Gary Lewis

Well, I've been slacking off the last couple of days and haven't gotten a new doc on each day. So today I've added two: 1983 Owner Guide: This is from Clifton, who kindly consented to letting me not only pull the stables but cut the pages down the middle. Other wise it is a nightmare creating a document as there are 4 pages on each piece of paper. So I have to duplicate them, crop each page to only get the proper one needed there, etc. 1985 Owner Guide: This was one I got from Vernon with Big Blue, and it is in different format than the 1983 version. In this one each page is glued to the spine so there wasn't any cutting. But, each page has to be pulled out w/o ripping it. Given my new scanner that does both sides of a page at about 1 page/second, this exercise should be relatively fast. But these are 200+ page documents and the prep took far longer than scanning. Then there are a few things to be done to the website as well as the spreadsheet on the Literature page. In any event, as you can see from that spreadsheet we now only lack the 1982 and 1984 owner guides. We are getting there! And all of these guides are OCR'd so you can search them. Just did on the '85 guide for "buzzer" and found 11 hits. But only 8 in the '83 guide. Might have to map out the differences some day.

David - I'll finish watching it in a bit. Only got as far as using the die grinder on the bracket and someone called. But it was good to then.

Scott - Thanks. I'll give that a try - once I figure out what needs to be changed. And, for an update: Just got a call from Roger @ Jet-Hot. The headers are ready. But I have no business going down to pick them up, so he's going to ship them. Don't have a ship much less delivery date, but it shouldn't be too long. Which means I need to get the wiring along the frame cleaned up while I still have easy access. But, things might be starting to come together!

Ok, we have our first nomination! And, it is a good one. Alan - Too bad your truck wasn't the one in front of Bowes Museum instead of the Mustang. That pic always reminds me of Great Yarmouth. We, Conoco/Jet, had PortaCabins all over the place in the car park there, so that's what I think of when I see that pic.

Yes, I've heard that.

Yes, SEM makes the paints that should be a good match. HOWEVER, as explained here (Documentation/Specifications/Interior Paint) those paints are not off the shelf. You have to have them mixed. And, as there were something like 5 different blues used in the 7 years of Bullnose trucks, even buying used is no guarantee they'll match. But, you may be able to bring them back to life somewhat by a good scrubbing. Big Blue's trim was untouchable. It really looked that gross. But I scrubbed it with a good stiff brush and GoJo with pumice in it and it got less bad. Not good, but less bad.

Calling: Bret and Holly! LOL! Yes, that's them. More likely Janey though. But, I'd need the truck closer to done than it is as a number of things will have changed from any of the pics I have. Certainly the stance with the D60 and SuperDuty springs under the front. And the OX locker peeking out depending on the viewpoint. And the discussion about the black grille and headlight doors, and maybe even windshield moulding, would make a difference.

Let the money fly!!! https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-OEM-Ford-1980-1986-Truck-Grille-Headlight-Doors-Bezels-1982-1983-1984-1985/143365879547?epid=1923517768&hash=item216145b6fb:g:wcwAAOSwk5NdVyg3 Oh no! Nope! No way, Jose! I'm talking about just painting already beat-up doors and grille. Maybe even the grille that cut the back off of so he could get it on after he routed the oil cooler hoses the wrong way - and had to cut the radiator support to do that.

Nice truck. But I really doubt it will sell for that. Not even if the virus hadn't hit and we hadn't had 10 million people apply for unemployment in the last two weeks. I base that on Big Blackie's selling price twoish years ago of about 1/3 that price. And while he didn't have the low miles, it really didn't matter as everything was new. I'd really like to see the prices of these trucks go north, but I cannot imagine that one selling for that in these times.

That truly is superb! Amazing! I checked out his FB page and he's truly gifted. I think I'll pass his contact info on to my family, just in case. (But, I have to get a truck done, first. )

I agree with David, I like the black. In fact, I may do that with Big Blue!

Ken - Good to have your input! Long time no hear. As David said, I hope things are well for you and your family, especially with all that is going on. Yes, the buzzers changed over the years. And it is good to know how your '83 works. As we are getting the owners manuals on the site, slowly, it might be good to pull the relevant sections out of each of those and make a page on warning buzzers. And, depending on what I find today with the wiring, give some warning there regarding what happens when you mix the wiring of several different years. Thanks again, and stay well and in touch.

Okay, so I would check fuel pressure but I cannot find a schraider valve/ port to connect to. I have looked up and down the rail, in the front and back and cannot find one. Is it hidden? Also, I have a scanner but it is for obd2, isn't an '85 a obd1? Should I purchase a scanner for obd1? I have not seen a CEL on but that doesn't mean the bulb aint blown and its full of codes. Do you think it is possible that I have a ignition module or coil breaking down when it gets to running temp? This was my next move prior to your response. Some of the early EFI rails didn't have a schrader valve, so that may be what you have. To pull codes you don't need a reader. Go to Documentation/Electrical/Electronic Engine Controls (EEC) and then the tab for EEC-IV and the Checking Codes tab. But, you could be right about a component breaking down. However, anything that would do that would likely be in the ignition system. Have you checked for spark when it runs poorly or doesn't run?

Yes, it'll be interesting to see. I cleaned the gutters, we had dinner, talked with the grandkids, watched a movie, and THEN I got back to this. As you'll see above in the spreadsheet, I've added the other two connectors in this lash-up. It is: C305 male from the steering column>>C305A female to speed control>>C305 male toward truck>>C305 female into truck's harness. I'm going to map the wire colors out across all four connectors and then I'll know what the problem is. I think. I believe that the issue is that the earlier C305A jumper expects power in for the cruise control on the pin that the '85 harness has the buzzer circuit on. And the cruise amp isn't presenting enough of a ground on that circuit for it to show up on my DVM - unless maybe if I put it on a high resistance range? (I had it on a low range today.) But there's just enough drain to cause that buzzer to growl. Anyway, I think mapping it will help me understand what the problem is and what to do about it. But, doing is probably going to entail swapping pins in one of the C305's and I haven't figured out how to get the red plastic retainer out. Anyone know?

Yes. If I have the key in the ignition (headlights off) and open the door, the buzzer buzzes. If I turn the key down to the ACC position and open the door, the buzzer doesn't buzz. Then it gets interesting: If I leave the door open and turn the key forward to the RUN position - and the seatbelt is unbuckled - a *second* buzzer will come on with the FASTEN BELTS light on the dash. That's right - TWO buzzers will go off at the same time! It sounds like something from a low-budget 1970s horror flick. After about 5 seconds or so, the second buzzer and the FASTEN BELTS light will both turn off. So I have two buzzers: one buzzer for when the key is left in the ignition and/or the headlights are left on, and another one to remind you buckle your seat belt. Capiche? That's sorta what I have - except that something is emulating the key being in the ignition, so I have the first buzzer if the door opens. But turn the key to Run and since there's no seat belt the light and 2nd buzzer come on. (Mine don't go off, they come on. )

Several more layers on the onion! Bloomin' Onion!

What's the lead time, Angelo?

Good thing that the bushing wasn't too bad. Glad you could put it back together.

I hooked everything back up as it should be, tried to start, started ran decent for thirty minutes, surging up and down but running. Test drove to gas station. Turned off, fueled, started back up with no issue other than the surging. Let run a few minutes and then put it in gear and it died, wouldn't restart. Popped the hood, wiggled wires, crawled underneath wiggled wires, tried to start c.n.s. waited about 15 minutes and tried again, acted like it wanted to. Tried again, started still surging, drove home. Once home popped the hood while running and wiggled wires up top and bottom no issues, sat down by the truck with a glass of sweet tea going through the schematic and it just died out of nowhere. Continuing to trace wires unless you think that I am barking up the wrong tree. Thoughts? Have you checked the fuel pressure? I think that's where I'd start. That's because an electrical issue should be binary - on or off. But you have fluctuating symptoms. So I'd look elsewhere. And, what about pulling codes?

I've driven both, but haven't really tried towing with either. However, I can provide some info from Ford. The tables below are from the 1984 Dealer Facts Book and can be found on the pages in the Documentation/Engines section. Let me try to summarize, although it ain't easy: The 300 generates from 235 lb-ft of torque at 1200 RPM to 260 lb-ft at 1400 RPM, depending on the application. But there are some that generate 245 or 250 at 1600 RPM if set up for high altitude or auto transmissions. The 302 generates 250 lb-ft at from 2200 to 2600 RPM if you stick with the 49-state engines. But, the CA-spec engines are rated at much lower RPM but comparable #'s, which is very confusing. Basically, what I take from that is that the two engines are capable of generating essentially the same torque, but the 300 creates it at roughly half the RPM. I would think that would make starting a load easier with the 300 as you have max torque available w/o revving much. But, as Bob pointed out, HP is a factor of RPM, so the HP will be much lower on the 300 than the 302. Perhaps we are comparing a plow mule with a race horse?

But, it wasn't SUPPOSED to be locked. You were meant to post in there. I logged in with my Test User account, saw the Reply button, and called it good. But, after you had problems I tried to reply and got the same response you did - ask for permission. So I fixed it. Sorry.

Another few bits of the puzzle: Early steering column >> early C305A jumper to speed control >> 1985 wiring harness. At first I thought I needed to expand the spreadsheet to map through all three of those things. But there shouldn't be an issue between the early steering column and the early C305A jumper, assuming there wasn't a change in the speed control amps as that jumper also connects to it and the horn relay. So the issue should be as shown above. I think.

Oh, I forgot to tell you how I found that circuit. I have an '85 EVTM in a searchable PDF, so I just searched for C305 and finally found that W/P wire. But I didn't have an '81 EVTM in a PDF, much less one that had been OCR'd. So, I created it. Sure enough, I found the LB/R wire pretty quickly.

Well, I kinda sorta know what one problem is. But I don't yet have my head around what this means. Nor have I figured out the buzzer issue. Think I'll give it a break, clean out the gutters on the house ahead of the deluge we are supposed to get, and post a bit. Perhaps it'll come to me, but if any of y'all have ideas please buzz in.

As Dad would say, if that's a compliment then I thank you. Seriously though, I need to know what is connected to what with this mess, and I'll fall back on the tools I know to do that - a spreadsheet.