thanks, Wyo. ill check into that. old iron is iron! tough trucks for sure!

 

If you are worried about under the hood being burglarized this should make you feel real good. You can get into one of these trucks as fast with a butter knife as you can with the keys and all the thief has to carry is an extra ignition switch to easily drive it away in mere seconds.
Don't leave your truck where people will mess with it or it will be gone.

 

well, its not that bad around here, but i know what your saying, no sense locking the window if the front door is open.

 

so...
nothing new yet...
just accumulating parts for it...

can i put a regular springy radio antenna on it instead of the extendable one?

 

Hey 351..been reading your posts. I too am a young guy..it does take a while to accumulate parts if you don't have a whole lot of money..but once things get rolling..they sure do get rolling! I'm 20..had my 68 since I was 18..in that time it was sold twice..original engine blown(360 Fe)..engine tore out...and now I completely rebuilt a 300-6 that will haul ***** to go into it. It's been slow..but every step is rewarding. I myself am a major fan of clevelands. I plan on putting one in the truck one day. The 300 was cheap and ran great when my friend swapped a 302 in its place. I love low revving big blocks..I'd rather cruise and rumble! Good luck with the build.!

 

I hate to tell you this, but it doesn't get any easier when you have a full time income. Just seems like the bills eat up the money you were hoping to have to spend on parts. I like the idea of the 300 swap. I'm actually considering doing it to my 68, just in the parts pricing and figuring out what I want stages. FYI 68 Cabby, if you put stock rockers off of a 292 Chevy straight 6 on your 300, they bolt right in and it almost feels like you put in a bigger cam due to the increased ratio of the rockers, and there's absolutely no modifications neccessary to use them. They're like a 1.8 ratio. Just check to make sure your valves aren't hitting the piston tops.

 

Oh I know..working 30 hours a week plus college..I can't find the time of day anymore! Haha I really have enjoyed the swap. It's unique to build a sixer...I feel anyways. It's also such a simple engine to work on..that it has taught me a lot about engine building and I can use that knowledge on 8s. I knew about the rockers..I believe they're like 1.7 something ratio. A lot of guys in the six forum use em. I was afraid of coil bind or premature spring fatigue..so I decided against it..however..I may consider it in the future.

 

well i am finally in possesion of said truck. the mice have been living in it for years so the first thing i did was take out the seat and hauled it to the car wash and blasted EVERYTHING with the high pressure soap. and i mean EVERYTHING! inside outside headliner dash seat.. all of it! and now it looks nice and clean.

what ive found so far (the bad)
the floor boards are rusted out a bit in the front.
the drivers brakelight doesnt work.
the turn signals/ 4way flashers dont work
im missing the front turnsignals
parking brake doesnt work

the good
paint is in good shape.
seat is salvageable
steers easily
springs arent shot
and all the rest is good.

the biggest problem i have SO FAR is rebuilding the interior and fixing the electrical probelms. which really arnet that big of problems....

 

heres the picture thread
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post12668230

 

i got all my lights working, minus the front signals.

i took my window lifts out and cleaned them up and lubed 'em. now they work like new.

my door panels were the leather and cardboard style, and they were kinda rotten, so i pulled the full steel doorpanels out of the 72 that we have (parts truck for the 71) and put them in. only problem is that theyre green. (not for long)

i bought some new foam and a nice seatcover, now the seat is great.

i pulled the headliner out, washed it, painted it and put it back in. it looks dang good.

yesterday i got lucky and found a windshield in the local junkyard. it was in a 75 f350 camper special. i picked that one out for only $40... mine is cracked up pretty good.

today i started it up and lone behold, my fuel guage started working! glad i didnt spend $70 on a new sending unit...

the dash still needs to get recovered, and i still have a little bit of re wiring to do.

which leads me to the question..

what wire(s) under the dash are hot with the ignition? i need to find one to hook my tachometer to.

and what wires are hot all the time? i need them for my radio and CB.