im sure they are common, but that low fuel economy light intrigues me. hooked to a vacuum switch of some sort?

 

IIRC, it was a 75 model only thing. People didn't like them and they needed a place to put everyone's favorite, equally nagging seat belt light. And yes, simply a low vacuum switch. The vacuum hose to mine is completely disconnected, which is why my light is always on. Doesn't get much lower than zero.

 

 

I haven't had much to post lately, but that is all about to change. I installed a free-to-me cross bed toolbox a while back.


I found a winch on Craigslist for $100 and that prompted me to get to work on the winch bumper that I have had sitting around forever. I got the bumper cleaned up and and mostly painted. I was going to start fabbing the mounting brackets but I got a little side tracked on another project.




The exhaust leaks finally got on the better half's nerves and she OK'd the budget to fix it. The existing system is only 2 1/4", is not mandrel bent making it even more restrictive, and the driver side runs UNDER the transfer case mount for some god-unknown reason. It hangs down low enough, I can see it every time I get in the truck and it has annoyed me since day one. Also, the headers have a pretty thin flange and I have tried two different gaskets to get them to seal without success. They are welded directly to the pipe so replacement is a bit more difficult. So I decided to just go full crazy and replace the whole entire system. More on the headers I am using in his thread. I have a 2 1/2" pipe kit in the mail and I am going to attempt to weld it all up myself. The loud Thrush mufflers have worn out their welcome, so I am trying the Flowmaster FX, which are supposed to be quieter without being too tame. And I wanted to make sure I didn't have any starter interference issues, so I ordered a new mini starter as well. And since I was already on the slippery free shipping slope, I also got a electric fuel pump because I am tired of always having to crank the snot out of the starter to refill the carb bowls because it sits too much. Yeah, still not daily driving this poor thing as I still have the 70 mile round trip commute.

I launched in tonight and started demolition on the old exhaust system. Got most of the passenger side out before the Sawzall battery died. I have about 1/2 of the header left to cut in sections because I refuse to lift the engine unless I absolutely have to for the install of the new headers.


In addition to small leaks at 3 out of 4 ports on the flange, I found the two gems- #1 tube cracked about 1/2 way around it at the collector and the reducer right at the end of the header had a decent hole it it. Neither were visible while installed, but obviously explains the leaks.

 

I look forward to seeing this, good riddance to those headers

 

how did you get to the light in the steering column, or did you ? .- that one looks blue as well. ive tried to get at mine to replace it
and cant get to it.
nice job

 

You have to pull the steering wheel and the bulb for the shift indicator back light bulb is on the turn signal switch. You don't see the bulb at that point, just the black plastic bulb holder towards the upper right as you look at it. It can be removed with the switch still in place, just turns turns like a quarter turn or so just like the dash bulbs.

 

Keep going brother. There's nothing more satisfying than driving your sweat and hard work.

 

Well got the rest of the old junk headers and exhaust pipe out. Needless to say, the driver side header was just as bad as the passenger. Cracks, cracks, and more cracks. Yup, it was WAY past their time to go.





I started in tonight on installing the new headers. I decided to skip the ceramic coating as most of the reviews of most products were a bit sketchy for reliability and thermal effectiveness. I have a reputable coating shop not too far from me, but they want $250. Just not ready to over double the cost of headers at this point. They are stainless steel, so I am going to see how they work out and hold up before spending any more on them. I may just leave them uncoated forever, who knows. Driver's side just slipped right in from the bottom without issue. I did have the front driveshaft disconnected to get the old one out and that helped a lot. It may not be necessary, but for the effort of pulling two U-bolts, I sure recommend it. I am bound and determined there will be no leaks this time so I used Remflex gaskets and Stage 8 locking fasteners. It fit like a glove even though they are supposed to fit through 72 models. Passenger side...well I am going to have to disconnect the motor mount and lift the engine a bit. If you don't have the giant AC box in the way like I do, you MAY be able to get them in without this step, but no such luck with factory AC so I gave up for the night.

 

Looks much much better! now for the video before she gets exhaust!

 

Sorry Kubota, no exhaust video yet, but I'll see if I can figure one out. I have both headers, new starter, and exhaust system complete. It was a good call for the mini starter as even it barely fits, but I installed it after the headers so I know I can swap it in the future if it goes out. Speaking of, I also installed a pair of V-band joints so the front section of pipe on both sides can be removed as needed for maintenance (starter is definitely one good example.) Disclaimer: I am NOT a professional welder, nor am I even a good welder. I was hoping it would look better, but at least it does not leak so, I got that going for me.






It's hard to see in these pictures, but it is a TIGHT fit with both mufflers and the driveline. I still need to tweak this to see if I can get more drive line clearance. I think it may rub if the suspension is fully compressed. There is maybe 1/4- 1/2 " and that is only after I angled the muffler a bit, which is why I think it will hit.




Ran the pipes straight out the back. I would love to say that was the plan all along, but it just ended up fitting better this way.


I was able to test drive it a couple days ago. I used Flowmaster FlowFX mufflers and they are a bit quieter than I originally envisioned, but they still have a nice growl when you push the fun pedal. I took it out on the highway for a bit and the drone is gone, so I am more than happy overall. Normal volume conversation might even be possible now However, about a mile into the drive I must have picked up a hitchhiking gnome with a jackhammer under the passenger floorboard. It was a tight fit getting both pipes through there, perhaps a bit too tight. I still have to figure out a way to tweak it for a bit more clearance- it's the same pipe that is flirting with the drive line, so this may be fun.

And today, I got the brackets for the winch bumper fabbed up. Yes, I know I should finish one project before starting another, but ....oooh, was that a squirrel? Anyways, this was just mocked up before final welding on the brackets. I still need to paint the brackets and then final mount the bumper and install the winch.

 

Oh and one more thing, for everyone that posted about Remflex gaskets being the best, holy cow, that was an understatement. They are nice! They are way thicker than normal and compress to about 1/2 their pre-installed size, ensuring a fantastic seal. The only downside is they are fragile if bent. And of course the header-to-head gasket got beat up in transit. But fortunately the ensuing crack was almost dead center between two ports so I gave them a shot before going through the pain of a refund/ replacement. And they still sealed perfectly!

 

I got the bumper brackets welded and painted up, so now the bumper is now permanently installed. It looks exactly like when it was mocked up, so no new pictures.

I then switched projects again back to the exhaust and trying to better position everything to prevent it from hitting the floor and give it better clearance to the drive line. In the process I loosened one of the V-bands and forgot to tighten it back down before test driving. So I am happy to report no more interference issues, but when I was under the truck looking for the new exhaust leak (it was pretty easy to find), I obviously left the engine running. Well, I finally found out what the noise was that has been driving me nuts. At first I thought it was the exhaust leak from the old headers. I'm pretty sure they were contributing to the noise or at least masking it partly because with the exhaust noise eliminated, the noise was still there but now almost exclusively once the engine has fully warmed up. I was leaning towards the valve train acting up again, but I couldn't seem to narrow it down as to which bank and/ or cylinder and oil pressure looked fine. Once I was under the truck with it running, the noise was much louder and it became immediately obvious what it was.

Pretty sure it is a rod knocking. It's not horrible, but anything loud enough to be heard really should be dealt with. I wanted to rebuild the motor and swap out the 390 crank....just not right now.

 

If the knock is from rod bearings and not wrist-pin, you can correct in the truck by slipping new bearings in it.

 

What you are doing is all most impressive. When I saw the first pic of the new seats I thought, naw, but they look great and you still have a bench.

Where did you source the steering wheel? The original on my 73 was cracked from the Bend, OR summer heat so I bought one from a 78 F-150 that was in very nice condition for $78 on eBay. The only problem is that the stem is different so the turn signal cut off will not fit. It's about a 3/4 inch diameter while the newer wheel is much larger. I saw that LMC Truck has a wheel like yours listed by year so I'm assuming the one for the 73 has the smaller diameter stem so I can get my turn signal cutoff working again.