I recently bought my first car and had a few questions

My truck is an f150 4x4 long bed
300 l6
np435 4 speed
np205 transfer case
ford 9 inch rear
Dana44 front


1. Are there any upgrades that can get more horsepower and better fuel economy?

2. What kind of oil does my engine use? (I prefer Royal Purple)

I'll take any answer you got.

 

I as well have an I6 but only a 2wd. For horsepower there are some mods, you can get a 4 barrel intake, carb and headers to replace your existing log. This really wakes up this engine. On the downside from my experience anything that nets performance will usually drop MPG. However if you get a carb and tune the primaries for economy and secondaries for performance you can balance MPG and power. I get 16-18 no matter how I drive and I consider this to be pretty good for the old beast. I have also done an alternator switch to a 3G and run electric cooling and even in AZ this seems to do a nice job and to me feels a lot safer than the old cooling fan with no clutch. It also is supposed to to free up a few HP but I didn't really notice.

You can also change the gear ratios of the differentials but for any power you gain you will lose in top end speed.

 

I am left wondering .... if it is your "first car" .... then on what do you base this preference for "Royal Purple"?

Just use a good conventional grade of 10w30 or 20w50 .... or even 15w40 HD oil and Purolator Pure One filter and change it every so often .... like 3,000 or so miles.

 

Thanks for the advice and great ideas. I like Royal Purple because I've heard many good thing about it.

 

Texaco, Chevron, Shell, Exxon and Mobil all make good motor oils and can usually be bought nearly anywhere. Royal Purple may not be on the shelf when you need a quart. In Alaska you are going to want to stay with a 10W oil, especially in winter. Down here in Texas I run a 20W, but it doesn't get anywhere near as cold down here as it does there.

 

depending on your fab skills could do a 5 speed swap but lets start out simple here first as its your first car/truck. if you just bought it i would suggest a really good tune up if you havent done so already. new spark plugs, spark plug wires, change the oil in everything or at least check the diffs, transfer case and transmission. also check for old or added fuel filters and check or change the air filter. then give the truck a good once over. check the front end ball joints tie rods maybe even check the brakes they could be dragging and that can hurt mpgs alot. as for the royal purple its expensive stuff. this truck wont know the diffence between some off the shelve brands at your local parts store.

 

Cody,
Depending on where you live, I may be pretty close... I'm in Eagle River.

Did you pick up the brown flatbed from Merrill Field?

 

Double post... Traveling with bad reception on my cell...

 

My truck came from Anchor Point.


I took this the day after I got it.

 

Why did you decide on such an old truck?
Good price?
Convenient seller?
Or do you have another reason?
I only ask because it seems today there are fewer and fewer young people that care about classic cars/trucks.

 

Looks like a decent rig, especially for from Anchor Point.

Enjoy the ride man, it's a fun one.

 

I've loved old cars and trucks since I was little, and having something I can work on myself and not have to use a computer to fix is a deal in itself. Since I cant own a camaro or mustang up here a truck was the next best option. I would have bought a Dodge cause I'm a Mopar or Nocar kind of guy, but Dodge parts cost more money. So when I saw this Ford with a straight six and four speed, I jumped on it. I couldn't have asked for a better first truck.

 

I have a friend from Alaska and he had a rx7 all tricked out, and showing me pics of his car club there are a lot of 2 and 4wd sports cars drivers up there,
Why can't you have a muscle car?

 

The summers up here are too short and insurance is expensive. People who own muscle cars up here have a good chunk of change to spend, but yes there are a lot of people who own muscle cars in Alaska.