390FE (406ci) for #50, built by Tom Lucas at FE Specialties.

[Ranchero50]

Wow, here I was staring at the two bottom pictures saying 'nope, nothing different between them...

Good to see you are using your bed as a catch-all.

For the cables You can get a one hole loop thingy and use it as a tie back, run it to one of the engine mount bolts to keep the starter wiring where you want it.

Jamie

[Doug Comer]

Is the engine hoist gone?
Doug

[1971ford]

Is the engine hoist gone?
Doug

Look to the left of the pictures
Or if you are looking for a difference in the last two pictures, the difference was suppose to be in the third to last picture (truck pointing into garage) and the last two pictures, truck pointing outside)


I didn't even think about the possibility that it was moved under it's own power... ooooooooo

[Ranchero50]

Thank Gawd I wasn't the only one...

[robroy]

Good day Ryan, Robert, Joe, Jamie, and Doug, thanks for your marvelous replies!

First I must apologize for supplying a hint and then failing to follow up with the complete story in a timely fashion! Also, I now realize that by using three photos instead of two, my hint was quite ambiguous--thanks for humoring me!

SOoo exciteddd

Excellent, thanks Ryan!

It must be 100 times nicer working with fresh air and a driveway worth of space now! Not to mention the light and everything else as well.

Yes it is; it is extremely nice. If only there were more of a private drive to legally test the truck out with, it would be my dream Bumpside project area! Yet even with things as they are now, I couldn't ask for anything nicer.

You turned it around ?

Under its own power?

Absolutely CORRECT!

If it's moving under it's own power, I would almost bet he drove it around the block. I know I would have...

I was highly tempted to do this, yet all the wires were too loose and floppy, and the battery wasn't being held down by anything but gravity. And the driveway to this house is a steep hill!

Wow, here I was staring at the two bottom pictures saying 'nope, nothing different between them...

Yes! Sorry for being so ambiguous with the wording of my challenge. I actually wasn't planning on putting in that funny challenge, so it wasn't planned out all that well!

Good to see you are using your bed as a catch-all.

HA! Yes it's truly marvelous to have a giant storage bin attached to one's project car, isn't it! I'll clear it all out pretty soon here, in preparation for taking it out on the open road!

For the cables You can get a one hole loop thingy and use it as a tie back, run it to one of the engine mount bolts to keep the starter wiring where you want it.

That is a great idea Jamie, thanks for suggesting that! I think you're probably on to something there. I'm not sure if that will help me with the problem area that's right next to the starter though, but I will spend some time staring at it with your idea in mind!

Is the engine hoist gone?

It's still there Doug, although it could be hidden from view! (But that's a great observation!)

Look to the left of the pictures

You got it Ryan!

Or if you are looking for a difference in the last two pictures, the difference was suppose to be in the third to last picture (truck pointing into garage) and the last two pictures, truck pointing outside)

Precisely! Thanks for being such a good sport by rolling with my ambiguous challenge!

I didn't even think about the possibility that it was moved under it's own power... ooooooooo

Yes that it did!

Thank Gawd I wasn't the only one...

You did a great job Jamie--it was an unfair challenge!

So yesterday afternoon, Kasie helped me roll #50 out of its cave in to the direct sunlight. She sat in the cab and helped me to test the brakes by applying varying pedal pressures while I pushed; the brakes seemed to work perfectly fine!





The engine area really lit up in the sunlight!





Having the choke linkage attached and working nicely made the first start relatively easy!

More for the sake of documentation than entertainment, here's a video of the The Yellow Jacket starting for the first time (since being installed in #50)! I have other videos that I'm working on encoding and will post later today--those do a better job of showing the engine running once it had fully "woken up" from its long slumber.

It probably would have started more quickly if I'd primed the carburetor with gas and done better with the choke control, but I was very happy nonetheless!

As y'all know, the H.264 video has the best quality yet only works with very up-to-date computers, while the WMV video works almost everywhere!

H.264 (10MB) WMV (14MB)


Ryan, Robert, Joe, Jamie, and Doug, thanks for your fantastic replies, and y'all can expect more entertaining videos later on today!

Robroy

[robroy]

Good afternoon!

This video's a continuation of the First Start video. You can see how sensitive this engine is to the gas pedal! The video also shows the oil pressure and how it responds to RPM. It seems to be in the 75 to 80 PSI range.

H.264 (9MB) WMV (7MB)


Stay tuned for more!
Robroy

[fomocoguy]

Sounds great!! I like the poo eatin' grin on your face every time you rev it up a little... Congrats on all your hard work! It's very nice when it pays off in the end for sure

[mljjones67]

Awesome. Good work robroy

[robroy]

Good afternoon Joe and Mike, thanks for your excellent replies!

Sounds great!! I like the poo eatin' grin on your face every time you rev it up a little...

Thanks Joe! That was a funny expression on my face huh! This is the first time I've had anything to do with an engine like this, so its throttle response made quite an impression on me.

Congrats on all your hard work! It's very nice when it pays off in the end for sure

Sure is, and this time it looks like it's working out!

Awesome. Good work robroy

Thanks very much Mike!

I'm sure it will sound significantly different once it has some real pipes between the headers and mufflers--that's what I'm really looking forward to hearing!

In this video Kasie's at the wheel, experiencing the insane energy of The Yellow Jacket. She was a little shy of the gas pedal, and I don't blame her! This video also includes walk-around footage of the engine bay.

H.264 (29MB) WMV (22MB)


Joe and Mike, thanks for your great replies!
Robroy

[robroy]

Good afternoon,

Here's a concise video showing The Yellow Jacket starting, idling, revving, and being shut down.

H.264 (3MB) WMV (4MB)


Thanks for watching!
Robroy

[HayHauler]

There's nothing like firing up an engine for the first time it makes all the time and money spent seem finally worth it.
congrats Robroy! now the fun begins!

[robroy]

Good afternoon HayHauler, thanks for your excellent reply!

There's nothing like firing up an engine for the first time

Indeed!

it makes all the time and money spent seem finally worth it.
congrats Robroy! now the fun begins!

Very true, and thanks!!!

In this video, The Yellow Jacket reanimates #50. This is the first time #50 moved under its own power in perhaps eight years!

It was too short of a drive for me to make very many observations, and the wood blocks I was using for a seat made it a little awkward. Yet here are my notes:

1. The engine has quite a SOUND to it when you're in the cab. I'm actually surprised by how powerful its sound is, since it has a pretty mild camshaft in it! The sound is truly exciting--it's a whole new type of animal.
2. The steering worked, and actually felt a lot easier than I remember it being years ago.
3. I had to get used to the clutch, especially with the wood blocks I was sitting on rocking around under me. But the clutch felt surprisingly smooth and pleasant to use! It also felt quite intuitive and forgiving, kind of like the clutch in a modern vehicle only very heavy.
4. If I remember correctly, I actually used zero or nearly zero throttle the whole time! This engine is perky to say the least, and in such close quarters, I didn't want to try it out (and risk smashing in to the house)!
5. I used only granny and reverse. I wasn't ready to try out 2nd gear in such close quarters, with such an eager engine!
6. The brakes worked surprisingly well for their state. The rear brakes need to be bled pretty bad, and probably rebuilt also. They're also adjusted very poorly. But they worked!
7. Thanks to Mustang Steve's ball bearing pedal support upgrade, the clutch and brake pedals felt amazingly smooth and precise. What a difference from my worn out original setup!

H.264 (16MB) WMV (16MB)


HayHauler, thanks again for your great reply!!!
Robroy

[robroy]

'Afternoon!

Here's the final video taken yesterday afternoon, of The Yellow Jacket running briefly in the garage.

H.264 (1MB) WMV (2MB)


Thanks very much for watching and for all the excellent comments!
Robroy

[70_F100]

Robroy, that's SAWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry I haven't commented, but I've been working feverishly on my C6 to T19 swap.

Look for some updates from me in a couple of days, with things I NEVER expected.

It's one of those things that, "Well, I'm doing this, and I found this, so I might as well fix this while I'm at it, and those other things need to be done too, so..............."

[sport71]

Robroy great progress. Your doing a supurb job with all the details, and I know the rest of the build will be no exeption.