'51 F4 project
#1112
I left home with my wife driving the chase car, just in case. We drove to Lake Elsinore, then up to a friend's restaurant in Corona for lunch, then back home.
That was a 60 mile round trip (according to the GPS, not my odometer). Well, it says 59.667 miles, but I rounded up.
Betsy ran cool, had great oil pressure, charged the battery and got terrible gas mileage. All of this is what I wanted to see. I used about 1/3 of a tank of gas. I expect poor mileage, since the cost of gas was not even a concern when this truck was built and I was running towards the top end of her comfort range, between 35 and 45 mph. Actual top speed recorded today was 46.49 mph. I like the app on my phone, Android Speedometer.
My lovely bride took a few "Through the Windshield" shots for me. This is the best one.
#1114
Congrats on getting her on the road. I had to think my way around that captive parking brake spring too.
A big part of your road speed issue is the fact of having the 225/70R19.5s on the rear. Your tires are 32" while your stock 7.00 x 18s and your front 8R19.5s are about 34". Watch CL and I bet you can find some nice used 8R19.5s for the rear.
Finding a D70 out of a Dodge 400/500 based motor home wouldn't be hard, but finding one close might be hard. The yard I work with in Portland could pull you one, but shipping would be the costly part.
And last, here is a pic of the brake spring hole on my 215. Stu
A big part of your road speed issue is the fact of having the 225/70R19.5s on the rear. Your tires are 32" while your stock 7.00 x 18s and your front 8R19.5s are about 34". Watch CL and I bet you can find some nice used 8R19.5s for the rear.
Finding a D70 out of a Dodge 400/500 based motor home wouldn't be hard, but finding one close might be hard. The yard I work with in Portland could pull you one, but shipping would be the costly part.
And last, here is a pic of the brake spring hole on my 215. Stu
I just crawled under Betsy again to look. I don't have that hole in my flywheel cover for the spring.
I have a contact in SoCal who might be able to find that Dana 70, but I'm really not ready to go there yet, if ever.
My shorter rear tires do impact the top road speed, but if the calculators are correct, that two inches difference is equal to the difference between 50 mph and 47 mph. Both hit about 2,540 RPM. And since my rear tires are like new, I won't sweat that for a few years, if ever.
Without changing the way this old farm truck was designed, I'll just settle for the 40mph average range. It bounces so much at that speed that I don't want to go any faster anyway. I may add some padding to the tools in my tool tray. Every bump sounds like an alarm going off behind the seat!
And I agree with what's been said. Your truck looks really nice.
#1115
#1116
Congrats on a successful voyage, Joe!
I wouldn't put any stock in the gas gauge moving 1/3 tank. Near Full, that would be a lot of gas, near Empty it could be 2 gallons. The only way to get any kind of accurate MPG reading is to look down the fill pipe with a flashlight while pumping it in, and stop when the gas gets to the bottom of the tube. Drive, then refill the same way. You could EASILY be getting 12 mpg!
I wouldn't put any stock in the gas gauge moving 1/3 tank. Near Full, that would be a lot of gas, near Empty it could be 2 gallons. The only way to get any kind of accurate MPG reading is to look down the fill pipe with a flashlight while pumping it in, and stop when the gas gets to the bottom of the tube. Drive, then refill the same way. You could EASILY be getting 12 mpg!
#1117
Congrats on a successful voyage, Joe!
I wouldn't put any stock in the gas gauge moving 1/3 tank. Near Full, that would be a lot of gas, near Empty it could be 2 gallons. The only way to get any kind of accurate MPG reading is to look down the fill pipe with a flashlight while pumping it in, and stop when the gas gets to the bottom of the tube. Drive, then refill the same way. You could EASILY be getting 12 mpg!
I wouldn't put any stock in the gas gauge moving 1/3 tank. Near Full, that would be a lot of gas, near Empty it could be 2 gallons. The only way to get any kind of accurate MPG reading is to look down the fill pipe with a flashlight while pumping it in, and stop when the gas gets to the bottom of the tube. Drive, then refill the same way. You could EASILY be getting 12 mpg!
Thanks Ross.
I've never filled the tank because I don't trust the rubber seal on the filler pipe, so I don't want to "test" it. I added 10 gallons the other day, and the gauge was reading full. So, the gauge or sender isn't right, since the tank is supposed to hold 25 gallons and it was near empty (on the gauge) when I added gas.
And I'd be quite happy with 12 mpg.
#1118
#1119
I'm seriously considering putting a filled 50 gallon water tank in the bed when I get that finished. I think the extra 400 pounds back there might lessen the bouncing some.
#1121
#1122
#1123
The specs page in the Shop Manual on page 378 shows:
9002 Fuel Tank
First line TL 7C 9002 / 20 gallons
Fourth line down TL / *8T 9002-A / 25 gallons
note *1951
I guess I'll have to measure my tank to see which one it is? But it looks like every other one I've seen in pics here, so I'm betting it's a 20 gallon.
#1124
#1125
Well, now you made me dig out my chassis parts book and look.
The 7C 9002, 20 gallon tank fits all 48-52 closed cab trucks. I never even considered another tank since I've never seen one. The 8T 9002-A 25 gallon tank shows a dimension of 10.5 high, 32.5 long and 18 wide, for F 4,5,6 conventional and cabover except school bus. That sounds more like possibly an optional exterior aux. tank and would really stick into the back of the seat if it was inside the cab, imho.
The other tank you mentioned, the TDAA unit, I show as for 54-55 F-500/600 panel trucks, with similar dimensions as the 8T tank, above.
Interesting.
The 7C 9002, 20 gallon tank fits all 48-52 closed cab trucks. I never even considered another tank since I've never seen one. The 8T 9002-A 25 gallon tank shows a dimension of 10.5 high, 32.5 long and 18 wide, for F 4,5,6 conventional and cabover except school bus. That sounds more like possibly an optional exterior aux. tank and would really stick into the back of the seat if it was inside the cab, imho.
The other tank you mentioned, the TDAA unit, I show as for 54-55 F-500/600 panel trucks, with similar dimensions as the 8T tank, above.
Interesting.