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Tank switch valves like that have been used for many decades, much farther back than the 1970's.
Lots of gas engine 2 ton and up trucks had those valves. I drove a few of them. Usually the truck had the factory in cab tank with a gas gauge, and a saddle tank on the frame.
The trick was to remember to switch to the saddle tank when filling up with fuel. You then ran the truck until the engine started stumbling, then switch to the factory tank. This way you had a gas gauge to go by, so that hopefully you would fill up again before you ran out in that tank also.
If you forget to switch to the outside tank and run the inside tank empty, you better not go to far before refilling because at that point you're only guessing at how much fuel you have. With those big gas engines of the time, 2 to 6 miles to the gallon with a loaded box van was common.
And the saga continues...got my parts in. I got a cheap Amazon seat cover, seems pretty nice, but I forgot to take a picture of it. I think I need to fix some of the tie downs anyway. Biggest success today though is that FINALLY I got rid of the stupid blue LED strip and put in a proper OEM dome light. Now I can actually see inside when it's dark and it doesn't feel like I'm in a rave. Replaced the headlight switch and now most of my interior lights work as expected.
I did hit a snag though, I replaced the crumbled plastic gauge holder, but the black washer looking thing in the picture isn't the kind that can be moved to the new one (and it crumbled when I tried). I'll have to find that piece or some washers so I can mount the speedometer. And the bulbs in the gauge cluster still don't work. The little printed circuit board looks OK and I tested it with my multimeter to make sure when the bulb was in the socket it was making good enough contact for continuity. So I don't know what it could be, none of the lights work like the blinker, warning lights or illumination lights. The bulb that illuminates the washer and headlight switch IDs work and the bulb that went behind the HVAC works.
My guess at this point would be an issue with the harness...I guess I need to figure out which pins on the harness plug correspond with the illumination lights and blinker to see if I can wire a bulb to them directly to test. Unless anyone has better ideas. So still without gauges at least until I can get the speedo mounted, and without gauge lights until I figure out what the problem there is.
Continuing with another day of work on the truck. So as I was reading about the Edelbrock carb and how to hook it up/adjust it, as well as how the vacuum ports work, I realized the moron PO plumbed the distributor vacuum advance to both the manifold and ported with a splitter, which basically disabled the vacuum advance and created a vacuum leak. If you look at the picture of my engine bay in the first post, you can see how it was plumbed, so basically the manifold vacuum would suck air from the ported vacuum, so there would be very little or no vacuum applied to the distributor. It explained the high idle for sure...fixed it to where now it's on ported vacuum. I don't see how it could have possibly worked before...maybe they didn't care about the high idle?
Anyways...I also added a tachometer so I could do idle fuel/air ratio and just see the idle. Right now I've got it attached with zip ties to make sure that's where I want it permanently. Before I fixed the vacuum ports, it would idle super high at 1500, after the fix it was still a little high at 1000. I realized the throttle is a little sticky and won't close enough for the idle screw to do anything- but i was able to work it a bit to get it to go down. Then did my adjustments, it was running ridiculously rich before. Now it's properly adjusted, it's idling at a cool 500-700rpm, and hopefully will use a bit less gas. Using a vacuum meter, nice steady needle in the green zone.
Also, I realized all the vacuum lines are run weird, notice the PCV port on front is capped, on the back of the carb there's a splitter from the brake booster port that goes to the crankcase and brake booster, though that seems like it will work and seems a bit more reasonable since the crankcase hole is in the back. Something tells me whoever installed this carburetor had no clue what they were doing and didn't bother to learn...I figure at some point I'll just take it off, rebuild it, and reinstall it properly from scratch just to be safe. I'm sure the rich running means the spark plugs probably look awful, and I also know I should probably do the timing as well, that's going to be on my list next week to check the plugs and timing, will have to buy a timing light. But just from what was done today, it runs a lot better, even though it was already running alright before.
Also figured out my electrical issue with the gauge cluster lights, basically the little sockets weren't contacting the circuit board well enough. After some pin bending and wiggling while testing with my multi-meter, I got all the lights operating properly! Now I just need to wait for my speedometer head gasket to get the dash put back together. Only hiccup is now my temperature gauge doesn't work, it was a little flaky before I took it apart, basically wouldn't read at all until I drove around a bit even if it was at a normal temp, now it won't read anything at all. I should probably just get a new circuit board, but I'm budget-limited so hoping I can just work the contacts enough to get it working.
Overall, a good amount of progress made. Got to enjoy a few good WOT pulls as well, she's not fast by any means but she'll push you back in your seat!
Nice little tachometer, super easy to install.
we have lights!
notice the vacuum lines joined by a splitter before going to the distributor.
Run the brake booster directly to the intake. The PCV valve is supposed to go to the center port you have a cap on, on the front of the carb, under the Edelbrock name.
Wow, nice work. I've never heard of anyone rebuilding a power steering pump!
e.
About 10-12 years ago, I rebuilt/reconditioned the steering gear on my 78 bronco and went thru the Saginaw "canned ham" steering pump and modified it for a little higher pressure. Neither one was hard to do. After removing the gear box from the frame, the rebuild process took about three hours. The hardest part was setting the top preload. Specs call out to set to 2-4 inch pounds and to torque the nut to (+10) inch pounds. So if the the first setting was torqued to 2 inch pound then the nut is set to 12 inch pounds.
Proto tools makes a 3/8dr torque wrench that will measure to 1"inch pound and higher.
It's been a while since I posted, had a bit of a money crunch at the beginning of the month due to some job changes & family medical issues, and of course the big winter storm that knocked out power & even water in most of Texas. I was blessed, never lost power since I was on the same circuit as a water tower lift station. Finally got back to the truck this weekend, it survived the freeze just fine.
One thing that has been driving me crazy is that the windows rattle around because of the missing rubber channels & weatherstripping, not just because of the sound but because I was waiting for the day the fatigued glass would finally just explode as I was driving along. Well no more! Got a kit on RockAuto and replaced everything...I can see why the lazy PO didn't do it, because it's quite a hassle to get everything aligned and working. I had some trim tools and the forethought to get some dry spray lubricant. Everything is nice and snug now! The only problem is that I can't roll down the driver window because the rubber retainer on the lift is long gone...it lifts just fine but there's nothing to pull the window down. Not a big deal, since I don't have door trim panels anyway should be easy to install some.
Also bought a scraper and finally scraped off that awful blue tint on the rear windows. It was so bad it was basically fogged glass, I'd have to have the rear window open just to see behind me. It looks like they applied two layers of tint for some reason...let's just say I hold whichever PO that abused my poor truck in very low regard...
Included in the kit was new weatherstripping for the doors, didn't get around to it this time but I'll probably do that next time. Also, got the little rubber gasket for the speedometer mount, so the gauge cluster is pretty much finished, except that the temperature gauge doesn't work anymore. I'll see if maybe it's a bad sender, or problem with contact on the printed circuit board. It doesn't seem the blue illumination lights come on even though I worked on them last time, though the blinkers still work. Seems like those printed circuit boards are quite finicky...it's a little chewed up anyway so I may just give in and buy a new one at some point.
The first major thing on my list to do is to replace the cracked tires so I can drive it a little more confidently in safety, just driving down the road yesterday that was a little wet, the tail end lost grip a couple times not even going 30mph. The wheels are old 17" late '00s Dodge Ram rims...I don't have a problem with them, they look fine. I think I will downsize the tires a bit, 255/75R17 in the rear and 245/75R17 in the front currently are kind of expensive sizes, some 245/70R17 are a little less pricey and only 1" smaller. They're still going to be about 2" bigger than OEM size anyway. Since it's a 2WD, no need to get obnoxious knobby off-road tires either.
And then I will be getting a tailgate, unless I just find a deal on a used tailgate locally, which doesn't seem likely, I'm just going to get the $200 Chinese repro special. I've read about the cheap quality and how they dent easily, but at this point I just need something there so I don't have stuff flying out of the bed, it's going to partially be an occasional work truck after all. I figure when/if I get to where I want to get it looking nice and repaint it, I can get a proper $500+ original tooling tailgate or hunt for a nice used one. If this one gets dinged up, no big deal.
New channels & weatherstripping for the glass No more goofy blue tint & decals, I can actually see behind me!
The factory tailgates are not very strong either. I bought a '79 new off the lot. The first time I walked on the tailgate it bowed down in the middle. I only weighed around 165 at that time.
A heavy tailgate topper will help a lot with strength and not bowing.
Promise I haven't disappeared! Just had to collect some money and got busy with other stuff. So the inspection for my truck (TX requires safety inspections but not emissions for classic cars) is coming up...and there are few things I needed to fix. Most obviously the tires, the old ones really were unsafe being partially bald and cracked. After a trip to Discount Tire, got some brand new, cheap Corsa 245/70R17 tires. Another fun "discovery"- they could only balance the rear wheels. You see, my truck has some mid-00s Dodge Ram basic wheels. But you see, the center hole on those wheels won't fit over front wheel hubs by just a few millimeters. So in their infinite wisdom, the previous owner grinded away enough material to make them fit! Unfortunately they did a pretty *****ty job, so there's no way for the balancing machine to center the wheel properly. Oh well I guess...i'm not going on the highway very much with this if at all. Though I realize now I won't be able to rotate the tires...so I put it on the list- need new wheels.
Oh and I zip-tied a horn button to the wheel- part of the safety inspection is testing the horn, so the bare wires won't cut it, and I don't want to buy a new steering wheel just yet (though I do need one of those too). Though the last couple times I tested it, I pulled out of the driveway and it just goes off by itself. Not sure if it's a bad button or something but who knows...I'm hoping the guy at the shop in town will be generous with the inspection and realize it's just an old truck...we'll see. Also a minor thing, there's a hitch ball on the bumper that was in the way of the license plate and just kind of looked odd there, so I took it off. I'm kind of curious now...what's the purpose? I know there are different ball sizes, would you move it to the center position? Or can you tow with it slightly offset like that?
In the resto-mod spirit, I found an old late 70s Texas Truck license plate at the antique mall, so I think I'm going to see if it'll qualify for the classic plate program, in TX you can use a plate from the same year model of your vehicle. Since 78 didn't have a specific plate, I figure one from the correct year range will work. Also ordered some correct-era bumper stickers off eBay for some extra fun...I'll show those off when I get them.
I think we've officially reached "safe to drive and do truck stuff". Just gotta get it inspected now. Next projects will be getting a tailgate, pull off the carburetor to rebuild it, as I'm sure from the vacuum plumbing it's completely set up wrong, and some spark plug/distributor checks. And some maintenance , need to flush the radiator and replace the belts. The saga continues...
Trust me when I say the coolant never ends... ever.
What’s I’ve learned from my little bit of experience is right when you think it’s all out, you move a tube and it comes dumping out again. Just keep a pan and cat litter nearby
Truck looks great, love watching it progress, good luck with the rest!
Just a quick update- got the truck inspected (it passed!), always good to take it to a local shop, they didn't give me a hard time since it was an old truck.
Did some little things, installed new weatherstripping on the doors, cleaned up some stuff inside, and tightened the band clamps on the fuel filler hoses so now it doesn't leak so bad when I fill up with gas. Popped off a couple spark plugs to see how they looked- looked good, not too worn and no unusual fouling. It's so nice to find something I don't have to replace! Also added a neat bumper sticker, a real original I found on eBay. Figured it's about the right era for this truck. My dog approves!
Gonna use it for some work for the first time this next weekend- got a lot of donations/trash to haul (amazing how much it piled up during COVID when they weren't accepting donations anywhere).
Also thinking on the tailgate, it seems that the reproduction tailgates have gone up a ton in price and are harder to find- LMC is back ordered, listings have disappeared on Amazon and eBay, and the only ones I can find are north of $300. So going to have to wait on a proper tailgate for a while. I'm thinking in the meantime, I can put together something with some old fenceboards I have laying around. Should be good enough for now.
So tonight was fun, after work I was driving the truck down from my inlaws (about 30 miles away) to do some work with/on it this weekend at my house. It died a little over 2/3 of the way there, in the middle of the road. Thankfully I had my wife following me to put her blinkers on, and a police officer pulled up to help out too. Battery was completely dead, and my Jeep just didn't have enough "oomph" to jump it to get it off the road...to make a long story short I paid $140 to have it jumped by a wrecker (the "police called me" rate...), he was kind enough to sit for nearly half an hour to let the battery charge up enough to make it the rest of the way home rather than just hook me up and tow me for $500. Made it home and tested to find out the alternator is definitely not charging.
Which kind of was unexpected...now the last few starts I did have some trouble getting it started, it was cranking a bit slow, but once it started up it was fine, and I had driven it around quite a bit. It must have gone 40+ miles on just the battery! My best guess is maybe the alternator was intermittently working...because when I went to have it tested months earlier the guy at Oreiley said it was fine and charging.
So that's the weekend project now I guess, gonna take the alternator off to get it tested just to be completely sure it's the alternator and not some other electrical issue. Never a dull moment with this truck I guess...
It might be your voltage regulator. I put a new alternator on mine and found out my voltage regulator was toast. It essentially tells your alternator when to kick on. I would also check your fusible link between the alternator output to the positive side of the starter solenoid.
It might be your voltage regulator. I put a new alternator on mine and found out my voltage regulator was toast. It essentially tells your alternator when to kick on. I would also check your fusible link between the alternator output to the positive side of the starter solenoid.
We have a winner! Got out there this morning to start doing tests, sure enough doing a jumper on the regulator plug and the battery would change. Got a new regulator, did the trick. I'm going to call it my $160 voltage regulator...between the cost of the jump and the actual price at the parts store. I guess as a side note now I know my ammeter on my dash doesn't work at all, needle doesn't budge even though it kind of looks like it's on the "charging" side.
Since that was a quick and easy fix I figured I'd go ahead and assemble my redneck tailgate- just some fenceboard cut to size where it will slide in, secured with some bungee cord. Works really well for now, eventually when a new shipment comes in and the reproductions are reasonable I'll get a proper tailgate.
Finally, check out my "new" license plate- an original late 70s early 80s Texas Truck plate. Since it was in the right year range I was able to renew my registration with it.
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalytic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
