Big Blue's Transformation

[ArdWrknTrk]

Gary Lewis wrote

Jim - I worry about the future because I know my kids. Within reason I want there to be warning lights to get their attention and sound an alarm as well as flash up a warning.
Hence the Battery warning light.  But it would be very easy for someone to pull the bulb holders for the gauges, put them in a pile, and then put the wrong one in the right spot.  Maybe they are changing the LED colors, or maybe one burned out, but it could easily happen.
So I think about how to do it where it isn't likely there will be a problem.  And while it would be possible for them to change out the cluster and therefore lose the resistor, I'd rather put the resistor on the cluster rather than on the bulb.

ArdWrknTrk wrote

(Then......)

As for the shunt, you are right - as long as there is no more current draw in the accessories than before the 3G swap there's no need to bypass the shunt.  I keep forgetting that, so I'm glad you reminded me.

Wow!
You think no one could EVER put some additional load on the fuse box in the cab, (a load that would smoke what is already undersized wire)
....but you don't trust someone to change a lightbulb?

Are your kids 10?
Do you think your grandchildren are even going to know what driving an ICE under manual control is like?

I don't mean to come off as harsh, but please get a grip.
This is the 21st century. Data and automation are moving faster and faster.
While nostalgia is great, no one is making a living sweeping horse poop out of the streets anymore.

This reminds me when you first started dad's truck and I said you are building a one hoss shay
It was an observation... not a criticism.

[Gary Lewis]

LOL.  I won't ask how you know.  But, it is good to know.

Anyway, I agree that going with an acetate sheet is preferable.  I was leaning that way because of the higher transparency and the ability to match fonts.  But, you have a good point about a battery icon.  It would be easy to do that.

I did find these sheets from Online Labels that appear to be what I want.  (I'm not saying I won't try the ones from Walmart, but have my doubts on them.)

[ArdWrknTrk]

I'm not pushing the Wal-Mart one.
I just said that the reviewer on Amazon stated that the sheets were frosted.
And that under $3 and local it was worth a try.

If you've found something made for printing then by all means go for it.

[Gary Lewis]

My son could probably point out the carb and my daughter could probably point out the engine.  But beyond that...  He's a lawyer and drives cars - and hopefully Big Blue for an overlanding trip, but I'll have to teach him to drive a stick first.  She's essentially a missionary and lives in Nicaragua, driving a manual transmissioned 4Runner daily.  So they just don't have any interaction with repairing vehicles.

Both Dad's truck and Big Blue will be so heavily modified that they'll have to read my documentation on what parts to buy to maintain or repair either.  But I don't want to have to put "Don't swap the Battery bulb for any other bulb" in my documentation.  Instead, I'll try to build the truck so that doesn't become an issue.

On the red acetate sheet, I'll certainly try the Walmart one.  That would be an easy solution.

[ArdWrknTrk]

There won't be a carb, will there?  

If your daughter is living in Central America then you have no worries except for some widget like an Arduino.

The people I've known in Belize, Honduras and El Salvador were incredibly resourceful.
They could fix almost anything with almost nothing.
This has been their life since the Conquistadors came.
Edit: I mean helicopters, aircraft, wounded animals and humans. Boats and cars/trucks are nothing for them.

I pity whoever follows in my footsteps.
There is NO documentation, but all the parts are off the shelf (so there's documentation somewhere, if the part can be identified)

[ArdWrknTrk]

Gary Lewis wrote

 I don't want to have to put "Don't swap the Battery bulb for any other bulb" in my documentation.  Instead, I'll try to build the truck so that doesn't become an issue

You could just put a resistor across every one of them.

It wouldn't affect any function, and are probably $2.50 for 10 @ Digikey or Newark.

No documentation needed.

[Gary Lewis]

ArdWrknTrk wrote

You could just put a resistor across every one of them.

It wouldn't affect any function, and are probably $2.50 for 10 @ Digikey or Newark.

No documentation needed.

Now that's an idea!  

As for resourceful people, I've seen many of them down there.  They truly can fix anything with nothing.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I don't know if I should expound on this online or off?
But since I already put it out there I'll leave it to you, Gary, if you choose to post it or nuke it.

Consider that you and I grew up with:

Telephones
Television
Automobiles
Jet Aircraft

(Communications and transport, right?)

Our grandparents (or great grandparents) likely had:

Telegraph
Theater
Buggies or carts
Steamship

Their grandparents had:

Telescopes, mirrors and the post
Fables and lore, printing
Horses
Sailing ships


25,000 years ago (depending on your beliefs):

Smoke signals and runners
Fables and lore, no understood written language.
Horses
Sailing rafts

Just like Moore's law we are seeing an exponential advance of data technology.
Kids today have never seen a world without an internet or a computer/video camera in everybody's pocket that had access to that knowledge base, and was tracking them all the time.

Theirs will be a world of:

Instant messaging
Augmented or fully artificial reality & intelligence, where their brains decisions influence the outcome algorithm.
Jetsons scooters, if there is any need to actually be somewhere in a virtual world.
Shuttlecraft, to Mars (or whatever might count as a destination)

There will be fusion!
And you fret over someone's ability to replace a filament?
(IF they can even find or create a bulb)


Yet, in the NEAR future there may be call for a force field or onboard laser for your vehicle.
And the whole thing runs through a 12-14Ga. wire?


Chose your battles wisely my friend.
Don't obsess about the flea when it's on the rump of a tiger.

Edit to add:. Nothing is perfect, and nothing is forever. (except your God)

[Gary Lewis]

Jim - You make very good points. We have seen dramatic changes in our lifetime, with many more ahead. And yet God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

However, that doesn't mean I can't think about the ramifications of changes I'm making. And that's what I'm doing, thinking of what would be the best way to make a modification. But perhaps I am obsessing.

Anyway, I did have a lot of time with WelderScott yesterday and got to talk to him about welding up the crossmember. By looking at the one from the '95 we were somewhat able to envision what the change would entail, and he suggested this approach:

1. Tack the piece in place from the top where you can most easily see how it fits
2. Weld it up fully from the bottom
3. Grind out the weld from the top down to the solid bottom weld
4. Weld the thing heavily from the top

But, I forgot to ask him about bottles and tanks. Perhaps I'll get the chance to do that today at our luncheon after church. However, the need for that info is down the road quite a bit so there is time.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Yep, I understand that the Lord is the only thing flawless and eternal.

And I do understand that you feel you should consider every aspect.

With 'Dad's Truck' -a memorial, as much as a vehicle- it's understandable and somewhat justified to obsess and aspire to perfection.

Big Blue is a work vehicle.
And never will be anything more.

As a friend, I'm trying to tell you to direct your energy where it will promote your legacy.

I love you.
I love you for all that you care and share with me, and the group of truck nuts (not Z ) that has assembled around you.

We are the faithful, and you write the book. (Or at least scan and OCR it)

YOU made this place where we can gather together and share.


I hope you can grasp how huge that is.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I do agree with Scott's plan for complete penetration welding.

Be mindful that you need to keep the perch mounting surface flat.

I hope he gives you the full drive report.

Trailer wheels and a tank solution can wait.

[Gary Lewis]

Jim - Thank you for your comments and your love.

I do have a hard time getting my head around "how huge it is".  It, meaning the web site and the forum, are a labor of love.  And I do hope it will be a legacy.  But from the inside I don't see the magnitude.  I just do the

But I disagree with you to some extent about Big Blue.  Yes, he certainly is a work truck.  But I'm hoping that he will also be something that my son will use - after he and I've used it considerably.  He has told me several times that he wants to do overlanding, and yet he has no vehicle capable of doing it.  Hence the buildup of Big Blue.  And while he thinks we should have used a Toyota as the base, I'm not into those and have a Ford, so that's what it will be.  (Although a Bronco might have been a better choice.)  So I hope it will be another legacy in a way.

In any event, I do appreciate your guidance on directing my energy.  And I'll try to do that.

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, the perch mounting surface must be flat.  So any top-side welding that is done has to be ground back flush if it is to be between the perch and the crossmember.

When the time comes, meaning when the engine is out and the engine compartment is clean, I'll post pics of the butchered crossmember.  Then we can work out where to make the cuts, taking into account where the perch will sit.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I guess I never understood your vision for the future of Big Blue.
Or maybe you never pointed out that he would become exclusively a trekking vehicle.
I always saw him morphing into your personal beater, for trailering or bringing home mulch, appliances, building materials, etc.

I hope your son can get the hang of clutching!
I learned on a garden tractor and bombed around the neighborhood in my Camaro as a 13 yo, but the first lesson in driving a street car was with my great uncle in his 1966 Ferrari 330 Gt 2+2!

I understand the want for a Toyota.
Example, your daughter.
The Hilux is probably the most popular truck after the F-150, and certainly the most popular in developing countries and among terrorists.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Gary Lewis wrote

I do have a hard time getting my head around "how huge it is".  It, meaning the web site and the forum, are a labor of love.  And I do hope it will be a legacy.  But from the inside I don't see the magnitude.

 Gary, you do misunderstand....
Huge is not the forum or website.

Huge is your aura of love and the community you've built around you.
Whether or not that was your intention, it has happened.
Whether or not you can grasp the magnitude doesn't matter.
I'm sure, that for a man like you, it's hard to be objective.
But I want you to know what we see in you.

[Gary Lewis]

Don't get me started on the Hilux-driving mafia in Nicaragua.  But you are right, it is a very popular pickup.  Toyotas stand up to a lot of abuse, so they are appreciated in countries where the roads and service are poor.

But part of my son's want for a Toyota is due to them being written-up in all the magazines and on-line forums like Expedition Portal as being the way to go.  I think I recently posted about an article in a magazine that I bought where a guy built up a Tacoma for overlanding.  I sent my son an email comparing Big Blue to that Taco, and BB won in most cases, although he is a bit bigger on the outside and smaller in the cab.  So I think BB is more than capable of being an excellent overlanding vehicle.

Anyway, to paraphrase Martin Luther King, I have a dream for Big Blue.  And that is for him to become reasonably economical to drive, reasonably comfortable to ride in, capable of going practically anywhere there's a trail, and reliable enough that no one is reluctant to take him for fear of not making it.

And I think that once my son learns to drive him, which shouldn't be that hard to do, he will agree with me that BB is "a", if not "the", way to go overlanding and will use him to do so long after I can no longer go.

So I'm wanting to make BB bullet-proof and yet maintainable.  But my son has never hands-on maintained a vehicle after he left for college, so I don't expect him to do it himself.  And, since he lives in Florida ........  

[Gary Lewis]

ArdWrknTrk wrote

Gary, you do misunderstand....
Huge is not the forum or website.

Huge is your aura of love and the community you've built around you.
Whether or not that was your intention, it has happened.
Whether or not you can grasp the magnitude doesn't matter.
I'm sure, that for a man like you, it's hard to be objective.
But I want you to know what we see in you.

Wow.  Thanks!  I certainly appreciate that.  

[Dorsai]

Gary Lewis wrote

Don't get me started on the Hilux-driving mafia in Nicaragua.  But you are right, it is a very popular pickup.  Toyotas stand up to a lot of abuse, so they are appreciated in countries where the roads and service are poor.

If my grandfather's truck hadn't come to me I would probably have a Toyota.  It's the only truck with a war named after it, it's not like you can go wrong with them.

[ArdWrknTrk]

It's been said that after Armageddon the only things left moving will be cockroaches and biodiesel Toyota 4x4's.  

[Gary Lewis]

Personally I think the Fords can be plenty tough.  Were I to pick an engine for robustness I'd probably pick the 300 six.  Seven main bearings and a reputation for a long life, it would be great.

But, that's not what I have.  And, it wouldn't tow like the 460.  So I'll make do with what I have and augment it just a little bit - with a D60, ZF5, EEC-V, 3G, Saginaw, hydroboost, Ox, etc.