Over the weekend, there was a NE Ok FTE get together. I had wanted to drive this truck, but my finances just wouldn't allow me to do so. $10 gas (2.8 gal) got me there and back (80 mile round trip) in my B2300/ranger clone. I doubt that same gas could have got me there in this truck, let alone back.

 

I haven't done much the last couple weeks. It turned off cool and rainy early last week, and almost immediately after it did, my dog (bestest buddy for the last 12.5 years) died 3/20. Hadn't really been in the mood to do much tinkering.
The first autocross of the season was this past Sunday, and I almost didn't go. Glad I did. Not only did I win my class by a decent margin, but the whole thing got me into a much better frame of mind. Having my brother-in-law co-drive my car, as his still down, and besting his time by more than 2 seconds helped out a bunch too.
However, today I decided to attempt centering the steering wheel on dad's truck. After hunting for about an hour, I couldn't find both of the bolts of the correct thread size and length to attach the wheel puller. I just said the heck with it for now, it's not that far off center. Then set about tending to the Iris's that a previous occupant planted out front. Those things are already starting to bloom. Guess last weeks rain and this weeks 80* weather really agrees with them. Of course, not having my little buddy out there sniffing around the flower bed was a bit of downer......

 

Man, that's rough, and there's nothing but time to make it better. Sorry for your loss.

 

Sorry to hear about your pup. Several years ago I had a dog that was my shadow 23/7. I know how you feel about not having yours around. Over ten years have passed and I still catch myself looking for him sometimes when I'm working.

 

Yeah, it's amazing how much room in your life can be occupied by such a small critter.
This dog was acquired about a year before my ex and I split. I somehow ended up with him, which made that first year much more bearable, since I only got to see the kids 1-2 days a month.

Now my ex has another dog almost identical to this one, that she recently took in to prevent it going to a shelter, even though she already has more critters than anyone needs. My kids are both wanting me to take her in, as she really wants to be the center of attention, and it's becoming an issue with all those other dogs that have been in the house for much longer.
Nothing against that dog, just not sure I want another, especially this soon. I've already been around it once, and she spent nearly the entire time right by my side. Just like Kujo did.....

 

Hey Rouge, sorry for your loss. I can fully sympathize with you. A month ago we had to euthanize "Gizmo". He'd been a part of my life for just over thirteen years. He was just a white hound with black spots but he thought of himself as a "Dalmation".

 

Wow, it has been a while since I last posted in this thread.
Haven't made any major progress on the truck lately, just a few minor things here and there. Got a couple better (not 12 year old) tires put on the rear, cleaned the heck out of the chrome wheels (still needs a lot more work to get the rest of the rust off), and managed to clean all the junk out of the bed. Kinda amazing what was hidden under the pile of leaves that built up under the toolbox. Found a good passenger side hood hinge, to replace the bent/sprung hinge on the truck, plenty of extra brake parts that must have come from somewhere else, and even a pair of valves for an FE head (1 of each).

I did use this truck today to haul some stuff to storage. Had too much clutter around here, and got tired of moving it around to mow. Felt pretty good getting it out on the highway for a run, without worrying about the "maypop's" on the back (may pop at any time)......

As for the dog situation, haven't done anything yet. But, that little female my ex has just might come home with me in the near future...... She tried to yesterday when I stopped by to drop off something from my daughter.

 

Sounds like both girls need you!

 

My daughter lives next door. She has the other half of the duplex I live in. This way, I get LOTS of time with the grandkids.

 

Got a wild hair today, and swapped out the voltage regulator. Seems to have improved the charging system function, but not sure it's back to 100% yet.
Then I went really crazy, and popped off the instrument cluster bezel to swap out the wiper switch, complete with governor. First time in nearly 40 years, it now has wipers that will pause themselves......
Surprisingly easy to upgrade to intermittent wipers, using the switch and governor from an 80+ truck. Washer bottle is broken, so I don't know if I got that plug turned the right way or not, but that's easy to change later if need be.

Dad swapped the original 3.25 rear gears for a 3.00 a few years back, but never corrected the speedo. I looked up the required gear, got the part number, and called a Ford dealer. They don't have it in stock, but can get it in a couple days for the staggering price of $4.20! Much cheaper and easier than putting the original 3.25 pumpkin back in......

 

So you just replaced the switch right behind the dash where the button is to turn on the wipers? I've been wanting to do this on my truck for a while now. Did you have to cut up any wires to get it working? Or just plug and play?

 

I used a switch and governor (timer box) from an 85 (80-91 are the same).
It's plug and play, aside from the the 2 wire plug. I'm told the plug has to be reversed, or the wires swapped, before the washer pump will function. The washer bottle/pump are not installed, so I cannot confirm this personally.
The intermittent wiper switch has a wire coming out of it that must be grounded, or you will only have high speed.

Otherwise, yes it's plug and play. The 2 switches look identical, aside from the extra ground wire on the intermittent unit. The switch and governor are both required to perform this upgrade.

 

Haven't done much more to the truck lately, aside from slowly working on straightening out a few places where there's body damage.
I did find my flare wrench crowsfoot that fit the PS return line at the steering gear, and got rid of that annoying leak that only seemed to leak with the engine shut off. Really hard location to get at with anything else.
Been driving it a little here and there, and haven't really had to do anything to keep it going. Still got a very mild tip-in stumble, likely due to the accel pump needing a bit of tweaking. Planning to swap on a 4bbl intake and carb, so haven't bothered with the doing anything to the original carb.

A couple threads on FTE, in various different sections, got me thinking back to when the truck was nearly new.
Dad put a set of slot mags on it, and later added sidepipes. It was the 70's, afterall.
These items, while somewhat common, were also paired up with other things that weren't quite as common. Namely, an 8' overhead slide-in camper, and a 23' cabin cruiser were frequently added accessories during the summer. I may have not been old enough to drive, but I still considered the overall package as going to the lake in style.
In fact, the boat and camper were the primary reasons behind the purchase of this truck. The 66 chevy he owned at the time wasn't really up to the task, with it's 283 and 3 speed stick. That became the "shop truck" when he got this Ford.
Sadly, no pictures of this truck still exist today from back then. A couple of pics of the chevy have survived though.

Over the years, the boat and camper got sold. The chevy truck got sold.
Then the sidepipes rusted out, and were removed. Running board filled their location a couple years afterwards. Rear exit duals with glasspacks have been pretty typical since the demise of the sidepipes. I recently added 3" x 18" stainless tips, just for the heck of it.
The slot mags were removed after countless losing battles with brake dust. That stuff doesn't just wash away on uncoated alloy. These went on my first truck, a 70 F100. I forgot dad had them in the barn, till he surprised me with new tires, mounted on these, bolted on my truck when I got home one evening. I had not even driven it yet.
I repaid him a few years later by putting a set of chrome wheels on his truck.

There have also been plenty of in-bed options over the years. 2-3 different crossbed tool boxes, at least 2 different types of LP fuel tanks, and during a period when neither were present, the in-bed tire rack. Even another slide-in camper for a short time.
There's been plenty of cosmetic changes made over the years, but it's always suited whatever his current wishes and needs called for.

The only time he considered replacing this 74 F100, was when I turned 16. He picked out a new truck, made a deal on it without trading this one in. Went to get the checkbook out of the glovebox, and the original sales reciept fell out. That ended the new truck purchase, and resulted in the purchase of that 70 F100 a couple days later. I was none the wiser for several years, until I met the salesman dad bought this truck from, who also happened to be same guy he almost bought the newer one from.

I truly believe these trucks have always been one of the best looking trucks ever made, bar none. The 67-72 models came close, but Ford nailed it with the 73-79 models. They still haven't managed to equal the feat, in my opinion. Not sure they ever can.

That, my friends, is the real meaning of a truck. It can become a lasting member of the family, when it's built right, and treated right. Sure, they can disappoint you at times, but so do most any other members of the family.

 

subscribed!

 

Wow, it's been a while since I posted anything about this truck.

Swapped the alt off my other truck, and that cured the charging issue. Then got another alt for the other truck.
Added a Pertronix ignition setup, and it's great.
Swapped out the speedo gear to correct the speedo.
New headlights were installed, since the old ones had lost most of the reflective coating, and one had ~1" of water standing in it. Made a huge difference in how well the road is lit up.
Drove it quite a bit until late Oct/early Nov, when I pulled the battery out to put in my 80 F150 (where it came from) so I could get it to the shop and replace the flexplate and have the starter rebuilt.
Finally got around to buying a new battery for the 74 last weekend. Dropped it in, cranked it over for ~5 seconds, and it fired right up. Certainly didn't act like it had been sitting for ~4 months......

Shortly before I parked it, I did use it to tow a car (06 WRX) about 150 miles. Great pulling power, but MPG was down to around in the single digit range. Pretty much as expected with a mildly built 390, and tall-ish gears. I will likely swap the 3.25 pumpkin back in at some point.

The 80 F150 has what sounds like a broken piston skirt in the 300. As such, it will be parked while I finish gathering up stuff to perform a Cummins 12V/5 speed swap. Already have the engine, just waiting for the right deal to come along on a trans. Might have one soon, since the guy I bought the engine off of has a line on a wrecked 97/98 cummins/5 speed. But, it's a 4wd. If the trans and transfer case can be had for the right price, I may convert the 80 to 4wd, since the factory front axle under these is a direct bolt-in swap.

While the 80 is down, this will be seeing "truck duty", so not a lot of major work will done to it.