I just brought this home about a week ago. I do not know much about it. It has the inline 6, it is a manual with overdrive. I wanted to show some of the rust too, to see if anyone knows where to get body panels (mainly the one behind the bench seat).

The history behind the truck is pretty basic. A farmer owned it for most of it's life. It had a giant hitch on the back but I took it off. It only has a 101k, I was told it sat for a while. It runs very well. There is an exhaust manifold leak. I also see some brake fluid leaking between the booster and the master cylinder.

I can see someone did some bondo work to it and it was painted at one point too. For me, this truck is going to be an in between of a classic truck and a bit of a 3rd vehicle/work truck. I want to put some Crager S/S wheels eventually, bodywork and a paint job.

I would like to know more about my transmission and rear end. I would like to be able to pull an enclosed trailer with it (not all the time, but maybe 500-1000 miles a year). Is this possible?

 

I am sure some will be wondering...the car next to the truck is a 72 Dart Swinger.

 

Hey Jhaas. Welcome! What a beauty. A diamond in the rough, sure, but she looks totally unmolested and original. How does the frame look?

Get us some interior pictures, what I can see of that seat looks great.

And I think with a manual and the 300 you should be good for towing. If she had a big hitch on it that's likely what it was used for. Probably has one of the stout rear ends, one of the more knowledgable guys will be able to decode that sticker for you.

Three things jump out at me about the engine bay. Get a picture of the distributor. Those wires leading to the fender looks like it may be a DSII swap. Does the base of the dizzy have a rectangular piece shaped like an altoids tin, or a round piece with a vac. line coming off of it?

Also, it looks like the smog equipment and air cleaner tubes are all present. I think ctubutis said there are 54 setups for the air cleaner. I've yet to see one in tact in person. And the smog equipment is usually (poorly) torn out. Vac leaks, running rich, and harder to tune.

Mind doing me a favor? Is there a brand and part # you can read on the little belt for the smog pump? I'm having trouble finding one that fits well.

 

Here are more pictures of the motor, rear end and interior. The frame looks good. My old man has a hoist and we put it on there over the weekend. Everything underneath looks good. I plan to POR15 the frame and undercarriage probably this summer. The interior is pretty clean.

 

Dave, I would be happy to find that belt # for you. I am a newb though, which is the smog pump. I also have no clue was a DSII is either. I've got some learning to do! Which is why I am here!

 

HOLY SMOKES! That interior is beautiful. Wherever she was sitting was covered. Should look like 1990 all over when she's cleaned up. Even have the more comfortable seat.

Don't see where the truck has A/C. Do you have the under hood light, passenger door light, and reading lights? Also, I've been told the tachs are somewhat uncommon as well.


Okay, that's a TFI distributor. So stock ignition system.

Smog pump is on the top, to the left of the engine if you're looking at it. Also called air of THERMACTOR pump.

Basically on the back of it should be a couple air hoses. And a diverter valve to keep air flowing one way. Basically, takes rich exhaust fumes and re-injects them in to the Air/fuel mix. Helps the truck run a little less rich and keep the truck from smelling like it's 1950.

 

Your transmission is a Top Overdrive or "TOD". Your rear end is an 8.8" with 3.08 ratio, according to the sticker and the look of it (not super-great for towing). You have the EEC-IV (also called TFI) computer controlled ignition, and if you have the original style carb, it will be a single barrel feedback carb.

 

Haas- forgot to mention this earlier.

How is she running? And idling? Where the valve cover meets the head looks a little grungy. Clean that up before you drive next and see if it's leaking. Mine was almost entirely gone, and causing a big vac leak. I think the replacement was $8.

 

Runs pretty good. You talking about a valve cover gasket? I plan to put one on shortly as well as an exhaust manifold gasket too.

 

It always amazes me to see these I6's. Such a power horse in a tiny (compared to the engine bay) engine. You could almost sit in the truck to work on the engine. Looks good though. I'm sure once it's freshened up it'll run great.

If you want a little more torque for towing you may want to change out the gears with a set of 3.83's or 4.11's. You'll lose a little on the top end but you'll be able to get more towing power.

If you really want to get creative you can swap in a 9" ford rear end. Swapping gears in those is super easy. We run one in my hobby stock car and swap gears twice a week for different tracks. That can get a little spendy though.

Here's a list of ring and pinion gears from Summit:

Ford 8.8 in. - Ring and Pinion Gears - Differential & Rear-End Components - Drivetrain - SummitRacing.com

 

Congrats on the new ride.
Before I inherited El Guapo, my father-in-law used to pull his boats down to the Chesapeake with it. 86 F150 SWB, I6 with manual 4sp/OD, but with 3.55 gears in the back. He always complained that it was gutless, but it did get the job done. Of course, I'm in the process of fixing that power issue.

Sheet metal parts can be gotten from several sources. LMC Truck is probably as good as any when it comes to sheet metal. I don't know if they make a piece for that area behind the seat, but since it is pretty straight, it looks like something that could be fabricated pretty easily. 81ChopTop has amazing fab skills, and may be able to give you some advice on how to attack those areas. Other than the rust, that is a really nice looking ride. Good luck with it.

 

Nice Flareside man...

Couple of sources...

- Mill Supply out of Cleveland OH (Auto body rust repair patch panels)

- National Parts Depot has a really nice catalog for our Bullnose trucks, and they reproduce some rarer pieces as well (NPD - Restoring American History | Mustang Parts | Camaro Parts | Chevelle Parts | Ford Truck Parts | T-Bird Parts | Firebird Parts)

Try your local parts stores as well... The NAPA I work at deals with CAP, or Continental Auto Parts (body panel supply company), and their parts are decent... Some Chinese stuff, but you can get lucky on the more expensive pieces. I imagine other auto parts stores have body supply connections as well. Never hurts to check.

 

Show us some pics of the Dart! Some of us have a thing for classic steel from Ma Mopar.

 

Another thing I can add looking at your photos is that your emissions system and ignition/feedback systems appear to be complete and un-tampered with. That's a good thing, and somewhat rare in these trucks.

 

Here are some picture of the old Dart...