Gary Lewis

Not bad at all if it runs and drives for that price. A 351W with an NP435, I think, and a short bed would be a good truck. Two sets of tires and wheels, one set aluminum bullet holes. And those bumpers. For $1500?

Ken - I hadn't read about the lock-down in New Zealand, but just did. I think your government made the right call at the right time. I wish more had here in the US and in other places. Please tell Gail hello from Janey and I.

Don't miss David's question about emissions testing. If you have them the truck won't pass the visual part if you change - even if it would pass the tailpipe test, which isn't likely. As for getting it all in one place, I don't think that is likely unless you have a salvage nearby that has several of these truck. As far as I know, no one sells a "kit". Comparing the HEI, or a "one-wire" distributor, to the Ford DS-II dizzy is interesting. We have a page on that (Documentation/Electrical/Ignition and then the Ignition Simplification tab) that attempts to describe the advantages and disadvantages of each. See what you think. But the comment about "fitment" is especially appropriate when discussing a 302. If I remember correctly they cause problems with the air cleaner on those engines.

Yes, this seems to be a good place for all sorts of documentation. Anyway, you are now on the map.

One evening as we were coming back from Okiehoma to SE PA I-76 was, as usual, badly backed up. So we got off on 30 around Breezewood. And then the fog moved in. Boy, was that a loooooong trip. So slow, so many hills, so many towns. I'm sure it would have been beautiful had it been daylight and no fog, but...

You are now on the map. As for math, I'm told that when school was in session here they sent notes home to the parents that there would be no math homework since none of the parents understood the new way of doing it and were teaching their kids the wrong way.

Going to ship something is the only outing we are going to have had in the last week. But I'll wear a mask and gloves to do so. And I've done the ordered-disassembly many times. But you are right, the digital camera has made a world of difference. And I remember the discussion on the snap ring. I didn't believe it was there, but after the 2nd or 3rd "trust me, it is there" I found it. So trust me Alex, it is there.

I think it is a 75# battery. I checked when it was about all I could do to lift it up in there. But you've not seen this aluminum channel. It is very strong and surely stronger than the j-hooks. I'll post a pic in a bit. As for the corrosive gasses, I was planning to powder coat it - heavily. I'd prefer the plastic hold downs in the right size. I'm just not finding them. Perhaps I'm calling them the wrong thing?

Bummer!!! Not fun.

Better a bit loose than too tight. Too tight hurts the bearings. But new belts will stretch a bit, so check them after you've driven an hour or so. I like to see about 1/2" of movement in the middle of the belt when I push with my finger.

Well, I didn't get the batteries secured today, for two reasons. First, the main battery doesn't have the ledge on the bottom against which the later style wedges secure the battery. So, I'll have to use the old-school style. And the plastic arm/bracket/holder I have is the wrong size. So I'm considering making something to secure both batteries. And what I'm thinking about is using aluminum channel. The j-hooks are offset, so the hold-down has to angle across. But I have plenty of 3" aluminum channel and could cut it at the right angle, drill holes in it for the j-hooks, powder coat them, and be done. Thoughts? Second, because I realized that I needed to make the brace/bracket for the outside end of the coolant reservoir before I put the aux battery in as the bracket will bolt to a hole under the battery. So I made the bracket. It is made from 1 1/2" angle and is in the shape of an L with the foot of the L going under the battery tray and being held by the washer-headed screw right at the bottom of the pic. The bracket itself is tapped 1/4-20 and there's a nut tack-welded to the underside of the foot of the L as well. And the top of the bracket is tapped 8 x 1.25 mm to accept on of the common bolts used on the front of the truck. The bracket works, as you can see below, but I need to round some corners, shorten that bolt, and media-blast and powder coat both.

Cool!

I think you are saying you plugged the vacuum line and the hissing in the cab stopped and it seems to run a bit better. Right? But that there may well be other vacuum issues, which is very possible given the age of the vacuum lines on these truck. However, having brakes is paramount, so having someone look at that is a good idea. He may find that the master cylinder is dry and, if so, the brakes will need to be bled.

Yes, Jim/ArdWrknTrk is right. It is all-in or nothing. Change something and the computer gets upset and locks the ignition timing, which only it controls, into "limp-home" mode. And that means the power and MPG are gone. But there are fairly easy ways around that. The EEC-IV system is pretty much stand-alone and can be removed w/o messing anything else up. And if you get the DS-II ignition wiring for a 302 it'll plug right into the harness where the EEC-IV's ignition is currently plugged in. Add the right distributor and a carb w/o computer control and it'll work just fine.

That's such a good feeling! Congrat's!!!

Invisibleman? You gotta 'splain that one. Anyway, glad you joined. Would you mind if I put you on the map? (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map) And I'd love to have a Bronco, so I look forward to seeing your pics.

Bob/Nothing Special is right. D44 & D44HD use the same socket, so you should be good to go. But make sure you remember to pull the large snap ring before you worry because you can't get the parts out. It takes a small screwdriver or a pick to pry it out of its recess. And take pics of the order the parts come out it. It isn't intuitive to me, especially the nuts and lock washers.

Allen - Welcome! Glad you joined. We have a map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu) and I'd be happy to add you if that's ok with you. As for the truck, I hope you'll start a thread about it and share pics with us.

Posting pics, as well as several other things, is explained on the page at Bullnose Forum/Forum FAQ's. But I'll post it for you here:

Chris - Welcome! Glad you joined. We have a map (Bullnose Forum/Member's Map in the menu) and I'd be happy to add you if you'd like. Brooklyn, NY?

I had to remove the windshield trim to get the cowl off on Big Blue.

Looking good, Cory!!! Both the truck and the RV. And it seems like you are finding the parts you need for the RV. Cool!

I was a bit afraid I'd knock my jar off and break it as I was working on Big Blue today. So I disconnected both positive battery cables to do the work. Jar is still full. As for what battery cables I have, I made both positive cables but the negative cables are factory because they are in good shape. However, when the time comes to replace them I'll make new ones. In fact, I may go ahead and make a new negative cable for the auxiliary battery as the factory one grounds to the driver's fender. So if I press the button to parallel the batteries when starting the ground path for that battery will be from the driver's fender to the radiator support to the passenger's fender to the negative battery post on the main battery. But none of my ground wires that connect those chunks of sheet metal are sized to handle starting currents. So, what I really ought to do now while I'm working on the electrical system is to make a new ground cable that goes to the block. And if anyone on here is interested I could put together how I make that negative cable. Thoughts?

That's right, I forgot about those. I agree on the "Other Publications" Tab. Gotta save something for tomorrow.

Matthew - I certainly understand the reluctance to spend money right now. We have no idea what tomorrow will bring. But I don't have any pearls of wisdom, and especially not on sealing up cowl leaks as I've not done that. Others have though, and I hope they'll be along soon.