Hey all, Mel here. Just joined FTE the other day, held off with an intro until I could figure out how to post pics.


First things first, my handle "Gemutlich". It's a German word, meaning a place I'm shooting for...


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gem%C3%BCtlichkeit


I'm a Veteran, US Army, Blackhawk Crewchief, '82-'88. Four grown and gone kids ranging in age from 30 down through 19. Amazing Wife I haven't been married to nearly long enough, and one really good dog.


I'm the Senior Warden this year at St. Peters Masonic Lodge, NRA Range Safety Officer and Instructor (Pistol and Rifle) and for the past 17 years I've ran the Juniors rifle program at a local indoor range.


Associate Chaplain in a local Nursing Home Ministry, and all-around good guy. Just don't ask my Mom...


So about being back for more punishment: Had an old SuperVan back in High School, an '89 SHO, and more recently an '01 E350 7.3L Power Stroke I ordered new for my work van (Plumbing Heating Cooling and Electrical).


All of 'em are now long gone, was looking around for something cheap to use local to an old Tennessee farm my Wife and I are looking to (semi)retire to permanently from Connecticut, and found an old '73 F250 2WD on South Carolina CL.


Friends of ours have a place in SC, and well I don't know about anyone else but whenever we're planning a trip to go visit friends or family I usually do a search on CL or golsn local to where we're going.


Such is how I stumbled across the '73.


Story is that the truck is a New Mexico original, brought to Darlington SC a little over a year ago where it was given a quick cheeep paint job and cleaned up a little so the guy I bought it from could take it out to all the local shows. Guess it didn't really light his fire, as he ended up finding an air-bagged C10 he could slam down at those shows and the '73 just sat around.


Had my friend drive up to Darlington to check it out and after a thumbs-up I headed down for a Superbowl party and a buy-another-Ford adventure.


Brought the truck back to my friends place where we went over it quick, gave the old girl a full set of shocks and hit the road for Sparta (TN).


So that's pretty much where we're at right now. Truck is in a buddies shop having all the front end / steering components replaced so me Bride doesn't have to fight to keep it between the lines.


Supposedly has a 390 / C6 combination. Already chewing on sourcing a suitable 428 but man thats how all my money pits start off so I'm going to fight that one as long as I can...


Factory air, dual tanks, tool box, nothing else I can think of at the moment.


Mentioned we're split between Sparta TN and Brookfield CT. Next time we're down in Sparta I'll post up an open invite for y'all to come for a good old fashioned GTG. Plenty of room for anyone who can make it, and as my lovely Wife is the worlds greatest Chef (well OK so perhaps I'm a LITTLE biased) we'll be sure you're well fed.


So that's about all I got in me for an intro, hope y'all enjoy the pics.

 

And for those pics...

 

And a couple more...

 

Ohhh, Very Nice!

 

Beware the folks on eBay and elsewhere offering 428s. Some are genuine but many others are overbore 390s that, at that bore size, have paper thin cylinder walls. This comes from Barry Robotnick, an FE engine guru who also sells on eBay (see Survival Motorsports). A genuine 428 is pretty rare and commands a premium price these days. Barry literally wrote the book on Hi-Perf FEs.
I, too, lusted briefly after a 428 SCJ but came up with what I felt was a more cost-effective alternative. Thus, you may want to give some thought to this: Get a good 360 or 390 block (same bore size) and then buy the following new parts:

• Edelbrock top end kit (heads, cam, timing gears, intake)
• Scat rotating assembly (stroker kits up to 4.25")

With this, you'll have new internals, tons of displacement, the equivalent of 427 medium riser heads in aluminum and a nicely paired cam and intake system.
I'm in the midst of doing this myself.