My 1984 F150 2wd Flareside Project "Blue Mule"

[Ray Cecil]

Cory, you wanted my stock 1 barrel air. Leaner assembly didnt you? Someone did...

Ray, I probably did at one point as I was trying to gather all of the parts to built the '85 that I had briefly.

I have since abandoned that project and everything I had collected for it is now gone.

No problem.

[Rembrant]

Cory, how did the color of the NOS armrest pad compare?

David, the colors are quite different, but it's not the armrest that is the issue...it's the paint I used that is obviously too dark. I was going to send you some pictures. I might paint the armrest just to keep it all uniform, but I don't think there's much left in my paint cans besides fumes...

[1986F150Six]

Cory, how did the color of the NOS armrest pad compare?

David, the colors are quite different, but it's not the armrest that is the issue...it's the paint I used that is obviously too dark. I was going to send you some pictures. I might paint the armrest just to keep it all uniform, but I don't think there's much left in my paint cans besides fumes...

I asked because there is the possibility that the NOS armrest pad "had not seen the light of day", so perhaps would be a standard for comparison?

Your project is always fun to follow!

[Rembrant]

Cory, how did the color of the NOS armrest pad compare?

David, the colors are quite different, but it's not the armrest that is the issue...it's the paint I used that is obviously too dark. I was going to send you some pictures. I might paint the armrest just to keep it all uniform, but I don't think there's much left in my paint cans besides fumes...

Just wanted to update my project thread with a picture of my "OBD" on the highway today. This was in 5th, at about 65 MPH and 1900-2000 RPM cruising along on fairly level ground. Seems to cycle between 13.9-14.3, so that is not bad. It is working so well now I don't even want to touch the carb...lol. It's a little blurry, I know...but best I could do while driving. (It is reading 14.2 in the pic)

The old truck is running really nicely now, and smoother too...both in the engine and wheels. I had all four wheels Road-Force balanced and put the worst ones on the rear, and I think I actually have the engine dialed in pretty much where I want it now.

[grumpin]

Just wanted to update my project thread with a picture of my "OBD" on the highway today. This was in 5th, at about 65 MPH and 1900-2000 RPM cruising along on fairly level ground. Seems to cycle between 13.9-14.3, so that is not bad. It is working so well now I don't even want to touch the carb...lol. It's a little blurry, I know...but best I could do while driving. (It is reading 14.2 in the pic)

The old truck is running really nicely now, and smoother too...both in the engine and wheels. I had all four wheels Road-Force balanced and put the worst ones on the rear, and I think I actually have the engine dialed in pretty much where I want it now.

That’s great!

Where did you get the gauge?

[Gary Lewis]

Just wanted to update my project thread with a picture of my "OBD" on the highway today. This was in 5th, at about 65 MPH and 1900-2000 RPM cruising along on fairly level ground. Seems to cycle between 13.9-14.3, so that is not bad. It is working so well now I don't even want to touch the carb...lol. It's a little blurry, I know...but best I could do while driving. (It is reading 14.2 in the pic)

The old truck is running really nicely now, and smoother too...both in the engine and wheels. I had all four wheels Road-Force balanced and put the worst ones on the rear, and I think I actually have the engine dialed in pretty much where I want it now.

Yes, what AFR meter is that? And is it a wide band?

I ask because I have an Edelbrock narrow band and learned that all it can really do is to tell you if you are lean or rich, but not truly how lean or rich. From what I've read, a narrow band is right at 14.7 AFR, but not elsewhere.

In any event, it looks like you have your truck dialed in. Wonderful! Can't wait to see what kind of MPG you get.

[Rembrant]

Yes, what AFR meter is that? And is it a wide band?

I ask because I have an Edelbrock narrow band and learned that all it can really do is to tell you if you are lean or rich, but not truly how lean or rich. From what I've read, a narrow band is right at 14.7 AFR, but not elsewhere.

In any event, it looks like you have your truck dialed in. Wonderful! Can't wait to see what kind of MPG you get.

The gauge is the AEM 30-4110 kit.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/avm-30-4110

The first one failed right out of the box, but AEM was super cool about it and rushed a brand new kit to me within a couple days. The one I bought was one of a bad batch apparently.

I have it installed in the RH exhaust just past the starter, so it's a little bit close to the last cylinder (and it's at the wrong/not recommended angle) but it seems to work well, and my readings are consistent. I never really intended to leave the gauge installed...it was more for diagnostics to get everything dialed in. It sure is nice though, to see how well the truck is running.

Would you guys consider 13.9-14.2:1 a decent AFR for highway cruising? It seems like it is running a little richer now that it has warmed up a bit. Does that make any sense? When I was taking it out earlier in the year when it was still pretty cold, it seemed to be running leaner...more in the 14:7-14.9 range.

I might switch the jets back to stock (#66). When we were dyno tuning this engine, the technician ended up installing #68 jets. That was with long tube headers and a more open exhaust. It was my understanding that Holleys usually run rich, but I guess my little 302 was moving enough air to lean it out.

Oh...and I still want one of those Summit M2008 500CFM carbs, but that will probably have to wait until things are better economically. In any case, it's all just chatter in my mind at the moment....it's working the best it has ever worked since I've had it, and that alone makes me not want to touch it...lol.

 

[Gary Lewis]

The gauge is the AEM 30-4110 kit.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/avm-30-4110

The first one failed right out of the box, but AEM was super cool about it and rushed a brand new kit to me within a couple days. The one I bought was one of a bad batch apparently.

I have it installed in the RH exhaust just past the starter, so it's a little bit close to the last cylinder (and it's at the wrong/not recommended angle) but it seems to work well, and my readings are consistent. I never really intended to leave the gauge installed...it was more for diagnostics to get everything dialed in. It sure is nice though, to see how well the truck is running.

Would you guys consider 13.9-14.2:1 a decent AFR for highway cruising? It seems like it is running a little richer now that it has warmed up a bit. Does that make any sense? When I was taking it out earlier in the year when it was still pretty cold, it seemed to be running leaner...more in the 14:7-14.9 range.

I might switch the jets back to stock (#66). When we were dyno tuning this engine, the technician ended up installing #68 jets. That was with long tube headers and a more open exhaust. It was my understanding that Holleys usually run rich, but I guess my little 302 was moving enough air to lean it out.

Oh...and I still want one of those Summit M2008 500CFM carbs, but that will probably have to wait until things are better economically. In any case, it's all just chatter in my mind at the moment....it's working the best it has ever worked since I've had it, and that alone makes me not want to touch it...lol.

Oh, I forgot you got the AEM. Should be a good gauge.

But, I think 13.9 - 14.2 is a bit rich. I'd be shooting for 14.7 if you are running pure gas. That's the stoichiometric ratio, meaning where supposedly all the fuel will be burned. However, since you are seeing the average of the cylinders on that bank then some may be leaner and some richer than that. So to me 14.7 is a good target, and it'll help your MPG.

As for it being higher in cold weather, certainly. Colder air is more dense and has more oxygen molecules per unit of volume than warm air. And since the carb doesn't know the difference, it doesn't give cold air any more fuel than the same volume of hot air. So fuel/air ratios in cold air are leaner than in warm air - unless you have a fully functional factory air cleaner system that keeps the air at a constant temp. And even then there is some variance.

[grumpin]

Oh, I forgot you got the AEM. Should be a good gauge.

But, I think 13.9 - 14.2 is a bit rich. I'd be shooting for 14.7 if you are running pure gas. That's the stoichiometric ratio, meaning where supposedly all the fuel will be burned. However, since you are seeing the average of the cylinders on that bank then some may be leaner and some richer than that. So to me 14.7 is a good target, and it'll help your MPG.

As for it being higher in cold weather, certainly. Colder air is more dense and has more oxygen molecules per unit of volume than warm air. And since the carb doesn't know the difference, it doesn't give cold air any more fuel than the same volume of hot air. So fuel/air ratios in cold air are leaner than in warm air - unless you have a fully functional factory air cleaner system that keeps the air at a constant temp. And even then there is some variance.

This is interesting! I’ve never adjusted per AFR.

That’s a handy gauge.

[Rembrant]

The gauge is the AEM 30-4110 kit.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/avm-30-4110

The first one failed right out of the box, but AEM was super cool about it and rushed a brand new kit to me within a couple days. The one I bought was one of a bad batch apparently.

I have it installed in the RH exhaust just past the starter, so it's a little bit close to the last cylinder (and it's at the wrong/not recommended angle) but it seems to work well, and my readings are consistent. I never really intended to leave the gauge installed...it was more for diagnostics to get everything dialed in. It sure is nice though, to see how well the truck is running.

Would you guys consider 13.9-14.2:1 a decent AFR for highway cruising? It seems like it is running a little richer now that it has warmed up a bit. Does that make any sense? When I was taking it out earlier in the year when it was still pretty cold, it seemed to be running leaner...more in the 14:7-14.9 range.

I might switch the jets back to stock (#66). When we were dyno tuning this engine, the technician ended up installing #68 jets. That was with long tube headers and a more open exhaust. It was my understanding that Holleys usually run rich, but I guess my little 302 was moving enough air to lean it out.

Oh...and I still want one of those Summit M2008 500CFM carbs, but that will probably have to wait until things are better economically. In any case, it's all just chatter in my mind at the moment....it's working the best it has ever worked since I've had it, and that alone makes me not want to touch it...lol.

I didn't want to Highjack the other thread any further so I popped back here where I belong, and I guess I have some good news! So my truck has been hard to start this spring, and since I did a bunch of things over the winter, I wasn't quite sure what was causing it...other than possibly a lazy 36 year old starter. Anyway, I swapped my old original DSII ignition module back in the truck this morning, and now I have my crisp, clean, quick starts back! So I guess (possibly) my new Ford DSII module does not have the retard function during starting. Maybe I'll keep the new one behind the seat as a spare instead of my old original one with the wires that are stiff as steel.

Or start hunting for an 80's NOS DSII module on Ebay.