1986 F350/460 ambulance reprovision

[Westerj]

A good place to get starters and alternators from is DB Electrical.. its the same supplier we used for our brand new units. Obviously if you're stuck on the side of the road somewhere you don't have too much choice but if you can, thats where I would go. The box stores did some very..interesting things to say the least on some builds. Most of the aftermarket 3Gs seemed pretty solid though so that is good. Other ones weren't as good. There was a GM alternator series that for whatever reason anytime they came in from Autozone or O'Reillys, they were always built with burnt parts. The stator would be painted but whenever we would be cleaning them up and blasted the stators to make them look nice again, the wires would just be black and bad. Bit different on new units from them but some of the wires got close to the case without having any covering for the "just in case"

Dreaded spray can rebuilds! doh! Had seen that on automatics too! Should i plan on switching to serpentine^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H multigoove belts? I can see ripping off front of motor to do timing gear and likely water pump,. front seal etc..... but not just yet... working on chassis stuff at the moment ... and thinking about longer term objectives.. want it to be reliable.. so I could jump in and drive 100 miles. thanks for the pointer to DB Electrical: https://www.dbelectrical.com/alternators/automotive/ford/f-series/ for fuiture. I picked up a 100A 1 wire alternator for my mustang project.. but .. hard to replace when on road trip.. right??

[ArdWrknTrk]

Hi Jim.

things to improve.. .I have 20 threads of action for my truck... How best to provide for parallel project tracking? ... like subcategories under this project? One for Exhaust, one for interior.

How about a listing of Salvage yards near my home base that match my vehicle? That'd be kinda neat.

Plus, we all have location, and vehicle information in our signature files!

Mouse catchin ideas... I might be making up a peanut butter bucket of death in place soon!

A car coil, mercury switch and a dangling bait come to mind...

Fried rodent is not something you want to ozone your cab over.

I can only say what's worked for me.

IDK too much about yards.

I usually rely on other wrecker drivers to tip me off about parts.

What do you really need.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Dreaded spray can rebuilds! doh! Had seen that on automatics too! Should i plan on switching to serpentine^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H multigoove belts? I can see ripping off front of motor to do timing gear and likely water pump,. front seal etc..... but not just yet... working on chassis stuff at the moment ... and thinking about longer term objectives.. want it to be reliable.. so I could jump in and drive 100 miles. thanks for the pointer to DB Electrical: https://www.dbelectrical.com/alternators/automotive/ford/f-series/ for fuiture. I picked up a 100A 1 wire alternator for my mustang project.. but .. hard to replace when on road trip.. right??

I should get a commission from DB.

But their low prices, prompt delivery and customer service speak for themselves.

Been doing business with them for a decade and have nothing but positive interactions.

[Westerj]

Fried rodent is not something you want to ozone your cab over.

I can only say what's worked for me.

IDK too much about yards.

I usually rely on other wrecker drivers to tip me off about parts.

What do you really need.

Got mouse #2 today. Woot! Loop string trick seemed to work/help! Learning all sorts of stuff here!

1) Need the panel behind both seats (standard cab)... below window...

2) Need passenger seat.

3) The two refrigerant lines to/from the evaporator have tees in them (for the chilling in the back box).. wanted to put the straight thru tubes back in place... run a belt Crank to water pump to AC Compressor perhaps (since thermactor is missing).

4) Need front grille if I delete the Amber Whelen/sirens ( ... which is likely...) cut into the grille.

5) Would like to see a working hood latch. Am seeing some grooved steel impingement from the hood safety latch... normal?

The angle-iron base ( part of ambulance package) seems solid ... hope to extract (and document) the frame as I prep the floor (weld/etch/rusty-Metal/topcoat/) for new vinyl floor. there are 100 wires and 20 relays I gotta chop out of the console/control panel... about 1" diameter loom of wires..

Whats involved with removing the plastic fenderwell covers inside engine bay? How tough to remove them to treat/prevent rust under there.. Battery ooze seems to have chewed up some ... 2 batteries, both sides!

Thanks!

[Gary Lewis]

Got mouse #2 today. Woot! Loop string trick seemed to work/help! Learning all sorts of stuff here!

1) Need the panel behind both seats (standard cab)... below window...

2) Need passenger seat.

3) The two refrigerant lines to/from the evaporator have tees in them (for the chilling in the back box).. wanted to put the straight thru tubes back in place... run a belt Crank to water pump to AC Compressor perhaps (since thermactor is missing).

4) Need front grille if I delete the Amber Whelen/sirens ( ... which is likely...) cut into the grille.

5) Would like to see a working hood latch. Am seeing some grooved steel impingement from the hood safety latch... normal?

The angle-iron base ( part of ambulance package) seems solid ... hope to extract (and document) the frame as I prep the floor (weld/etch/rusty-Metal/topcoat/) for new vinyl floor. there are 100 wires and 20 relays I gotta chop out of the console/control panel... about 1" diameter loom of wires..

Whats involved with removing the plastic fenderwell covers inside engine bay? How tough to remove them to treat/prevent rust under there.. Battery ooze seems to have chewed up some ... 2 batteries, both sides!

Thanks!

There are several parts to the tank switching system, as I'm learning at this very moment. There's the switch on the HVAC control panel, the tank switching relay under the hood by the brake master cylinder, and the tank switching valve below the driver on the frame.

[Westerj]

There are several parts to the tank switching system, as I'm learning at this very moment. There's the switch on the HVAC control panel, the tank switching relay under the hood by the brake master cylinder, and the tank switching valve below the driver on the frame.

That took over 4 minutes! good deal!!!! Hah! Found it.. the knob was missing... switch was hiding out in the open. Thanks for the pointer!

DOH!

Heard the second tank has bad fuel in it... How hard is siphoning on these tanks?

Oh.. forgot something else... plating.. Any reputable plating houses? Wouldn't mind sending off a box o parts. Most of the ambulance Bent-Handles (on each door) are generally rusted, Just the back plate.

Thanks!

John W.

[ArdWrknTrk]

That took over 4 minutes! good deal!!!! Hah! Found it.. the knob was missing... switch was hiding out in the open. Thanks for the pointer!

DOH!

Heard the second tank has bad fuel in it... How hard is siphoning on these tanks?

Oh.. forgot something else... plating.. Any reputable plating houses? Wouldn't mind sending off a box o parts. Most of the ambulance Bent-Handles (on each door) are generally rusted, Just the back plate.

Thanks!

John W.

 

I'm taking the liberty of changing the title of my post back to that of the thread header.

Now replies will make sense from the main page.

There's nothing too difficult about siphoning the tank, but you need to realize fuel goes down the neck in the annular space between the fill hose and the vent tube, so use a small line.

It may take a while but it is probably more controlled.

You're not stealing gas in a dark parking lot, so outright speed shouldn't be an issue.

Tanks rotting is an issue though....

Depending on what you get coming out it is often better to just cut your losses and get a new tank for $100.

I have a cheap usb endoscope camera for my phone.

I would definitely poke around in there and see how crusty/rusty it is.

[ArdWrknTrk]

 

I'm taking the liberty of changing the title of my post back to that of the thread header.

Now replies will make sense from the main page.

There's nothing too difficult about siphoning the tank, but you need to realize fuel goes down the neck in the annular space between the fill hose and the vent tube, so use a small line.

It may take a while but it is probably more controlled.

You're not stealing gas in a dark parking lot, so outright speed shouldn't be an issue.

Tanks rotting is an issue though....

Depending on what you get coming out it is often better to just cut your losses and get a new tank for $100.

I have a cheap usb endoscope camera for my phone.

I would definitely poke around in there and see how crusty/rusty it is.

I don't have any plating advice.

I mean.... there are plenty of places if you want show chrome.

Hemmings or a hot rod shop should be able to help you locate one of those, but I have no personal experience.

[Gary Lewis]

 

I'm taking the liberty of changing the title of my post back to that of the thread header.

Now replies will make sense from the main page.

There's nothing too difficult about siphoning the tank, but you need to realize fuel goes down the neck in the annular space between the fill hose and the vent tube, so use a small line.

It may take a while but it is probably more controlled.

You're not stealing gas in a dark parking lot, so outright speed shouldn't be an issue.

Tanks rotting is an issue though....

Depending on what you get coming out it is often better to just cut your losses and get a new tank for $100.

I have a cheap usb endoscope camera for my phone.

I would definitely poke around in there and see how crusty/rusty it is.

I agree - replace the tank. I just bought new tanks from Amazon, and they were about $100 each, delivered.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I agree - replace the tank. I just bought new tanks from Amazon, and they were about $100 each, delivered.

If it's just stale gas I don't see a reason to replace the tank.

But if it's rusty in there cut your losses and move on.