Let me take 2 seconds to vent before I get to the point. We bought a truck for daughter to use for horse shows this year and I am fed up with working on it. Bought in April and have yet to use it. I can deal with the typical stuff no problem. I am fed up with the leaking gaskets, seals and carb issues I am dealing with.
The truck is an 85 F150 4x4 with the 351w in it. It is not stock. Bored .030 over, Mallory Unilite, mild cam, Edelbrock Performer 600 cfm with electric choke, Offy aluminum intake manifold, and all the smog stuff removed.
We bought it and drive it home from NJ. No issues during the drive only after we parked it. Left it at my place of work and then the fun began. I fixed all of the issues (leaking power steering pump, both gas tanks and sending units replaced, and added trailer/towing stuff) that I found and then it started leaking/using oil. It also developed a "ping" under cruise mode. I tightened all the pan gasket bolts which removed the bottom end leaks, yet it was still using oil to the tune of 3-4 quarts in 120 miles. I checked compression and found all cylinders to be between 135 - 145 psi. That led me to the conclusion that the valve seals are bad. I pulled the heads and replaced the seals and all the other gaskets at the same time. I think I might have fixed the oil issue but won't know until I drive it tonight and tomorrow. This was all happening without any smoke from the tailpipe wihich made it even worse to figure out.
I want an expert who would be willing to take a crack at this damn thing for me. I can't afford the $80-100 / hr a garage is going to charge me but I can throw a few hundred to somebody. I need to get this oil issue solved, I need to get the carb tuned, and I need to get the timing/ "ping" issue solved. Like I said I am willing to pay a bit if needed but more than anything I need to get this done for my daughter. I have a lot more info about this situation but I want to keep this post somewhat short for now. I will post more info if the questions come in.
Thanks for letting me vent.