New-to-me Horse (and other stuff) Hauler!!

[ebinmaine 80,084]

Notes:

To get full vehicle voltage to the HEI distributor, this white/blue wire can be used to feed a relay that sources off the ignition switch and uses a jumper from the battery directly to the relay.  

 

 

 

 

[ebinmaine 80,084]

On 7/15/2026 at 6:39 AM, ebinmaine said:

Just dropping this here for my own notes. 

Another very informative forum.  

 

 

Post in thread 'Super Turbo Muffler' https://fordsix.com/threads/super-turbo-muffler.91939/post-740659

 

 

 

 

 

On 7/15/2026 at 9:45 AM, MainelyWheelhorse said:

You have to be logged in to see it.@ebinmaine

 

 

 

 

[ebinmaine 80,084]

More of my own notes for the removal of the computer and wiring for the new HEI. 

Credit to Ford Truck Enthusiast. 

 

 

The following two pics are NOT from the same post. 

Different vehicles and information. Possibly both helpful to me in different ways.

 

 

On the "Hot out to Coil" - the HEI distributor will need only one. It MUST be full voltage. 

Test each wire to confirm. 

ALSO CHECK:  White/blue striped wire. 

That was originally connected to my own coil, computer, and distributor. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 18 by ebinmaine
CORRECTED INFORMATION

[adsm08 4,903]

I installed one of those HEI distributors in my mom's Mustang with the 5.0. It had a distinct lack of key-switched power sources, only a single one in fact, where I needed many.

 

I grabbed a fuse block out of an 02-07 (old body) Taurus and used it to get multiple power wires. Hook the main bus to the battery, ground all the relays, and hook the relay control input to the single key-switched source. This provided 7 key-switched power sources, good for up to 30 amps each, off one that was originally rated for 10 amps. I used one to run the HEI distributor, with no issues so far.

[adsm08 4,903]

2 hours ago, adsm08 said:

I installed one of those HEI distributors in my mom's Mustang with the 5.0. It had a distinct lack of key-switched power sources, only a single one in fact, where I needed many.

 

I grabbed a fuse block out of an 02-07 (old body) Taurus and used it to get multiple power wires. Hook the main bus to the battery, ground all the relays, and hook the relay control input to the single key-switched source. This provided 7 key-switched power sources, good for up to 30 amps each, off one that was originally rated for 10 amps. I used one to run the HEI distributor, with no issues so far.

 

 

I should say, there are other cars that can donate their distribution blocks for this setup. That generation Taurus just happens to be plentiful, and the block is easily accessed and removed.

[ebinmaine 80,084]

14 minutes ago, adsm08 said:

Taurus

 

From what I'm seeing on the interwebs that Taurus and a particular Lincoln are good donors for an electric fan conversion as well. 

I'm leaving the clutch fan in place for now but it's a future possibility. 

 

Gains are realized in HP and MPG.  

 

 

 

[c-series don 12,309]

Years ago there was a local Ford dealer called Plitt Ford. I was in the market for a new car for my wife so I went and spoke to a salesman. I asked him if I buy a Taurus from this dealership, does that mean my wife is going to have a Plitt Taurus? The guy just looked at me in disbelief and said he has been selling them for years and nobody ever asked him that? 😜😂 

[ebinmaine 80,084]

This morning I spent a couple hours removing the entire computer wiring harness along with the vacuum lines.  

 

There were two wires in the whole kit n caboodle that need to stay.  Both for sensors/ sending units. One is the oil pressure. The other.... I don't know. It's screwed in to the back of the cylinder head on the passenger side. 

 

I also separated the wires coming from the fuse box, ignition switch and dashboard areas.  

They're marked (what I know) below. 

 

 

 

Fuse box pic for my own reference. 

 

 

Here's the new and improved cleaner look.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ebinmaine 80,084]

Today I got the exhaust cut & removed from just downstream of the catalytic converters. Those will be removed later. 

 

The muffler had an interesting surprise.  

Upon tilting it to remove it from the truck.. I heard rattling rolling noises. 

 

There was at least a dozen and a half acorns in the part of the muffler furthest from the open end. I was unaware that was possible given that this is a stock closed type muffler. Maybe it's in the design. Maybe it's got internal holes it wasn't built with. Doesn't matter because I never intended to leave it on. 

 

 

I also got the unused canister vent and air intake pieces removed from under the hood. Also detached the fuel tank side of the unused vent hose. That'll be rerouted and filtered somehow  when the bed is built.  

 

 

When the PO assembled the truck, this intake manifold port was hose attached directly to an upper vacuum port of the carburetor. 

One vacuum source attached by hose to another vacuum source. 

It was also thoroughly gunkified with the orange sealant you can see.  

 

I have no idea what purpose that would serve. 

 

 

 

 

In other news. This is Seamus. He VERY rarely makes appearances while human people are in his barn. 

Today I lucked out and got a pic.  

 

 

 

[ebinmaine 80,084]

1 hour ago, ebinmaine said:

When the PO assembled the truck, this intake manifold port was hose attached directly to an upper vacuum port of the carburetor. 

One vacuum source attached by hose to another vacuum source. 

It was also thoroughly gunkified with the orange sealant you can see.  

 

I have no idea what purpose that would serve.

 

 

Edit to above. 

I found online that there are some Ford inline sixes that used that intake port to get a multiple vacuum tree port.  

I still don't see the usage of a direct vac to vac connection.  

 

 

[ebinmaine 80,084]

Today's fun was removing the air pump, several related hoses, alternator and their bracket. 

Air pump stays out. 

Alternator is being swapped from the Ford 2G to 3G setup.

The early Ford alternators are well known to have wiring harness overheating issues. They're also relatively weak. 30 to 60 amps maybe??

 

The swap gives a HUGE increase in amperage! The new alternator is rated for 173 amps.  

 

This was a day of very slow beginnings and excellent results at the end.  The slow, because of the 8 or 10 bolts 🔩   I removed, two of them fought me HARD. 

 

But I won...... eventually.  

Both pivot bolts were rusted in place. The cases of the air pump and alternator are both aluminum. Cast iron or cast steel brackets. Steel bolts. 

The rules of corrosion for dissimilar metals were really working overtime.  

The alternator case I had to smash and cut to get it out. You can still see a chunk of it in the bracket here. The shiny silver part. 

 

Old alternator. All I need from this is the drive pulley.  

 

 

Cleaned out a LOT of space removing things.  

 

Here's the bracket in my big vise. I had to heat the aluminum piece with a propane torch to get the bolt out. Then used a 51" breaker bar. 

 

New and old alternator, bracket, and the wiring harness for the change. 

 

The original bracket needs a notch to allow the new alternator room to swing down for mounting and adjustment. 

I'm not keeping the air pump so the top of the bracket can be cut off for a cleaner look.  

 

 

After some cutting on my portable bandsaw and grinding. 

 

Here's the modified bracket. 

 

The two (biggest) pieces here show what I removed. 

 

 

 

 

 

[ebinmaine 80,084]

How to change the "clock" rotation setting on my particular 3G alternator: 

 

 

[peter lena 9,993]

@ebinmaine ever get  a  penetrating oil  soak down into every  upper  body seam , for  run down effect ?   want  a visual  road map of that ?  local  big box store  , contractor  parking , like macs  chain / cable . napa , as a  days / weeks later  , follower , for lasting protection ,  all my  cars , tractors , have this basic protection .  also great for  paint recovery  , pete 

[ebinmaine 80,084]

10 minutes ago, peter lena said:

@ebinmaine ever get  a  penetrating oil  soak down into every  upper  body seam , for  run down effect ?   want  a visual  road map of that ?  local  big box store  , contractor  parking , like macs  chain / cable . napa , as a  days / weeks later  , follower , for lasting protection ,  all my  cars , tractors , have this basic protection .  also great for  paint recovery  , pete 

 

The body on this truck was painted completely when it was assembled 10+ years ago. Also been oiled here n there since. 

 

When it starts seeing road time I'll be doing a good soaking with Fluid Film.  

 

The whole rear half of the entire frame and suspension will be getting a new coat of black paint before reassembly and building the bed.  

 

I do have 3 new crossmember pieces coming in too.  

 

[ebinmaine 80,084]

More various cleaning and wiring removal yesterday. ...

....and a LOT of reading and studying various schematic diagrams. 

 

I found this forward exhaust stud badly corroded and not even holding the manifold. 

 

Replaced it with a grade 8 bolt 🔩   

 

 

On the alternator replacement wiring harness changes, I can read an electrical schematic diagram to a small extent. Just enough to get me in trouble but also just enough to eventually figure out what I need... usually.  

 

Using the information on this link:

https://www.garysgaragemahal.com/3g-conversion-old.html

 

And this one:

https://www.garysgaragemahal.com/1986-evtm.html

 

And the Haynes Manual...

And a bunch of YouTube videos...

 

And the Painless Wiring harness direction sheet. (Not exactly "painless" by the way)  

Their directions are understandably very generic AND this truck is literally built from spare parts.

🤔 hmmm.. might be a name there.....

 

And this self made schematic: 

 

 

I was eventually able to figure out that this old alternator harness is not needed. 

 

 

 

The newer 3G alternator output is much higher than the older 2G type. Because of that the vehicle's ammeter MUST be left disconnected. 

Two of the four wires in the "vehicle side" plug are for the ammeter. 

The othe two are the main cab feed from the battery, and the alternator input wire. 

The old harness in the picture above has a 16 ga fusable link. 

The truck harness splits as seen in my hand drawn schematic diagram. 

One side is a 14 ga fusable link. The other is a 16 ga fusable link. 

Because the values are equal on both sides I believe I can eliminate the first fusable link. 

Hence the entire harness above is rendered null. 

 

 

Edited 21 hours ago by ebinmaine

[ebinmaine 80,084]

Got some VERY cool stuff today for the build.  

 

Two new crossmembers for the rear of the frame. Also one "restored" original that holds the center fuel tank. 

 

 

 

These are the correct 8 mm wires for an HEI distributor.

Excellent brand. Red to match the distributor cap. 

They were on fleeeebay listed as a small block or big block Chevy V8 set. I knew immediately that was incorrect by counting the SIX wires and a coil wire GM never used.  

I also noticed that the wires were nearly half the length needed for a big block V8. 

 

Turns out that they measure out nicely for my own inline six. 

Likely they were for some sort of oddball aftermarket ignition setup with a separate coil. 

Price was great. The coil wire should fit a Wheelhorse too!

 

 

 

This muffler is said to be USA 🇺🇸  made as well. 

Origin address was Elkhart IN. 

Stainless steel. Straight through design.  Quality looks good. Inexpensive too. 

When I get the truck running I'll see what I think of the volume and tone. Might add another one right with it to deepen the tone.  

 

 

I'm particularly excited to have this carburetor. 

Holley model H4 - 4360. These were known as the Economaster. 

I'll include a Google description in the next post.  

These have a small intake capacity of 450 CFM. 

That's a little scant for a 427 or a 350 at higher RPM but it's excellent for a 300 cubic inch engine.  

They have mechanical secondaries. I like that quite a lot too. They do take a bit of getting used to in driving. 

Never just - floor it - unless you're already at a medium to high RPM. 

 

This carb is an NOS piece from the late 1970s. 

 

 

 

 

The parts are cast in Japan and assembled in the USA. 

 

 

This evening's bonus pic is our 7 year old chicken. 

 

 

 

 

[ebinmaine 80,084]