85lebaront2

Jim, it is not a daytime running light, it is located in the front fender ahead of the wheel and below the raised portion from the end of the bumper. Here is a picture of the 1985 car red circle is the left cornering lamp:

I have and I thought of running that but my big thing is Holley states that they have a life span of 5 to 10 years with your average service life for a typical street car of being 6 years or 60,000 miles. I just dont know if I want to be dropping my fuel tank every 6 years to change the hydromat. How ever what I was thinking of just now is I dont need a whole full baffle system, all I really need is just something to slow the fuel slosh as much as possible so in theory I could make a short 4 to 5 inch tall plate and build a box around the sump in the tank with openings for allowing fuel in and out. I feel this would be all I would really need as I dont plan on running my tank dry but I do want to prevent starvation down to 1/8 tank as I have a habit of filling up at a 1/4 tank and with a 16 gallon tank I wouldnt want to fill up any more often as it will negate the point of trying to improve my fuel economy between fill ups. Nothing on Darth, but did do some work on one of my other "trucks", the 2009 Flex. When I test drove it last September I felt it probably needed motor mounts due to the vibration and being able to feel the engine shift under changing load. I replaced the torque strut shortly after buying it and it helped but everything pointed to bad mounts. There are only two, a hydraulic one on the engine end and a round sleeve style on the transaxle end. That one involves removing the battery and tray along with the battery tray bracket. Here is the frame side of the transaxle mount viewed from the rear: Again, from the rear with the transaxle portion beside it (there is a bracket bolted through this portion): Closeup looking through where the rubber should be, raised bumps are the pads for torque reaction, rusted stud goes up through the bracket and battery tray: Inner portion, you can see where it was metal to metal: The engine end looked much better, but looked like it might have been leaking some fluid (not as bad as the Taurus ones that dumped rusty water all over).

I did it by VIN and got the values I posted.

Gee, I wonder what Darth would be valued at? #1 Concours $22,700 #2 Excellent $15,300 #3 Good $8,700 #4 Fair $4,500 Gee, I paid $4,500 for him in 1994 and was offered $7,500 when I got him home by a used car dealer I knew.

Holley gives with their sniper kits a generic frame mounted pump. I didnt buy the kit with fuel pump as I have seen way too many people stating these supplied frame mounted pumps failed with in the first year. The pumps how ever Holley states they need 50 psi and 255 lph/67gph. Realistically the instructions states 45 to 55 psi with 50 psi being ideal. Why I selected the Corvette Fuel Filter that I have put up for my filter/regulator the built in regulator is 49.5 PSI so basically 50 psi. Pump I have picked out initially is the GSS342BX Walbro with a 11mm inlet for $89.99 which would accept the Hydramat I am looking at the 3" x 15" for some $180. If the Hydramat would last 10 years for me I would consider just doing that but still $180 every 10 years just seems pricy compared to regular socks lasting till the electric pump finally fails. If Dakota Digital would release the RTX Retro I could go with a FDM tank and pump/sender and go into the calibration and input the FDM sender specs to make the gauge read right. Might be something I upgrade to down the road. Holley sells a retrofit fuel pump/sender assembly for OEM fuel tanks that has a pivoting fuel pump on a OE like sender with the Holly Hydramat for pickup. Thats why part of me wonders about longevity but no one has said how lone they truly last in a street vehicle, Ive seen Holley listed 5 to 10 year life span and one magazine article stated 6 years or 60,000 miles for an average vehicle Ok, the Walbro some of the Chrysler Turbo guys are using might do what you need. Let me see what I can find on PNs and detailed specs. It might be 255 L/Hr then. Like I said, my static pressure is 55 psi.

The actual light unit is the LeBaron one, the socket is all I was changing. I made a slight wiring change also. Chrysler had them wired so they worked all the time, even in daylight. I have the relay coils fed from the parking light circuit so they only work if the lights are on.

Rusty, a couple of questions. I assume the Holley Sniper uses their pump. I don't know what pressure/volume it needs but, some thoughts (a) could the Holley pump be installed into a Ford 1990 up FDM? (b) would the Ford pump supply adequate pressure/volume for the Holley System? If both of those are no, then, can you insert a decent size can into a 1990 up tank through the FDM access? Using the return line to siphon fuel into the can so that it is overflowing even with a low fuel level. This is what Chrysler did when they introduced EFI in 1983 as it only required a change to the bottom of the tank, the plastic reservoir was crimped to the tank bottom and an extra access hole was added for the electric pump, the same sender as the carbureted system was retained and the fuel return is there. It goes through a check valve on the side of the reservoir where it picks up fuel to overflow the reservoir. The can could be loaded into position with springs pushing against the top of the tank. Some of the guys with modified Turbo engines are using a Walbro 255 GPH pump in the stock hanger. My static fuel pressure is 55 psi rising under boost to 70 psi.

One item the 1985 car had that this one didn't was cornering lights, those are really nice out here in the nether regions for avoiding large ditches when turning corners. The front fenders are actually the same stamping from 1982-1988 on the LeBaron K body. In 1986, the bumper was made deeper at the bottom so there are two plastic fillers on the bottom of the fenders and another wide piece of molding that carries the bumper contour to the edge of the wheel opening. This makes the front look quite a bit different. I saved the undamaged 1985 fenders and will install them as it is easier to do that then it would be to cut the cornering light holes. I will probably have to drill at least two holes in them for the back of the upper bumper extension and two on the bottom front for the lower bumper extension. I made a change in the wiring and the light socket (the left one vanished into the hole the 10mm sockets hide in) the original is the classic old bayonet base 1156 bulb, I had a pile of minivan front turn signal and parking light sockets for the newer 3157 snap in base bulbs. I had a 3156 and socket left over from the Taurus. I found that 4 of the minivan sockets were plastic with a rubber back that could be removed allowing the socket portion to be disassembled for cleaning. The 3157 has a narrow aligning slot (actually stepped) and the 3156 has a wide aligning slot. You could put a dual filament 3157 into a 3156 socket and only the bright filament would work. Since I will be using LEDs I wanted to modify the sockets for a single filament bulb. I disassembled one for testing and found with the brass contacts and their holder removed from the socket, I could get at the alignment slots. A bit of cutting, heat from a small soldering iron and I have a socket for a 3156 bulb. I was able to obtain a left side light housing and bracket, but the light socket isn't shown in the parts list so I had to make at least one socket and since the original hung down almost to the bottom of the fender, the modified van ones are nearly flush with the light housing. Original right side cornering light with socket. Bottom view of the light showing the socket. Bottom view with the modified minivan socket. Unmodified minivan park and turn socket (BK/YL parking, LG turn, BK ground) Modified minivan socket, note BK/YL is gone. Now, a while back I mentioned I had found some new door strikers, they are for a minivan but the only difference is a 5/16 or 8mm hex on the back end of them.

Gary, and no factory 4WD in an F350 DRW.

I can do that, I just was trying to prevent unnecessary extra work having to pull the tank a second time. I know out of every conversion we have done at work every non EFI tank without baffling has provided stalling, hesitation and laying down below 1/2 a tank due to fuel slosh.Unless the fact that the tank is stepped like it is with a mini sump under the pump assembly will act as a baffle to keep some fuel still in the area of the pump preventing this starvation at lower fuel levels. You dont have the fuel reservoir on the frame do you? I am trying to avoid that by having just a single high pressure fuel pump in the tank. I am starting to wonder if maybe the stepped design of the fuel tank with the sump where the fuel pump sits at acts as a sort of baffle be restricting fuel flow to the rear or front under acceleration or braking at lower levels. Not seeking for race car fuel control just dont want the truck to suck air and lay down and run lean on me when I am accelerating, braking, or turning at a 1/4 tank. That is my biggest concern. I probably will cause I probably will burn through the fuel tank trying to weld it myself and I just dont know how I could cut the tank open to get it done right and ensure there is no leaks or weakening of the fuel tank. No, 1989 was the last year for the reservoir on the frame and separate high pressure pump. Mine has the FDMs (Fuel Distribution Modules) which act as a reserve system. Here is a picture of the internals of an FDM. My Chrysler uses a cup in the tank with the return from the rail connected to the side making a jet to fill the cup till it overflows.

Yes, I have. 1970 1/2 Falcon station wagon, 302 engine and C4. Engine looked like it had been run with Quacker Sludge in it. I switched it to Kendall and a then Autolite FL1 and we drove it. After about 6 months I pulled the valve covers and the fresh air inlet side was very clean, PCV valve side looked better and the sludge was breaking up slowly. The other was it's replacement after my oldest son destroyed the right rear fender by catching a bumper coming out of a parking lot. It was a 1971 Colony Park with a 429 2 barrel, that lasted just long enough to find a 4 barrel intake after determining the only difference was intake and carb. It had a couple of sticking lifters, so I did an oil change, put a quart of Type F fluid and the rest 10-30 Kendall and a new filter. I took it out on the interstate and ran it probably 50-60 miles round trip and the lifter shut up. Never had another problem with one.

Since fasteners are an area I have some experience in, I will relate an interesting bit of testing I was tasked with. First, torque as Jim pointed out is a less than perfect method of determining the stress applied. It is extremely dependent on what boils down to "how slippery is your lubricant?". This is why the manufacturer's procedure is important and why most newer engines give a stretch value (angle of rotation) and many now have single use head bolts (my 1994 Taurus with the 3.8L V6 had that). When I built the 2.2L turbo engine for my original LeBaron convertible, I used all ARP fasteners in critical areas. Main caps, rods and cylinder head. The rods are like Ford ones in using pressed in bolts and then nuts to secure the cap. I was doing these and my son and one of his friends came by. Skip asked my son "why is he measuring the rod bolts?" Matt informed him that was the reason a custom built engine costs so much, between parts and the labor intensive assembly. The head also uses studs as do the main caps. ARP specs their torque values based on using their lube. Before I retired from NNS, we had a contractor running a large amount of plumbing and wiring in a trough that pretty well runs 3/4 of the length of the yard. The DI (Deionized) water portion is all CRES including the fasteners. QID, our nuclear inspection group, was inspecting a section and noticed grade 2 steel bolts and questioned that and the torque requirements based on using Neolube, a graphite in isopropyl alcohol lubricant as it is safe for use in the reactors and piping. The contractor was using a soapy water lubricant. Full on panic by QID! They brought several of the fastener pairs, a bottle of the contractors lubricant and a fresh bottle of Neolube to the lab. We have a bolt tension indicator, a Skidmore-Wilhelm hydraulic load cell that reads out in PSI applied which is then converted to actual stress based on the bolt cross section area at the threads. These were 5/8-11 bolts, spec called for them to be 304 CRES cond B which is pretty strong, theirs were plain old hardware store bolts. With their lube at the specified torque it was pretty close. Neolube procedure calls for applying a coat to both parts and allowing it to dry fully, then apply a second coat and allow it to dry fully. Torque and stress were what was expected. My boss said "let's try with the Neolube still wet", eye opener, I couldn't get much over 60-70% of the torque, but pulled several of the 5/8-11 bolts apart, that stuff is flat slippery when wet! My immediate supervisor was having a problem with a high pressure (2000 psi) accumulator tank we had built in-house. It had a load of 3/4-16 high strength (B7 steel) studs holding 2" thick end plates on a length of 12" high pressure pipe and sealed with 3/8" cross section O-rings in a closely fitted groove. He was having the tech torque the nuts, lubricated of course, to 80% yield stress. It kept blowing the O-rings, one or the other out of the grooves. I asked him (he is one damn good mechanical engineer) what the load on the ends was at 2000 psi. He ran the numbers, said something less than printable, rechecked, called the other tech and asked him had he torqued the ends yet, when he was told no, he gave him a new value and it never leaked again. Engineer's comment, I couldn't see the forest for the trees. We had a device that was interesting, it was a Raymond Engineering Boltmaster, It measured the bolt stretch ultrasonically. When it was decided to scrap it I tried to have it "scrapped" to the trunk of my Taurus.

Rusty, I have 1990 tanks on my 1986 truck (filler necks were a huge improvement) there is no baffling in the tanks of any kind, just the FDM that sits in the approximate center of each tank. If it were me, I would use the factory system for 1986 with the low pressure in-tank pumps and the reservoir/switching valve on the frame, and then the high pressure pump for your system. I have not yet run into a problem of fuel starvation, but I will switch to the rear tank if the front one is low and I will be on an extended up or down grade stretch. I did that even with the carburetor and hot fuel package, as the long 19 gal tank can easily get low enough that the gas will not reach the center. If you are real worried about that issue, get a NASCAR style fuel cell.

The point I was making is there are other sources for a good starter, I will bet I can call Pasco Monday and he will have a new Certi-Pro (the brand Matt's old company carried, Pasco bought the name and stock) or a good remanufactured one on the shelf and that's here on Virginia's appendix.

1990 Lincoln Town Car, 302, AOD and PMGR starter. Just look for that one, will also work on 4.9L and 351W with automatic transmissions. My son and I started this bit years ago after finding it was a bolt on for trucks as well as cars. I finally had to change the first one I put on Darth sometime in the late 90s this past summer.

K-cars have a dead space above the glove box that is covered by the dash top/pad assembly. The one screw hole just above the radio area, from there to the other end of the dash it is just an "eyebrow" it drops down in front over the glove box. The area there is probably 2" deep and empty. It was the perfect place for the two electronic boxes. The heavy wires were the battery, ignition, acc and start, the locks required a pair of relays if the vehicle did not have them originally. I liked that unit so much I got another for my wife's 1989 Grand Caravan, later her 1993 one and our 1990 Town Car. The two Flexes have remote start and have Ford's security systems. The 2011 has a Fortin Bypass module and I have no idea what the 2009 has, the dealer didn't even realize it had that until he was trying to make sure it was locked (3 clicks of the lock button on the IKT and it will start). We love being able to start one and then go out after it warms a bit or in the summer cools down a bit.

Gary, not knowing how that particular system is set up, I would be inclined to keep the fuses where they use them, definitely relocate them for access. I would personally get a 4 fuse block and mount it where it can be reached easily but isn't in the way. An FYI, my Taurus had a drop down fuse block, it sat horizontally on the left side of the steering column, and could be unlatched and swung down vertically to change or check fuses. Here is where I had my Design Tech security system/remote start and lock/unlock including trunk and Sirius receiver:

I can back up Jim on some specifics. Powerstroke requires both an EEC-V computer and an IDM (Injector Driver Module). The EEC sits inside the cab down low next to the driver's side air box, the IDM goes right behind the very nice PDC (Power Distribution Center). The plus to this is if you want an E4OD, finding a wrecked truck with all the pieces isn't out of the realm of possible, in fact I know where there is a 1996 F350 with a PSD and E4OD. Radiator and support, Diesel any version has a totally different radiator and support, much deeper for one thing, also has two battery locations, PSD has a huge air filter and inlet that actually covers the top of the left side battery (Left or Right refers to location as you sit in the truck). Frame, the later (at least 1990) HD (over 8500 GVW) has the same front shape as a Bullnose, but does not have the bumper bolt holes. The light duty frames from 1994-96 have the crumple zone, they also have driver side airbags. Electrical, Bullnose trucks have a continuous front harness (14401 group) that is engine (gas or Diesel) specific along with some very strange design work (I want to know what they were on). 1987-1991 there is a large round 75 or so bulkhead bolt together connector for everything outside the cab, 1992-1996/7 there are two rectangular connectors, a large 76 pin for everything underhood and the transmission/transfer case, a smaller 24 pin one for the rear chassis harness. IDI turbo Diesels used a TCM (Transmission Controller Module) for the E4OD as those engines still have a mechanical injection system. Relative RPM differences, Darth has a 3.55 gear, with a C6, I was typically turning 2700 +/- RPM depending on load, terrain and wind at 55-60 mph, with the E4OD, now around 15-1600 same conditions but in 4th lockup, to show the amount a torque converter slips, I had a right good load on a heavy trailer coming through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, upgrade, downshifted to 3rd, rpm went to 2700, lockup clutch re-engaged, rpm dropped to 2200, so torque converter was taking 500 rpm and turning it into heat. I have lots of pictures of Darth's evolution (not as many as Gary though) if you want more information. He has a 1996 interior in the 1986 cab. One more item, the E4OD issue may only affect standard cabs, I had plenty of room under Darth's cab, however, I believe some of it may be due to being an F350 Crew Cab as it seems all crew cabs got the "tall tunnel" front floor pan.

Gary, I must have missed the portion on why you are using a Powermaster starter. What is wrong with the late factory PMGR? Solenoid too close to the headers? BTW, the Powermaster looks like it is derived from a late Mopar one.

Very likely. Probably not a bad upgrade and now maybe you can find a source for cap and rotor.

That's a good view of the vacuum advance, hose is on the side, top of the can, which is not Ford, but not abnormal for many others.

Jim, I am trying to remember if there was a small cap V8 GM HEI system, as it looks similar to the ones GM used in the early S10 pickups with the 2.8L V6. There wasn't room for the large cap style as the Citation V6 used, so GM used a divorced coil (E-core) and a tall cap as the advance was still up under the rotor. I see a vacuum advance diaphragm barely showing so it is probably some sort of aftermarket replacement.

Ok, Gary's redo of the pictures helped, that is not a Ford distributor, the pickup system looks like a GM HEI unit so it is definitely not original. If it still uses the DS-II box then finding a distributor in a junkyard might solve parts sourcing. Is there any kind of label, stamped or a sticker with a name on it?

Can you get a picture of the distributor? The EEC-III caps and rotors may have a very strange looking cap with a double ended rotor with one arm lower then the other. In looking at your thread on the brake booster, if that is indeed your engine, I suspect either someone used a non DS-II cap and rotor or that is an aftermarket (Accell maybe) distributor. The carburetor appears to be a Motorcraft 2150. While I am on this subject, what the PO did with the spark plug wires might look neat, it almost guarantees crossfire as Ford had a specific routing for the 221-302 engines, rather than 5678 routing, it was 7568 through the clips on the valve covers (big blocks such as the FE and 460s go 5768).

Suggestion from someone who used to own a carburetor shop and rebuilt many of those, use some good Loctite on the throttle body to main body screws, these tend to loosen from vibration.