Hi Aaron,

My first thought was wow! nice work on the brackets and plumbing.

Then I thought OMFG it looks too busy and nasty.

Now I think it looks very cool, and that it all goes well with the black valve covers and air filter.

Will you paint the brackets black or green ?

Don't forget to send tbear863 $50 for stealing his idea !

Talking of $$$'s, I got your transfer, thank you, but FB's bounced. WTF ?!

 

Mine was rubber 'cause the backside wasn't showing......and you waited too long to copy/cut/paste/

 

it looks great! time to get my butt in gear to catch up to you!

 

Had a hard time not laughing at this. I apply that same logic to these old trucks versus the stuff at the stealership.

I can throw any of the creature comforts from a new vehicle onto my ol 79... but will their 2018 last 40 years like the 79 did? I don't think so . Old workhorse > pretty-boy

Haha, tbear knew that I was stealing his idea. I asked him a plethora of questions on it before I pulled the trigger. And yeah.... I know it's ugly... but she's organized! I see why lots of guys run the electric fuel pump - you can hide all the ugly on top of my motor a lot easier.

I may revert to an electric pump one day - for now, I just want this thing running. And organized lol.

Thanks! I appreciate the feedback . Do you have a build thread I could follow?

 

Ok.....so tell us - when is your projected first fire?

Don't like settin' on pins & needles

 

Well, I'm going back through my grounds and electrical right now. Kinda important if I want to have a truck that runs I'm getting anxious too - I originally said end of Jan - and now it's April lol. I'm working hard to get everything done, just rolling through the "to-do" list.

Otherwise, I just finished my serpentine set-up thread. Feel free to chime in. Grab a beverage before you go over there - you might get overwhelmed with information / pics.

Serpentine system thread: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post17903337

 

Funnily enough, I just installed an electric fuel pump last week. It's a Holley Mighty something.

I wired it via an oil pressure switch, with its own fuse, and a relay, with its own fuse.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with the mechanical pump, but I've never ever liked the fuel line coming up over the front of the engine.

Anyway, my point is this.

If you intend fitting one one day in the future, now is the time to fit just the fuel line while the engine is out.

I fed my line down along the inside of the chassis rail and up along the firewall.

Woulda been much easier with the engine out of the way.

That said, your to do list is more important with regard to getting that bad boy back into the truck, and I doubt you would even have time to paint the crank pulley.

It doesn't need painting as it won't be seen once the engine is installed.

Also, it doesn't need painting otherwise I will lose a bet with FB ! LOL

Not sure why FB is sittin' on pins 'n needles. I've a got a big thick comfy cushion with popcorn. LOL

 

.....Because 16d nails won't stay put when my dead azz sets down...I'm a hard azz...don't think I've ever had a "big, thick comfy cushion" to set on in my life. Might not get up if I did....

 

Thanks for the comments guys. I wanted an electric fuel pump, but you're right - the to-do list is WAYYY too long lol.

Plus who knows if those serp pulleys will even work!

By the way, I think I settled the bet. I posted this in the serp thread too lol.



They dried last night

 

Well, I tried but FMJ wouldn't bite.....could have had a bouncy in each hand....

 

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh, hang on, not so fast there Mr FB !!!!!

LMAO, I did indeed bite, and the proof is in Aaron's serpentine thread !!

BUT !!

I have to be honest with you.

I forgot to take my idiot pills this morning, and I was convinced that I would lose the bet if the pulleys were painted, hence my delay tactics to stop him painting 'em in my last post.

Well I took the tablets 5 minutes ago, and now I can see I actually won.

You do indeed have a bouncy in each hand ya cheap bastid !!! LOL

I'm in a generous mood, so coz I thought I'd lost, we'll call it quits, and you can get a nice comfy cushion all ready for the ''Aaron-71 V8 start up show'' !!

Hi Aaron, you did indeed settle the bet. Good man ! LOL

On a serious note, chill ! No need to be anxious at all.

You're doing things for the first time, and you're doing some bad *** customising. There are no timetables for that.

Also, it takes a lot of time to update posts and threads in the detail that you are doing, so don't stress about missing a January deadline.

Your mechanical pump and plumbing will last for years. You don't need an electric fuel pump.

Your pulleys and belts will work 100%.
Why ?
Because you thoroughly checked everything.

Don't view it as a serpentine setup. Rather view it as two 'multiple V grooved' belts as opposed to 'single V grooved' !

Did you paint the brackets ?

Please post a pic with the pulleys etc installed.

I'm off to google wtf 16d nails are !!!!!

 

So I'm staring at my distributor last night and noticed something that seemed off.

I pulled the dizzy cap, and the reluctor wheel isn't 100% dead center with the magnetic pick-up. Approximately 50% of the reluctor arm width is in line with the pick-up, but the other 50% of the reluctor arm is sitting before (count-clockwise rotation) the magnetic pick-up.

If I have everything properly aligned (like in my last few posts), the motor is 13 degrees BTDC, Cylinder #1 is definitely on the compression stroke (blew my finger off when rotating by hand with spark plugs removed), and the rotor is pointed directly at Cylinder #1.... shouldn't the reluctor also be pointed directly (dead center to dead center) at the magnetic pick-up?

I never took a photo last night, but you can kinda see it in one of the previous ones I posted.

Remember I told you guys I have moments of anxiety? Lol! Bear with me here.

 

Ahhh, Aaron, don't over think this. You're fine!

The stator's (pick up coil) plate is moveable, controlled by the vacuum advance. If you move the breaker plate (where the stator sets on) it'll move quite a bit, back and forth. Hopefully, it moves easily.

The reluctor does't move...well, it does but in a circular motion with the disrtibutor's/cam gear.

If you want to "fix" it, or make it more pleasing to your anxious eyes, move the breaker plate such that the stator's magnet is in line with a reluctor tooth.....but it'll move back some due to the magnetic field around the tooth....even with the distributor stabbed in correctly.

If you're so inclined, you can measure the gap between a tooth and the magnet.....you'll want to see 0.018"...

Got insomnia yet?

Don't rush to get the engine in and fired up....it's good you're going over "stuff" but don't overthink it or second guess yourself....you're doing great with the picture, write-ups and whatnots.

Don't be afeared to ask these questions......'cause I have to come up with a sure fire win on a bet with FMJ......

 

Excellent info. Trying not to panic LOL.

From what I can tell, the magnetic pick-up being off by 1/2-a-tooth isn't a huge deal - and doesn't need to be tampered with?

I may undo the pick-up and see if I can wiggle it so it's in perfect alignment with the reluctor wheel... but then again, if it's not going to affect performance, I may just leave it alone too lol. "If it aint broke, don't fix it" mentality at this point. When I first saw how it was misaligned, I thought something was seriously wrong.

 

To set your mind at ease here are a couple of pictures. The first is my 351C set at 11 degrees advanced. The second is the same distributor with 15 inches of vacuum on the advance can. And when you start putting centrifugal advance in the mix they will be even father apart. To check the alignment of the armature and the stator you set the rotor at exact center of the contact on the cap then they should be perfectly aligned. I use an old cap with holes drilled in it to check that before I install the distributor.