85lebaront2

First, Jim, no one has ever accused me of being sane as far as some of this goes. The original harness on these cars was taped and a bit of it was in the split loom as it keeps it all in position. There are not too many retaining areas on these dash assemblies and the harness needs to be restrained during assembly. The dash is held in with 4 medium sized washer faced self tapping screws along the windshield base, 2 M6X1.0 bolts with captive washers and the area over the steering column has 2 M6X1.0 studs that pass through the lower metal reinforcement. The design is similar to the Bullnose in that it is a plastic assembly over a built up metal frame, main difference is all the metal is ends and lower section. The center is tied to the floor hump and the lower portions including the glove box attach there and to the cross piece. This dash came from a 1989 Lebaron Coupe that had an air bag, so a lot of the structure was for that.

...... every bit and bob, not just the case lol like door lock mechanisms and arm rest braces.... If these will upload (I got them as small as I could) this is part of my current project car. I am using a 1989 dash in it, but, I have a very nice radio system that has as part of it's features, a top down equalization mode. It requires a Body Computer to tell it when the top is down, so after scaring one up and Pick-n-Pull, I found that it needs a bunch of inputs I didn't have. This is the portion I have started on, steering column to dash and BCM connections. If everything works I will also have a remote keyless entry system. Tape is friction tape as I have found it remains reasonably flexible while working on it and doesn't seem to unwrap like vinyl tape does.

That's some commitment! There are definite benefits to having the cap - it's been nice to be able to store project materials while I wait to get time/space to work in the garage! I have had an aluminum camper shell or topper on each of my trucks. The 1958 F100 was a 6' styleside and the 1977 F150 and Darth had/have 8' beds so when I sold the 1977 I kept the topper, my older son, who bought it acquired a fiberglass topper for it.

Ok, I'm trying to get down to specifics. I've found several braided looms: PET: This is good to 257 F. Nylon: I can't find a temp rating on this. As for the cobra headed zip ties, are these they? If so, I haven't found the gun yet. Any suggestions? Cobra ties are one brand of low profile zip tie I have seen used. The way the head on normal zip ties sits is bulkier, it can lead to chaffing issues, the "teeth" area along the flat part is also against the wire, and a lot of times you get that sharp tail. Panduit's version looks like this and when cut the tail is not exposed. Also the smooth side of the tie rests on the wire... no chaffing. If you look up zip tie gun you can find some cheaper options in the $20-$75 that work with all kinds of zip ties. A panduit GTS zip tie gun probably runs about $150. Most of these zip ties both panduit and the reusable one (tab release) can be found at Grainger. https://www.grainger.com/category/electrical/electrical-supplies/wire-management-cable-organization/cable-ties They make quick work of a harness but speed comes at a cost. I am lucky I can buy bulk left overs here from Boeing auctions for pennies. But, I'm more old school and prefer to use waxed string tie AKA lacing tape, AKA lacing cord. It's cheaper and I enjoy it. The flat kind is what you want. You can find this unwaxed a lot of times with leather stuff. You can also get high temp stuff that has nomex in it which is usually black or white with black dashes down the middle. The preferred method is to do a clove hitch around the bundle then secure that hitch with a square knot. This is an example: https://www.amazon.com/Lacing-Cord-Nylon-Black-Width/dp/B00UYD9E6O/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=Flat+waxed+lacing+cord&qid=1580765902&s=electronics&sr=1-4 On the braided loom I have been using PET it has an operating temp of 257 degrees but a melt temp of about 450 degrees. Nylon usually runs -50ish to 300 F whether it is flat or round braid, expandable or not. You sound like my dad, he taught me years ago how to lace up wire runs in an electronic chassis. He was an electrical engineer by education, but did an awful lot of his own work on things including building an air conditioning system for our 1948 Pontiac that was run by an aircraft hydraulic system so the compressor ran at a fixed speed. The plumbing in the trunk was so impressive, a fellow at a shop where the spare had been patched asked mom "what'ya got back there lady, a still?".

What did you expect from Fiat.

Yes, I had the complete engine but in moving stuff to make the city of Newport News happy (nothing could be seen unless you climbed a 6' privacy fence or pried a gate open) it got misplaced at Pete's. I was going to stick it in a 1996 with a bad 3.8L NA engine.

Gary, I suspect that your right, but i must ask, what does everyone use to get to those screws while the engine is running. I'm a risk taker and all, but passing up on my past years of trial and error, I'd rather not find myself laying on the fan shroud ,as I had been, while the engine is running trying to get at at those mixture screws for adjustment. I know there has to be a better way but I have yet to find a "perfect-fit" in my Google searches. please advise, Most parts stores used to carry carburetor adjusters, a long flexible shaft, or a curved tube with a flexible shaft inside it. The good ones had a sleeve like a screw starter to keep the bit engaged on the mixture screw.

Gary, I can post some of what I've done both on Darth and the konvertible. One of the interesting things on Darth, the front harness I started with came from a 1996 Diesel F350 crew cab. One of the items I have learned is the vinyl tape is ok and can be used most anywhere, but it has a tendency to come loose at the end you finish the run at. I have started using old fashioned friction tape on the ends. Zip ties are your friend when doing major rewiring, they allow you to keep the "can of worms" under control, and different colored ones can be used to denote take outs, inputs and corner locations. One item, Ford, after 1985 used a pretty standard color and circuit numbering system. Pre-1986 dots and dashes were used for the secondary color, 1986 on it became a stripe. You will find that if a 1985 truck used a specific color and circuit number, a 1996 will have the same color and number. I first discovered this building a 1958 Country Squire and adding a number of newer items to it, particularly on the lighting, the same colors for running lights, stop and turn, headlights were the same colors. The other item is harness numbers, Ford is pretty consistent on using the same harness numbers as far as the center number. Examples: 14401 is the dash harness, on the Bullnose it may also be the entire front harness, 12A581 is the underhood harness, 9D930 is the engine harness, 14405 is the rear harness (down the frame).

I've got one of those 3.8L SC blowers.

Short answer is no, compressor end connections are entirely different. You could probably get some made with the later springlock fittings on the firewall and condenser ends and the screw on at the compressor ends or possibly find a replacement for the compressor service valves on the FS6 compressor. The changes that were made in 1994 for R134a are: compressor changed from FS6 to FS10 (larger displacement), condenser changed to multipass design for better heat transfer, evaporator size increased for better cooling and the interior ducting was completely changed including the blend door. The other item on the 460 and Diesel models and maybe all, an insulating reflective wrap was put over the discharge side of the evaporator case, this is why I can get in Darth after a highway run on a hot day and have cold air almost immediately.

The OEM Ford wires on my 1984 302 were grey with black boots. Since my truck was such low mile and had been sitting in a barn for god knows how long, it still had a lot of original parts on it when I dragged it home. I was told that a way to identify the original factory installed wires was that they were numbered, and mine were. Thew new Ford replacement wires I installed looked very similar to the originals, but were not numbered. My truck also had a funky looking rotor button in the distributor, which I was told was also original. Odd looking tip on it that I had never seen before. That rotor looks like one for an EEC-III system possibly, they were extremely strange. On plug wires, two things I learned owning my shop: First, if the manufacturer isn't proud enough of his product to put his name on there, run from it! Second, back in the early high output ignition days, and especially on some engines, and wires over 3 years old were suspect, the old 1000 ohms per foot applied for resistance checks (this meant a MOPAR big block #7 wire would be roughly 7000 ohms). Gary, feel free to measure the one on your MOPAR. It went from the distributor, down under the AC compressor, across the front of the block, down the inside of the left valve cover, over the back of the head, through a plastic "spool", then out through another "spool" and to the plug under the exhaust manifold. Thankfully Ford came to their senses after the Y-block era.

Bill, Yeah I'd imagine so, any suggestions on a good thread locker somewhat impervious to gasoline? I used Loctite red, or if you can get a large punch or piece of bar stock clamped in a vice, hold the carburetor, or have someone hold it for you, use a center punch on the end of the threads to upset them.

The 1965 and first run of 1966 Shelby GT350s had override traction bars. The only reason given for the change was sealing them where they came through the floor. The fact that the 1966 models kept the stock rear seat may have also been a factor.

Be sure when you put the throttle plates back in that they are centered properly. Either restake or loctite the screws, one of them coming out can ruin your whole day.

I was told by an older friend years ago, "getting old ain't for sissies".

Gary, It was difficult at the time because the cab bolt mounts were all rusted and seized in place and I didn’t get to replacing all of that stuff until long after the transmission swap. The transmission swap was done partially out of necessity as the 3spd had a cracked case that was causing it to flex away from the bellhousing. Yes I welded little extension on the brackets and redrilled the holes to work with the existing bolts. Finding the crossmember was a challenge enough I was not able to get my hands on a pair of the offset brackets. When I installed the E4OD in Darth, I had to drill new holes 7" back from where the C6 mounted. Bottom one was easy, top two were a PITA on each side. I used a long 1/4" bit after a good center punch to start the holes, then took them out to clear the bolts. I initially installed them inverted from Ford's procedure, and put nuts on the old bolts so they wouldn't rattle. Much later, when I was doing some other work, I had the front cab bolt covers off and decided to see if the bolts would come loose. They did and I was able with the radiator core support blots out to raise the cab front one side at a time and remove the old bolts and insert the new ones correctly from the top.

Gary, Darth's is sometimes a bit wiggy on the on-off switch, meaning I will activate the cruise, then go to set it and nothing happens. Re-engage the cruise "on" switch, and it will set then. I am dealing with 24 year old switches (1996 steering wheel), you are dealing with 35 year old switches on Big Blue.

My 1966 GT350 had the under ride Traction Master bars. I definitely didn't have any wheel hop with that car. None of my trucks have needed them and all have had more than enough power to light the rear tires.

That would be because you have how many trucks, of which how many are running and being driven? I have one truck and when the time comes it will need to be a press to get him back on the road.

That's what's in Darth, and MAF/SEFI 460.

Depends on what kind of kit (a) you bought and (b) what was last done to it. Float setting is not as critical on these as it is on some others, you can set it at 1/2" and it will probably be fine. Be sure if there was an assist spring under the float arm that it is reinstalled correctly. The tang of the float goes through the hook on the new needle and seat.

The VA almost killed me...TWICE. They say that the worst pain a man will feel is kidney stones. I had two one was 7mm the other 5.5mm stuck in my kidneys and kept blocking the ureter so my kidneys would back up. After a month or so of waiting on surgery, I woke up from the surgery in 10000 times more pain then I went in. Never saw a doctor. They had me on oxy and Vicodin... they wouldn't let me out of the bed to pee in the recovery room until my pain was a 4. They wouldn't even give me a urinal. After about an hour I said my pain was a 4, stood up and pissed blood. They sent me back to my room, the nurse found me on the floor of the bathroom, still no doctor, brought me one Vicodin. I laughed and said I feel like my inside are being ripped out and I was on more meds than that before I came in. I have an extremely high pain tolerance, like laugh at a broken arm level pain tolerance, I have actually cut myself bad enough I severed and artery and drove myself to the hospital no issue, had my finger caught in a log splitter too, never went in, anesthetic doesn't do much for me either. Heck the stones I had would lay up most people I kept working every day. BUT Kidney stones +distended ureters + kidneys backing up = the most I have ever been in. She came back and said the doctors couldn't get the stones and put in stints (I was 24, too young for stints and they are extremely painful) so now I have stint pain, and they effectively turned the stones into medieval maces, and my kidneys were at risk of backing up and rupturing. They put me in a wheel chair with a pocket full of Vicodin and rolled me out on the street. No kidding, 100% didn't care I was worse off than I came in. Told me I would be back in a week... try I dealt with this for 6 months, lived on the peninsula in WA state. 4 hours from Seattle VA hospital. They would tell me to just come in (at this point they prescribed me Vicodin, oxy and morphine tablets all offset by 2 hours), I would be like lady I can barely get down the hall, I'm on 3 narcotics and you want me to drive 4 hours, to get turned around to come back home? Jan 2010-Jun2010 I dealt with this, slept 45mins at a go with heating pads. Showed up in the local ER after an attack was so strong I had to crawl down the hall for help, sill pissing straight blood. The local ER told the VA to shove it and did the surgery. They had me fixed in a day. Walked out pain free but hooked on pills. So I dumped them all less 10 and had to suffer through withdrawals. Yea... screw socialized medicine and the VA. I can go to the VA, but refuse. I have my plan through work I will use. Costs me but I don't care. That is the same VA facility that essentially killed my father-in-law. He was my first wife's father, a two world war Marine veteran. They were doing some surgery on his neck and saw that he had some large calcium deposits in his carotid arteries. The doctor let some of the interns examine and "feel" them. A chunk came loose and lodged in his brain causing a massive stroke. He had walked in and came out in a wheelchair. I believe he stayed there until he passed away. I never met the man as I was on the other side of the country, but did go to Arlington for his interment and later for his widow's interment with him. At least if I do go to the VA for anything, the Hampton Virginia center is pretty good.

9A487 is a check valve to prevent exhaust gasses from backflowing into the rest of the Thermactor plumbing. 9B289 or 9F491 may be the problem, 9B289 is my guess at being the "dump" valve to dump the Thermactor air to atmosphere. 9F491 is probably the diverter valve or air switching valve changing the air from ports to catalytic converter. A true anti-backfire valve went to the intake manifold to lean the mixture to the point it couldn't backfire. Most common Ford application was the Pinto 2.0/2.3L carbureted engines and it had no connection to the Thermactor system. It was a vacuum actuated bypass valve that opened under high intake vacuum to lean the mixture.

The one I copied was the powder coated one, but yours would probably be a better reference for depth of the inset section of the plate. Shaun, the powder coated one was my extra I sent him. There is an earlier photo of it that I posted after I dug it out of my extra parts bucket.

Compressed air is your friend. Be sure to look at the small inside tubes going down into the fuel wells.