CA crap is no better or worse than gas sold in other states. Octane rating is 87, 89 & 91. A few Union 76 stations sell 100 octane, but it's very expensive.

Most gasoline sold in the US contains ethanol, some states require more ethanol than others.

 

Also would it be a good idea to lower the truck by removing a leaf or two? To me it sounds like a terrible idea but I've heard otherwise

 

You should be fine with regular if the motor is properly tuned and in decent shape internally. If the motor has never been touched (i.e. no hardened valve seats) some kind of lead additive couldn't hurt.

I live in CA and run regular with no additives in my rebuilt motor--no issues.

~Steve

 

Thanks Steve! What motor are you running in yours? And what sorta gas milage can you expect?

 

The 292 is a low compression engine, 8 to 1 and as such can run on **** and vinegar without knocking. That's a good thing unless you want maximum power and performance.

You still want to curve your distributor (or replace it with new probably) Trust Me. Start doing your homework on Y block engine advance timing, mechanical and vacuum, etc, and put your timing light on it and see where you're at right now. It's all right here in the archives, and a bazillion websites.

When is your vacuum gauge arriving in the mail or did you buy one already? Etc.

 

Maximum performance isn't my main priority.. I mean who doesn't want enough torque to scare you outta your pants but honestly I love these classics and I just want to drive it for a very long time

 

One thing to be aware of, you asked about this, on a 50 year old truck corrosion is your enemy in the starting and ignition circuits, lighting, everything. All the connectors and wiring will act more like resistors than conductors by now.

If it were me, start from the beginning of the maintenance and troubleshooting "bible" like the Motors Manual, and half a dozen others, and perform a compression check before doing anything else. Maybe it only has 13k on it, maybe it doesn't. If the rings are shot or valves burnt, then it's time for a rebuild on the motor. You'll want to know this, before getting spooled up about everything else! That way, you KNOW that a good solid engine is in there and ready for tuning.

Before you do this, be methodical and read everything you can on the subject. The internet is a wonderful resource, millions of web pages archived and downloads and YT videos, you can get up to speed on just about any basic procedure in a short amount of time."Effective use of source material" as the old man used to say.

Get the manuals suggested, and a compression gauge. Other tools that you'll need in no particular order - a grease gun, a multimeter, vacuum gauge, timing light, and a battery charger that will provide 4 to 6 amps to go with your new battery, jackstands, creeper, and a balancer puller.

Most of all, have fun, BE SAFE, and you can learn a lot and the knowledge is still applicable to the modern vehicles, there's more layers of BS but the basic principles are exactly the same, they just cause more expensive problems.

 

The warranty plate looks like this but I still haven't figured out pictures yet..

F10CK569719
114 Y F100 B81 A 12
5000 135 3800 63

And the plate was apperantly painted over at one time so thank goodness these numbers are stamped and not printed

 

I've got the 292 with a 4-speed t-98 behind it. Before I changed the gears in the differential (which were 3.92), I was getting about 12-13 around town. Changed the gearing last week to 3.23, so I expect an improvement, but it will be difficult to measure before I swap out the speedo gearing.

~Steve

 

Do you think it would be wise for me to also swap mine for a gear similar to that one?
Thanks!

 

It was a great improvement for me, but it depends on the type of driving you plan to do. I'm in an urban/suburban area, so rarely off road and frequently on expressways and freeways. I needed a higher top speed and could sacrifice a little low end power. If mine was still a farm truck it wouldn't be worth the money.

One thing, though--my truck has a lot of miles and the differential was completely shot. Some parts had disintegrated. It's definitely worthwhile opening it up for inspection.

~Steve

 

There are lots of tricks to make your old truck more drivable.




I run my headlights off the battery using relays. As designed, the current flows from the battery, through the headlight switch, to the headlights. There are kits to do this without cutting any wires, cost is about $30.

 

Okay new question.. I've got brand new disk brakes that I just put on the front and the origional wheels actually fit!!! Well sorta... But the spindles stick out just slightly to far to put my hub caps back in so could I just bang the grease caps in with a hammer or go with wheel spacers? I would really like to keep my hubcaps because there origional to the truck and still look almost new

Thanks again!
CJ