Gary Lewis

That's not a bad thought Gary - I'll have to run it up the flagpole. Gas was so cheap on my last trip out with Old Red, I decided to fill up the rear tank for the first time in a while! ...then yesterday afternoon I discovered that I've got a slight fuel leak at the tank switching unit. Looks like the spring clamp that keeps the hose from rear tank on broke, so it's just holding on by being dry and determined. My first step is going to be replacing the rubber fuel hoses and clamps I think. Maybe the tank switch too. Bronco graveyard doesn't seem to have the same as what I have under there. Time to go hunting! EDIT: LMC has the same universal tank switch (single wire). You are lucky you have the simple switching unit. Have fun driving on that cheap gas!

Ok folks, it is now time to vote for the picture of the month. The candidates, in the order they were submitted and the order in the poll are below. Note that I've forced them all to be the same size to make it as fair as possible. This poll will be available for voting for two weeks.

Scott's the man!

Nice looking truck save for the yellow engine. But a bit of reading suggests that is the correct color.

Yep, pricey!

Good points, Vic. Not sure anyone really knows about bullnosebible.com, but it does redirect to here and using that would prevent the sticker from being wrong if we ever moved. (Actually, as I think about it, I could change the URL that the forum is on to that and redirect garysgaragemahal.com to it and we'd be there. I think.) As for the QR block, I think you are right as well. It really seems out of place.

300 six temp sender looks to be on the passenger's side near the rear of the block.

Yep, and the rest of Huck's roof is still here.

Have you read the Troubleshooting tab here: Documentation/Electrical/Gauges? Try the tests there. But, a Bullnose sending unit for temp should not have two wires. So you may have the wrong unit. In the tests you'll see that the temp sending wire should be a red/white. With the key on if you short that to the engine the gauge should go to full scale. That proves the ICVR, gauge, and wiring are good. If so, it is the sender. And I'm assuming the fuel and oil pressure gauges work? If not, it may be the ICVR. Don't give up on the gauges. While I run aftermarket gauges I also have my factory ones working nicely.

But it looks like the wiring plugs into the light assy. So would the wiring be part of the main trucks harness like the clock wiring so all you have to do is get the assy. be it glove box light / switch or the clock and just plug it in? At this time I don't feel the need for a glove box light but just wanted to know how it gets its power. Thanks Dave ---- I think Matt is saying he thinks the trucks come with the wiring and the switch/light combo just plugs into it.

Amen!

Good news, Matt! Please keep us apprised.

Excellent!

Just FYI, an electronic engineer would quake in his sandals if he saw my grounding system. You really shouldn't have multiple ground paths, but I do with the ground straps from the fenders to the cab and from the engine to the cab. That can cause currents in the grounds called "circulating currents". You can read up on it in this dicussion on What Is A Circulating Current? It mainly bothers sensitive electronics, like data collection systems, which I used to manage. But I doubt it'll cause problems with Big Blue. And here's the plan, graphically:

What? Maybe more pronounced because the C6 also whines?

Ok, I'm going to officially say the "electrical system" is done. (That's not to say that there isn't other "electrical" work to be done, like re-installing the oil pressure switch and connecting the harness to it. And there's the winch to put back on. But that's all old stuff. Its the new stuff that is done.) But, to get to "done" I did something that may test Dane's statement of "I don’t think you can go OTT on grounds!" I got ready to install the strap ground from the firewall to the engine and ran into a minor problem. I have several of the ground straps, but for various reasons none of them were fit for the job. One was way too long. Another had too small of ring-tongue terminals on it. And then I looked at the one that was on Big Blue when I got it, and discovered how poor of shape it is in. So, I made one out of the leftover wire and terminals I had that would fit. Turned out that the connectors I had to fit the bolts/screws I wanted to use were for #2 wire, and I had just enough of that to make the ground. To prep I ran a 3/8-16 tap into the back of the head to clean those threads, and filed/sanded the paint off the mating spot. Then I found a new screw for the original spot for the ground on the firewall, sanded the spot down and cleaned the threads. And, with liberal doses of my favorite anti-seize, here 'tis: But, I forgot to take a pic to compare the old to the new. So, here's the old with the last bit of #2 wire I have left. Dane, is it OTT?

Yep. Janey and I were out one day and I heard that whine pull into wherever we were. Without looking I said "Old Ford truck" and she said "How'd you know?" I said "The power steering pump gives it away. Mine won't sound like that."

Yes, as Scott knows, I used coupling nuts originally. But I didn't have any and, with the virus, didn't want to go to the hardware store. Nor did I want to wait for them to be shipped to me. So I thought I'd make some. But I didn't bargain for how hard to tap that stainless is. It cut and turned nicely, but my taps didn't like it. Anyway, I got there w/o having to go anywhere nor wait. But for a fancy look some of those aluminum Churros would be cool. And, good heat conduction as well. Plus, easily tapped.

Jim - Thanks. I've done exactly that, as explained on Big Blue's thread. But 'til now I didn't realize how that switch adjusts itself.

Your carb is a Carter that was made by Weber. There's nothing wrong with it, and it is a good carb. The Wikipedia article on Carter Carburetors doesn't mention Weber making the Carters. In fact, it says Carter made some Webers. Perhaps they shared production?

No whining, and no puking when you turn the steering wheel with the engine off are the two I'm aware of. Maybe more pressure?

This is a bit late given that you've already made your spacers, but if you think you'll ever do it again you might try some 'churro' from the robotics world. Our kids use it for spacers, standoffs, and the like, and the first time I saw it I immediately thought of your ignition module spacers: Churro - AndyMark It's easy to work, you can put a 1/2" wrench to it, and best of all it comes in a range of stylish colors. Incidentally, the ones you gave me (along with the attached ignition module) are still serving honorably - thank you again! That's cool, Matthew! Wish I'd known that. Those would have been perfect. I could have had red! My nephew is one of the guys that are RobotZone, and I'm sure they have the same stuff. I'll have to ask him. From what I understand they are one of the big suppliers to folks doing robotics.

Dane - You are absolutely correct. And, to prove that the grounds are working, prior to installing those grounds the dome light dimmed when I brought on the blower, honked the horn, etc. No more! And, the problem is solved on the clutch switch. In the pic below the switch on top is used and the one on the bottom is new. Note where the "stop" on the right end of the plastic arm is on the two. That stop is what causes the switch to close. On the new one the stop is a long way from the end of the arm where on the used one it is much closer to the end. When you put the new one on a truck and depress the clutch pedal the stop slides on the arm and automatically adjusts for the throw of the pedal. And the serrations in the arm prevent it from moving farther. But if you put a used switch on it may not be adjusted for the throw of the pedal. I put a used one on Big Blue, for some reason, and it wasn't hitting the switch. So I slid it down the arm and pressed the pedal down. Zipppppppppp! And now the starter comes in - but only with the pedal down.

So your ground strap (not the fender one) goes from one end of the hood hinge to the other? Maybe I missed it but is that factory? I am thinking I've only ever seen them from the cab sheet metal to the hood sheet metal. Thanks, Scott. Yes, that hood hinge has a strap from one side of it to the other. Probably for the hood light and/or radio interference suppression, using the hood to shield the antenna. I've not seen that before, but these are fairly new hinges, and I don't know the source. As for the starter switch on the clutch, the starter comes in with a fuse in the connector, but not with the connector to the switch - if the arm of the switch is attached to the clutch pedal. However, removing the arm from the pedal and pulling farther engages the starter, or I should say the starter's relay as I'm not spinning the starter. I still have a spare pedal assembly here and a spare switch, so I'm checking to see what might be going on.

Please don't sit back. I'm trying to figure out why my clutch switch doesn't work. (The starter's relay pulls in w/a fuse in the connector, but not connected to the switch.) So I'm in and out, painfully.