Big Blue's Transformation

[Gary Lewis]

Just make sure it's not a train coming at you

Well, if it is another train it sure is a slow one.

Ok, the first thing to report is the RuffStuff u-bolts came in today. Boy are they heavy, and the threads look great. Hope to install them soon - after I get the wiring sorted.

Speaking of wiring, I did get the wiring for the windshield washer re-routed today. I pulled the Bk/Wh wire from the connector to the windshield switch and the Bk wire from the connector to the ground up by the driver's headlight out of another harness today. Then I stripped the convolute and tape off of the harness in the truck back to near the firewall and spliced the connector in there. That gave me enough factory wire to run across firewall to the reservoir, and then from there to the ground on the fender. Done.

Then I put the aux battery tray, EFI air filter bracket, battery isolator, and EFI PDB in place. In the pic below you can see, right to left, the EFI air box bracket, the battery isolator, the EFI PDB, and then an oval showing where I plan to put the megafuse that will go between isolator and the aux power relay.

Here's another look at things showing, from left to right, the aux battery tray, the EFI air box bracket, and then the EFI PDB and the battery isolator on the right. The isolator is very close to the PDB, but it is workable. However, note the unused space where the red oval is. I'm going to look at the possibility of moving the isolator there.

[85lebaront2]

Well, if it is another train it sure is a slow one.

Ok, the first thing to report is the RuffStuff u-bolts came in today. Boy are they heavy, and the threads look great. Hope to install them soon - after I get the wiring sorted.

Speaking of wiring, I did get the wiring for the windshield washer re-routed today. I pulled the Bk/Wh wire from the connector to the windshield switch and the Bk wire from the connector to the ground up by the driver's headlight out of another harness today. Then I stripped the convolute and tape off of the harness in the truck back to near the firewall and spliced the connector in there. That gave me enough factory wire to run across firewall to the reservoir, and then from there to the ground on the fender. Done.

Then I put the aux battery tray, EFI air filter bracket, battery isolator, and EFI PDB in place. In the pic below you can see, right to left, the EFI air box bracket, the battery isolator, the EFI PDB, and then an oval showing where I plan to put the megafuse that will go between isolator and the aux power relay.

Here's another look at things showing, from left to right, the aux battery tray, the EFI air box bracket, and then the EFI PDB and the battery isolator on the right. The isolator is very close to the PDB, but it is workable. However, note the unused space where the red oval is. I'm going to look at the possibility of moving the isolator there.

Ok, just going to run some items past you for some "sanity checks" before you get too far along with the wiring, component locations etc. I assume you are not going to be using the original jack, in fact I seem to remember you saying that. If so then the clip location for the jack handle becomes academic. Your air filer mount has a bracket on it for the EEC power and fuel pump relays, because that is where Ford put them in 1990, you obviously will not be using those. The EFI PDC mount should have a place on the back side for the 2 or 4 relay mount. My PDC appears to be in roughly the same location your is, but I am basing that on the inner fender "rib" in front of it. I don't know if the 1985 inner fender rib is in the same location as the 1990.

In any event, will the air duct for the filter reach to the box location? With everything mounted, will you still be able to reach what you need to for service?

Here are the closest similar ones I have on Darth:

A further thought, since you will have two batteries up front and a pretty hefty wire connecting them, minimum have mega fuses on both ends so in the unlikely even of an accident if the wire is cut/pinched or otherwise damaged you won't have a battery trying to start BB on fire. I would possibly consider running the connecting cable back and across the firewall, That is how I had my dual batteries on my 1977 set up with the pickup camper. I just had a 90 amp 1G alternator and a standard Bosch 40 amp relay to charge the camper battery. When we camped with it, if I had electric power I had a trickle charger on the house battery to keep it up and a big set of jumper cables just in case. FWIW, I jumped a friends C30 crew cab dually 454 with the 77, it cranked faster off my jumper cables than he had ever seen it do.

[Gary Lewis]

Ok, just going to run some items past you for some "sanity checks" before you get too far along with the wiring, component locations etc. I assume you are not going to be using the original jack, in fact I seem to remember you saying that. If so then the clip location for the jack handle becomes academic. Your air filer mount has a bracket on it for the EEC power and fuel pump relays, because that is where Ford put them in 1990, you obviously will not be using those. The EFI PDC mount should have a place on the back side for the 2 or 4 relay mount. My PDC appears to be in roughly the same location your is, but I am basing that on the inner fender "rib" in front of it. I don't know if the 1985 inner fender rib is in the same location as the 1990.

In any event, will the air duct for the filter reach to the box location? With everything mounted, will you still be able to reach what you need to for service?

Here are the closest similar ones I have on Darth:

A further thought, since you will have two batteries up front and a pretty hefty wire connecting them, minimum have mega fuses on both ends so in the unlikely even of an accident if the wire is cut/pinched or otherwise damaged you won't have a battery trying to start BB on fire. I would possibly consider running the connecting cable back and across the firewall, That is how I had my dual batteries on my 1977 set up with the pickup camper. I just had a 90 amp 1G alternator and a standard Bosch 40 amp relay to charge the camper battery. When we camped with it, if I had electric power I had a trickle charger on the house battery to keep it up and a big set of jumper cables just in case. FWIW, I jumped a friends C30 crew cab dually 454 with the 77, it cranked faster off my jumper cables than he had ever seen it do.

Bill - Good points. Let me address them:

• Factory Jack, Handle, & Lug Wrench: All of them are in the attic and a 3 ton bottle jack is in the tool box. Had to take the jack out to get the passenger's side PDB in. And the @#$%^&* little clips have been removed from the radiator support so they won't cut me anymore. Plus the lug wrench's clip has been removed and the hole is holding the back of that piece of aluminum the isolator is mounted on in the pic above

• Hefty Wire: That's a factory wire from a 90's truck and it has two fusible links on the passenger's end. And since it will be protected by the isolator on the driver's end I don't think a fuse is needed there. As for running over the firewall, it might fit, but Ford ran it over the radiator support so that's where I ran it. It is protected by convolute and neatly zip tied in, so I think it'll be fine. I hope.

• Isolator Location: This is more to me than you. In a pic above I realized that I could turn the isolator 90 degrees CW and it would back up to the air box and have more room to the PDB. I went out and checked and it'll work nicely. HOWEVER, I have to remember that if I mount it to the air box's bracket then I'll have to run that bracket starting now as I need the isolator to be in place. So tomorrow I need to think through where and how I want to mount it. And one possibility is to make an L-bracket that gets held in by the rear bolt of the air box bracket and bolt the isolator to that. Then when the air box goes in they'll share that bolt and the isolator can stay right there.

• Rear Tabs On PDB: I'm kind of reserving those tabs for the 4-relay box in case I want to go that way. My thinking right now is to leave the trailer and tank selector relays where they are. That would mean just going with the trailer running and tail lights being on a relay and the brake & backup lights still tied to the truck's circuits. But, when I get into it I might decide to do like you and Scott have been suggesting and add relays for the backup and brake lights. And if I do that I'll need a 4-relay box, and hanging it off the back of the PDB might be the way to do it.

• Cold Air Duct: It fits, sorta. I notched the duct, as shown below on the left, as the '85 radiator support's opening isn't big enough to take the whole of the duct. But I shouldn't have cut off the corner, so I'll notch the one on the right to match the one on the left and leave the corner, which I assume is to keep rain and other things from going into the duct. And I see it is on yours. In any event, it does fit into the opening on the radiator support and into the opening on the air box and I can still get to the power steering pump to check the level.

[kramttocs]

And the @#$%^&* little clips have been removed from the radiator support so they won't cut me anymore.

Yes!

Purposefully left those off the 86 as well. I swear those things can locate any piece of loose clothing you have on and attempt to rapidly remove it from your person.

 

[Gary Lewis]

And the @#$%^&* little clips have been removed from the radiator support so they won't cut me anymore.

Yes!

Purposefully left those off the 86 as well. I swear those things can locate any piece of loose clothing you have on and attempt to rapidly remove it from your person.

Not only clothing, but skin! I've had several cuts from them as that thin spring steel with square corners will certainly cut.

[1986F150Six]

Not only clothing, but skin! I've had several cuts from them as that thin spring steel with square corners will certainly cut.

Gary, you have accomplished so much with this project. Your work is impressive [always!], but I wonder as the engine bay continues to be filled, have you ever considered staying with carburetion and calling it finished? I kind of like that idea and think the dual snorkle air cleaner fits the appearance of our era trucks.

[Gary Lewis]

Gary, you have accomplished so much with this project. Your work is impressive [always!], but I wonder as the engine bay continues to be filled, have you ever considered staying with carburetion and calling it finished? I kind of like that idea and think the dual snorkle air cleaner fits the appearance of our era trucks.

Thanks, David.

Your question is a good one. And yes, I've considered staying with a carb on Big Blue, especially since the engine bay has gotten so crammed. But I think I've passed the point of no return on this project. Everything is now essentially in place to go with EFI and perhaps half of the work is already done.

And here's my thinking of why I should go on:

• AFR: I watch the AFR and I'm not at all impressed with what I'm seeing out of the carb. It idles at 11 or so, and while I can tweak it to lean it out, then I run into problems until it warms up. And during cruise it is rarely at 14:1 unless the road is level and I'm "at speed". Any other time it is below or above the ideal. But the EFI will sort all of that out.

• Altitude: Basically the same as AFR explanation above, but even if I got the AFR sorted out here at 700' above sea level it would be wrong this summer when we go to 11,000' in Colorado. But the EFI will compensate perfectly.

• Maintainability: By going with the EEC-V system anyone with a scanner can figure out what the problem is and fix it. So my kids, which aren't mechanically inclined, will have a better chance of keeping it going.

• Intake Manifold: From what I've read the EFI intake wasn't designed for both fuel and air. And according to Scotty it is a "big" manifold, meaning its large runners won't keep the air/fuel mix moving rapidly and that means the fuel can drop out of suspension at low RPM. And that fits with what I've seen as this engine doesn't pull very well until you get to maybe 1300 RPM. Unfortunately the heads on the engine won't take the carb-style manifolds.

The bottom line is that I really think I need to move on with the plan to go with EFI on Big Blue - although not until late this year. HOWEVER, I am now seriously considering staying with a carb on Dad's truck. The crammed aspect of the engine compartment puts me off. And the intake on the engine is for a carb and I'd have to pull it and install an EFI intake. Plus, staying with a carb will allow me to use the dual-snorkel air cleaner for a really cool look.

Having said that, if I do want to go with EFI on Dad's truck I might go with something like the Holley Sniper. It replaces the carb so I can stay with the intake manifold and air cleaner, and doesn't add a bunch of extra wiring under the hood. It would provide a good AFR, although not as good as port injection. But with the O2 sensors it would be better than a carb.

Thoughts, y'all?

[Sac79]

Thanks, David.

Your question is a good one. And yes, I've considered staying with a carb on Big Blue, especially since the engine bay has gotten so crammed. But I think I've passed the point of no return on this project. Everything is now essentially in place to go with EFI and perhaps half of the work is already done.

And here's my thinking of why I should go on:

• AFR: I watch the AFR and I'm not at all impressed with what I'm seeing out of the carb. It idles at 11 or so, and while I can tweak it to lean it out, then I run into problems until it warms up. And during cruise it is rarely at 14:1 unless the road is level and I'm "at speed". Any other time it is below or above the ideal. But the EFI will sort all of that out.

• Altitude: Basically the same as AFR explanation above, but even if I got the AFR sorted out here at 700' above sea level it would be wrong this summer when we go to 11,000' in Colorado. But the EFI will compensate perfectly.

• Maintainability: By going with the EEC-V system anyone with a scanner can figure out what the problem is and fix it. So my kids, which aren't mechanically inclined, will have a better chance of keeping it going.

• Intake Manifold: From what I've read the EFI intake wasn't designed for both fuel and air. And according to Scotty it is a "big" manifold, meaning its large runners won't keep the air/fuel mix moving rapidly and that means the fuel can drop out of suspension at low RPM. And that fits with what I've seen as this engine doesn't pull very well until you get to maybe 1300 RPM. Unfortunately the heads on the engine won't take the carb-style manifolds.

The bottom line is that I really think I need to move on with the plan to go with EFI on Big Blue - although not until late this year. HOWEVER, I am now seriously considering staying with a carb on Dad's truck. The crammed aspect of the engine compartment puts me off. And the intake on the engine is for a carb and I'd have to pull it and install an EFI intake. Plus, staying with a carb will allow me to use the dual-snorkel air cleaner for a really cool look.

Having said that, if I do want to go with EFI on Dad's truck I might go with something like the Holley Sniper. It replaces the carb so I can stay with the intake manifold and air cleaner, and doesn't add a bunch of extra wiring under the hood. It would provide a good AFR, although not as good as port injection. But with the O2 sensors it would be better than a carb.

Thoughts, y'all?

Sounds logical to me Gary. EFI for the expedition truck and a carb for the classic trailer queen!

What are your kids saying though? Are they buying into this idea of them maintaining their 'siblings' one day?

[Gary Lewis]

Sounds logical to me Gary. EFI for the expedition truck and a carb for the classic trailer queen!

What are your kids saying though? Are they buying into this idea of them maintaining their 'siblings' one day?

Good question, Rob! I've not included them in this discussion. Perhaps I should?

[salans7]

Good question, Rob! I've not included them in this discussion. Perhaps I should?

I would definitely speak to your kids about it if you are planning on passing the truck onto them. Are you sure they would even be interested in it?

I like the idea of the Holley Sniper, and have been thinking about going the same route with my F350.