Frank Wyatt Posted September 9, 2023 Share Posted September 9, 2023 That's great! The smaller combustion chambers will raise the compression ratio a bit and give the engine a bit more torque. Plus my pistons are 19cc instead of 24cc and my deck clearance is @ .009 which I calculated at 9.4 comp. with 8.9 dynamic. All my bearing clearances plastiguaged at .001 to .0015 with all standard bearings. I need to finish my heat exchanger plate for my intake{I'll be running the EFI manifolds}. The mounting holes are drilled, I need to get two street elbows and two 5/8 heater hose barbs. I also need to tap the air injection hole for the threaded plug that I have so coolant can't leak into the intake past the carb gaskets. I want to prevent that problem before it can happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted September 9, 2023 Share Posted September 9, 2023 Plus my pistons are 19cc instead of 24cc and my deck clearance is @ .009 which I calculated at 9.4 comp. with 8.9 dynamic. All my bearing clearances plastiguaged at .001 to .0015 with all standard bearings. I need to finish my heat exchanger plate for my intake{I'll be running the EFI manifolds}. The mounting holes are drilled, I need to get two street elbows and two 5/8 heater hose barbs. I also need to tap the air injection hole for the threaded plug that I have so coolant can't leak into the intake past the carb gaskets. I want to prevent that problem before it can happen. That is great news, Frank! Good to hear from you. A pre-emissions head along with your new compression should bring a little beans to your '81 truck. Well done! As I'm known to say, Progress is gooood! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 9, 2023 Author Share Posted September 9, 2023 That is great news, Frank! Good to hear from you. A pre-emissions head along with your new compression should bring a little beans to your '81 truck. Well done! As I'm known to say, Progress is gooood! Yes, this is coming together very nicely! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuzzFace2 Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 Plus my pistons are 19cc instead of 24cc and my deck clearance is @ .009 which I calculated at 9.4 comp. with 8.9 dynamic. All my bearing clearances plastiguaged at .001 to .0015 with all standard bearings. I need to finish my heat exchanger plate for my intake{I'll be running the EFI manifolds}. The mounting holes are drilled, I need to get two street elbows and two 5/8 heater hose barbs. I also need to tap the air injection hole for the threaded plug that I have so coolant can't leak into the intake past the carb gaskets. I want to prevent that problem before it can happen. Where is the air injection hole located? The only thing I was worried about was coolant leaking thru think it was the EGR port in the intake manifold to the EGR plate / valve and the air intake. I was able to get a freeze plug to fit the hole and a little liquid sealer and drive it in worked for me. I did not see any where else coolant could make it into the motor other wise. Dave ---- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted October 16, 2023 Share Posted October 16, 2023 Well I had the trans shop appointment for the Dodge. They replaced the "solenoid body" and changed the fluid and filters (fluid was a bit burned). No troubles with it since then, but I haven't towed with it yet either. Hopefully it's good to go for the rest of the time I own it. I expect to put it to work hauling Oswald around once I get started working on him! (next post on the Dodge) Well, this is a "what did I do with my trucks this weekend", but close enough! It was time to close up my folks cabin. Part of that process is putting the pontoon boat in the garage. It's a TIGHT fit next to the speed boat, even before I also parked Oswald in there! Getting two boats and a full size truck in a 24x24 garage requires much better trailer backing than I'm capable of. So usually I use the front hitch on Oswald to put the pontoon in. But with Oswald needing to be in the garage bofore the pontoon, and with no front hitch on my Dodge, Pluto needed to be conscripted. The work started with hauling Pluto's mud tires up to the cabin now that he's done wuth them for the year. But the mud tires are bigger than the street tires, and harder to pack in. So Pluto wore the mud tires and carried the street tires. I changed the tires up there. Here's the Dodge working to haul Pluto, and Pluto working to haul the tires. Next Pluto pulled the pontoon trailer out of its resting place in the woods (it's too long to fit in the garage)... ... and then to pull the pontoon out of the lake... ... before pushing the pontoon into the garage. Did I mention it's a TIGHT fit? There's about 0.5" between the pontoon and Oswald and about 2" between the pontoon and the fender on the speed boat's trailer. Then since Pluto was there I maneuvered him into position to use his winch to pull the dock out. Normally Lesley and I pull the dock out by hand (40'x4' aluminum dock with wheels at the lake end). But this worked slick enough that I think I'll keep doing it this way (Oswald can use the winch as well). The only problem was I didn't pay close enough attention once and got a dock leg caught on one of the steps. The winch happily pulled the step apart. Oh well, another cabin project for next summer! The Dodge closed out the weekend's work by hauling Pluto home. And the notable thing about that is that nothing notable happened. The last time the Dodge towed anything significant it was bring Pluto up to the cabin last spring, which resulted in a big bill at a transmission shop after limping home. But no troubles this time! (next post about the Dodge) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted October 16, 2023 Author Share Posted October 16, 2023 Well, this is a "what did I do with my trucks this weekend", but close enough! It was time to close up my folks cabin. Part of that process is putting the pontoon boat in the garage. It's a TIGHT fit next to the speed boat, even before I also parked Oswald in there! Getting two boats and a full size truck in a 24x24 garage requires much better trailer backing than I'm capable of. So usually I use the front hitch on Oswald to put the pontoon in. But with Oswald needing to be in the garage bofore the pontoon, and with no front hitch on my Dodge, Pluto needed to be conscripted. The work started with hauling Pluto's mud tires up to the cabin now that he's done wuth them for the year. But the mud tires are bigger than the street tires, and harder to pack in. So Pluto wore the mud tires and carried the street tires. I changed the tires up there. Here's the Dodge working to haul Pluto, and Pluto working to haul the tires. Next Pluto pulled the pontoon trailer out of its resting place in the woods (it's too long to fit in the garage)... ... and then to pull the pontoon out of the lake... ... before pushing the pontoon into the garage. Did I mention it's a TIGHT fit? There's about 0.5" between the pontoon and Oswald and about 2" between the pontoon and the fender on the speed boat's trailer. Then since Pluto was there I maneuvered him into position to use his winch to pull the dock out. Normally Lesley and I pull the dock out by hand (40'x4' aluminum dock with wheels at the lake end). But this worked slick enough that I think I'll keep doing it this way (Oswald can use the winch as well). The only problem was I didn't pay close enough attention once and got a dock leg caught on one of the steps. The winch happily pulled the step apart. Oh well, another cabin project for next summer! The Dodge closed out the weekend's work by hauling Pluto home. And the notable thing about that is that nothing notable happened. The last time the Dodge towed anything significant it was bring Pluto up to the cabin last spring, which resulted in a big bill at a transmission shop after limping home. But no troubles this time! (next post about the Dodge) Keep preaching on that front hitch, brother! You sold me, but surely others will convert. Seriously, my trailer storage has maybe 2" either side of the fenders to the uprights holding the roof on the car port, so it is pretty tight and SERIOUS. But I can put it in there with a spotter's help quite easily. (But low range sure makes moves a lot slower. ) As for the winch, that sure seems a lot easier than by hand. However, there is a downside when it is going to come or going to come. I owe you an answer and will get back to you soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpin Posted October 16, 2023 Share Posted October 16, 2023 Well, this is a "what did I do with my trucks this weekend", but close enough! It was time to close up my folks cabin. Part of that process is putting the pontoon boat in the garage. It's a TIGHT fit next to the speed boat, even before I also parked Oswald in there! Getting two boats and a full size truck in a 24x24 garage requires much better trailer backing than I'm capable of. So usually I use the front hitch on Oswald to put the pontoon in. But with Oswald needing to be in the garage bofore the pontoon, and with no front hitch on my Dodge, Pluto needed to be conscripted. The work started with hauling Pluto's mud tires up to the cabin now that he's done wuth them for the year. But the mud tires are bigger than the street tires, and harder to pack in. So Pluto wore the mud tires and carried the street tires. I changed the tires up there. Here's the Dodge working to haul Pluto, and Pluto working to haul the tires. Next Pluto pulled the pontoon trailer out of its resting place in the woods (it's too long to fit in the garage)... ... and then to pull the pontoon out of the lake... ... before pushing the pontoon into the garage. Did I mention it's a TIGHT fit? There's about 0.5" between the pontoon and Oswald and about 2" between the pontoon and the fender on the speed boat's trailer. Then since Pluto was there I maneuvered him into position to use his winch to pull the dock out. Normally Lesley and I pull the dock out by hand (40'x4' aluminum dock with wheels at the lake end). But this worked slick enough that I think I'll keep doing it this way (Oswald can use the winch as well). The only problem was I didn't pay close enough attention once and got a dock leg caught on one of the steps. The winch happily pulled the step apart. Oh well, another cabin project for next summer! The Dodge closed out the weekend's work by hauling Pluto home. And the notable thing about that is that nothing notable happened. The last time the Dodge towed anything significant it was bring Pluto up to the cabin last spring, which resulted in a big bill at a transmission shop after limping home. But no troubles this time! (next post about the Dodge) Nice! Made my joints hurt reading it. Great to have a chore like that work so well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted October 16, 2023 Share Posted October 16, 2023 Keep preaching on that front hitch, brother! You sold me, but surely others will convert.... I know we're not supposed to talk religion here, but... I became a Believer in the Church of the Front Receiver quite by accident. I had a slide-in camper for my '95 F-150 and had made a step that went in the rear receiver to make it easier to get in and out of the camper. But that meant I didn't have a place to put my receiver-mounted bike rack. I though a receiver on the front would be a good way to handle that. I was wrong. Visibility through the bikes was completely unacceptable. So I added a receiver to the back of the step and put the bikes behind the camper. But I still had the front receiver and found it to be incredibly useful. I never put one on my '08 F-250 lemon or my '02 F-350 diesel (before I got around to installing a front hitch on either of those trucks I had decided I wasn't going to keep them any longer than absolutely necessary). But I put one on Oswald as soon as I could. I was debating putting one on the Dodge, because I couldn't see getting by without one while Oswald is down. But then I realized that Pluto could fill in, so I'm not spending that money on a truck I don't expect to own for that long. Nice! Made my joints hurt reading it.... My joints sure hurt remembering it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted October 16, 2023 Author Share Posted October 16, 2023 Keep preaching on that front hitch, brother! You sold me, but surely others will convert.... I know we're not supposed to talk religion here, but... I became a Believer in the Church of the Front Receiver quite by accident. I had a slide-in camper for my '95 F-150 and had made a step that went in the rear receiver to make it easier to get in and out of the camper. But that meant I didn't have a place to put my receiver-mounted bike rack. I though a receiver on the front would be a good way to handle that. I was wrong. Visibility through the bikes was completely unacceptable. So I added a receiver to the back of the step and put the bikes behind the camper. But I still had the front receiver and found it to be incredibly useful. I never put one on my '08 F-250 lemon or my '02 F-350 diesel (before I got around to installing a front hitch on either of those trucks I had decided I wasn't going to keep them any longer than absolutely necessary). But I put one on Oswald as soon as I could. I was debating putting one on the Dodge, because I couldn't see getting by without one while Oswald is down. But then I realized that Pluto could fill in, so I'm not spending that money on a truck I don't expect to own for that long. Nice! Made my joints hurt reading it.... My joints sure hurt remembering it! Because of my belief in the Church of the Front Receiver I can get my car hauler trailer out of the back yard. Otherwise I don't think it is possible. Not only does the front receiver allow you to see what you are doing much better, it allows far tighter turns than a rear receiver. The fact that the turning wheels are only ~3' away from the hitch really makes a huge difference. I'm constantly amazed that we get the trailer out as tight as it is. However, there's another advantage to the front receiver - the location of the winch. While my trailer is set up to take the winch off BB, I find it far easier to connect the trailer to the front receiver and reach across the gap with the winch to pull something onto the trailer. Plus I can be charging the battery while winching. But while I plan to keep Blue, the 2015 F150, I've only put a front receiver on Big Blue. It was enough work to do that, so I'm going to plan to use him for all front receiver work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted October 16, 2023 Share Posted October 16, 2023 Because of my belief in the Church of the Front Receiver I can get my car hauler trailer out of the back yard. Otherwise I don't think it is possible. Not only does the front receiver allow you to see what you are doing much better, it allows far tighter turns than a rear receiver. The fact that the turning wheels are only ~3' away from the hitch really makes a huge difference. I'm constantly amazed that we get the trailer out as tight as it is. However, there's another advantage to the front receiver - the location of the winch. While my trailer is set up to take the winch off BB, I find it far easier to connect the trailer to the front receiver and reach across the gap with the winch to pull something onto the trailer. Plus I can be charging the battery while winching. But while I plan to keep Blue, the 2015 F150, I've only put a front receiver on Big Blue. It was enough work to do that, so I'm going to plan to use him for all front receiver work. For me, visibility is usually a liability with a front receiver. When I'm using one it's usually with a travel trailer or the pontoon. Sitting in a relatively narrow full-size truck (or even narrower early Bronco), all I can see is the front of the trailer or boat. When backing I can see down at least one side of the trailer in the mirrors. But the maneuverability of having the steering axle RIGHT THERE at the tongue of the trailer more than makes up for it. And not only is it easy to make small corrections, it's completely intuitive which way you need to turn the steering wheel. I'm pretty good a backing a trailer, but even so, if I'm 0.5" away from hitting my truck, I end up second-guessing myself and if I get too much in my head I screw it up. With the front receiver I can walk alongside the trailer and tell Lesley which way to turn the wheel as she drives the truck. She'd NEVER do that (and I couldn't spot for her) if she was backing the truck. Like you say, it's amazing where you can put a trailer that way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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