The chronicles of Lou, '70 F350 dually Cummins project

[Ranchero50]

Awesome project Ranchero50!
I want a cummins 6bt in my truck too, learned a lot reading this thread.

Where can I find this emblem?

http://www.onceuponapart.com/

He made them up for me. The 'Special' isn't embossed like the originals but has the correct 'look'.

Been using the truck a good bit but haven't been real happy with the turbo. When I installed the 16 cm3 turbine housing I ported the divider ring and it wasn't happy, would huff around 20 psi of boost and not perform. Yesterday I preheated it and welded the divider ring back up where the gass's impinge on the turbine wheel. I made several hot passes completely around it so hopefully the weld will stay in place. After cooling for a couple hours I mounted my cut off wheel grinder in the lathe and used that the turn the ID so the impeller fit is correct. I'm hoping it makes a difference without toasting the blades. A replacement housing was $180.

[clemsonjeep]

Sorry if i missed it, but i looked twice and didnt see an update where you addressedwhat you did for your voltmeter. I saw where you posted you were working on it but that was it until a recent picture showing a voltmeter in your cluster...

Truck looks GREAT!

EDIT...found your other thread...

http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... =8&t=66450

[poke em]

Not to hijack your thread, but I saw this voltmeter procedure done on a mustang site, and just happened to tackle this project today. Instead of replacing the sunpro face, I drilled holes in the old face and put it on behind it. It turned out okay. I don't mind the blue line, but if I could get rid of all the numbers except the 8 and 18 I think it'd be just about perfect. Also, I polished up the clear lens with Meguiar's Plast-X and could not be happier with the result.

[clemsonjeep]

I also came across this today if anyone else is looking for this type of mod...$40 isn't bad!

http://www.rccinnovations.com/index.php ... u-volt-all

[Ranchero50]

So, 95` out and my back hurt so the oldest son and I went junk yarding. $20 and two hours of sweating will net you this... Long stuff is the front window track from '93 F series, four short lengths are from the bottom of newer Chevy work van doors.


F series on the left is 5/8" wide x 1/2" deep. The Chevy stuff is 5/8" wide by 5/8" deep which is the channel size for our sliders. I chose the Chevy stuff from the bottom and may use the Ford stuff for the top. My top felt is OK. Neither make is long enough to do one in one piece so I put the split in the middle (which also meant I didn't have to take the window apart to do the work).


Drain holes...


5/16" punched out in an oval form.


Because the Chevy stuff has to long lip I needed to trim it back and also notch it to fit around the upright for the outer window.


Finally I cut 1/4" off the bottom of all my aluminum bits and sanded a radius on each end with the belt sander and deburred them with the wire wheel.


Surprisingly it all fit together pretty well and hopefully it'll be quiet on the road. There's still @ 1/4" vertical movement but the seals all feel tight. Now I just need to figure out how to glue the aluminum to the glass. Looks like black weatherstrip was in there. The glue channel is less than 1/8" deep.

[Ranchero50]

So, been rocking the old truck as a commuter since the LS popped it's coolant reservoir last week. Truck is running great and very smooth at 80 coming down the interstate. Engine is turning 1800 rpm, boost around 7-8 psi and 550-650` EGT. Mileage is still around 17 or so which is great for pushing this big brick this fast.

I did tighten up the steering adjusted a week ago and it's made the steering much less sloppy. Elbow on rest, fingertips on the wheel and away we go.

Now I needs to get some tunes...

[sargentrs]

Glad to hear she's running good for ya, Jamie!

[Ranchero50]

Oh yeah, with the new slider seals it's pretty quiet and warms up quickly. I really need to do a video...

[Ranchero50]

So, been a fun fall dealing with a back issue. Finally couldn't take it anymore and called a guy on Craigslist about some pavers for sale. These pics are of the 2nd trip. Truck was pretty heavy but handled the load fine. Back tire has a slow leak and they all need replaced. The journey was @ 50 miles round trip up in the woods to the west of here. I'm afraid the guestimate the gross weight.





Oopsies.


Got the truck unloaded this morning with help and the trailer dropped across the alley to go get some more.


This is the third trip. I thought I would be able to haul them all with just the truck but there's still two pallets of stuff the drag home.


Not in the picture but when the mud flap is less than one inch off the ground the truck is loaded to capacity. It handled the weight fine but took a while to slow down and felt heavy.


I have a feeling I'm going to get a letter from the city because the Ranchero and Mustang are 'blocked' in.


These things weigh 56 lbs each. I have 260 of them now. They are going to get laid where there's gravel in these pics to keep erosion from digging ditches.

[sargentrs]

Heckuva load you got there. Love to see one of our old girls still working like they were intended to. Truck looks great!

[Ranchero50]

Gracias. I did hook up the heater grid last week and this mornings 10' F temp gave it a work out. The gel battery doesn't like the cold so the amps were down and after heating it for a 40 count I started cranking it over and praying it would start. Took about 40 second before I could let off the starter and it kept going. Lots of chuffing and smoking before it smoothed out. Took about 15 minutes to warm up enough to move. I also blocked the radiator and drug dad's tractor home on the trailer without any issues. Dropped the trailer behind his house and about froze in under 5 minutes. Wind advisory tonight, no poop. Plugged the old girl in so she should start easier tomorrow.

Truck actually likes cold weather once it's warm and if it get up to operating temp once it'll start instantly all day. Next up is a quiet fan motor.

[Ranchero50]

So, the old truck just keep ticking along. Two of the things that bother me about it were fixed today. One, the rearview mirror has never held to the glass and I finally gave up. I decided since the stock visor mount was from a '68 Mustang that I'd see it I could find a repro setup for a '67 with the integral mirror mount.

Second on the list was trying to find a overflow bottle that would work in the space I have available. I was able to pull that off with a discounted DC overflow bottle kit for a early Bronco.

[hfdco4]

Nice to see you are happy with the truck still.

[Ranchero50]

So, after spending way too much time and aggravation trying to glue a mirror to the windshield I gave up and picked up this critter at Carlisle's Ford meet back in June. Both parts are for a '67 Mustang and fit pretty well on the '71.

A pic of my CNC part that copied the mounting fit of the '68 Mustang visor mount that Ford chose to reuse on our trucks.


The '67 mount fit just about as poorly and needed a wider mounting bolt pattern as well as a third hole to help support the mirror.


I'm not sure but I bet the late model visors will hit it but I really don't care. It works well.


Mounting doesn't look horrible from the outside and I'm much happier with a mirror mounted than without.


And here's my coolant overflow bottle courtesy of DC's reject pile at Carlisle. It's supposed to be for a 1st gen Bronco and fit well under my air cleaner.

[sargentrs]

Great work, Jamie!