Hey I just traded my 2001 Dodge Ram Crewcab 4x4 for a 1974 f-250 camper special 4x4 Beast! Has super Duty 4 wheel disc brakes,axles, etc. Dana 60 high pinion, sterling rear brand new locker in rear and truetrac in front. 44in boggers,red neck brand ram steering ,12in suspension lift, fresh rebuilt c6 with bigger stall, hooker headers, brand new exhaust, motor was said to be rebuilt a year and a half ago with just over 400miles on it, edelbrock 750 dbl pumper, torker intake,roller rockers, cam (unknown atm) New huge racing radiator,Mallory Dist. lots of recent receipts.Theres more but my problem is on ride home after picking it up it all of a sudden just died. Thought it was fuel added gas, splashed a bit in the carb. Engine cranked but no fire. Couldn't believe my luck, after I test drove it for a while the day before and drove it maybe 40 miles and this happened. Oil pressure was good, i think it was constantly around 60 or so, temp was at 170ish. I'm thinking maybe its a spark issue but haven't had time to look. took 5 hours to get a tow truck big enough for the truck. Need help as I am new to fords, and i just got the truck after trading my great running dodge. Didn't even get to drive it home and i feel like i got screwed here. Guy i got it from doesn't know whats wrong and denies anything was up before. I live in Riverside CA 92504 area if anyone can help me out! Please help me out if you can. u can text or call me at: --------------------nine-five-one-836-19eight7

 

Depends if it still has points or electronic ignition as to what to look at. Also need to be sure the fuel pump didn't quit. You could dribble a bit of gas into the carb and see if it fires. If the guy did all the work, he should be able to figure it out, but apparently he hired it done...

 

I found a relay that was unplugged on the left side along with a two prong wire that is brown and ones green that went to that coil looking thing next to the battery.I'm working on it alone atm so I have no one to crank the engine over for me yet to check spark from coil. But after hooking those two things up i tried to start it. It cranked and then after a few trys it backfired out the exhaust.



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The coil looking thing is the starter solenoid. The little wires are only for getting the motor to turn over, the other terminals are for connecting the battery. The wires coming off the battery side of he solenoid also power up the rest of the truck, if they burn out or get disconnected, they will shut off power to things like the distributor. I see it is still on points, as it has the old style distributor and the ballast resistor on the firewall. Can't say I care for the fuel line routing he chose...

 

(update 9-12-2001)

I just put a new coil in, old one seemed to have a weak spark. Truck still hasnt started yet. I believe its HEI now no longer points. Should i go for a mallory or msd ignition box to try to bypass my problems? the wires look so so, Im think of swapping to new but i doubt that is why the truck died. Haven't checked plugs yet but again doubt that is why it went from running fine to dieing. The numbers on the dist tell me its a newer HEI style. Could it be that the resister is the problem or the module? Again im not a pro at all when it comes to electrical trouble shooting. heres the pics:

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Also I plan on going with a flipped shackle in the rear and lose those ugly blocks on the axle. I was told ones from a older chevy will work.

 

that is an old mallory unilite distributor. check to see if the center contact is on the distributor cap.

 

Really need to verify if it has spark or lost fuel before you go buying anything. Simply dump some gas down the carb and see if it fires off. There are so many things that can cause it to shut down, you need to narrow down the choices before throwing parts at it.

For spark testing, I have some inline spark testers that allow the plug to still fire. Got them from Harbor Freight, haven't seen them anywhere else.

 

i did splash some fuel down the carb, i smell gas from the carb and the exhaust as i try to turn it over. hasn't started yet but ill try and see if Harber has a in line tester next.