Gary Lewis

To his deaf wife... I've heard several different endings to that saying. Deaf wife or dog seems to be the most common. But Dad, who was full of sayings, never finished it and yet it conveyed all that was needed. I miss that man.

Bob! Good to see from you! (I see, said the blind man. ) How's it going with the Bronco and its brakes?

I have to make hay while the sun shines. Soon my grandtwins will be here and there won't be much time for the shop. I really would like to drive Big Blue this summer. The goal has been to drive him to the show, which is the 19th of Sept, which is 5 months from yesterday. That seems doable, but only if I keep pushing. And while the show may not happen, that's still my goal. The headers have been the long pole in the tent. Until they were in I didn't dare install the t-case, driveshafts, tranny cover, shifter, etc. But with them in I can move on to those things, most of which are ready and waiting.

Ok, was just making sure. Wouldn't want you to have a problem.

The instructions from the factory shop manual are at Documentation/Suspension & Steering/Front Suspension then the Instructions tab and the Twin I-Beam tab. It says "Strike the inside area of the spindle as shown in Fig. 7 to pop the ball joints loose from the spindle." But in my experience it hasn't always worked that easily. It also says "CAUTION:Do not use a pickle fork to separate the ball joint from the spindle as this will damage the seal and the ball joint socket." I've had to use a pickle fork several times, and while it did damage the seal that's not a problem as it is getting replaced. So if the ball joints don't pop out you may have to get a pickle fork and a large hammer. Also, there are specific instructions on the order in which you need to tighten up the nuts on the ball joints. HEED THEM! I didn't and could not get one of the ball joints to take. So I had to remove the knuckle and start over.

Yes it is, Jim. And we are both making progress. I'm hoping that tomorrow I can get the recalcitrant bolt to go in correctly and snug up all but the rear bolt for #2, which is the one that's 7/16-14. I don't have the SHCS in stainless, so will have to order some or go into the local hardware store. But that really won't hold me up as I can install it later and torque all of them down then. Then I hope to get the left header back on and snugged down. But before I install it I need to radius the rear hole for #6 so I can get the bolt in, and check the threads on the rear bolt for #8. After that I'll see if the tranny will go back in or if I'm going to have to grind on it to clear the header. Gotta remember to use the PST on the threads for the top bolts as they go into the valve cover area. Then put the transmission crossmember and mount on. None of that is hard, but it is tedious as it isn't easy getting to some of those fasteners. Then I'm good to install the t-case, install the steering shaft, powder coat the power steering/AC bracket as well as a bunch of other little parts, etc. Its gonna start looking like it may eventually run!

Matt - It sure looks good! You took a BUNCH of "stuff" out of there. Well done! What did you paint the fender liners with? They look new.

I havent got it to run yet. Was hoping to get it runni g good enough to drive it the 2 miles to my house instead of haulin it. I didnt get back over there today. I am working right now. I plan on gettin over there tomorrow morning with a known good set of plugs, wires, fuel pressure regulator, some sand paper to clean up the cap contacts, a fuel filter, a spare map sensor, and a new battery. So I popped the trunk, and up in the rain gutter below the rear window I saw a little black wallet lookin thing. I grabbed it, opened it up and it was an old flip phone. The guy looked shocked. He looked at me and said, "My dad looked for that phone a long time, was stressing out about it, and died before he could find it. He was so mad, it was his favorite phone and couldnt find one to replace it." Well, anyway. The car is in pretty good shape. The interior is nearly flawless. The old man kept the seat covered in that clear plastic stuff like you see on your great aunts favorite couch. Lol Maybe you should just drive it. They are great cars!

I've been to the North Rim in the fall. And was on the South Rim in September a few years ago. Sure was cold at 6 AM when we got on those mules!

I'm using all stainless braided hose on everything that has fluids running through it. I know when I bought hose a few years ago one of the hoses was rated for transmission coolers. Is your braided hose rated for that?

I see, said the blind man! As for the cab mounts, I've used Energy Suspensions poly and I've used LMC rubber. And I see nothing wrong with the rubber.

I learned the hard way to make sure I'm not wearing anything synthetic while welding, and have the pants legs out of the boots. Don't ask. And I've had those scorches. They hurt for a loooooong time! Ouch! Sorry, which "this one" are you asking about. And what is the "good enough" question about? (I'm worn to a frazzle and am probably not thinking well right no. )

Interesting Gary. Those thread ID's make me wonder if they changed much through the years. This particular transmission is a 1976 model. Looks like I will have to get some 1/2x20 NPT inverted flare to -6an hose adapters and upside the hose from 5/16 to 3/8. Trick will be finding an adapter with an O ring. Any downside to running the whole system as hose vs hardline? I'm still trying to figure out exactly where I want to mount the external filter. This transmission is from an '85. But I doubt things changed much over the years. As for hose vs hard line, the hard line will help a bit with cooling, but otherwise I see no downside to using the proper hose, meaning one rated for that fluid and those temps.

Yes, the curve is set with springs, weights, and slots. The springs and weights determine how fast the advance comes in, and the slots determine how far it can advance. But there's also the vacuum advance, and it is tuned with an allen wrench - but only after you get the centrifugal/mechanical advance dialed in. As for Scott, if you call him he can probably get it in the mail to you in a day or two. I emailed with him on a Friday, he called on Saturday to nail down some details, and it went out on Monday.

Matt - You don't have a signature so I don't know what year your truck is, but since the one wire color I can determine from your pic is red/yellow hash I know it is not an '86 as those trucks don't have hash or dots on their wires. So I'll use the 1985 EVTM. And searching it I find that a r/y hash wire is used on the carb circuits, like throttle kicker module, throttle position solenoid, etc as you can see in the schematic below. But not all trucks got those systems, so that may just be a standard connector. However, I can't tell which one that is w/o knowing what the other wire colors are. Can you tell me? As for the twisted-together wires, if they are brown they are for the exterior lights.

Those are great for the 300 six - as you know. Good find!

Jim - Wonderful!!!! I looks great, and well done. I'll bet you are proud!

Scott - Good to know. Perhaps instead of a new how-to we need a list of other how-to's and parts?

That's a bummer! I hope you get it fixed easily. As for the fuel leak, that's a serious concern. I'm going to go way out of my way to make sure my lines are leak-proof.

What did you find?

Scott - Looking great! It really looks neat and well thought out. I like it. On the fuel system, I'm leaning hard on going with the later FDM's and bringing the supply and return lines up over the transmission and back of the engine. That will keep the lines farther away from the exhaust and let me feed the carb from the rear. Have you thought about coming in that way?

Ok, thanks anyway.

Thanks, Jim. As for what I did today, I had success! But, that wasn't all I did. First I made a spacer, put it in, and discovered that it caused the header to hit the perch on the passenger's side. Then I took the header out, and cut the frame like this: Then I took the spacer out, painted the frame, reinstalled the padding, reinstalled the header, and found that I can get a 3/8" drill bit in that space easily. In fact, a 1/2" will almost go. And that is w/o a spacer. I still have a bit of work to do as one bolt doesn't want to go in so I need to loosen the others up and get that one going, but I think it was a good day.

Off-the-shelf distributors will work. But they won't have a curve optimized for your engine. Scotty is a big-time 460 guru and really knows what it takes for them to work. But he also works on Ford's other engines, and can dial a dizzy in for them as well. So the question comes down to if you want generic or a dizzy curved to your setup?

I recommend Scotty Johnston, aka The Mad Porter. He runs Parkland Performance Auto Machine. He built my short block and several of us have purchased distributors from him. You tell him what you have and he sets a new dizzy up with the right curve, inc vacuum advance, for your truck and usage. Tell him I sent you. And, he's a member on here. This is his introduction thread: http://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/New-forum-member-td43238.html#a43345