Pilgrim's Progress

[LUBr LuvR]

Fixin’ to be some chilly toes in beautiful West Michigan......

 

[El Kabong]

Gotcha wsager, 3 down, 9 to go and counting......

Gosh-a-rootie, Ken, you could well be right! Thanks for the help, I never was real good at cipherin'. Guess that puts the count at 9, 3 to go and counting. One more yes vote and I'll have take my shoes off.

[JethroVoiceOn] Let me help you with all that cipherin'. Post 381 has 3 votes. Post 399 has 9 votes. If you add 'em up that's 12 votes. But if'n you subtract 381 from 399 you got 18 votes. Or if you figure Howard2x4x4, well that equals Howard32 votes. So any way you count it, you're there. That's just how math works. [/JethroVoiceOff]

 

[tasker]

Yes!

 

[Howard2x4x4]

[JethroVoiceOn] Let me help you with all that cipherin'. Post 381 has 3 votes. Post 399 has 9 votes. If you add 'em up that's 12 votes. But if'n you subtract 381 from 399 you got 18 votes. Or if you figure Howard2x4x4, well that equals Howard32 votes. So any way you count it, you're there. That's just how math works. [/JethroVoiceOff]

El, ain't no doubt, you got it goin' on! And not only once, or twice, but thrice! That's the type of out-of-box, splendid thinkun that made Einstein so much more than just a pretty face! I'd sure ask you to do my taxes if I had some income, but, at this stage, it's only Bronco outgo.

 

[Howard2x4x4]

And Tasker pushes the ball to the one yard line! One to go and it's SCORE! That is, assuming no penalties. Or pesky restraining orders.

 

[66broncoCT]

I’ll throw in my yes! Vote

 

[bronkenn]

Hi, this is big turd hat, I vote yes using Ken's site...

 

[Howard2x4x4]

Ding, ding, ding, ding! Winner, winner, chicken dinner! Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and all those undecided, uncertain and/or in between, we have reached our goal! 66 made it an even dozen and Big Turd Hat pushed us over the top to the never before attained or attempted dizzying heights of 13, yes, lucky 13! (Insert cheers https://giphy.com/clips/southpark-season-8-south-park-episode-12-8VDO7Fy2PFohfdAnpJ ,
fireworks , 21 gun salute and cheerleaders pom-pomming and jumping here) As we savor the intoxicating sweetness of our success, we must also pause and reflect on just how we got here, what wisdom and skills have we gained on our journey, and just how did Big Turd Hat get his name, assuming we really want to know. Those timeless and eternal questions that once seemed beyond our grasp, are now at our very fingertips. Well, my fingertips, anyway, as I hunt and peck my way through the hopefully funny story and the sausage.

Now is not the time to rest on our laurels, tempting as that may be. Unless, of course, your wife/girlfriend/significant other/high priced escort (choose one) is named Laurel, then, by all means, please do. That's what I am about to do. But not with anyone named Laurel, with my lovely bride. So the story and the sausage will have to wait until manyana, if that means tomorrow, and assuming there is a tomorrow. Sleep well, the beans will be spilled for breakfast tomorrow, and we'll have some sausage to go witth it. Howard in beautiful west Michigan

 

[Slowleak]

I’m setting my alarm, and I just cooked some sausage.

 

[El Kabong]

Now is not the time to rest on our laurels, tempting as that may be. Unless, of course, your wife/girlfriend/significant other/high priced escort (choose one) is named Laurel, then, by all means, please do. That's what I am about to do.

Just what exactly is he talking about Stanley?
I don't know Ollie, but it frightens me.

 

[Howard2x4x4]

Slow and El, you guys are an absolute HOOT, thanks for chiming in!

 

[Howard2x4x4]

Well, I reckon the time has come for me to spill the beans/cut the cheese/release the Kraken (choose one). Please keep in mind that it's not really my fault because I may have been dropped on my head as a baby, possibly more than once and likely from quite a distance.

I was considering making up a long, drawn-out tale along the lines of, "Long, long ago, in the the magical, mystical, made-up land of Bewemi there lived a cranky, contankerous knave by the name of Howaldo... And then I realized that this saga is already long and drawn-out, and that the truth is often stranger and more boring than fiction, so I might as well serve up the real beans, regardless of any flatulance that it might cause.

This Bronco is my third Bronco go-round. The first two were really great fun, but I never liked the huge forehead, ginormous wart of the wipers. Yeah, I know it's 'classic', and 'iconic', but, so what, each to his own. I started thinking about dropping the wipers to the bottom of the windshield, and asked myself,"howmi gonna do that?' Suffice to say, there was a lot of trial and mostly error. Pondering seeds were planted

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=963104193857787

and honed, and refined

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=971334639701409

and further refined.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=988109498023923

and yet again.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1086235051544700

And then I learned that several members here had already blazed the trail. But had not made a map.
https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threads/buck-n-a-bronco.286019/page-3 See post #50. Eventually, I got a whiff of the 'secret ingredient' and stored that knowledge in the deep, dark recesses of my mind - where it was lost until a few days ago.

Keep in mind that I ain't no spring chicken, and neither is this project. I've been hanging out with you cowboys here and getting Bronco #3 not done yet for nigh onto 13 years. In that time. I've also been accumulating pieces and parts for the project and putting them on the shelf until needed. Remember the whiff of the 'secret ingredient'? Well, I dis-remembered I had one of those also.

Fast forward to time being. So I'm working on the wiring, getting stuck and stymied all the time as I struggle toward the elusive 'done'. Nearing the midpoint of the wiring, I get to the point where the transmission shifter becomes a player, due to the neutral safety switch, back-up lights, etc. All fine and dandy, I say, I got this, I say, as I head to the parts shelves to get the Lokar shift cable to connect the C4 tranny to the 70's Mustang shifter, and.....

I find the box empty!! What the.....? Only thing in the box were the instructions, which I rarely read, but, this time I looked at the pictures and saw.....
the cable I had used as the 'secret ingredient'! Well, gosh-darn, I thought, if that don't beat all - use the wrong part for an unrelated purpose, and have it work out pretty dad-gum good, all things considered!

I guess that could be explained under the "Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn now and then" clause, or perhaps the "God looks after fools and children" clause, either one, or both, could fit.

At any rate, that's my story, I'm stickin' to it, and that's the 'sausage' about the Australian wipers!

Editors Note: This has been a lot of fun for me, both the project and the story. I do hope it doesn't cause a flurry of copy cats. Perhaps I shot myself in the foot, but remember, your Bronco is a CLASSIC, keep it that way. Also, Australian wipers are a lot of work to accomplish something only another Bronco afficianado will notice.

Happy Trails to All! Howard in beautiful West Michigan

 

[Yeller]

Great read Howard
Exactly something I would do, is a part that I need for something completely unrelated or designed for but works perfectly

 

[Slowleak]

Now I wanna see what you come up with for a shifter cable…

 

[66broncoCT]

Now I wanna see what you come up with for a shifter cable…

Isn’t it obvious? Stock windshield wiper linkage

That’s awesome you found what you needed for a cable as an off the shelf part. Can probably buy just the cable from Lokar

 

[bronkenn]

Good work there Howard, oh, and I can't live with myself. I must confess I lied about big turd hat. I had to hear the tale. Hope you can forgive me.

 

[Howard2x4x4]

Isn’t it obvious? Stock windshield wiper linkage

That’s awesome you found what you needed for a cable as an off the shelf part. Can probably buy just the cable from Lokar

Inspired answer 66! Ordered one a week ago from Lane Automotive, found that the one I had has been dis-continued, and the beat goes on!

 

[Howard2x4x4]

Good work there Howard, oh, and I can't live with myself. I must confess I lied about big turd hat. I had to hear the tale. Hope you can forgive me.

Ken, that's hilarious! Big Turd Hat! I just gotta wonder what was going through your mind when you came up with what very well could be the moniker of the year! Can't wait to see the avatar!

 

[Howard2x4x4]

Haaaaaa........(big sigh of relief) Well, that 'bout does it for that wrong turn. But, don't fret none, sure there'll be lots more comin' up. But now, I'm in dire need of a Guru, Poobah or Wizard to answer a question asked in post #375. What are the switches for in the red and yellow holes? Ford Explorer dash, don't know the year) As noted in post #375, I'm fixin' to take another detour, but would like to avoid the ditches and potholes. Btw, did get the correct shifter bezel off E-Buy. Here's the new bezel and an original plastic one I cut up to use as a prototype.

This is a bit of the intended eventual destination.

 

[Howard2x4x4]

Found an A to one of the, 'Howmi gonna do that?' Q's while fiddlin' with the Ranger seat heat switches. Got them buggers out of original plastic panel piece, but it were'nt easy. And I sure don't know what to do with all of those durn wires.