Big Blue's Transformation

[Gary Lewis]

Well, we made it! 366 miles, the vast majority of it on bumpy 2-lane roads, some of which weren't much wider than the truck. LOT'S of stop and go, in some cases every single mile for 20+ miles.

And while the truck did well, we are worn out! W/o A/C we had the windows down quite a bit and the noise and the drying wind was just exhausting. But we came home on the superslab at a true 70 MPH, and that was better.

I'll post some pics tomorrow awa several observations. But for now, it is bed time!

Ok, it is morning and I thinking a bit better. Here are lots of observations, in no particular order:

• Ride: Big Blue is a brute. The ride is better, but not good. Maybe the air bags will help as it seems like the rear is where the biggest jolt comes from. You get a bump from the front and a jolt from the rear. As long as you have him on the superslab it isn't bad. But old 2-lane concrete roads are rough.

• Noise: He's a lot quieter with the Magnaflows than the cherry bombs, but there's still an exhaust note as you accelerate. I sure didn't go too big with the mufflers. And in one RPM range, which appears to be 1700 - 1800, there is resonance. Unfortunately that seems to be 63 - 65 MPH in 5th gear, so you want to be under or over that if you have the windows closed. And the tires are NOISY! Now that the cab is fairly well insulated and sound deadened you hear those tires for sure. I still need to put sound deadening in the doors, so that may help some on the tire noise. And if the A/C was working we could have had the windows up, which would have muffled the tires quite a bit.

• Fuel: We are jetted a bit lean. On a flat road running maybe 65 MPH it'll be showing right in the middle of the 14's, like 14.5. But ease into it on hills and the AFR will go up into the 15's before the needles pop up and the AFR drops to the 13's. That says to me that the springs are too light as the needles aren't coming up until the vacuum drops a bunch. As for MPG, I would have thought that running right on 14.5 would give good MPG, but we only got 10.6 MPG on the front tank, and that was mostly at 55 to 65 MPH.

• Steering: It wanders a bit. Not bad at all, but it isn't like a new truck. Dad's truck was much easier to drive when it had a well-worn steering system in it

All in all it was a fun trip. We were reminded of how we used to travel when we were kids, before A/C and before the interstate system. Windows down, noise flooding in, narrow 2-lane concrete roads with serious expansion joints, and towns every 10 miles. Lots of things to see and smell, but progress was slow.

And, here are some pics. First, this is the Round Barn on Route 66.

And here we are just a couple miles down the road at Pop's:

:

And, finally, at a steel bridge over Deep Fork River:

 

[grumpin]

Ok, it is morning and I thinking a bit better. Here are lots of observations, in no particular order:

• Ride: Big Blue is a brute. The ride is better, but not good. Maybe the air bags will help as it seems like the rear is where the biggest jolt comes from. You get a bump from the front and a jolt from the rear. As long as you have him on the superslab it isn't bad. But old 2-lane concrete roads are rough.

• Noise: He's a lot quieter with the Magnaflows than the cherry bombs, but there's still an exhaust note as you accelerate. I sure didn't go too big with the mufflers. And in one RPM range, which appears to be 1700 - 1800, there is resonance. Unfortunately that seems to be 63 - 65 MPH in 5th gear, so you want to be under or over that if you have the windows closed. And the tires are NOISY! Now that the cab is fairly well insulated and sound deadened you hear those tires for sure. I still need to put sound deadening in the doors, so that may help some on the tire noise. And if the A/C was working we could have had the windows up, which would have muffled the tires quite a bit.

• Fuel: We are jetted a bit lean. On a flat road running maybe 65 MPH it'll be showing right in the middle of the 14's, like 14.5. But ease into it on hills and the AFR will go up into the 15's before the needles pop up and the AFR drops to the 13's. That says to me that the springs are too light as the needles aren't coming up until the vacuum drops a bunch. As for MPG, I would have thought that running right on 14.5 would give good MPG, but we only got 10.6 MPG on the front tank, and that was mostly at 55 to 65 MPH.

• Steering: It wanders a bit. Not bad at all, but it isn't like a new truck. Dad's truck was much easier to drive when it had a well-worn steering system in it

All in all it was a fun trip. We were reminded of how we used to travel when we were kids, before A/C and before the interstate system. Windows down, noise flooding in, narrow 2-lane concrete roads with serious expansion joints, and towns every 10 miles. Lots of things to see and smell, but progress was slow.

And, here are some pics. First, this is the Round Barn on Route 66.

And here we are just a couple miles down the road at Pop's:

:

And, finally, at a steel bridge over Deep Fork River:

Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it. I need to do some Route 66!

460’s are great engines, but you have to watch them at the holidays, definitely have a drinking problem!

“Get your kicks on Route 66!”

 

[Gary Lewis]

Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it. I need to do some Route 66!

460’s are great engines, but you have to watch them at the holidays, definitely have a drinking problem!

“Get your kicks on Route 66!”

Yes, they do drink to excess. But, it used to get 11 to 12 MPG in those conditions with a worn out engine and no overdrive.

As for the video, our day was rough, but not like that!

[Sac79]

Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it. I need to do some Route 66!

460’s are great engines, but you have to watch them at the holidays, definitely have a drinking problem!

“Get your kicks on Route 66!”

BB is a beast! I bet you can't wait to test the truck in a more suitable environment...

[Ray Cecil]

BB is a beast! I bet you can't wait to test the truck in a more suitable environment...

Great pics Gary!!

[grumpin]

Yes, they do drink to excess. But, it used to get 11 to 12 MPG in those conditions with a worn out engine and no overdrive.

As for the video, our day was rough, but not like that!

May get better as it breaks in. I hope!

[85lebaront2]

Ok, it is morning and I thinking a bit better. Here are lots of observations, in no particular order:

• Ride: Big Blue is a brute. The ride is better, but not good. Maybe the air bags will help as it seems like the rear is where the biggest jolt comes from. You get a bump from the front and a jolt from the rear. As long as you have him on the superslab it isn't bad. But old 2-lane concrete roads are rough.

• Noise: He's a lot quieter with the Magnaflows than the cherry bombs, but there's still an exhaust note as you accelerate. I sure didn't go too big with the mufflers. And in one RPM range, which appears to be 1700 - 1800, there is resonance. Unfortunately that seems to be 63 - 65 MPH in 5th gear, so you want to be under or over that if you have the windows closed. And the tires are NOISY! Now that the cab is fairly well insulated and sound deadened you hear those tires for sure. I still need to put sound deadening in the doors, so that may help some on the tire noise. And if the A/C was working we could have had the windows up, which would have muffled the tires quite a bit.

• Fuel: We are jetted a bit lean. On a flat road running maybe 65 MPH it'll be showing right in the middle of the 14's, like 14.5. But ease into it on hills and the AFR will go up into the 15's before the needles pop up and the AFR drops to the 13's. That says to me that the springs are too light as the needles aren't coming up until the vacuum drops a bunch. As for MPG, I would have thought that running right on 14.5 would give good MPG, but we only got 10.6 MPG on the front tank, and that was mostly at 55 to 65 MPH.

• Steering: It wanders a bit. Not bad at all, but it isn't like a new truck. Dad's truck was much easier to drive when it had a well-worn steering system in it

All in all it was a fun trip. We were reminded of how we used to travel when we were kids, before A/C and before the interstate system. Windows down, noise flooding in, narrow 2-lane concrete roads with serious expansion joints, and towns every 10 miles. Lots of things to see and smell, but progress was slow.

And, here are some pics. First, this is the Round Barn on Route 66.

And here we are just a couple miles down the road at Pop's:

:

And, finally, at a steel bridge over Deep Fork River:

Gary, I noticed that when the alignment was finished he had you set at 0° caster, Caster is what helps center the steering and reduces wander. The other extreme was my Shelby 2° positive caster, it would snap the wheel straight if you let go of it.

On my 1958 F100 2WD I have no idea where it was set, but for quite a while after I put the 312 in it was prone to a "death wobble" for no apparent reason. Since it sat lower in the front than the 223 did, I bought a pair of 1/2 length helper springs at Pep Boys and installed them on the rear side of the front springs. This had two effects, it raised the front of the truck a bit and rotated the axle beam toward a more positive caster setting. No more "death wobble" and much better directional stability.

I have driven a number of miles in a live axle 4WD truck, a USMC M37B1 W/winch. It was a handful at it's maximum top speed of 62 mph. I imagine part of the problem was the trucks sat with rear high empty which probably put the caster at or near 0° and possibly even a slight negative value.

I would ask if maybe a 1/2° positive caster might help drivability on pavement.

[Gary Lewis]

Gary, I noticed that when the alignment was finished he had you set at 0° caster, Caster is what helps center the steering and reduces wander. The other extreme was my Shelby 2° positive caster, it would snap the wheel straight if you let go of it.

On my 1958 F100 2WD I have no idea where it was set, but for quite a while after I put the 312 in it was prone to a "death wobble" for no apparent reason. Since it sat lower in the front than the 223 did, I bought a pair of 1/2 length helper springs at Pep Boys and installed them on the rear side of the front springs. This had two effects, it raised the front of the truck a bit and rotated the axle beam toward a more positive caster setting. No more "death wobble" and much better directional stability.

I have driven a number of miles in a live axle 4WD truck, a USMC M37B1 W/winch. It was a handful at it's maximum top speed of 62 mph. I imagine part of the problem was the trucks sat with rear high empty which probably put the caster at or near 0° and possibly even a slight negative value.

I would ask if maybe a 1/2° positive caster might help drivability on pavement.

Bill - I think you were thinking of the 0 on toe. It looks to me like it is at 3.2 and 3.4 degrees of caster. Right?

But there's room for more caster and still be in the range. I think I'll drive it this way some more and then see if I want to dial in more. My observation of it wandering was made when I was worn to a frazzle, so perhaps it was me and not the truck?

[85lebaront2]

Bill - I think you were thinking of the 0 on toe. It looks to me like it is at 3.2 and 3.4 degrees of caster. Right?

But there's room for more caster and still be in the range. I think I'll drive it this way some more and then see if I want to dial in more. My observation of it wandering was made when I was worn to a frazzle, so perhaps it was me and not the truck?

Ok, my memory of your alignment was wrong then. I know that toe on 4WD (along with FWD) is a fine balancing act to give decent handling and tire life. At least on a 4WD the front is the "auxiliary" drive where a FWD it is the only drive.

I am not sure who first realized that unequal length drive axles on a FWD can and frequently will give "torque steer" but I know Chrysler used them from the beginning on the turbocharged 4 cyl cars as the turbo was originally to bring the performance of the K car based sedans up to what Ford and GM were producing with V6 engines.

[Ray Cecil]

Bill - I think you were thinking of the 0 on toe. It looks to me like it is at 3.2 and 3.4 degrees of caster. Right?

But there's room for more caster and still be in the range. I think I'll drive it this way some more and then see if I want to dial in more. My observation of it wandering was made when I was worn to a frazzle, so perhaps it was me and not the truck?

Gary.....I am pretty sure I had caster angle backwards. Which probably explains my wandering....In my head it made sense that positive caster meant the opposite of what is in this pic. So....I think I have some tinkering to do.