Exactly!

Trust me guys, I know how much work there is to get it in a drivable condition.

About the aux fuel tank. I have a tank out of our last lawn mower I can use. What do you guys recommend for a fuel pump just to test it out?

 

Hook a 6-gallon portable boat tank with hose to the inlet of the fuel pump on the engine...it's a mechanical pump, so it should work once you get it cranking...or not. You can use the squeeze bulb on the tank hose to prime the pump.

 

Pull the stock pump off the motor, clamp it in a vise and push the arm up and down while you hold your finger over the inlet port to see if the pump develops vacuum. Its remotely possible that the pump still works. The pump has a rubber diaphragm inside that creates the vacuum to pull the fuel so if it's OK and the rubber isn't dry rotted then you will feel a little bit of suction developing.

A new fuel pump @ auto zone is about $35, so if the motor is turning over and you're going to get it running then you'll eventually need a fuel pump.

This is a sentimental project, so it goes beyond cost which is cool.

 

Yeah definitely.

Well those are a couple good ideas. I will definitely have to look at the stock pump.

It sucks I've been working late everyday this week so by the time I get home its dark out and now I have to go back to college tomorrow. So I'm not going to get a good chance to look at it, but I'll try and get down there today. We got a bunch of snow last night but I have a 4wd Dakota so I should have no trouble getting down there.

Thanks again for your input and ideas talltruck. It is very much appreciated.

So would something like this work for an aux tank?
http://www.iboats.com/6-Gallon-Porta...oogle+Shopping

 

Yes, might throw in a fuel line and pump/squeeze bulb...also available from I-boats for about $15. That way you could bypass the old fuel pump if it is toast by just putting the fuel line from the boat tank to the carb and squeezing the primer/squeeze bulb on the fuel line from the boat tank...essentially putting a hand/squeeze pump in place to feed the carb.

 

Okay gotcha.

I went down just now and I tried turning it over. All I had was a ratchet and it wouldn't turn. The breaker bar and pipe are both in my father's truck and hes at work right now. So I pulled the plugs and sprayed pb blaster in each cylinder. Once my father gets home I'll go back down and try again with some more leverage on there. He should be home around noon so sometime this afternoon I'll go back down.

The trans was in neutral and would actually go into each gear just fine. It seemed weird though because first seemed like such a long throw and they progressively got shorter as I went through the gears. Is this just how the transmissions worked backed then?

The clutch was froze as well... hopefully it will free up if I get her running.

The odometer says it has 80k on it, which I'm guess is right because vehicles didn't go as far back then. Although I know the odometer could roll over and be at 180k I think that is a little high.

I received an email back from Ford and they will be sending me the build sheet in the next few weeks.

If I can get it turn over this afternoon I will be happy. It's a step in the right direction. Otherwise. I'll get spraying the cylinders and next time I'm home from school I'll try it again...

 

you got a good project to work on will keep you busy with lots to do. i bought a 64 f100 acouple years ago and it sat for a good 20 years before i started messing with it. i sprayed pb blaster in the plug holes replaced the plugs wires changed oil and radiator fluid, replaced fuel pump because it had a hole rusted in the bowl and gas just leaked out put in a charged battery turned the motor over with a breaker bar acouple times and it fired up and ran good except couldn't get it to idle on its own. figured i'd share this with you maybe you will get lucky and it will fire up for you. but first things to look into are all the fluids to replace look over wiring for old age brittleness and if they were eaten up by any critters. good project and it's worth the time and money for the sentimental view of it imo.

 

Hey thanks. Its good motivation knowing someone with a similar situation got theirs to run.

I went down again with a breaker bar and it turned!! So that's a big plus obviously.

I just think it would be so cool to get something running that hasn't run in 20 or 21 years now. I'm going to get that marine fuel tank and a squeeze bulb and then next time I'm home from school I'll bring down our Ford 3000 tractor and run power from that. I can't get my truck close enough with out most likely scratching the hell out of the paint. So I'll take the tractor down.

We even still have the original key to it. I thought I was going to have to hot wire it but my mom thought we had it and she found it yesterday. So that's cool. If I can get it to fire or even come close to firing up down there I'll tow it back to our house and get it in the garage. Then I'll pull the motor, probably replace all the gaskets, oil, coolant, clean the carb and at least get it in decent shape. After that we will see what I can do. I'm taking this one small step at a time. Today was step one, in getting it to turn.

 

Sounds like you've got a great project ahead of you. I think it's really cool to see an old truck like this getting brought back to life. Just think of the stories these old trucks could tell! Its like my grandpa's old '58 F250 I'm slowly getting back on the road after 25 years of sitting in the woods (if only it would've been under a shelter like yours!). It was his first work truck when he started his welding and machine shop back in the sixties and from some of the things I'm finding, i.e., the frame flanges bent at the rear axle bump stops from the being grossly overloaded, it earned it's keep and then some! Of course, the drivetrain on my project wasn't in quite as good a shape as yours...



BTW, I second the recommendation of a 300 straight six if you can't get the engine to run. I swapped the dead 223 in my '58 for one.

 

I love the 300. I had one in my 96 F150. I always liked straight sixes. So we will see. It is defiantly a possibility down the road. Would it bolt up the same transmission alright?

I also think I'm going to put a wooden flat bed on the bed for now. That would take care of a lot of body work. The back part is the worst because it's sticking out of the shed a little and does get some snow and rain on it.

Once I get it back to the house I would like to take the bed and front clip off before I put it in the garage. It would make it a lot easier to work on and save some room as well.

Thanks for the replay Tom, it's so nice to see other people with similar projects and knowing they were able able to get it to work out. It's more motivation to get mine running. I also would love to know what this truck has been through over the years. It's been sitting for 21 years now and would be so cool to here it fire for the first time again.

 

Glad it turns, that's half the battle. Just be careful when you put put power to it taking a look at everything to make sure it isn't chewed up by rodents.

The 300 will definitely bolt up, that's what I did with my truck. You'll need the bellhousing for the 300 but the tranny bolts right up. The motor mounts hneed to be relocated but the bolt holes were already there in my '71.

 

Yeah the wiring is my biggest fear. I know being out in the woods animals obviously used it as a home. There were acorns on the battery tray. Btw what size battery will i need in terns if amps? 800?

 

I usually get the biggest battery I can get that has the posts in the right orientation that will fit; typically if you're buying a particular style of battery (i.e. a 48 month, a 60 month, etc.) they are all the same price regardless of the size.

I also like to make sure I use a good set of battery cables; no bolt on ends or small gauge stuff. I use solder on ends and copper lugs.

 

Ok, good to know.

 

Keep plugging away. If you are having fun with the project and understand the possible cost to finish it and accept that cost more power to you. I have been down this road many times and will be going down it again this summer so I can't wait to see how yours progesses.

Mike