X2 Marc. Now it's time to just sit back and enjoy a good cold one. Can't wait for the vid.

 

Well, got her back together after a three day weekend.
Could not believe all the little details that kept biting me.
As you know I installed the engine a week ago which was pretty damn easy.
The details are what takes time.
Oh well, done now.
Was planning on taking it to Montana, but thought better of it as it hasn't been on the road long enough to sus out the stuff that may go wrong.
Figured you'd rather see a vid than pics.

 

If your going to Montana elk hunting I'm jealous. By the way, truck sounds awesome.

 

Yes and thank you.

 

It sounds awesome Marc.
I'm jealous too.
Have a great time hunting, I hope get a big one!

 

OOOOOweee
Had a great time hunting.
Was covered up everyday in elk.
Lost a big one to a coin flip (it was a 2 on one hunt) ON THE FIRST DAY.
Then didn't get a shot on anything worth shooting after that.
Oh well, that's hunting.

Back to the truck.
It's running great.
Had an electrical gremlin that got to me until today.
Since I installed the MSD for the rebuild I have had 2 run on episodes.
But only twice in 5K miles.
When I got the engine re installed after the re rebuild I noticed a week battery a couple mornings.
Last week went out to go to work and nothin'. I mean dead, dead, dead.
Hmm, I may have a problem.
Had my first day off in a while today and got into it.
Thought maybe it could be the ig switch so replaced it.
Rebuilt my battery cables with my new bitchin crimper that co425 turned us all on to.
Hooked everything up and all the sudden the truck started and ran on it's own.
Hmmmm, I may have a problem. Glad it was in neutral and parking brake on.
Finally figured out what I think is the problem.
Since the MSD box works off of direct battery 12v, sometimes it will run right through the switch.
It really seems to have come on since I did the 3G upgrade.
So what I did was call the MSD tech line and talk to the guys there.
We kinda came to the same conclusion that I need a relay from the switch to the MSD box to make sure that the power is cut off when the switch is off.
So did that and all seems to be working well so far.
Fingers crossed.

 

Good thing you (or your truck) was in neutral . Electrical gremlins can drive you nuts, good luck on the repair.
Funny you mention that cable crimper, I ordered one last night.
Don't know how I missed it before but your truck sounds awesome.
I like the voltmeter conversion, been thinking about going that route on the Pumpkin but I've already got a NOS ammeter so we'll see if that works, if not, I know the way to go.
Nice job Marc, that truck is something you can be proud of .

 

MSD story sounds familiar...been there , done that. Glad all is well.

 

Marc I have been following along on this thread for the last 10 pages or so since you started the rebuild and I'm glad it turned out so well. I am very impressed with some of your finishing touches and upgrades. Now I have never liked the fact that with a MSD you run the box's power leads straight to the battery. So the idea of a relay from the switch to the MSD box a great idea. By the way thank God it was in neutral and parking brake on when that happened to you. I am a big fan of MSD's products and run a MSD system in my boat and a couple of years ago I had an issue with it every now and then I hit one of trim taps and the engine would die. I thought it was a 12v positive lead issue. Well long story short when I did the wiring on the boat I used buss bars at the batteries so there wasn't 7 wires running to the batteries I had one wire from the battery and buss bar to keep it nice and clean looking back by the batteries. Well on the one bar that I had the ground for the trim tab and the MSD box it would break ground under the load of the MSD box and trim pump sometimes. Thought I had it fixed and weeks later it happened again and shorted out my 6M-2L. The final cure was replace the 6M-2l box and ran the ground straight to the battery. So my advise to you is may sure you have a good ground on your MSD box main ground wire. And maybe instead of putting the relay to the key I would feed the relay with a cool toggle with the red safety cover. This way you could kill the ignition to prime the oil and slow down anyone who try to steal it.

By the way I missed out "New bitchin crimper that co425 turned us all on to" I would like to know more about where to get a "bitchin crimper" Thanks

 

I wouldn't mind a bitchin crimper too.

 

Here ya go.

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item...d=281134468606

I've bought a bunch of cable from them too. So far great company, and real nice crimper.

 

Thanks for posting that link Brandon.
That thing is awesome.

Yeah Kuzz, thanks for the observations.
I am grounded to the battery but always worth a thought on grounding.
The switch idea will be a last resort but a definite fix.
And I know what you mean about wires piling up around the battery.
I'm almost to the point of thinking about that.
Once I start installing more "stuff" it's gonna get crowded.

 

Looks and sounds great Marc!

I don't have one of those bitch'n crimpers. At least not yet..... Just ordered one. I've been using my Whack-A-Lug but this crimper is much better. Thanks for the link Brandon.

 

SuperMarc! Excellent!

You're going dual batteries, right? Consider this... all vehicle systems on the primary to keep everything running and all non-essential accessory systems fed by the auxiliary. Since the accessories need more or less direct power and fuse protection, figure on two remote power distribution and fuse block(s) - one under the hood and the other in the cab. TEMco has nice stuff as does Delcity.net... order their catalog!

I just picked up a TEMco "whack-a-lug" for $15. It's much more engineered and civilized than the typical HF version. Good stuff.

 

Thanks for posting the link Brandon that is really nice tool. It's on my wish list now.

Marc I just wanted to share that story about the ground because that was a lesson learned the hard way and costly. And if you are kicking around adding another battery here a thread I had about adding a battery on the frame rail.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...d-battery.html