Rembrant

lol. Be careful Ray, I've seen a lot of driveshafts land on the ground over the years doing burnouts and wheel chirps!

Yessir, 3/8". I used Stover Nuts on mine.

David, I tried MAP gas today and no dice! Haven't tried the cigar trick! I'm running Mobil 1 "TDT" Turbo Diesel Truck 5w40 in it currently. I had a Volkswagen with a BRM engine that was well known for eating flat tappet camshafts. There was a lot of testing done and this Mobil 1 TDT was determined to be one of the best oils to offer protection, so I decided to give it a try. I wanted the 40w to try and quiet the engine down a little...it's a noisy beast that I'm not used to. In any case, it clearly doesn't like the cold that much in my little 302 V8. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mobil-1-5W-40-Turbo-Diesel-Truck-Motor-Oil-1-gal/17128879 Maybe I'll switch back to the Valvoline VR1 10w30. We'll see.

Ok, so I'm back with some news and test results... After doing some of the suggested tests of covering the carb up and restricting air flow, I brought the truck close to stalling several times and I actually did stall it once. AFR gauge didn't budge. Upon start up, the gauge actually reads pretty good...13.5 AFR, sometimes 14:1, etc, and then it rapidly runs up and pegs full lean and stays there. Meanwhile you can smell the stink of fuel... Anyway, fully convinced at this point it's the gauge, I called AEM tech support and they were super helpful. When I explained what the gauge was doing, he immediately asked for the serial number on the back. Once I gave him the number, he confirmed that my gauge is one of a batch of known faulty gauges...in which the issue is exactly what mine is doing, pegging full lean. They're going to send me a new kit asap. As for the vacuum leak diagnosis, still nothing yet. I tried with my cylinder of MAP gas going all around the carb, the base of the carb, spacer, back and forth left and right the full length of the intake manifold to cylinder head seam, and nothing, anywhere. So I'll have to keep hunting. If by chance it's sucking from the lifter valley, I guess there's no way to know without pulling the intake? I've restricted the flow into the carb, and the truck stalls. One observation...and one of you carb guys can tell me if this is OK or not, but with the truck idling, if I cover ONLY the secondaries and close them off, the engine will stall. I thought the thing would breath enough through the primaries...but apparently not?

I was gritting my teeth staring at the oil pressure gauge while I listened to that defiant lifter that sounded like it wanted to leave the truck! Ugh I hate that. I adjusted the choke the other day and really just stuck it in a random position, and low and behold it works almost perfectly where it is now. I swear I could not have set it that good if I actually attempted to make it work that good. Still, need to investigate the vacuum issue. Going to try some map gas around the carb today.

While on the topic of wire crimping tools, and I may have missed this if it was discussed earlier in this thread, but are there any special tools or recommended tools/procedures for making custom length plug wires? If that's an entirely different discussion, Gary and admin please feel free to move to it's own thread, but I'm curious... I saw a picture a while back of a SBF with the most gorgeous plug wiring job done on it, and the guy said that they were pre-made Taylor wires that he cut to fit. I've never done this, so I don't know what is involved.

I paid WAY too much for my Bullnose, so I'm certainly in no position to shame anybody else for what they would pay for one, but $500 would be a pretty good deal in my area for something that was usable or fixable...assuming that is what you want to do with it? Even IF it's a MAJOR project, you need something sturdy to start with imho.

I took the old Blue Mule to work today! Only 3 degrees C outside this morning (37.4F)! I tell ya, what the old truck lacks in air conditioning, it makes up for it with the heater, and it's not even the HO heater! I can't imagine running it full blast. However, it was a little warmer in my garage (10C/50F)...but one of my lifters sure didn't like that cold temperature...it tapped for way longer than I'd like it to, but it did eventually quiet right down, and the truck purred like a kitten on the commute. Sitting outside my office in the fog. Going to try a little vacuum leak troubleshooting at work today (on my breaks, of course...lol).

Must be for the rear wheels on a styleside is it?

Not exactly a dyno pull, but the 300 in this old F500 sounds pretty cool workin' it's ass off! Mind you it has a custom turbo install! http://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/1970-Ford-500-with-a-turbocharged-300-tp23298.html

Lookin' good! I love the old slot mags and 32's are my favorite tires size for 4x4.

Looking good Dave starting to look more like a driver and less like a project;)

That's possible Gary. I just tried the booster using a Mitivac and it holds 20" vacuum no problem, and seems to hold when you push the brake pedal, but something weird could be happening when it gets warmed up. I kind of dismissed the booster because I noticed last week that it was holding vacuum OK, but maybe tomorrow I'll actually plug the line to the carb as a more definitive test. Thanks for the idea. I'll be doing some more vacuum leak checks this week. It's weird...the AFR gauge seems to work for about 15-20 seconds on start-up, then the numbers rapidly ramp up and the gauge flatlines. I haven't ruled out a bad gauge either though, so that is possible as well.

I'm guessing that hole is supposed to have a plug in it, but you'll have to check with your engine builder.

The link works for me. Or were you guys saying that you couldn't see it without clicking the link?

Can you tell us more about this hole above the crank? How big is it? Can you post a picture of it? Is it supposed to have a plug in it?

I don't know the part number, but I bought a new one from a local Ford dealer only a year or so ago. It was less than 10 bucks if I recall correctly. It's the bearing inside it that is hard to find. I ended up buying one from Jeff's Bronco Graveyard because I couldn't find it anywhere else. It's a weird little bearing with an O-ring in it. This should be it...somebody else can confirm. https://www.tascaparts.com/oem-parts/ford-main-shaft-upper-retainer-eotz3d681a

I don't know the part number, but I bought a new one from a local Ford dealer only a year or so ago. It was less than 10 bucks if I recall correctly. It's the bearing inside it that is hard to find. I ended up buying one from Jeff's Bronco Graveyard because I couldn't find it anywhere else. It's a weird little bearing with an O-ring in it.

Gary, I took the truck to go see my folks today so I didn't get any troubleshooting done per se...BUT...on two occasions today, I was cruising along one time at maybe 45 mph and another time at 70 mph, and when I pushed the clutch in while slowing down the engine would not idle. I had to feather the throttle a bit to keep it running, and then a minute later it idled just fine again. Is that a sign of anything related to my idle issue? Only change made since yesterday was that I dialed the choke back so that it worked again. Also, I did let the truck warm up using the choke, and still nothing showing up on my AFR gauge. Not a proper test really, as it was a lower RPM choke setting, so I doubt the choke plate was closed all the way. I'll get some more tests done this week. Thanks guys.

Darin, Just sent you an email through the forum. Just letting you know it case it goes to junk mail or if you don't check emails often. Cheers, Cory

Well, the good news is that my plugs all look exactly the same and are all pretty clean. As Gary mentioned before, almost too clean. According to my Holley book, they look good. I have since changed them from Autolite 764 (Now obsolete I believe) to Autolite 104 (Same plug I believe, but with full length threads). Oh...I should clarify...the truck is working OK, I just think it will work a little better than it does. Full disclosure...I have a bad habit of chasing ghost issues...that end up being nothing at all, other than me being too fussy about a noise or a vibration or whatever. Still...based on that idle, something isn't quite right, and I'd just like to dial it in a little better, and I think it can be.

Well, the good news is that my plugs all look exactly the same and are all pretty clean. As Gary mentioned before, almost too clean. According to my Holley book, they look good. I have since changed them from Autolite 764 (Now obsolete I believe) to Autolite 104 (Same plug I believe, but with full length threads).

This carb does not have four corner idle adjustment...just the two mix screws in the front. The rear just has a metering plate instead of a metering block. It's this one below... https://www.holley.com/products/fuel_systems/carburetors/classic_holley/parts/0-80457SA I took a look down the barrels. Can't really see much. The rear barrels are pretty clean and appeared to be more closed than the primaries. Maybe there's something keeping the primary plates open a hair. I'll investigate a little more tomorrow. I'm done for today. I was tentatively planning to get rid of the Holley anyway and replace it with a Summit M2008 500CFM... https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-m08500vs/overview/ They seem to get rave reviews, but that fuel inlet means I'll have to relocate my coil. Anyway, that's a discussion for another day. Gotta get the one I have working properly first;). Thanks guys.

Thanks for the comments guys. I'll do a little investigating. I assume the only way to check the secondary plates is to pull the carb and flip it over and have a look? I'll try the spray test tomorrow and check for vacuum leaks. Otherwise every single gasket and hose and tube and fitting is new. Brake booster is confirmed to be holding vacuum, and I plugged the PCV hose this morning for a test. Manifold to head leak....now I hadn't thought of that.

This is normal, or it least it has been with my truck on both a Napa reman steering box and a RedHead steering box. If you turn them lock to lock with the engine off, they will barf fluid out through the fill cap. I can't help with the tightness or the click, sorry. My truck has balljoints, and I seem to recall it turning relatively easy with the wheels in the air. Even my Redhead box wasn't as tight as I'd like it to be. It's OK, and it was an improvement, but it seems to have gotten a little bit sloppy with use. The first while it felt pretty good, but I think now that it's broken in it has a little more play than it had when freshly rebuilt.