1982 Bronco 351 4x4 - Code name Esperanza

[Gsmblue]

Just for reference, this is my rant about those edelbrock gaskets:

Gsmblue wrote

Well that was a disaster...

I got the manifold and engine nicely cleaned up. Then the bolts I had were too long and I had to run out and get the correct size..

When mating the Edelbrock 7220 gaskets (designed for Edelbrock 2181 manifold) to the engine it was a SHOCKING fit.... My friend could not believe it..

So we got the gaskets lined up on the engine as best we could. put a couple of studs in the block and then opened the black RTV Ultra.  It was hard to get out fo the tube so I poked it a little and it started coming out. I prepped the corners and started laying the bead on the back and the RTV stopped flowing. I cleared the blockage and then squeezed some more out. Then the tube cracked and it started coming out of the side of the tube. By now what started as a nice even bead was ugly, ugly, ugly.

We had a hunt around and found another tube of "Minute gasket" in my garage. So we cleaned up as best we could and laid the bead on the front and back with that. Not optimal...

THEN my friend was lowering the intake down and he could not get it on the studs cleanly and it come down weird..

By this point I said we are kinda all in. There was RTV on the gaskets etc so it was pull it all apart and get more stuff or let's set it and see how it goes. So we hand tightened, waited 10 mins, torqued to 10ftlbs. then 10 mins later 18ftlbs. I figured as it was minute gasket we should not wait 24hours.

I am thoroughly pissed off as I know this is going to leak. I am going to order replacement gaskets - NOT EDELBROCK. And buy 4 tubes of RTV from different sources and write the date and purchase location on them so when it pisses coolant out the front again I can get right on it and sorted it within an hour.

I am also going to get a new intake manifold as it was pretty pitted around the coolant channels.

So not very happy right now... Going to do nothing to it tomorrow and get back to it on Thursday when I am less angry about the sub-par products I have had to deal with.

Grrrrrrr....

[grumpin]

Gsmblue wrote

grumpin wrote

Good find, but I have never heard of using water to find a leak like that.

I had no starter fluid handy, so I guess this a riskier alternative, the sound goes away and the revs drop. I probably used 1/2 cup of water and about 1/8 of that got sucked in...  Espy is on bed rest for a few days! I skip town on Sunday for a week due to work so I am pushing to get as much done before then as I can, so when I get back I can enjoy driving her!

Cool! And I learned something new!

[Gary Lewis]

Gsmblue wrote

Cheers Gary! These pesky onions!

My wife was sweet, she said “this is exactly why you have these trucks, so you get to be tested and play.”

I nearly said “just like you!” But caught myself in time

Any-who, I have the bolts from the last round of gasket fun, funny thing, I recall my friend that helped at the time was a mechanic and he dropped the intake and messed up the RTV and we had to do a second take!

Maybe this time I will ask my friend who is an EMT to help!

James 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,....

You should be very joyful!  

Yes, maybe the friend that is an EMT.  Hopefully they've been trained to be more careful?

[Gsmblue]

Well, not the kinda progress I was hoping for. I only managed to change out the driver side rear anti sway link and bushings. I didn’t have the stomach to tackle the intake.

However, I did get an eBay score, a used rear window defrost switch, mine has a broken bezel that has been annoying me for ages, $50 well spent.. been an expensive 2 weeks with Espy!

[Gsmblue]

Oh, and door pockets... as I said before, not the right year but the wife is fine with them.

[1986F150Six]

Gsmblue wrote

Oh, and door pockets... as I said before, not the right year but the wife is fine with them.

If the Queen is happy, there is peace in the kingdom!

[Gary Lewis]

I understand on the intake.  It takes gathering up all my gumption to do something like that - for the second or third time.  

But, you did get some things done, and that has to feel good.  Keep on keeping on - and get your EMT friend over.  

[Gsmblue]

Ha! I called her a princess once, guess how that worked out for me

I have to tackle this bloody intake tonight.. At least remove everything and get it cleaned up. I couldn't find the studs I used last time so that is another thing to take care of.

At least I get to pick up the new front seats today. I will probably spend most of the night cleaning them up in the house :)

I am really chewing through my list now, shame I have to skip town for a week :(

[Gsmblue]

The new seats! This is after 1.5hrs of cleaning with my carpet cleaner. I will spare you the before pics, they were gross!!! The passenger  seat is hardly used, the driver seat has expected wear. They will do for now and will look fine when i het the covers on them.

As the weather is not cooperating to allow me to fix the intake manifold I will install these tomorrow and tackle a radius arm bushing. Luckily Espy has bolt on brackets so it should be ok..

[Gary Lewis]

I'm curious how comfortable those seats are.  I have a pair for Dad's truck, all nicely upholstered.  But I've toyed with the idea of installing them in Big Blue if we are going to take some long trips in him as I think they'd beat the bench seat hands-down.

But yours are going to look great!  Show us pics with the covers on.

[Gsmblue]

Espy came with these style hi-back, dual arm rest captains chairs. So i am trying to stay true to that.

I prefer them to low backs or a bench. Keep in mind i am a Brit used to hot hatchbacks and bucket seats...

The covers i have are as per earlier posts. The plan is to have these seats reupholstered at some point, maybe 2021!

It is another step forward, my princess apparently approved, but she was tired after a 9 hour shift and looking for wine!

Pics will follow in a week or so.

[grumpin]

Good job! That's not fun work to me.

Those look like the seats in my truck. I like them they are comfortable. Both arm rests fold down for that Captain feel!

I like them better than my Bronco seats, which is kind of odd to me, as I really liked the buckets seats in my 1994 F250 Super Cab I used to have. The Bronco seats have too much of an angle in the base to me. Meaning my knees are higher than my bottom.

[Gsmblue]

Still too chilly to tackle the intake today, I didn’t have the oomph in me to do the radius arm brackets and bushings, so I did some cleaning.

Out came the old seats, I threw the covers in the wash then got the vacuum and the carpet cleaner and went to town. It is so satisfying to see all that bunk come up. And it smells good now too!

The new seats are in great condition, the driver’s side needed some foam replaced on the base, you know the part that always wears. Off to Joanne, some firm foam and a pair of scissors took care of that.

Once the covers are dry they will go on. Now the bed carpet is free as I pulled the rear bench hardware to paint it, I can put sound deadening down!

So here are some before and afters..

[ArdWrknTrk]

Espy is getting the deep clean and a makeover in preparation for her coming out party!  

[Gary Lewis]

Yes!  The princess is gonna be HAPPY!

So, what sound deadener are you going to use?

[Gsmblue]

Indeed. My wife said she wants to drive Espy more this year so I am making every effort to make her a nice clean and reliable daily driver.

It is relaxing for me to do this stuff too, every little thing I am doing seems to be having a huge impact and feels rewarding.

Here is the new list of things to do and things that have been done. At the end of this month I would have been working on Espy for 2 years and I will be about $5k into her!

Short term (1-4 weeks)

Dash light for hi-beam needs new bulb
Wash seat covers
Sound deadening trunk
Replace PCV valve/breathers
replace breather hoses
Vacuum hoses all need to be replaced so they are all blue 😎
Install radius arm bushings (will need help here)
Look into defrost duct for why it is not working (use the flex cam!)
Shift indicator needs replacing
transfer case shifter boot and trim
Paint rear speaker grills
Install 6x8 speakers
Install new rear defrost switch
New husky floor mats for front (ordered)




Medium term (4-12 weeks)

Blue top steering box
Rear axle overhaul
Drivers Map light still dead
Wire up KC daylighters
Paint remaining interior trim (I have a whole new F150 grey interior from the JY)
Prep rust on body work


Long term (who knows!)

Rear window defrost needs fixing
Paint body work
Body mounts
AC (missing some components)
Dash pad replacement
Rear bumper
Replace rear window
Find sliding windows for back


Completed

Installed Stainless steel braided brake lines and flushed the system.
Replaced brake booster
Replaced rear brake slaves
New center console
Center Console and glove box locks replaced
Driver side power lock actuator replaced
Windshield leak fixed
Re-align steering wheel, 3 times…
Custom plates
New custom headliner
Replace power window switches and bezels
Replace power mirror switches
Replace power lock switches and bezels
New Alpine BT149 stereo
New speakers (Infinity Reference) and wires
Painted dash needles
Fixed idiot light films on dash
Replace power steering return hose
Replace headlights
Replace side marker lenses and bulbs
Replace rear light clusters and bulbs
Remove all old extra lights and wiring
Replace all 6 shocks with KYB Gas-A-Just
Replace window wiper arms and blades
Installed all new weather stripping
Replace vacuum modulator for transmission
Installed center console
Replace battery terminal clamps
Installed new Edelbrock valve covers with new gaskets
Re-installed Edlebrock performer intake manifold with new gaskets
Installed new Edlebrock 1406 carb and a new air filter
Installed HEI dizzy/ignition
Installed new steering column top assembly
Installed Borg intermediate steering shaft
Installed factory grill
New steering wheel
Tachometer
Carburetor adjustment to lean idle
Drilled out tire swing arm bolts. 2 were rusted in
Paint/mount tire swing arm first silver then later black
New wheels (Ford 10 hole 15x8)
New tires  (Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac 31x10.5x15)
New rear brake shoes and springs (front were already brand new)
Installed washer jets
Replaced washer bottle/coolant overflow
New seals for the removable top
Painted the top bright white!
Neutral safety switch
New Radiator (Sprectra Premium CU560)
New radiator cap
Alternator cable replaced
New alternator
New alternator belt
New starter
New starter relay
New voltage regulator
New ground straps
Sound deadening on front doors and rear 3/4 panels
Replace Anti sway bar bushings front with MOOG
Replace Anti sway bar bushings rear with MOOG
Upgraded audio again (New Pioneer DEH7800 stereo, alpine did not cut it. Infinity reference 6.5 and 6x8 speakers, amp, active sub)
Install map pockets on doors
Install new front seats
Clean carpet
Clean up and paint rear seat hardware
Install new battery terminals
New cargo liner

[ArdWrknTrk]

That's a very impressive DONE list!  👍

Espy's come a long way.  

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, Espy has come a LOOOOOONG way!  All of that for only $5k?  Well done!!!!

[Gsmblue]

Quick question. I have just taken delivery of some nice ARP studs for the intake manifold. When I install the studs is there a torque setting for them?

Actually, while I am at it, what is the torque settings for the nuts that hold the intake on to the aforementioned studs?

Hope to tackle it after work tomorrow 😎

[Gary Lewis]

There's no specified torque for the studs themselves that I know of.  But if you lube them with the special ARP lube, like you will the tops for the nuts, then they'll torque down the same as the nuts when you torque them.

And, that is 23 - 25 ft-lbs, as shown on Page 44 of the factory shop manual here: Documentation/Engines/Windsor, and then the Instructions tab.  But also note that Page 17 shows the torque sequence and says that you should torque them down in two steps.

I'd probably snug the nuts up by hand, and then torque them to 10 ft-lbs, then go back over them at 20, and then to 25.