I am still looking for a truck that will fit most of my needs, but have found a '79 F250 supercab that the owner says has the stock 400 engine and 2bbl carb and rebuilt C6 in it. I know not to expect great gas milage, but figured that I will still eventually still pick up a f100 bumpside with a 300 for my daily driver.

My general questions are concerning the '79 400. I live in CA and therefore will have to smog the engine every two years, if it passes smog now should I really worry about this engine or are they prone to problems (I understand that it's old and will continue to get older and crap happens) but with proper maintenance and care should it hold up?

Until I get the more milage friendly f100 later on, will my daily commute of approx 20 miles drive me to the poor house? My commute is roughly 20 miles round trip and mostly rural roads at 45 mph with a small portion (approx 6 miles) freeway and I only run about 55 mph on the freeway now.

Is my guess of 10 mpg even close to being realistic?

 

This is where you would post on the 400 motor

and for general 73-79 questions post here

The 400 is a good motor but many choose to make it better but given your emissions standards you will be somewhat limited as to what improvements can be made .. 10mpg is reasonable on a properly tuned 400 .. More on this motor here

 

Thanks, I thought I had moved to the other forum before I posted that last thread. I will repost.