66gtk Posted October 18, 2019 Author Share Posted October 18, 2019 I agree with Gary about Edlebrock Performer RPM intake. The regular "Performer 289" would be a better choice for a truck. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/edl-2121 For a replacement carburetor, I think a much better option would be the Summit Racing 500cfm carburetor: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-m08500vs If you decide to go with the Edelbrock intake manifold and a 4-barrel carburetor, you are going to have to do something with your stock AOD TV rod. It will not work with an aftermarket carburetor. So you can add an aftermarket Lokar TV cable to the parts list: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/lok-kd-2aodu/overview/ The simplest solution would be to find an older, non-emissions style Autolite 2100 carburetor (in the same size) to replace your stock Motorcraft 2150. You can swap out the throttle shaft to retain the use of the AOD TV rod. Awesome feedback guys. Thank you. Is this the proper linkage setup for my 83 AOD TV rod? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LARIAT 85 Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 Awesome feedback guys. Thank you. Is this the proper linkage setup for my 83 AOD TV rod? Yes, it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
66gtk Posted October 19, 2019 Author Share Posted October 19, 2019 Yes, it is. Awesome - I had a condition Thursday where the truck could not idle at all. I had the carb rebuilt and now it runs good! Still running on all the original CA EEC-III emissions and electronics. Kind of crazy, if you ask me. I suppose, for now, I'll keep it all installed until I can't make it work anymore. It starts really easy, idles well and doesn't stink at all like a typical carbureted vehicle. Still has original cat and exhaust - no leaks I could find yet. 80K miles on the odometer. A photo from today's drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted October 19, 2019 Share Posted October 19, 2019 Awesome - I had a condition Thursday where the truck could not idle at all. I had the carb rebuilt and now it runs good! Still running on all the original CA EEC-III emissions and electronics. Kind of crazy, if you ask me. I suppose, for now, I'll keep it all installed until I can't make it work anymore. It starts really easy, idles well and doesn't stink at all like a typical carbureted vehicle. Still has original cat and exhaust - no leaks I could find yet. 80K miles on the odometer. A photo from today's drive. Now that it is running well I'd leave it. And if you start having problems you should look for a cracked vacuum hose. As you know, you have 4.3 miles of it under the hood, and all of it is OLD! By the way, that is a GREAT LOOKING truck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
66gtk Posted October 19, 2019 Author Share Posted October 19, 2019 Now that it is running well I'd leave it. And if you start having problems you should look for a cracked vacuum hose. As you know, you have 4.3 miles of it under the hood, and all of it is OLD! By the way, that is a GREAT LOOKING truck! Thanks Gary - that's one of my winter projects.....go through and start replacing vacuum hoses. I probably won't get to it, though. My unheated garage get's VERY VERY cold in the winter up here in MN. It's not even insulated so I can't heat it even if I try with portable heaters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted October 19, 2019 Share Posted October 19, 2019 Awesome - I had a condition Thursday where the truck could not idle at all. I had the carb rebuilt and now it runs good! Still running on all the original CA EEC-III emissions and electronics. Kind of crazy, if you ask me. I suppose, for now, I'll keep it all installed until I can't make it work anymore. It starts really easy, idles well and doesn't stink at all like a typical carbureted vehicle. Still has original cat and exhaust - no leaks I could find yet. 80K miles on the odometer. A photo from today's drive. BEAUTIFUL truck! When I said it was a time machine, I had no idea how right I was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85lebaront2 Posted October 19, 2019 Share Posted October 19, 2019 BEAUTIFUL truck! When I said it was a time machine, I had no idea how right I was. I agree, it is a beautiful truck, and really is a time machine. Those EEC-III systems, when in good order were pretty damn good, much better than some of the competitions systems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LARIAT 85 Posted October 19, 2019 Share Posted October 19, 2019 Awesome - I had a condition Thursday where the truck could not idle at all. I had the carb rebuilt and now it runs good! Still running on all the original CA EEC-III emissions and electronics. Kind of crazy, if you ask me. I suppose, for now, I'll keep it all installed until I can't make it work anymore. It starts really easy, idles well and doesn't stink at all like a typical carbureted vehicle. Still has original cat and exhaust - no leaks I could find yet. 80K miles on the odometer. A photo from today's drive. That is a mighty fine looking old Ford! To answer the original question you asked in your title: NO, it is *not* time to convert it. Since you have a nice, original, unmolested truck, I would leave it completely stock. The EEC-III was a really good system, and is obviously very reliable. It will continue to be reliable and run great as long as you don't try to modify or delete anything. You will gain very little by converting it to something else, and will stand to lose much more in the process. Conversions are only for the ones who are not so lucky and get a hacked up truck with missing components. Congratulations on fixing it the right way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
66gtk Posted March 20, 2020 Author Share Posted March 20, 2020 OK folks...I've gotten good help and advice here and I want to revive this discussion. A quick update to where we left off in the fall. Shortly after having the carb rebuilt I had to put it away for the winter. By shortly, I mean less than a week. During that week the truck started acting up pretty much from day one - right after posting the update. I'll explain the issue: Intermittent off-idle and near idle stumbling: - First, the good - starts up easily every time now. Restarts easily - EFI like type easy. Idles fine when cold or hot after starting. Does not stink like a rich fuel issue or blow smoke. Very clean burning system right now. The first few off-idle accelerations from a stop are generally really good after a cold start. Once warmed up, things become inconsistent. Once cruising on highway or at steady load it seems to run fine. Only when transitioning between certain loads does it have the intermittent "falling on it's ass" syndrome - Now, back to the issue... There are 2 general subtypes of the issue, but I think they are both the same, which relate to very poor fuel delivery issues off-idle or near idle. Gas is fresh and new fuel filters are in place in a couple locations and I will continue to monitor and change these as necessary. 1. After stopped at a light or sign with really good idle performance the truck will stumble and stall if I don't modulate the throttle by blipping the accelerator a certain way. It will also completely kill out in the middle of an intersection if I fail to revive it with my right foot. Once it takes off, it will either pull away with good power and load or it will act as if it's not getting any fuel despite the throttle being applied and will not accelerate with any power. If I reset the accelerator pedal I can sometimes get the truck to act much differently within a second. This behavior is highly unpredictable and inconsistent. I would say after driving about 100 miles so far the past 2 weeks it will do this 50 percent of the time. 2. While cruising under load on HWY or on the boulevard if I decelerate by pulling foot from the throttle in a quick manner the engine will struggle and start bucking while nearly dying. It will sometimes die as I roll into the full stop after doing this bucking (you can hear it) but it's not frequent. It can do it while backing off throttle to prepare for an exit ramp. Again, highly inconsistent and this #2 behavior is far more infrequent now than he 1st behavior described. When truck has good constant throttle response and power it feels really good to me and the transmission shifts at proper shift points very well and dare I say even nice and smooth. No slipping. When the throttle response is eratic it seems like the truck fails to respond to throttle well, as if it's in a really high gear, even though it isn't necessarily so. Kind of like when you miss a 2-3 shift in a standard transmission and hit 5th gear instead. That's what the truck feels like - it's bogging bad when it behaves this way. A moment later it's fine, and then it misbehaves again and then it's fine.... it's maddening. These issues are all related to an acceleration or deceleration change demand. My throttle is very stiff, too. We have examined and adjusted the throttle cable as much as we could - no binding. I have ordered a new throttle cable to try but have not installed it yet. You can see in the photos above that it's factory - likely the original. Thanks for following along - I know it's a lot to absorb. My wrencher friend who works on this truck for me thinks it's related to the EEC trying/failing to do it's job but he honestly doesn't know. We did play with adjusting the accelerator pump arm but didn't notice any improvement. We followed the advice learned here and elsewhere to ensure the distributor and rotor are properly phased and we are running the correct goofy rotor and the correct goofy timing order that goes with it in respect to wiring the ignition wires to the distributor. You will notice in the photo I shared earlier it was using the traditional rotor and firing order, which was wrong. Strangely, the truck didn't behave any different either way. Plugs, wires, rotor, cap all brand new. Any suggestions before I pull out all the CA stuff? Please keep in mind I'm not a mechanic so plain English is often required as well as step by step instructions / photos. Thanks so much!! Troy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 OK folks...I've gotten good help and advice here and I want to revive this discussion. A quick update to where we left off in the fall. Shortly after having the carb rebuilt I had to put it away for the winter. By shortly, I mean less than a week. During that week the truck started acting up pretty much from day one - right after posting the update. I'll explain the issue: Intermittent off-idle and near idle stumbling: - First, the good - starts up easily every time now. Restarts easily - EFI like type easy. Idles fine when cold or hot after starting. Does not stink like a rich fuel issue or blow smoke. Very clean burning system right now. The first few off-idle accelerations from a stop are generally really good after a cold start. Once warmed up, things become inconsistent. Once cruising on highway or at steady load it seems to run fine. Only when transitioning between certain loads does it have the intermittent "falling on it's ass" syndrome - Now, back to the issue... There are 2 general subtypes of the issue, but I think they are both the same, which relate to very poor fuel delivery issues off-idle or near idle. Gas is fresh and new fuel filters are in place in a couple locations and I will continue to monitor and change these as necessary. 1. After stopped at a light or sign with really good idle performance the truck will stumble and stall if I don't modulate the throttle by blipping the accelerator a certain way. It will also completely kill out in the middle of an intersection if I fail to revive it with my right foot. Once it takes off, it will either pull away with good power and load or it will act as if it's not getting any fuel despite the throttle being applied and will not accelerate with any power. If I reset the accelerator pedal I can sometimes get the truck to act much differently within a second. This behavior is highly unpredictable and inconsistent. I would say after driving about 100 miles so far the past 2 weeks it will do this 50 percent of the time. 2. While cruising under load on HWY or on the boulevard if I decelerate by pulling foot from the throttle in a quick manner the engine will struggle and start bucking while nearly dying. It will sometimes die as I roll into the full stop after doing this bucking (you can hear it) but it's not frequent. It can do it while backing off throttle to prepare for an exit ramp. Again, highly inconsistent and this #2 behavior is far more infrequent now than he 1st behavior described. When truck has good constant throttle response and power it feels really good to me and the transmission shifts at proper shift points very well and dare I say even nice and smooth. No slipping. When the throttle response is eratic it seems like the truck fails to respond to throttle well, as if it's in a really high gear, even though it isn't necessarily so. Kind of like when you miss a 2-3 shift in a standard transmission and hit 5th gear instead. That's what the truck feels like - it's bogging bad when it behaves this way. A moment later it's fine, and then it misbehaves again and then it's fine.... it's maddening. These issues are all related to an acceleration or deceleration change demand. My throttle is very stiff, too. We have examined and adjusted the throttle cable as much as we could - no binding. I have ordered a new throttle cable to try but have not installed it yet. You can see in the photos above that it's factory - likely the original. Thanks for following along - I know it's a lot to absorb. My wrencher friend who works on this truck for me thinks it's related to the EEC trying/failing to do it's job but he honestly doesn't know. We did play with adjusting the accelerator pump arm but didn't notice any improvement. We followed the advice learned here and elsewhere to ensure the distributor and rotor are properly phased and we are running the correct goofy rotor and the correct goofy timing order that goes with it in respect to wiring the ignition wires to the distributor. You will notice in the photo I shared earlier it was using the traditional rotor and firing order, which was wrong. Strangely, the truck didn't behave any different either way. Plugs, wires, rotor, cap all brand new. Any suggestions before I pull out all the CA stuff? Please keep in mind I'm not a mechanic so plain English is often required as well as step by step instructions / photos. Thanks so much!! Troy Troy - Can you do us a favor and create a signature that tells us about the truck? I went back to the email you sent this morning and I know it is an '83 CA f150 with a 302. But the others won't. The signature creation info is on the Bullnose Forum/Forum FAQ's page. The problems you've described sound like a throttle position sensor issue. If the ECA doesn't know where the throttle is it will cause all sorts of problems, and your issues seem to be associated with changing the throttle position. The 1983 EVTM doesn't provide any testing info on the TPS, other than to say it "sends one of three signals to the ECA to indicate closed, partially open, or wide open throttle". Then it says to "Read Section 29 of the Shop Manual." But the only piece of the '83 shop manual that I have is the Engine section, and it ends at Section 28. Maybe someone else has the '83 FSM? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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