Gary Lewis

Glad the process worked. On the pics, have you read about how to include them? Bullnose Forum/Forum FAQ's.

That's what I was thinking - too high.

I'm pretty sure he has the pistons. Call him.

First off, it's hard to find campers without slide-outs now. So especially if you're looking at used ones that aren't that old you'll have to take what you find. As far as do I like slides in a camper? Yes and no. As I mentioned above, the practical side of me doesn't like added complexity (we did need to have the motorhome serviced once when the slide motors got out of synch and I needed to lean on it hard to get it to go back in so we could drive home). And I'd rather not have a big hole cut in the side that needs seals on moving parts to keep water and rodents out. But the extra room they offer is nice. For just two people, camping for a week or so, if I could have my ideal it wouldn't have any slides. But for a family with 4 kids, or for 2 people living out of it for a few months, a slide or two would be very welcome. As to kids borrowing it, we went through that thought process as well. What Lesley eventually convinced me of was that we should get a camper that would work well for us. Anything that met that need would work well enough for our kids to borrow that the "beggars can't be choosers" rule would say it was good enough! As Jim says, it's GCVWR that matters. I don't know what Blue or Big Blue have (my '97 has 18,000 lbs). But I agree that 4,000 lbs would be a good target. I don't know for sure what my folks trailer weighs but it's a moose (above I guessed it at 5,000 - 6,000 lbs, it's rated for 7,600 lbs max). But it sleeps 6 in beds, 10 if you add the couch and dinette as double beds, and could pretty easily accommodate a family with 4 kids on vacation. At the other end of the spectrum, Lesley and I, with our two sons camped out of an 8' slide-in camper. The boys slept in a tent after they got older, and we did all of our cooking and eating outside. But there's a lot of room in-between those options. It shouldn't be hard to find a 4000 lb trailer that would meet your needs. Bob - Thanks for that. Good advice. On the campers, a young lady at church has several that her father purchased to flip - just before he passed away. I know nothing about them, but I'm guessing they may have a slide-out given what you said. We've talked about us looking at them, but haven't. And you and Jim are correct, it is the combined weight. But I think that's the 11K figure for both trucks. As for the kids borrowing it, one set has 9 year old twins, and the other has a six year old. So it wouldn't have to be huge.

Have you confirmed what the float level is in the carb?

You are on the map. A 400 FE? Cool!

I vote that you go with the 400 and the Trick Flow heads. But you should go with 10.25 - 10.5:1 compression with the aluminum heads. The aluminum cools the charge enough to lower the detonation point roughly 1 point. So if you don't change to different pistons you are giving away power. And I'd tap Tim for a cam. He has grinds that he's used for years on these engines and with those heads. He has them custom ground to what you want the engine to do.

I forgot. You are the second person to successfully navigate the new joining process. Would you mind sharing your experience? We are seeking to make it easy and yet keep us free from spammers.

Welcome. Gearhead! Glad you joined. And, glad you posted your intro, and I assume you also read the guidelines. You've now been promoted to Member and can post anywhere. Fenton, Michigan? We have a map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu) and we'd be happy to add you if you'd like. I hope you'll start a thread on your truck and share lots of pics with us. The 400 is my favorite engine and I'd like to see what you have. Last, you are right - like minded fools.

Yes, all the block-off plate does is to let you remove the valve. But most valves are tight enough that they don't leak when you remove the vacuum, like you've done, so if you are happy with what you have there's no need for the plate.

By the way, you are the first new member to have successfully negotiated our new joining process. Would you mind sharing with us how it worked for you? We are trying to make it easy for people but yet prevent spammers from flooding the forum with trash. Thanks in advance!

Welcome! Glad you joined. Since you posted an introduction, and I assume have read the guidelines, I've promoted you to "member" and you can now post in any part of the forum. However, I'd suggest you add a signature to tell us about your truck. That way when we answer questions we can do it more accurately than just trying to remember the details. And, maybe even add your name in the signature? We like to be on a first name basis. Instructions on adding a signature are on the page at Bullnose Forum/Forum FAQ's. Also, we have a member's map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map) and I'd be happy to add you if I had a zip or a town. Welcome!

Another birthday gift? No, I think my plate's full. The advert says "Harbor Blue", which was a 1984-only color. However, I don't think it is truly Harbor Blue. If it was then it would only have been used in 1984. But the part number of E3TZ 8113086-A is correct for 1983 through 1986, and those years had three different blues. According to the MPC the floor mats are just "Blue".

I like them!

Starliner - If you want I can start a new thread and move the trailer & camper posts there. Bob - I would never have thought of the issues with a slide-out when it is in. Thanks! I remember so well stopping at grocery store on our trips, and not being able to put the groceries away w/o running it out would be a huge pain. And we've stopped at lots of rest stops, and to have to put it out then could be a big problem as well. But, you do like having a slide-out? How big of a deal is that if you are out for two weeks at a time? What about with kids? In the back of my mind I'm thinking about our kids, who have kids. So they might want to borrow one if we had it and we should consider them as well. However, they aren't the experience trailer-pullers or RV'ers that we were. Not that we've done it a lot, but when we've racked up a lot of miles to California, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Florida, etc. And I say that to suggest I should keep the trailer smaller rather than letting it grow. Both Big Blue and Blue have GVWR's of ~11,000 lbs so the trailer shouldn't come in more than 4,000 I would think.

Got the EEC coil bracket done, at least as far as I can go now. Can't finish it until I have the final stay in place and I bend the bracket's leg to fit. Anyway, I drilled and tapped for the 1/4-20 bolts that will be the studs on which to mount the coil. (Yes, the factory brackets use 1/4-20's.) And I welded those in as well as ran the beads on the bottom to finish the welding. Here's what that looks like: And here's a shot of the top side, along with its bigger brother: So now it is time to move on to the stay........

You'se guys have good thoughts. If we had a bumper-pull trailer I could pull it with either Blue or Big Blue. Blue would be the choice if our kids were to use it as there are four of them. But Big Blue would allow us to go to the mountains and then off-road during the day. And, the front receiver bit is a big plus. Huge in fact. We have a tricky exit from the driveway to the street with brick pillars either side, and getting a trailer in or out is a pain - especially in. So I really like having the front receiver and walking it in with the t-case and tranny both in low.

Thanks, Jim. This seems to be the never-ending project. But every once in a while I get a glimpse of a light at the end of the tunnel. I have many of the parts to-hand and can make hay installing them. Then a "little" thing like the dip stick pops up and I have to work with vendors and suppliers to get it, then figure out how to use it. But with the help of you and the others on here I can find a way to do those things, and do them well. And get encouragement to keep on keeping on. Dunno how a lone wolf does something like this on his own.

Yes, it is the retard function. And yes, the hot side of the relay will work. But if you swap the box then all you have is how it seems to work. If you do the test you'll know for sure as you'll see a retard in the timing and hear the engine slow a bit. In my case the box I was using didn't always retard. The "seems" had it cranking well one time and kicking back another. And I couldn't figure out a rhyme nor reason. But when I did the test it worked some of the time and didn't others. Swapped boxes and the "new" one retarded 100% of the time.

And I bet you will be able to find some!!! Yuppers! Probably will match the Custom Cab radio bezel that arrived on Saturday.

I like that better! Order changed. Thanks. Won't be here 'til the 16th, but I have plenty to do 'twixt now and then. Can finalize the design on the actual part, get the coil bracket done save for bending the leg and cutting to length, and even cut out the new part and get all of the other bits done. And should I get all that done before the 16th I can rebuild the front driveshaft. I have LOTS to do!

3" collectors on the L&L's. What'cha thinking? As for the spare, it is in the bed and hopefully will be on the rear bumper some day. And there will be a 38 gallon gas tank underneath anyway, so no chance of placing the spare there.

Ordered. Thanks! I was finding a 1/2" shank & 1/2" radius but thought the radius a bit much. Your find of 3/8" radius is better and less money. And it'll be here tomorrow. And you are absolutely right on the shaft size. I'm going to guess that the stiffness goes up with the square of the diameter. So 1/2" should be 4 times stiffer than 1/4".

I'm reading the mail here and thinking of what I want on Big Blue. IIRC Scotty said a a 3" single is good, but 2 1/2" duals work well. Does that sound about right? I'd really like duals, and the muffs will be Magnaflow, but I need to get the rest sorted.

Someone's birthday is going to be FUN! A little birdie told our son about the tee shirts. And the answer to the question of "what do you want" was XLS trim.