My new truck with less than 1% plastic

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splatterdog
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My new truck with less than 1% plastic

Post by splatterdog »

Never thought I would own a another 70's Ford truck. Went big this time, 75 F600 with a dump box. Need a bunch of fill and there's a county gravel pit 5 miles away that's "cheap as dirt" if you can move it. Private pits and their dump trucks don't come cheap, so this rig should pay for itself. The price was decent too. $1600 and it was able to make a 2.5 hour drive home at a top speed of 50 mph. Brakes and rear tires are great. Everything works except for one tail light, even the Philco AM radio.. Cleanest cab of all five 70's trucks I've had too. Worst thing was the entire air distribution system from cowl to both floor vents and partially in to the heater box was packed with a 10 gallon wood shaving mouse nest. Ran at least a couple hundred gallons of water down both sides of the cowl, out the vents on to the floor, then out the door. Then final rinsed the whole interior! Now it just needs bombing with Odoban. This is actually the least broken vehicle I've bought in a long time. LOL
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Petros
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Re: My new truck with less than 1% plastic

Post by Petros »

I bet it also gets an amazing 7 or 8 mpg too.

that kind of truck is always handy to have around when you need to move the big stuff. I can think of a need for one several times a year, for that however it is not worth owning. Even so, I wish I had a good friend nearby with a truck like that, just in case the need arises.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
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splatterdog
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Re: My new truck with less than 1% plastic

Post by splatterdog »

7 or 8 going downhill with the engine off! Maybe 5 so far, but the ignition was in real rough shape for the ride home. Bad points, old plugs, worn rotor wobbling on shaft, and distributor hold down bolt was loose. Not too bad considering. I was expecting as bad as 5 to begin with.

Even with the length, this truck has the least amount of wiring of any vehicle I've owned. The windshield squirters are 60's style with a plastic water bag reservoir and a step on squeeze bulb next to the dimmer switch to pump it! Pretty sure the only thing that changed on the big trucks over many years was the sheet metal. If it wasn't for the 75-79 cab, doors, and hood, I could easily mistake it for 60's vintage. The oil dipstick had a 64 part number..
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splatterdog
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Re: My new truck with less than 1% plastic

Post by splatterdog »

Had a funny idea for getting back home after leaving this thing up north. Put a T4 in back!

But, just to be safe, I will have someone follow me..
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splatterdog
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Re: My new truck with less than 1% plastic

Post by splatterdog »

Well I survived mounting 2 new front tires on widowmakers! First and hopefully last time I deal with split rims. 20 inch wheels with 40 inch tall tires(9.00-20)
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ARCHINSTL
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Re: My new truck with less than 1% plastic

Post by ARCHINSTL »

Ohh, but I have a couple of stories about split-rims!
I pumped gas at night and on Sundays of the early years ('70s) of the bike shop and each time a customer wanted split-rims mounted, being untrained, I refused - but said it was OK if they did it themselves. I also insisted they use the safety chains.
Twice customers objected, even though the station had the famous photo of the decapitated man (from the '30s?) mounted above the "turntable."
Each time, we heard a resounding CLANG as the "ring" popped off and was restrained by the chains.
Each time, the customer's face turned white and once - true! - one soiled himself!
Tom M.
T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit."
T.S. Eliot - "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
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Mark Twain
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splatterdog
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Re: My new truck with less than 1% plastic

Post by splatterdog »

The tires were a stressful event, but without incident. Seating the beads was done with 4 chains around the tire and then engine hoisted in to an empty dumpster, then filled with a long clip on hose. 20lb incremental fills up to 100 psi with a complete deflate between every step. Then another 100 psi test on the truck.

Glad It's not rolling on 20 year old 20's anymore!

People worked on their own tires at the station? Sounds dangerous!
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ARCHINSTL
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Re: My new truck with less than 1% plastic

Post by ARCHINSTL »

splatterdog wrote: Mon Jun 18, 2018 12:46 pmPeople worked on their own tires at the station? Sounds dangerous!
Mike - Well, the backstory was that the station owner was a (then) b-i-l of mine, and also owner of the Mobil distributorship (still is).
Each time, the customer was a $valued$ commercial account of who had multiple trucks they gassed up as well as submitted for minor repairs,* and "the boss b-i-l" told me to let them do it (one was the owner and the other was an employee of the different owner).
* So, "I" was in the clear.
A conversation later with the b-i-l (to cover my tush) elicited nothing but guffaws from "the boss"
Tom
T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit."
T.S. Eliot - "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
"Now and then we had a hope that, if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates."
Mark Twain
8ton
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Re: My new truck with less than 1% plastic

Post by 8ton »

That big ol' thing looks good! What engine is in it? I have a '72 f100 with the 360FE, Many of the f500+ had the HD version, the FT series, and a lot interchanges. If you want to compare Tune Up notes, let me know, I have worked mine up from 8 MPG to 13.3
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splatterdog
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Re: My new truck with less than 1% plastic

Post by splatterdog »

Thanks 8ton! It still has the original 330. I did put new points in, but have ordered a Pertronix conversion this week. Used to just go to one of the many junkyards that are long gone and scrounge up a cheap Duraspark system, but those days are over. A lot got crushed during the scrap boom too. I still have a couple Durasparks somewhere but they are for 351m,429,460..

I see there's HEI conversion distributors also available, but the very low prices and some negative feedback scares me.

I would be happy with 8mpg! Rear axle ratios are 6.33/8.81, the lowest they used in this Eaton 15201 axle.

If you need manuals I found there's complete manual sets for individual years on CD rom for under $30. They contain all 5 phone book thick manuals and covers all trucks. It has already been invaluable even though this thing is rock simple. ID'ing the rear axle(out of 24 choices) was essential to finding a pinion seal. I did have to consult with a truck parts outfit that got me some numbers that had to be ordered. They still had paper catalogs! Oreilly's had both numbers in stock for under $10! Except for tires, all parts have been super cheap. https://www.amazon.com/1975-Ford-Truck- ... dpSrc=srch

I'm assuming any FE/FT will bolt right in? I've already figured out there are more than a couple exhaust manifold configurations. I remember most FE's having manifold leaks and this one was no exception. Battled a few in the 80's, and it sucked even at 10-15 years old. Amazingly I only had to heat half of the upper bolts on one side. All lower bolts were no prob and on the easy side they cracked loose and spun by finger. Now I can hear a slightly noisy lifter, but I still have 5w30 rinsing out the interior.
8ton
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Re: My new truck with less than 1% plastic

Post by 8ton »

IIRC FE/FT blocks are interchangeable, with minor internal work. Heads/intakes and maybe exhaust manifolds are not. The exhaust crossover is in a different spot. Distributor can swap but needs the FT drive gear OR a bronze bushing in the block. Crank snout is very large, so I assume the timing gear/cover is different.
Since you truck is running, hopefully none of that will matter!
What carb is on it? I know some FTs are governed. The autolite carbs are simple and have annular boosters that yield good mileage. Ford used them on everything, for forever, so you have most like dealt with them before. Jets can be ordered online.

On my truck I have made lots of minor changes, many at the same time, so it is hard to say what exactly did what, and what will give X mpg. However, it is safe to say that ignition and timing is the best place to start. I saw 1 mpg gain when I switched to duraspark and 1 mpg when I switched my vacuum advance from ported vacuum to full manifold. I run a hot pertronix 2 coil with a full 12v to it, summit 8.5mm spiral core wires that are very low resistance (and US made), motorcraft plugs gapped between .040 and .048 (not sure what is best yet) and the large style cap and adaptor. Timing I have run as high as 22* initial with 24* centrifugal advance and 24* vacuum. That setup pinged 70mph+ going up hill. I have toned it down (and changed up my carb spacer) to 15* initial and my vac to 22*. I am running lighter advance springs , with the advance all in around 3100.
You may not be able to run so much timing especially when loaded with gravel. What petronix unit did you get? Even the #1 should benefit from the matching coil and fat wires. You can use the duraspark cap/adaptor/wires from one of the old distributors you have to save some $.

Another thing that can help mileage is a vacuum gauge in cab. Know when the carb's power valve opens (6.5 hg I would guess) and keep vacuum above that if you can.

My truck runs long tube headers to a 2.5" dual exhaust. If i were to redo it, I would run a x pipe.
Heads are the later small port, with some port work and oversize exhaust valves and deshrouded, smoothed chambers, milled to bring 8.25cr. My quench is something horrid, .125+ iirc. Your 330 may be better.
I run a "S" iron 4 barrel intake with a 450 quick fuel "slayer" vac secondary 4160.
I run a windage tray and made a baffle for the oil pan, drilled out the pump-filter passage and run a "police" pump for higher oil pressure. I also restricted oil to the rockers a little bit. I run 5w30 and just switched to 5w40 synth for summer.
My truck is also a c6 auto with 3.50 gears, and weighs 4100# with me in it.
I know not all of this is directly applicable to your truck, but should give you the full picture. I think you can at least get 8 mpg empty and should strive for 10. Getting into double digits really helps your range and saves a bunch of $ at the pump.
Loaded, I get 6-7 so all bets are off when you get that thing full!!
Good luck and update when you can!
hunter37
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Re: My new truck with less than 1% plastic

Post by hunter37 »

Too bad I can't see pictures of the truck.
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splatterdog
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Re: My new truck with less than 1% plastic

Post by splatterdog »

Well it made the trip up north just fine at a whopping 7.8 mpg. Pertronix and carb rebuild really helped. Got the lower sides finished and hauled some dirt with it this weekend. PTO pump and lift cylinder held under load, and only engine idling did the job. Little scary first couple times I dumped!
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splatterdog
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Re: My new truck with less than 1% plastic

Post by splatterdog »

Well the truck has done at least 60 runs so far without any trouble. But the fill has too many rocks. So I built my biggest "exhaust" system yet! I work more, so I can buy more tools, so I can work more, so I can buy more tools..

https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/Szs ... oDKzZcPZEs
The thing that slides down was some expanded metal mesh that was only hooked over the top as an experiment for yesterdays trial run.
darkhail
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Re: My new truck with less than 1% plastic

Post by darkhail »

Nice work on the truck.
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