Well I got my truck on sunday and since then I have cleaned it up and cut out the rust in the floors . Under the drivers side floor pan the lovely rodents have made a nest in between the front
<a href="http://motorhaven.autoanything.com/"><a href="http://motorhaven.autoanything.com/">cab mount</a></a> and the pan itself so I have cut the floor away and cleaned the nuts paper and dirt out .
This truck DOES ONLY HAVE 54,000 miles on it , here is why I say this !

1. the cylinder head is off of the engine and there is NO taper on the 240 I6's cylinder walls and I can see a lot of cross hatch

2. when I was cleaning the truck I noticed that the safety warning is still on the drivers side visor , ya I know that isnt total proof but it counts for something !

3. When I removed the rear wheels the little clips that hold the brake drum on were still on !

4. the chrome and grill are all in excellent shape , as is the bench seat (it does have the build sheet in it too but due to the fact that it is 30 years old I dont want to try to remove it and have it come out in pieces .
There are other things too but i dont remember , oh ya the brake AND gas pedal are NOT worn !
Who know's but I really feel that this is the actual mileage .

Now for the questions

1)Do these '74 trucks have the plastic outer spash guards like that '78 and 79 trucks do ( my '75 has them but I dont know if it is supposed too ).

I have to repair some electrical wires due to my friend's the rodents ( they have nuts and stick but they have to chew the wires too )

This truck is in original shape but it has some rot, (nothing that good old fashon work cant fix!)

Also I found the <a href="http://motorhaven.autoanything.com/"><a href="http://motorhaven.autoanything.com/">owners manual</a></a> in the <ahref="http://motorhaven.autoanything.com/"><a href="http://motorhaven.autoanything.com/">glove box</a></a> 9 alone with a mouse nest , and the <a href="http://motorhaven.autoanything.com/"><a href="http://motorhaven.autoanything.com/">owners manual</a></a> says that these (1974 trucks) can run on leaded unleaded or low lead gasoline !

It also say's that the truck needs a minimum of 91 octane gas.

I am going to inspect the exhaust valve seats for damage before
I install the head ( check everything else and replace the valve stem seals) .

Does this cylinder head need the hardened seats or can I "trust" the owers manual ?
Jon

 

I can't help you, but i have a question. How good of a deal did you get for this truck?

 

A steal..250 for the truck and 50 for the trailer ride from Rhode Island to Connecticut so 300 total , not bad at all considering I bought the truck for parts for my'75 and decided to not rip the truck apart but to put it on the road and use it as a daily driver
Jon

 

sweet deal, congratulations

 

FWIW, that 91 octane is the old way of figuring octane rating. Modern octane ratings are the average of Research Octane Number and Motor Octane Number ((RON+MON)/2). The old octane number was only one of these numbers (I forget which, maybe Research). Anyway, there are some extensive discussions on the 'net on octane, what it means and how to raise it (toluene supposidly works well).

Mark

 

chas1234 -- congrats on your purchase. I have the same kind of truck; converted it to 466+ CU IN power and am presently doing front end repairs - body work maybe later this year or next. You can find my ride (Harrison) at <http://www.beedzncomputers.com/truck/truck.html> , if you take a gander. Maybe some of the things I've already done with '74 are "about" to do....

Good luck,

 

A 74 should have hardened seats but have a machine shop check it out and have hardened seats installed if they aren't.

Nice find!

 

Thanks for the responces guy's ! I hope to get pictures posted in my gallery soon I'll let you know when I do . Right now me and my old man are doing some body work and next week I intend to reassemble the engine and get that running
Jon

 

I don't think they started installing fender liners until 76 or 77.

mike