[Doosenberry]

Well, I might have killed another battery. 🤦‍♂️

I had my short block and my C6 loaded into my truck the other day. I was ready to meet a guy to sell the C6 and then he said he couldn't make it after we agreed on a time and I went out of my way to make it work for him and put off some of my own stuff.

Anyway, I left my truck parked a couple of days knowing it would be tough to start in the very very cold temps we have been having. Couple days later another guy offers me $100 more for my C6 than the first guy, so we make a deal. I wasn't very happy with that first guy.

I couldn't get the truck started about 15 minutes before the guy was going to show up at our agreed meeting place, he was driving from way out of town. The ignition was being stupid again, so I tried a jumper wire to make sure I was getting power when it cranked. Nothing. So, in a hurry, I backed up the Bronco and dragged the C6 into the back of it and went on my way.

Guess what I forgot to remove in all my haste. That's right, the jumper wire. No lights, no click, no nothing now. Whoops. So, I'll perform cpr on this battery. I may get lucky, being that it's a legit deep cycle and not a starting battery, but I really drained the crap out of it, so I won't be surprised if it's dead dead.

 

[Doosenberry]

Alright. Put the battery on the charger Tuesday morning around 9am. Checked on it at about 5pm and it was still charging, maybe around 75%.

I checked it again at about 8am the next morning, still charging. lol. I'm telling ya, it was dead when I pulled it out of the truck.

I checked it later that evening and it was done charging, so somewhere between 24-36 hrs in total.

Put it in the truck and it spun the engine like it wasn't a problem. So yay for saving the deep cycle. I'll have to mess with the ignition again at some point. With it being temperamental like it is combined with the slow cranking when it's below freezing outside, it won't start very easily.

In other news, I took the short block over to the machine shop and got the cylinders mic'd. Looks like a +.030 stroker kit it is. There was only one cylinder that had any significant ridge to it, but 30 over will take care of it.

This was sitting on the stand today, I believe they ran it yesterday and were taking it off. 432" Pontiac. There happened to be a print out of a dyno pull sitting next to the dyno controls, so I took a peek. ~435hp @5100 and 485tq @4100 with manifolds no less.

 

[Doosenberry]

Dropped the truck off yesterday at the 4x4 shop I take my Bronco to. I wanted them to check out a few things that are in their wheelhouse being that they do a lot of suspension work and alignments.

My steering has been super twitchy for the last... long time. It catches ruts really well too and will go wherever. I suspected my tie rod relocator on my passenger side had came loose.

It's a shit design on DJM's part. They have just a plain stud coming out of it that goes into the knuckle that has a tapered hole where the tie rod's tapered stud would fit perfectly. The straight stud will loosen in the tapered hole after repeated side loading from steering back and forth. A good design would have a tapered stud exactly like the tie rod does. Oh well.

Anyway, the first time they both came loose, I just retightened them. The steering got out of wack, so I took it in, they found that only the driver side had loosened since my retighten, so they ended up just retightening the nut like I did, but also tack welding the relocator to the knuckle, so it wouldn't loosen again.

Same thing happened to the passenger side this time, so they did the same thing to it yesterday. Problem solved, I guess.

I also had them check out my leaf springs since the left rear has always looked lower than the right, but more so over the last year or two. Turns out my left side rear is 3/4" lower than the right. They checked the frame and made sure everything was square and that it was indeed a spring issue, so that's reassuring. I've been considering new springs, so it's just a matter of finding some I think will suit the way I use this truck and then make a purchase. Yay...

And lastly, I had them check the operating angles on the driveline so I can eliminate some variables as to why I get so much vibration when driving. They said the operating angles were good, but that my driveshaft is bent. Well there ya go, vibration source.

I knew it had a few small dents in it that weren't there when I put new u-joints in it and repainted it back in 2017-2018, but wasn't sure those were the cause. They said they saw those dents, but that when they got it on the rack they were able to rotate the shaft and see it wobble when it spun.

Not the worst thing in the world, I mean as far as cost. I had already planned on putting in a new shaft when I was going with the 521/C6 combo as it was going to be a little longer than my current 302/C4 and, ya know, significantly more powerful. So, I was waiting until things got swapped and then engine plans changed, so the shaft got put on the back burner altogether. Guess I can put that back on the front burner now.

 

[Doosenberry]

I took the driveshaft off and took a measurement based on what a local shop told me a long time ago as far as measuring on a 2wd that doesn't have a fixed yoke on the transmission.

I ended up with 58 7/8" from the tip of the output shaft to the diff yoke surface where it mates to the shaft which would be approximately the center of the u-joint cap. Super long, that's nearly 5 feet.

I called Tom Wood's just before they closed to ask a few questions. I don't know why I didn't think about it before, but they don't carry 2wd specific stuff like slip yokes that go into the the transmission. SO, provided my slip yoke is still in good shape, they can make me a shaft and then I can put my slip yoke on it. It's either that or have a local shop re-tube my shaft or have them make a whole new one if everything else isn't up to spec. I'll check both options and see what makes sense.

I'll have to make a new measurement as the one I took is how the guy at one of my local shops told me to measure it for him. The guy at Tom Wood's told me to take my slip yoke and put it in the tranny as far as it will go and then to measure from the center of the u-joint cap on the slip yoke to the center of the u-joint cap on the diff yoke. Then they'd take a certain amount off that measurement so the yoke can... slip.

 

[Doosenberry]

Couldn't convince myself to get up early enough before work to go and shove the shaft back into the tranny and measure again for the guy I spoke with at Tom Wood's.

I did, however, have enough time to put the shaft in the back of the Bronco and stop by FleetPride for a few minutes and talk to their driveshaft guy. Long story short, he said my dents by themselves would be enough to put it out of balance even if the shaft wasn't bent enough to cause the wobble. He said they make the side of the shaft they are on shorter than the opposite side, which makes sense.

He didn't tell me this part, but if you take a sheet of paper and hold each end of it with one hand and then push both ends towards each other a little, the paper deflects in the center and forms more or less a "dent". Bringing your hands together makes your paper "shorter". That's for a visual as to what has happened anyway. 👉 😉 👉

So, after some talking with him, he said if everything on my shaft is good to reuse, other than the tube itself and the u-joints, I'm looking at around $200 give or take a little. Only down side issss... he's like 3-4 weeks out. Oooof course he is. And I'd have to leave the shaft with him, so that he can get it put together as soon as the parts show up, or there is a gap in his workload, without having to contact me when that happens and wait for me to bring it in, etc etc.

No idea how much it'd cost me to get one done via Tom Wood's, but the rear shaft for my Bronco that was 100% new from front to rear with larger u-joints than this one will have, cv, yadda yadda, was more than double what I was quoted for the re-tube and new u-joints job, so going local on this one will probably be worth the wait. Driving the truck in this cold weather, until I get my ignition sorted out, isn't gonna happen much anyway.

 

[Doosenberry]

In other news, a critical piece for my "nostalgia" engine build has arrived. Not really trying to make a clone of anything, but kinda want that early 289 Mustang vibe from the engine compartment. That theme is also taming my desire to make this engine way more than what I should make it into by getting aluminum heads and all that comes with doing that.

My 65/66 "Mustang" air cleaner. I put Mustang in quotes, because I'm not 100% this air cleaner would only come from a Mustang of those two years or even possibly from a different Ford of those years, especially as this air cleaner has a 260 sticker on it and I believe that was only a Mustang engine for the very first year. Not sure if this is all original either. They did change air cleaners around '68 for the Mustang, most notably, for me anyway, the snorkel. That's what I can tell based on the very little research I did while snooping around for one of these. Either way, this is the look that I wanted, so I got it.

Overall in pretty good shape. Even has a used filter in it, so I'll use that to find a suitable replacement. I will make a couple of changes to it, though. I want to change the screws that are on it, that hold on the snorkel, to the wingnuts you usually see on these and then replace the gasket in the lid. And, of course, paint the snorkel black and the rest of it goooold.

I'm aiming to mimic this look.

 

[El Kabong]

I think falcons ran a 260 in 63 & 64. Mine was a 64 sprint, so it was the chrome open element. I'll bet the futura looked like that though. My brother's 65 Tiger started out with a 260 too. That one looks like a good base for the look you want.

 

[Doosenberry]

I think falcons ran a 260 in 63 & 64. Mine was a 64 sprint, so it was the chrome open element. I'll bet the futura looked like that though. My brother's 65 Tiger started out with a 260 too. That one looks like a good base for the look you want.

I think the sbf wikipedia page says the first sbf came out in 62 and was a 221, so by 63/64 it was probably being made as a 260.

It's crazy to think the sbf was used from 1962 and ended in 2001 in the explorer.

From what I found when I was searching for an air cleaner of that era, there's one that's specific to 6 cylinders, one that looks like what I got with the entire top being the lid, and then one that looks very similar to mine, but the lid is smaller and is just wide enough to cover the air filter.

When I spotted a 67 Fairlane in one of the wrecking yards here, it had a 2bbl 289 in it with that third air cleaner I mentioned. It was gone by the time I had decided I was going to stay with a sbf and that I wanted a mid-60s style air cleaner.

 

[El Kabong]

I always preferred the look of the one you have to the last one you posted. That last one seemed to show up more in general purpose vehicles. I think the one you have showed more in what we would have considered to be more sporty models.

 

[Doosenberry]

I always preferred the look of the one you have to the last one you posted. That last one seemed to show up more in general purpose vehicles. I think the one you have showed more in what we would have considered to be more sporty models.

That's probably true. I just know that HiPo 289 Mustangs always have the chrome open element air cleaner, but that looks like every other aftermarket air cleaner I've ever used (my Bronco's open element air cleaner is chrome under the black paint I put on it) and I wanted a different visual.

The biggest drawback to the one I picked up would be it's ability to support more hp. The single snorkel isn't used on higher hp applications and I'm sure that's for a reason.

Engine masters did an episode on air cleaners, that I posted on the random video thread a while back, and a single snorkel intake only supported around 300-350hp if I remember correctly. If I used better parts to make more hp, like some AFR heads, I'd be using a different air cleaner among other things.

 

[El Kabong]

Yeah, we frequently replaced those with open element air filters. Sometimes with 2 elements stacked, which we called a "big boy" air filter, after the double burger at Bob's Big Boy.

And sometimes guys would locate a taller element to use in the stock air filter, so the lid didn't sit all the way down closed, which left an opening for more air flow around the edge.

Neither of which sounds like the look that you're after.

I also remember one guy cutting a hole & adding a second snorkle to his air cleaner on the opposite side.

 

[Doosenberry]

Yeah, we frequently replaced those with open element air filters. Sometimes with 2 elements stacked, which we called a "big boy" air filter, after the double burger at Bob's Big Boy.

And sometimes guys would locate a taller element to use in the stock air filter, so the lid didn't sit all the way down closed, which left an opening for more air flow around the edge.

Neither of which sounds like the look that you're after.

I also remember one guy cutting a hole & adding a second snorkle to his air cleaner on the opposite side.

I've been thinking about cutting large slots in several spots on the bottom, in front of the filter of course, so it'd let more air in and not be seen. There's a lot of real estate there if you go back and look at the pic of the air cleaner I posted where it's opened up. We'll see if something like that ends up being necessary.

I think if it ends up being something that's obviously holding back performance, I'll swap something else on and keep this one for show, basically. Not that I'm really into shows n stuff, but that may change!

 

[Doosenberry]

I dropped off my driveshaft at Fleetpride the day after I spoke with their driveshaft guy. He's just going to re-tube it to the same length and put on new u-joints, provided everything else is reusable. There was nothing wrong with it other than the fact it was bent and had dents in it, so no need to change the setup. Since my truck's going to be parked for a while, I'm gonna try to get some smaller things done that don't require taking it anywhere, like the hinge pins, etc.

I, personally, also discovered yesterday that a couple of independent shops are fabricating dentside rear bumper brackets for the rear contour bumper, the one LMC calls a "sport bumper". I've been waiting for literal years, lol, for a truck to show up in the wrecking yard with one of those bumpers so I could at least snag the brackets and then source a decent rear contour bumper. It was always one of those "if they ever happen to show up in the yard, I'll get one" kind of deals, so I was never in a big hurry.

I went ahead and pulled the trigger on a set of those brackets, so I can finally go ahead and get a rear contour bumper and continue on my way. I'm gonna finally change out my front bumper as well and source a 73-77 bumper instead of the 78/79 bumper that's on their now. It annoys me seeing the wrong bumper on there. 🤷‍♂️

 

[Doosenberry]

Doing a little research on my rear springs. A member on FTE gave me the basic part number for the rear leaf springs, which is 5560, so with that number I was able to use the numbers off my factory springs to get some leads on some new springs with the right ratings.

The numbers on my leaf springs are D2TA HB EC6 200 and they are located on the bottom side of the springs near the leaf spring pad on the axle.

The basic part number for the springs fits in between the D2TA and the HB, so you end up with D2TA-5560-HB. That cross references with another number, which is D3TZ-5560-A, both numbers representing the same part.

According to my google searches after finding the "missing" number, my factory leaves are rated at 1250lbs. I was looking at the springs over at generalspringkc.com, which has been used by several members here on FSB, but they only sell springs, for my 2wd truck, rated at 1450 and 1650 and they contain one more leaf than my spring packs do. Mine are 3/1 with the 1450 and 1650 being 4/1.

My searching also landed me on a pdf for springs made by Dayton Spring. It lists 4 different leaf springs for my truck rather than just the two sold by generalspringkc. It also shows the engineering numbers stamped on my factory springs, so that's a good sign.

I still have some more research and some decisions to make. I am curious to know how much it would change the ride quality and the ride height of my rear if I went with one of the 4/1 springs (1450/1650). The diagram shows the arch and the spring pack thickness and between those two measurements, it looks like my truck would actually sit lower in the rear compared to (fresh) factory 1250 leaf springs, but be stiffer (higher capacity). Looks like the section that says "Grading" shows the spring rate of the springs within the spring pack. Interesting.

 

[Doosenberry]

Received my "tucked" contour bumper brackets yesterday. Might try them out today depending on my mood and if the sun is shining. lol.

These are from Soulless Innovations, which is a shop based out of Mississippi. They do a lot of custom F100 parts, though it looks like they focus mostly on bumpsides and earlier. This is literally the only 73-79 specific part they sell.

They shipped them with a sticker and a couple of dum dum pops. Perhaps a subtle hint that I'm a dumb dumb for buying these? Maybe.

Metal measures out at 3/16". I'm no weld expert, but the welds look solid. Gonna test fit everything and then most likely have them powder coated along with my new bumpers, whenever they get here. I'm gonna go with something like a satin black vs having chrome bumpers.

 

[Doosenberry]

Rear contour bumper arrived today. Looks like my front bumper is delayed a bit, but currently a state away, so maybe one more day.

I would test fit things today, but I'm admittedly a bit overwhelmed mentally. My truck is inoperable since my driveshaft is at the shop waiting to be re-tubed and the clutch linkage on my Bronco just took a crap, so I have no wheels right now.

It's mechanical linkage and it looks like a bolt for the engine side pivot bracket yeeted itself, as the kids these days would say. So, yeah, my clutch pedal goes nearly to the floor before engagement/disengagement occurs. The adjustment rod had a nut on it back out nearly all the way as well. Too much vibration and bumpy rides in the Bronco it seems.

When I got home from work this morning, you could feel the teeth of the gears lightly grab as I had the clutch all the way in and I went to put it into gear before shutting it off as I parked it. So, I need to take care of that before anything fun gets done, like running errands. At least it isn't stuck at work and I have some tools on hand.

 

[Doosenberry]

This bumper came via jbg, so you know it was cheap to get it here, am I right?

It was actually the cheapest option, that wasn't out of stock indefinitely, for this particular style bumper that isn't chrome plated and isn't delivered to a commercial address. 🤷‍♀️

It only has that ed coating, but it looks pretty much how I want it to look going on the truck. A nice satin black.

 

[Doosenberry]

Front bumper has arrived. It wasn't packaged nearly as well as the rear, but it appears to be in good shape. It just has a lot of scuffs on it.

It also looks, and feels, to be thinner than the rear. I'll have to put a tape on both of them at some point.

I'll take some better pics of the bumpers when I get around to test fitting them.

 

[Doosenberry]

I attempted to order a set of 1250lb leaf springs a few days ago, but it turns out they are out of stock and backordered everywhere for who knows how long.

Anyway, I ordered the 1450lb springs and they should be here tomorrow. They have one more spring, 4/1 vs 3/1, but based on all the specs I think my ride height will be similar if not the same as the 1250lb springs. Guess we'll find out.

I'm still waiting on the driveshaft. I think next week will be a month since I dropped it off, so at that point I'll check in and see how far out the shop is.

 

[Doosenberry]

The leaf springs were delayed during transport, but they eventually arrived today.

I dunno what it is, but UPS shows up on time, USPS shows up on time, and FedEx packages somehow go into limbo once they hit North Salt Lake on their way to Idaho.

The springs came via FedEx. My rear bumper came via UPS, it was on time. My front bumper came via FedEx, it was stuck in North Salt Lake for a couple days.

I also picked up some other goodies via Craigslist. They are sacrilegious, but I'm going to remove the sacrilegious emblems from them and put something else.