Upgrades To Big Blue For Overlanding?

[Ken Blythen]

If it was me Gary (& I fully know it's not!).........

Having BB primarily as the lower mileage, long term workhorse (with Blue being the main tow truck & Dad's the cruiser/rod)...........I would install the O2 meter, throw a jetting kit in the glovebox & move on to the ZF5, oil leaks & mufflers, calling it good.

But again, that's just my thinking.....tell me to mind my business!

[Gary Lewis]

Ken - Advice from a wise man.  After creating a new "whiteboard" (Upgrades For Big Blue) on which to capture what I think I need to do to Big Blue in order to have him ready for such a trip, I'm somewhat taken aback by the list.  So, continuing with the carb and tuning it when we get there or, for that matter, at a roadside stop on the way, would seem to be the best approach.

So, folks, please review the whiteboard and see what I've missed.

[grumpin]

*Better coffee cup holder.    

[Gary Lewis]

What?  You doubt the brilliance of the Ford engineers who gave us the little rings on the back of the glovebox door?  

Anyway, that's actually a good idea.  As I've said in the list on the whiteboard, it is a looooong way to the North Rim from here.  By Google's measurements it is 1,132 miles and will take 17 hrs 22 min, although that is probably w/o stops.  So, we will need some amenities, and drink holders would be high on the list.

I have a little drink holder/catchall that currently sits on the floor in front of the seat.  That might suffice, but it is a stretch for everyone.  However, if it is only the two of us going then we could strap it to the seat itself to make it handy.

Another option would be bucket seats.  I have the ones destined for Dad's truck, and if we weren't expecting to get things dirty I could bolt them and the associated console in, and the console has drink holders.  All of that is a direct bolt-in, but I'm afraid of getting the seats filthy.  

[grumpin]

The looooong made me think that!

I had a hanging cup holder that wouldn't work because it was short. I cut it and pop riveted an extension in. Some aluminum I had laying around. About a 2 inch extension I think.

Hangs at the front of the door. Just have to be a little careful going for the light or windshield wiper switch.

[Gary Lewis]

One of the hanging cup holders would work, but what I'd really like to have is the Bronco setup shown below.  It would be comfortable as well as convenient.





And, the pic of the fog light switch on that Bronco, from the eBay folder, got me to thinking and I'd like input from y'all.  I need driving lights for overlanding, and have a couple of ideas.  In this pic of the front of Big Blue I've drawn in two possibilities.  First, the circles indicate traditional round lights that would be period correct.  But the rectangle shows where a LED bar might go.  However, it can't be more than 3 1/2" high, and shouldn't be more than 24" long.

Thoughts?

[Whisler]

Are you going to have room for the Bronco console when you get the ZF in?

[Gary Lewis]

Yep.  The tranny cover will need to be the larger one, like the one I have for the ZF when I had it in Dad's truck, or the "new" one I got from Huck.  But, they sit well forward of the seat and its base, so there's no interference.

[grumpin]

I have the center console in my 86, just that the cup holders aren't deep.

I like the ones in my Bronco. They have inserts you can remove for bigger cups.

I like round lights, but the rectangle lights may tie in better with the square headlights.

[Gary Lewis]

I have two consoles for Dad's truck  One has the removable inserts and one doesn't  Don't remember the origins of them

And I think I like round lights better also.

[grumpin]

Gary Lewis wrote

I have two consoles for Dad's truck  One has the removable inserts and one doesn't  Don't remember the origins of them

And I think I like round lights better also.

That's cool, I'd like to have deeper ones in my F250.

[Gary Lewis]

As I think about it, if Big Blue is to become used for a fair bit of overlanding then he may well need some changes in the cab.  One is the flooring as all the pics I've seen of overlanding vehicles show them muddy.  And, while Big Blue's carpet isn't pristine so I'm not too worried about it, getting mud out of it won't be as easy as from a mat.  Or from bedliner with a mat over it.

Obviously we need to figure out if we are going to do a bunch of this before doing that.  But, bedliner and a mat or mats won't hurt the functionality of the truck at all.  Maybe raise the noise level a bit, but with new weatherstripping to kill the wind noise, which is awful, and the ZF5 to drop the engine noise, a little bit more through the floor wouldn't be a big deal - I hope.

And then, while the seat is out to do that, maybe buckets and a console?  

As for lighting, which is certainly needed, here are some options:

9": David found these on eBay.  Price is nice ($93), but they are said to be a 30 degree spot, which isn't very tight, and yet are advertised as "Driving Work Light Fog Spot".(

Lazer:  My son found these some time ago, but I don't know where I would mount the bar due to its size, and they don't have round ones.

Hella Rallye 4000 Compact LED: At $400 they are pricey, but I've read that for the driving lights you don't want to scrimp on quality.  These aren't as traditional or period-correct as I'd like, but I'm guessing that with LED's you get the massive heat sink.

Anyway, I'm thinking.......  And, I'd appreciate your thoughts.

[grumpin]

Back when I was working at a NAPA we would sell these for people off roading. Run the power through the solenoid so the switch doesn't get hot.

4509's are 12 volt aircraft landing lights, I don't know why it says low beam industrial, they're bright. Changed many of them in my career in aircraft maintenance.

This is what I think I would do. Not too expensive either.

The GE bulbs we used were durable.

(On edit: One thing I thought of is you could find more efficient lamps (LED, etc.), that's where the expense comes in. I don't think I would run more than two of the "old" style. You can find them cheaper. http://www.bulbconnection.com/ViewSIMItem/bcrw/simid/1800/item.html

https://www.ebay.com/itm/GE-4509-LED-Replacement-Landing-Light-PAR36-14-28-Volt-1yr-warranty-/332069902160)

https://www.napaonline.com/p/ECHST402

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/GRO64930

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/LMA4509

[Gary Lewis]

Grumpin - I'm not sure that the LED replacement bulb idea works very well.  I say that because the manufacturers sure don't seem to go that way.  Take Hella for instance.  They obviously have the earlier lights that used halogen bulbs, but instead of swapping an LED in place of the halogen they completely redesigned things.  I don't know whether that's to get the heat-sink that LED's need or if LED's require a different reflector or lens.  But, for some reason they are quite different now.

Anyway, thanks.  I'll keep looking for the right period-correct LED lights that have excellent coverage.

On another topic, I had a fortuitous conversation after church today with a friend.  He has a metal fabrication shop and has started making trailers for overlanding or, as he calls it, adventuring.  And the trailers have racks on them, to which he installs the pop-up tents - which he also sells.

But, he said he will make me a rack any way I want it.  He likes to make them to go into the stake pockets, but since the front pockets are covered by the big tool box, he thinks he can bolt the front of the rack to the tie-down brackets that are bolted to the front of Big Blue's bed and stick out behind the cab.  (LOL!  I was looking in my pics for one that shows the tie-downs.  Duh!  Scroll up - the pic at the top of this page is of Big Blue and shows what I'm talking about.)  Those are quite heavy, and if they could hold a camper on they'll probably hold a rack up.

So, I need to get with him to get an estimate of what that will cost as well as what a tent will cost.  

[85lebaront2]

Gary, those tie downs look like they may have been for a pickup camper.

[grumpin]

85lebaront2 wrote

Gary, those tie downs look like they may have been for a pickup camper.

Yup. Had those mounts, I put them on my 1994 F250 made by Happijac. Had an extra brace for 4WD trucks.

[ctubutis]

Gary Lewis wrote

One of the hanging cup holders would work, but what I'd really like to have is the Bronco setup shown below.  It would be comfortable as well as convenient.

Be careful here, Gary...

Remember the Jeep Grand Cherokee bucket seats I put in my truck several years ago, along with the Bronco center console tub with the not-real-deep cupholders? I'm having thoughts of removing all that stuff and going back to the/a standard bench seat (probably from the '90s).

Why?

I have found that buckets would be cool in an extended cab or crew cab, but am now of the opinion of NOT in a standard cab.

Me & you are both kinda tall, that means adjusting the seat waaaaaay back. These seatbacks recline (and have heaters & lumbar & ejection & all sorts of crap), but you can't really recline much with the seat all the way back. And my back sometimes wants to lean back more than I can using the current configuration.

Maybe part of my problem is the way they're mounted; people sit really high up, but I don't know that lowering the height would allow one to move the seat in closer to the steering wheel and thereby allow the seat backs to recline more - but also makes one bend their knees more.

Be glad these are full-size trucks, but all this custom seating stuff can take a lot of time to try out different configurations.

I tell myself I'll get used to it but I for some reason find myself wanting the original bench seat again. ;)

~~

Think I'm also gonna install a factory gauge cluster (obviously with better lights back there) and take out that silver + red backlighting stuff; the black digits against the silver background are fine during the day but the numbers are hard to read at night.

Maybe some sort of fluorescent paint that makes the numbers "light up" under the red light at night? Dunno.

~~

I got my truck back ~1.5 weeks ago, I had brought it to a local guy to rebuild the Dana 50 + related stuff for me. Not only did he do that, but he hand-fabricated some brackets to give me dual shocks on each front wheel, and he did that basically for free! :)

((I was already paying him 5x more than the truck is really worth and he knew that, but he rationalized it by telling himself he did that fab work at night in his "spare time" when nobody was bothering him. And,  he had my truck for what seemed like at least 6 weeks, I didn't push him one bit; rather, I treated him as the experienced expert that he is and told him to just do his thing.))

The good part is, the thing now rides BEAUTIFULLY! I can now drive over manhole covers (for example) and the thing doesn't get kicked into the adjacent lane anymore. It stops straight, something it's never done since I've owned it. I have a redhead box, lots of new bearings, u-joints, etc. etc. etc.

Now I need another $2k for wheels + tires, maybe that'll happen when I get a new job someday.

~~

Back to your truck... I think you should get one of those bench seats used somewhere in the 90s, the kind with the center fold-down, console-like thinger with cupholders that can fold up back into the seatback to accommodated a 3rd person. At least, that's what I want to look for... someday...

[Gary Lewis]

Good thoughts, Chris.  The leaning back thing may actually be a problem with the Bronco buckets I have as the way they looked when mocked up in Dad's truck indicated the headrests might hit the rear window.  So, what I probably should do is just pull the seat out of Big Blue and bolt in the base and buckets/console for Dad's and see what I think.  As said, it is all bolt-in, so shouldn't be a big deal.  If I like the arrangement I could look for a blue set for Big Blue.  And, if I don't I can put the bench back.  Easy peasy.

As for the later style seat, that is a possibility.  But the idea of buckets was when off-roading they'd hold you in place better than a bench seat.  In fact, these have the arm rests so that will hold you in even better.
 However, at least the later seat would have the drink holders.  Hmmm, lots to think about.

Anyway, glad you got your truck back and it drives well.  Sounds like you've found a good mechanic.  

[Gary Lewis]

Well, Dyn Blin may have hit the jackpot.  As shown below, he's found a `96 F250 4wd manual tranny truck w/a 460 and EEC-V & MAF, which should mean it is sequential-fire.  It appears to be missing a few things, but I think it will be a good match for what I have.  Here's the plan, assuming all of this stuff is there when he goes back:

Dyn is to get: Intake air hoses, air filter with bracket, and MAF. Plus the front harness all the way from firewall plug to A/C system plugs, as well as the EEC box, associated through-firewall gasket, and ignition module and heat sink.  Also, I'm questioning whether the EEC-IV power distribution center that I have will work with EEC-V w/o a lot of work, so would like him to get that as well, although it may be considered part of the front harness and is, therefore, already included.

I'll use from what I got from Jim and Huck: The lower and upper plenum, throttle body, fuel lines, pumps, rails, and injectors.

I'm sure that we are forgetting something that is needed off the one in CA, so please chime in if you spot it.  

Also, Bill has called dibbs on several other things as we are working in the background with Dyn.  And, I thank Dyn in advance for his scouting trip last weekend and the upcoming retrieval trip.  

[PetesPonies]

I know I'm a few days late on this . . but as stated, the low vacuum is what makes SD systems go wacky. That is why when the first 5.0 HO Mustangs came out, everyone thought modifications were over . . unless you reflashed the chip for your exact setup. But two years later, MAF was introduced and most issues were taken care of with that. But back to the SD, there were camshafts that were available that said they were SD compliant . This basically said not a lot of overlap at low RPMs, a narrower lobe separation.