1978 F-fun hundred 3/4 tons and 37s

Jblack6527 said:
I feel you there. I bought a sniper kit for my C10 a couple years back on a whim during a sale, thinking it would be a great replacement for my carb. Since then I've seen so many people complaining about it I've been hesitant to put it on.

The carb can be frustrating, but at least it's mostly the same every time I turn the key. Lol
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I put my Holley Sniper on last summer, and the only issue I've had from it is that it runs rich. I also haven't done any tuning so that's probably not surprising. It starts way better than it did with the old Carter YF before it.
 
WiscoF100 said:
I may have jumped the gun on efi. IDK, the price was right. My biggest concern is there seems to be a lot of bad press for all the bolt on TBI brands. I don’t want to be 1,500 miles from home and have something crap out. Traveling with spare carb, FP and dizzy would be ridiculous.

Sounds silly but TBI in the winter, carb in summer? Move away from Canadian border?

One thing is for sure, I’m dumping the electric choke for manual control and a double pumper.
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I've been running a Fitech for 8ish years now and the only issue I've had is a dead ECM. Once I replaced the ECM it also fixed a bunch of small issues that I couldn't get figured out but never really effected how it ran.
 
posford said:
In the same boat, been considering a TBI setup off a chevy 350 for my stock 351w due to simplicity and cost
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The 351w was my focus. The micro squirt with edis ignition wasted spark and batch fire port injection. Good enough for an offroad truck.

The stock GM tbi is solid. Looked into the chip burning tuning, not sure if it's still available, or you can run it off megasquirt i believe, not sure.
 
Gravy said:
The 351w was my focus. The micro squirt with edis ignition wasted spark and batch fire port injection. Good enough for an offroad truck.

The stock GM tbi is solid. Looked into the chip burning tuning, not sure if it's still available, or you can run it off megasquirt i believe, not sure.
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My 351w is in a ranger, so the standard F series tall 351w intake doesn't fit, so then you go down the rabbit hole of an adapter to throw a 5.0 upper intake on a 5.8 lower, it spirals quickly.
 
posford said:
My 351w is in a ranger, so the standard F series tall 351w intake doesn't fit, so then you go down the rabbit hole of an adapter to throw a 5.0 upper intake on a 5.8 lower, it spirals quickly.
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Same, heard the adapter kills flow as well. Even purchased the a9L ecm and mustang harness.

The intake and efi options are horrible, or trick flow obsolete/expensive. I like to keep stuff brand specific, but LS swaps happen for a reason.

Pick your rabbit hole I guess
 
I've ran two different Fitech systems and had zero issues other then stuff caused by myself (exhaust leaks and timing) and will buy another one for a street truck project without hesitations. Have a buddy that runs a first gen Fast efi and no issues other then a O2 sensor but that was his fault running race fuel. Another guy runs the holley sniper and has had nothing but issues, ecm has been changed and kills tps every other trip i seems. always hear the horror stories on line but like always you will always hear people complain but never hear the good reviews.
 
My biggest concern is the computer giving up. That’s not a spare part I’ll carry.

The TBI kit is mostly for the extreme cold drama and drivability. -30* air temps. I need the wildly dynamic timing and AF control on the fly that simply isn’t achievable with a carb and traditional ignition system.

Temps above freezing the truck performs fine as far as carburetor is concerned.

I considered an Edelbrock 1406 because of their manners (allegedly) but cost was close to the TBI kit when it was on sale.
 
And California pics just because
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Didn’t ski or surf in the same day but Tahoe to Fish camp to Monterey. Same same.
 
Upgraded to a D60 today :homer:

Or some chromoly and stick with mall crawlin? I really need to finish the Ultra4….
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The deletes saved my ass. Need new jam nuts..
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So many plans and a list a mile long but no time to accomplish anything. I’m just a keyboard wheeler again.
 
I’m inexperienced and I’ve never broke like that before, how do the deletes save you in that scenario? Would a balljoint get all ****ed with the joint flopping around or something?
 
Levigarrett76 said:
What were ya doin when it popped? Carb do ok?
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Carb was fine. No crawl ratio and low stall converter were the biggest hassle. Really had to power brake to keep it smooth otherwise it was like driving with an on/off switch.
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This loose rock is where the driver side popped. No way around it so I had to put a tire on it. 💥
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I managed a 3 point to exit before it got worse. Couldn’t get the open rear diff over that large passenger rock and 💥 went the RF joint. It was do or die at that point. I knew I’d break more **** but self recovery is always my focus. I refuse to ask for help for something I can solve myself. Guaranteed it was the joints that failed first and the ears were victim after that. 47 year old rusty shafts and el cheapo joints. I just didn’t think it would be that easy…..even for a 44.

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The Torq-locker stays locked up. I’m impressed.

I passed up a $900 ‘78 D60 with wedges, steer arms, heim joint drag link etc because I didn’t want to widen the WMS. It was for sale not far from the off-road park, of course it sold.
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Plan is chromos for now because it has to be fixed. Not sure what I should do beyond that. It definitely needs hydro assist when locked up. Even my big pump chirped a few times. I shouldn’t wheel this truck hard anyways. My focus should be finishing the Ultra4 because that’s what it’s intended for.
holdmypocket said:
I’m inexperienced and I’ve never broke like that before, how do the deletes save you in that scenario? Would a balljoint get all ****ed with the joint flopping around or something?
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Correct, it’s common that once an ear or joint pops they’ll force the ball joint out of its cup and the knuckle falls off. Wish I would’ve upgraded the shafts when I had the axle apart, then I wouldn’t have broken…..this soon 🤣

We drove a lot of the access roads in the park since we were already there. I was pleasantly surprised with what the trails have to offer. Ran across a bunch of built Jeeps from Wisconsin….with 60s of course.
 
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WiscoF100 said:
Carb was fine. No crawl ratio and low stall converter were the biggest hassle. Really had to power brake to keep it smooth otherwise it was like driving with an on/off switch.
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This loose rock is where the driver side popped. No way around it so I had to put a tire on it. 💥
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I managed a 3 point to exit before it got worse. Couldn’t get the open rear diff over that large passenger rock and 💥 went the RF joint. It was do or die at that point. I knew I’d break more **** but self recovery is always my focus. I refuse to ask for help for something I can solve myself. Guaranteed it was the joints that failed first and the ears were victim after that. 47 year old rusty shafts and el cheapo joints. I just didn’t think it would be that easy…..even for a 44.

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The Torq-locker stays locked up. I’m impressed.

I passed up a $900 ‘78 D60 with wedges, steer arms, heim joint drag link etc because it didn’t want to widen the truck. It was for sale not far from the off-road park, of course it sold.

Plan is chromos for now because it has to be fixed. Not sure what I should do beyond that. It definitely needs hydro assist when locked up. Even my big pump chirped a few times. I shouldn’t wheel this truck hard anyways. My focus should be finishing the Ultra4 because that’s what it’s intended for.

Correct, it’s common that once an ear or joint pops they’ll force the ball joint out of its cup and the knuckle falls off. Wish I would’ve upgraded the shafts when I had the axle apart, then I wouldn’t have broken…..this soon 🤣

We drove a lot of the access roads in the park since we were already there. I was pleasantly surprised with what the trails have to offer. Ran across a bunch of built Jeeps from Wisconsin….with 60s of course.
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Man that is kind of surprising, although i popped a dana 30 shaft with mild 33's in a jeep about as easy or easier than that. It was clean break at the stub and a 258.

What joints you plan to use with the chromos?
 
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Any concern running the bushing style joints in 4wd during the winter at road speed?

Was it a Spicer joint that blew?
 
I've never made the trip up to Gilbert, but have always meant to. I've heard good things about the park.
 
Certainly not a spicer joint. I’ve purposely abused a bone dry D60 spicer with zero needles on the stub cross and only chipped the O ring groove on the cap. Kept it as a spare for awhile. Replaced with fresh spicer for KOH….greaseable…..yes I’m more educated now. Twisted a shaft but didn’t break a joint. I haven’t inspected the axle 7 years so I still don’t know if it was L or R that twisted.
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Sort of concerned so I chose the CTMs last minute because they have better reviews for maintenance intervals and high speed/continuous use and because 🇺🇸 lifetime warranty. People say the bronze inserts are more forgiving than the straight up steel on steel. This was way more than I ever should’ve spent on a 44 but hard to pass up unlimited lifetime warranty for the shafts. I fully intend to drive to Moab or the Rubicon etc and back in this truck even with the wimpy axle.
 
Frodo said:
I've never made the trip up to Gilbert, but have always meant to. I've heard good things about the park.
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Within reason it’s worth the trip. There’s a busted knuckle film from 2020 where Matt Cutler (Cutlerfab) stars in his manche build. I’ve yet to watch the entire episode.
 
WiscoF100 said:
Within reason it’s worth the trip. There’s a busted knuckle film from 2020 where Matt Cutler (Cutlerfab) stars in his manche build. I’ve yet to watch the entire episode.
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Its about 3 hours from me, so certainly doable. I'll have to look up the video.
 
Shafts arrived. Yukon (India) inners, Foote (USA) outers and CTM joints. Confirmed correct lengths since ECGS doesn’t list length, only application. Going to the trouble of replacing the inner seals as well.
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Found the pitman arm was loose on the splines. Going to machine a cup washer because the nut/washer is bottomed out on the sector shaft.

The knuckles are trashed. Not from the breakage but ****** shade tree mechanics and Minnesota winters. No life left in them. The upper bearing cups fell out. To my advantage since the kingpins were fubar’d and the jam nuts couldn’t come off. Ordering a rebuild kit from American Iron Off-road to replace the king pins.

Orange knuckles arrive Monday.

Tonight I’ll make templates to gusset the Cs.

Otherwise just a bunch of cleaning and prep work for reassembly.

Hydro assist going together this round of downtime as well.
 
Been cleaning and making new parts. The knuckles prompted changes for the tie-in bolt and drag link location. I didn’t feel like welding an ear on the new knuckle’s steering arm
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New studs/kingpins arrived today. Once the bearings and cups are clean, they can go in the knuckles.
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Arms drilled to 3/4”. There’s nothing in common between new/old knucks so I have to reimagine several things including these ghetto upright jigs
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Goal is weld high steer arms, assemble shafts and any other squirrel task I can tackle tomorrow.
 
Made the pitman arm cup washer. This will force the splines tighter before the fastener bottoms out
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I save every template. Previously the cylinder mount was double shear without misalignment spacers. Cutting the lower tab off for replacement.
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Proper grip length 5/8” bolts made up this morning from my endless buckets of un-used bolts. Everything finished in 80grit for welding/paint
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Captured these tabs with the steering bolts as a handle and heat sink for grinding the final profile without burning through the glove or taking breaks.
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Ready for welding
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Modified some 1/2” hardware store spacers with misalignment taper and 5/8” bore. I could’ve turned the entire part from scratch but I’m still having trouble successfully parting-off my work. Horrible chatter and no results.
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Proper grip length and misalignment. Ready to weld to tie-rod clamp.
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Pitman arm installed
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It was a fight to seat the bearing cups. Knuckles at 300* and cups in the freezer. They are a very tight fit.
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Prep work
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Chopping off the old hydro brackets
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New stuff prepped for welding tomorrow
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Had to space the zerks with nylon washers to keep them from bottoming against cross
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Learned this trick from my friend YROC FAB. Paint a witness line on the shafts tell tale for a twist during inspections
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Some bangers today
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Nice,

What degree c-bushings are you running?

What made you decide to use radius arm drop brackets? Are you happy you did?
 
Levigarrett76 4* bushings but only because that’s what came in the kit. It was a full suspension kit from Bronco Graveyard. The bushings don’t matter because the axle has aftermarket wedges welded to the axle specific for my truck and arbitrary 4* bushings. They could’ve been any degree but they dictated the wedge placement. I was shooting for caster before welding, not wedge location. Make sense?

The drop brackets are BDS. Also from the kit. Super stout and they are the correct drop to keep the radius arms at the factory angle. More or less level. Totally happy with them. For what I use the truck for, they’re not rock anchors but really isn’t an issue on a 35+ tire.
 
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