"Rocky" - 1981 F250 Restoration

[taskswap]

I've been fortunate to be able to repair all the harnii I've run across. But I have scrap ones from which I pull the right wire colors and solder pieces in and then use adhesive-lined heat shrink.

So far I've not found an aftermarket harness that I think is worth it. Not saying there isn't one, but I've not seen it.

Yeah I agree. Another dream shattered... (just kidding!)

I did get some cable for a few misc tasks. I'm definitely doing the headlight relay upgrade so that's on the way, and I'm going to upgrade the 6-pin round trailer connector currently in my bumper to a standard 7-blade. I'm probably going to tow very rarely with this because I have another vehicle for that, but it's nice to know I have it available.

[taskswap]

Yeah I agree. Another dream shattered... (just kidding!)

I did get some cable for a few misc tasks. I'm definitely doing the headlight relay upgrade so that's on the way, and I'm going to upgrade the 6-pin round trailer connector currently in my bumper to a standard 7-blade. I'm probably going to tow very rarely with this because I have another vehicle for that, but it's nice to know I have it available.

I started pulling off front-end trim pieces today. The grille and one headlamp trim piece are broken so I'm replacing those. I want to stay "stock" on a lot of things but this isn't one of them - a plastic grille has no place on anything I own. I'll just break it again. I took a chance on the billet aluminum ones LMC sells, just waiting for it to arrive now.

Meanwhile I need to deal with the massive "road rash" on the front nose so I'm starting to at least think about paint. Sorry, Ford, but I don't think "Fawn" was one of the best color options to begin with. We're thinking of going with a very traditional red-body/white-stripe setup when we do get it painted. I've always loved red on Fords.

We can't afford a proper paint job at the moment, but I want to address the front-nose rust before it deteriorates further. I've got evapo-rust gel on it right now, then I'll prime/seal it and throw on a rattle-can of red paint just for fun. Why not, the weather is gorgeous and I've got the stuff on the shelf. It's easiest to do it now while I have the bumper off, which is getting replaced (the front corner was bent, and I found a nice straight one at the junkyard so why not?)

[Gary Lewis]

I started pulling off front-end trim pieces today. The grille and one headlamp trim piece are broken so I'm replacing those. I want to stay "stock" on a lot of things but this isn't one of them - a plastic grille has no place on anything I own. I'll just break it again. I took a chance on the billet aluminum ones LMC sells, just waiting for it to arrive now.

Meanwhile I need to deal with the massive "road rash" on the front nose so I'm starting to at least think about paint. Sorry, Ford, but I don't think "Fawn" was one of the best color options to begin with. We're thinking of going with a very traditional red-body/white-stripe setup when we do get it painted. I've always loved red on Fords.

We can't afford a proper paint job at the moment, but I want to address the front-nose rust before it deteriorates further. I've got evapo-rust gel on it right now, then I'll prime/seal it and throw on a rattle-can of red paint just for fun. Why not, the weather is gorgeous and I've got the stuff on the shelf. It's easiest to do it now while I have the bumper off, which is getting replaced (the front corner was bent, and I found a nice straight one at the junkyard so why not?)

What do you plan to hit to break the grille?

But the billet grille will look good there.

I think Fawn is what Rusty is, the '81 I sold a few years ago. It didn't adhere well on the front of the truck as there were chip marks all over the front. So I understand your problem.

But it sounds like you have a plan. A replacement bumper and a paint job. I'm anxious to see the results!

[taskswap]

What do you plan to hit to break the grille?

But the billet grille will look good there.

I think Fawn is what Rusty is, the '81 I sold a few years ago. It didn't adhere well on the front of the truck as there were chip marks all over the front. So I understand your problem.

But it sounds like you have a plan. A replacement bumper and a paint job. I'm anxious to see the results!

Oh I'm just rough on my things :)

Can one of you experts share some thoughts on this?

Sorry for the rough image. Here I'm standing on the left side of the engine bay and my hand is a few inches from the carb. It's a mystery wire just hanging there, with a standard Fast-On blade style connector. The thing is, there are already two wires connected to the carb and no connector for another. It looks brown/white to me but I guess could be tan/white. This is a 1981 8cyl 6.6 by the way.

From the EVTM diagrams I see a tan/white for 8-cyl engines for a "carburetor vacuum valve solenoid" coming out of the throttle kicker module. But unless I'm missing how this is wired it looks like the kicker would just totally not work if that wire was disconnected. I don't have the engine in running condition at the moment (too many disconnected wires, I took out the battery to be safe) but I'm 99% certain the kicker was working. I remember it having a higher idle the morning I first picked it up than it did after I got it home.

This was upgraded to an aftermarket 4 barrel carb and I'm guessing some changes were made to the wiring as part of that. But I don't know enough about carbs (on cars, anyway) to know how to figure out what this wire is for. Any thoughts?

[Gary Lewis]

Oh I'm just rough on my things :)

Can one of you experts share some thoughts on this?

Sorry for the rough image. Here I'm standing on the left side of the engine bay and my hand is a few inches from the carb. It's a mystery wire just hanging there, with a standard Fast-On blade style connector. The thing is, there are already two wires connected to the carb and no connector for another. It looks brown/white to me but I guess could be tan/white. This is a 1981 8cyl 6.6 by the way.

From the EVTM diagrams I see a tan/white for 8-cyl engines for a "carburetor vacuum valve solenoid" coming out of the throttle kicker module. But unless I'm missing how this is wired it looks like the kicker would just totally not work if that wire was disconnected. I don't have the engine in running condition at the moment (too many disconnected wires, I took out the battery to be safe) but I'm 99% certain the kicker was working. I remember it having a higher idle the morning I first picked it up than it did after I got it home.

This was upgraded to an aftermarket 4 barrel carb and I'm guessing some changes were made to the wiring as part of that. But I don't know enough about carbs (on cars, anyway) to know how to figure out what this wire is for. Any thoughts?

Carbs have a fast idle cam that is part of the choke system. So when the choke sets, meaning when you give it a bit of throttle before cranking the engine, the fast idle cam goes under the fast idle screw on the throttle linkage. That way when you release the throttle it is held open slightly to run the engine faster than @ hot idle.

As the choke comes off during warm up, if you blip the throttle to take the spring pressure off the fast idle cam it'll go to a slower/lower step, until eventually it is completely out of the equation.

So yes, even w/o the throttle kicker the engine should run faster when first started and then slow down as it warms up.

The throttle kicker was to completely close the throttle when the key was turned off. That's because these engines were bad about continuing to run w/o a spark, and the fastest way to kill them was to close the throttles. But when aftermarket carbs are installed the bracket for the throttle kicker usually won't fit, so they get tossed.

My guess is that's what that wire was for. But if the engine doesn't continue to run when you turn it off them you don't need the throttle kicker.

[taskswap]

Carbs have a fast idle cam that is part of the choke system. So when the choke sets, meaning when you give it a bit of throttle before cranking the engine, the fast idle cam goes under the fast idle screw on the throttle linkage. That way when you release the throttle it is held open slightly to run the engine faster than @ hot idle.

As the choke comes off during warm up, if you blip the throttle to take the spring pressure off the fast idle cam it'll go to a slower/lower step, until eventually it is completely out of the equation.

So yes, even w/o the throttle kicker the engine should run faster when first started and then slow down as it warms up.

The throttle kicker was to completely close the throttle when the key was turned off. That's because these engines were bad about continuing to run w/o a spark, and the fastest way to kill them was to close the throttles. But when aftermarket carbs are installed the bracket for the throttle kicker usually won't fit, so they get tossed.

My guess is that's what that wire was for. But if the engine doesn't continue to run when you turn it off them you don't need the throttle kicker.

Having folks like you around is so huge, thanks Gary!

So given that, I'll try to trace the wiring a little better tomorrow. If it turns out that is the wire to the kicker, can I remove the whole kicker module? I... ah... sort of broke its mounting tabs trying to get the instrument panel out. I was going to work on fixing it, but if I don't need the module I'd rather delete it now while I have the panel removed.

So I guess tomorrow I'll unplug the kicker, start it up, and see if it runs well both cold and warmed up?

Note to future renovators: Lots of the metal frame are PART of the instrument panel. This was totally not clear to me from the diagrams and instructions. There are screws from behind the panel into the plastic that you can't get to until the whole thing is out. I had a whole baggie full of screws and still couldn't get the panel out before I found two large bolts I had missed!

[Gary Lewis]

Having folks like you around is so huge, thanks Gary!

So given that, I'll try to trace the wiring a little better tomorrow. If it turns out that is the wire to the kicker, can I remove the whole kicker module? I... ah... sort of broke its mounting tabs trying to get the instrument panel out. I was going to work on fixing it, but if I don't need the module I'd rather delete it now while I have the panel removed.

So I guess tomorrow I'll unplug the kicker, start it up, and see if it runs well both cold and warmed up?

Note to future renovators: Lots of the metal frame are PART of the instrument panel. This was totally not clear to me from the diagrams and instructions. There are screws from behind the panel into the plastic that you can't get to until the whole thing is out. I had a whole baggie full of screws and still couldn't get the panel out before I found two large bolts I had missed!

Yes, try it w/o the kicker. And if that works you can remove the module.

I've not run a throttle kicker on any of my several Bullnose trucks. But, Big Blue might be a candidate for it. There's something wrong with the throttle linkage or throttle shaft on the Edelbrock that's on there which causes the idle speed to vary. Sometimes it is down around 500 and the engine shuts off nicely, and sometimes it is up around 700 and it doesn't want to quit. But if the problem is really the throttle shaft being worn in the base of the carb, then the throttle kicker wouldn't fix it. So I'm living with it until the EFI goes on, and that will solve the problem since when the injectors quit squirting gas the engine won't run, and they quit when you turn the key off.

Anyway, happy to help.

And yes, the dash comes out as a unit, plastic and metal frame. And it is a pain!

[taskswap]

Yes, try it w/o the kicker. And if that works you can remove the module.

I've not run a throttle kicker on any of my several Bullnose trucks. But, Big Blue might be a candidate for it. There's something wrong with the throttle linkage or throttle shaft on the Edelbrock that's on there which causes the idle speed to vary. Sometimes it is down around 500 and the engine shuts off nicely, and sometimes it is up around 700 and it doesn't want to quit. But if the problem is really the throttle shaft being worn in the base of the carb, then the throttle kicker wouldn't fix it. So I'm living with it until the EFI goes on, and that will solve the problem since when the injectors quit squirting gas the engine won't run, and they quit when you turn the key off.

Anyway, happy to help.

And yes, the dash comes out as a unit, plastic and metal frame. And it is a pain!

I need to get my wife taking these pics. She's a better photographer than I.

New windshield glass installed. I wanted an at-home service because I have the truck half dismantled, and Safelite apparently had issues with the vehicle's age. I searched around and found USA Glass and they had no issues. $250 all in, pretty happy with that deal.

I didn't realize the new glass would come with the rearview mount - it had fallen off my old one. So that's something in the "parts pile" I can return :)

I had the tech leave off the molding. I'm going to polish it back up and it'll be easier off the vehicle.

[taskswap]

I need to get my wife taking these pics. She's a better photographer than I.

New windshield glass installed. I wanted an at-home service because I have the truck half dismantled, and Safelite apparently had issues with the vehicle's age. I searched around and found USA Glass and they had no issues. $250 all in, pretty happy with that deal.

I didn't realize the new glass would come with the rearview mount - it had fallen off my old one. So that's something in the "parts pile" I can return :)

I had the tech leave off the molding. I'm going to polish it back up and it'll be easier off the vehicle.

Oh and the reason there's a "ventilation kraken" hanging up behind it is because I couldn't get the A/C fully removed. It has hoses through the firewall that I don't want to disconnect because I think there's a chance the system is still charged. But I needed everything out of the way to inspect the firewall insulation and paint the floor, so... ratchet strap to the rescue...

[Gary Lewis]

I need to get my wife taking these pics. She's a better photographer than I.

New windshield glass installed. I wanted an at-home service because I have the truck half dismantled, and Safelite apparently had issues with the vehicle's age. I searched around and found USA Glass and they had no issues. $250 all in, pretty happy with that deal.

I didn't realize the new glass would come with the rearview mount - it had fallen off my old one. So that's something in the "parts pile" I can return :)

I had the tech leave off the molding. I'm going to polish it back up and it'll be easier off the vehicle.

Did you get a windshield that let's you see the VIN? The later trucks, which take the same windshield, have the VIN moved a bit, and people like to stock only the later glass. But then you can't read the VIN.

I suspect that is technically illegal for them to do, but it sure causes problems later if/when you sell the truck. Especially if you sell it out of state.