long. And we wound the coil on that. The transformer was one from a large neon light. And the capacitors were large window panes with aluminum foil on them. When we fired it up it took out TV in a 6 block radius - the best we could figure as many of our classmates complained the next day at school 'cause we took out their favorite show. It would light fluorescent tubes 4 or 5' away, and we used it in a party at the fraternity we were in later in college. Girls would walk up towards it holding a fluorescent tube and it would start glowing and their hair stood on end. But, it took out TV all over the neighborhood there as well.