Big Blue's Transformation

[1986F150Six]

I remember watching a movie, but unfortunately can't remember which one. And I mostly remember a line from it, but I can't remember for sure which way the two states were aligned. So with that convoluted introduction...

The two main characters in the movie were sort of misfits. One of them called the other "Mississippi" once (or was it "Alabama"?). Anyway, the other guy asks why he called him that. The first guy says "Mississippi's (or or was it Alabama's?) only purpose in life is so Alabama (or was it Mississippi?) doesn't have to be the worst.

Anyway, it would be funny if I could tell it.

I was raised in Alabama and each morning, we thanked God there was Mississippi!

[kramttocs]

Yes, but I've moved on from that approach. Now a new Bricknose tray and brace is on their way here, due in on Tuesday.

Have those ceramic headlight connectors come in yet? Spoke to Mr. Stern about the DRL-1 yesterday/today but am curious about those when you get them in hand. Specifically if they are short jumpers/adapters or if they are just the connector you slide the female terminals into.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Have those ceramic headlight connectors come in yet? Spoke to Mr. Stern about the DRL-1 yesterday/today but am curious about those when you get them in hand. Specifically if they are short jumpers/adapters or if they are just the connector you slide the female terminals into.

Scott,

Usually if you need ceramic sockets the wires are insulated with silicone and fiberglass braid.

105C PVC insulation like is common in harnii is not going to cut it.

In extreme situations stainless wire is used instead of copper because of its lack of reactivity at elevated temperatures.

[Gary Lewis]

Have those ceramic headlight connectors come in yet? Spoke to Mr. Stern about the DRL-1 yesterday/today but am curious about those when you get them in hand. Specifically if they are short jumpers/adapters or if they are just the connector you slide the female terminals into.

Just got a note back from Daniel last night saying:

Hi, Gary. I can advise you your sockets (finally!) left Atlanta yesterday, so should be in your hands within the next day or two, but the tracking number isn't in the system -- I'll see if I can dig it up for you tomorrow when the warehouse opens.

But they are supposedly the ones where you put your own wire into the connector and either crimp or solder. I'll post a pic when I get them, but I'm kinda hung up w/o them which is why I chose to scan the big doc yesterday.

[kramttocs]

Just got a note back from Daniel last night saying:

Hi, Gary. I can advise you your sockets (finally!) left Atlanta yesterday, so should be in your hands within the next day or two, but the tracking number isn't in the system -- I'll see if I can dig it up for you tomorrow when the warehouse opens.

But they are supposedly the ones where you put your own wire into the connector and either crimp or solder. I'll post a pic when I get them, but I'm kinda hung up w/o them which is why I chose to scan the big doc yesterday.

Thanks guys

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks guys

Ok, today was get-the-radiator-support-in day. And, I'm happy to say that I got it done. But, not w/o some

The big issue was where to tighten it down since there is a lot of adjustment available side-to-side. The first thought was that I'd just position it neatly between the two fenders. But then I remembered that the hood hasn't been aligned with the fenders so I thought I'd better do some checking.

Looking at the truck I realized that the front fenders curve in but that the bed is straight, so I ran a string down both sides, lightly touching the bed, like this:

Then I checked the gap between the fenders and the string and found that the passenger's side was 1" farther in than the driver's side. Given that, I moved the radiator support all the way to the passenger's side and snugged it down. Then I pulled the PS fender in and snugged it down, and the DS fender out and snugged it down. And now there's 1/4" difference, but the hood lines up fairly well.

Then there's the question of leveling the radiator support and the fenders. You'll remember that the frame horns had been tweaked, so I didn't trust to measure across them. But the Sky crossmember was dead-on level so I used that as my reference and shimmed the radiator support so that it was level.

But, the fenders were still out quite a bit. At this time I don't have the captive nuts on the fender support so can't snug them up when I pull the fenders up or down. But I did that by using the corner brackets that tie the fenders to the radiator support, and have gotten the level as shown below.

I'm going to call it a day and go mow, but will check in later to see if anyone has suggestions on how to get things spot-on.

[Gary Lewis]

Ok, today was get-the-radiator-support-in day. And, I'm happy to say that I got it done. But, not w/o some

The big issue was where to tighten it down since there is a lot of adjustment available side-to-side. The first thought was that I'd just position it neatly between the two fenders. But then I remembered that the hood hasn't been aligned with the fenders so I thought I'd better do some checking.

Looking at the truck I realized that the front fenders curve in but that the bed is straight, so I ran a string down both sides, lightly touching the bed, like this:

Then I checked the gap between the fenders and the string and found that the passenger's side was 1" farther in than the driver's side. Given that, I moved the radiator support all the way to the passenger's side and snugged it down. Then I pulled the PS fender in and snugged it down, and the DS fender out and snugged it down. And now there's 1/4" difference, but the hood lines up fairly well.

Then there's the question of leveling the radiator support and the fenders. You'll remember that the frame horns had been tweaked, so I didn't trust to measure across them. But the Sky crossmember was dead-on level so I used that as my reference and shimmed the radiator support so that it was level.

But, the fenders were still out quite a bit. At this time I don't have the captive nuts on the fender support so can't snug them up when I pull the fenders up or down. But I did that by using the corner brackets that tie the fenders to the radiator support, and have gotten the level as shown below.

I'm going to call it a day and go mow, but will check in later to see if anyone has suggestions on how to get things spot-on.

Got the headlight sockets in today, as shown below. I've included a pic of part of the package one of them was wrapped in, but I'm not sure that they actually came out of that package originally. That's because that part number appears to be for a relay socket. And, because the package says "Made in Portugal" and the connectors say "Taiwan".

Anyway, it appears that the orange is plastic and apparently the white is ceramic. The terminals are fairly thick, so should hold their tension well. I hope to do that wiring tomorrow, so will show how they go on then.

[kramttocs]

Got the headlight sockets in today, as shown below. I've included a pic of part of the package one of them was wrapped in, but I'm not sure that they actually came out of that package originally. That's because that part number appears to be for a relay socket. And, because the package says "Made in Portugal" and the connectors say "Taiwan".

Anyway, it appears that the orange is plastic and apparently the white is ceramic. The terminals are fairly thick, so should hold their tension well. I hope to do that wiring tomorrow, so will show how they go on then.

Those look good. They definitely appear substantial.

So the orange is a hard plastic meaning you have to re-terminate your wires? Would be nice if they were a silicone material.

Can you fit two 12awg wires or two 14awg wires in a single hole in the orange?

[Frank Wyatt]

Got the headlight sockets in today, as shown below. I've included a pic of part of the package one of them was wrapped in, but I'm not sure that they actually came out of that package originally. That's because that part number appears to be for a relay socket. And, because the package says "Made in Portugal" and the connectors say "Taiwan".

Anyway, it appears that the orange is plastic and apparently the white is ceramic. The terminals are fairly thick, so should hold their tension well. I hope to do that wiring tomorrow, so will show how they go on then.

I'm looking forward to the wiring lesson!

[Gary Lewis]

I'm looking forward to the wiring lesson!

Scott - I seriously doubt you can get oversized wires through that hard shell, nor two #14's. But I'll check tomorrow.

Frank - I doubt this will be a wiring lesson. My plan is to put pigtails on the passenger's side connector and use them to join the run from the PDB to the driver's side. On the driver's side the wires will go directly in.

We shall see how that goes.