Rusty_S85 Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 People frequently leave the engine/firewall ground off. But, the Bullnose trucks had a poor ground plan, with the early ones having rear light grounds on the frame. In '84 IIRC they put the rear lights ground in the cab, but you are still dependent upon the engine/cab ground. In the years after the Bullnose era they beefed the grounds up significantly with grounds from the core support to the fenders and from the frame to the cab. Have you seen what I did on Big Blue? You can check it out here, but the diagram I made looks like this: Looks interesting. Bout like what I am doing on the '78 GMC at work that I am putting a sniper on. I got a large 4ga ground strap from the big block to the frame with a long enough bolt to allow a second nut to be placed. Then I ran another 4ga battery cable from this bolt to another bolt through the frame at the battery we mounted under the cab. This bolt is holding the ground strap negative battery cable to the frame and links it directly to the engine via the large 9/16" bolt. I also have a ground strap on the bottom of the cab directly to this same bolt at the battery. This way everything has a direct path to the battery. I dont believe I will be doing this same thing with my truck. I am thinking of having a battery cable ground with a pigtail then run the pig tail to a grounding junction block which I will then route it to my accessories as well as doubling up the OE ground wires at the core support and fender to ensure everything can get back to the battery directly. if my truck doesnt have the strap from the cab to the head I will get a new ground strap and possibly even add a second one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorsai Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 Looks interesting. Bout like what I am doing on the '78 GMC at work that I am putting a sniper on. I got a large 4ga ground strap from the big block to the frame with a long enough bolt to allow a second nut to be placed. Then I ran another 4ga battery cable from this bolt to another bolt through the frame at the battery we mounted under the cab. This bolt is holding the ground strap negative battery cable to the frame and links it directly to the engine via the large 9/16" bolt. I also have a ground strap on the bottom of the cab directly to this same bolt at the battery. This way everything has a direct path to the battery. I dont believe I will be doing this same thing with my truck. I am thinking of having a battery cable ground with a pigtail then run the pig tail to a grounding junction block which I will then route it to my accessories as well as doubling up the OE ground wires at the core support and fender to ensure everything can get back to the battery directly. if my truck doesnt have the strap from the cab to the head I will get a new ground strap and possibly even add a second one. Since I’m hopefully getting new tires in the next couple of weeks, now is the time to repaint the spare rim, like I should have done years ago when I did the other wheels. Got it mostly stripped down today. Hopefully I can get it as far as primer tomorrow and have it ready for a tire by mid-week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted May 15, 2020 Author Share Posted May 15, 2020 Since I’m hopefully getting new tires in the next couple of weeks, now is the time to repaint the spare rim, like I should have done years ago when I did the other wheels. Got it mostly stripped down today. Hopefully I can get it as far as primer tomorrow and have it ready for a tire by mid-week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 Since I’m hopefully getting new tires in the next couple of weeks, now is the time to repaint the spare rim, like I should have done years ago when I did the other wheels. Got it mostly stripped down today. Hopefully I can get it as far as primer tomorrow and have it ready for a tire by mid-week. One wheel at a time Matthew, one wheel at a time.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad9 Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 One wheel at a time Matthew, one wheel at a time.... brought my Underwood light back to life. Drilled out the rivets, repaired the leads and we are good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 brought my Underwood light back to life. Drilled out the rivets, repaired the leads and we are good Cool beans! I'd like to get one of those. Right now I have a bayonet socket in one of the ribs of the hood, with a switch and an 1156. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted May 16, 2020 Author Share Posted May 16, 2020 brought my Underwood light back to life. Drilled out the rivets, repaired the leads and we are good Well done, Chad! I have one of those laying on the bench to be installed on Big Blue. Keep thinking "I could do that today" and then think "but the hood stays open 100% of the time and it would run the battery down." So, I'm holding off. But I don't know what the guts are like on it, so it is good to know you guys had successfully repaired them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorsai Posted May 16, 2020 Share Posted May 16, 2020 Well done, Chad! :nabble_smiley_good:I have one of those laying on the bench to be installed on Big Blue. Keep thinking "I could do that today" and then think "but the hood stays open 100% of the time and it would run the battery down." So, I'm holding off. But I don't know what the guts are like on it, so it is good to know you guys had successfully repaired them.After stripping my spare wheel last night, I've started painting today. It's still a work in progress, so no photos - plus, I haven't bothered masking the tire (since it will be disposed of shortly) so it looks ridiculous.What isn't ridiculous, though, is my other little project today. David/1986F150Six graciously gifted me a nice late 50s Ford hubcap at the last shindig in Skiatook. I've been trying to decide what to do with it ever since, and today it occurred to me - why not use it as a hubcap on my spare? My truck didn't come to me with the under-bed spare tire holder, so one of the first things I did was buy one of those brackets from LMC that lets you mount the spare vertically inside the bed. Works perfectly, but it's not pretty...but I bet it will look nice with a classic Ford hubcap on the tire.The hubcap has been in my garage since September, so it was somewhat grubby. After washing it with soap and water it looked like this:Not bad, but I bet it could look better. The Coke and steel wool trick worked wonders on my interior chrome, I bet it would do well on a hubcap...That's more like it! It's going to finish my spare nicely...so David, thank you again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted May 16, 2020 Author Share Posted May 16, 2020 After stripping my spare wheel last night, I've started painting today. It's still a work in progress, so no photos - plus, I haven't bothered masking the tire (since it will be disposed of shortly) so it looks ridiculous.What isn't ridiculous, though, is my other little project today. David/1986F150Six graciously gifted me a nice late 50s Ford hubcap at the last shindig in Skiatook. I've been trying to decide what to do with it ever since, and today it occurred to me - why not use it as a hubcap on my spare? My truck didn't come to me with the under-bed spare tire holder, so one of the first things I did was buy one of those brackets from LMC that lets you mount the spare vertically inside the bed. Works perfectly, but it's not pretty...but I bet it will look nice with a classic Ford hubcap on the tire.The hubcap has been in my garage since September, so it was somewhat grubby. After washing it with soap and water it looked like this:Not bad, but I bet it could look better. The Coke and steel wool trick worked wonders on my interior chrome, I bet it would do well on a hubcap...That's more like it! It's going to finish my spare nicely...so David, thank you again!Well done, Matthew! That sure cleaned up nicely. :nabble_anim_claps:What wax are you going to use on the hub cab? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorsai Posted May 16, 2020 Share Posted May 16, 2020 Well done, Matthew! That sure cleaned up nicely. What wax are you going to use on the hub cab? An excellent question! Perhaps another quality acquisition from Skiatook? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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