So I've just bought a new daily driver as I didn't like the way the heat was working in my last truck (more on that later). I've always liked the old dents so when one presented itself for sale I jumped on it. Living where I do there are few options available, but I think I found a decent one.

First, the cheap ****:



1979 F150 4x4, 300 straight 6 w/ 1 bbl., NP 435, 133 wheelbase, 6300 GVW, wooden bed and hydraulic plow (which here in Maine is a big plus). On the door panel under axle code it only says 16, which doesn't match anything on the VIN decoder. Made in Canada. The big box in the back window is just a large dog crate.

Just picked it up a couple days ago, plan on keeping her simple as a daily driver and winter plow truck. I'm really glad she's a 300 4 speed as they have plenty of power for me and I like the mileage.



She's kinda a ballerina, she looks good from a distance but the closer you get the more you can see the how the winters up here have taken their toll. The wooden bed is likely there due to the OE bed being eaten by rust, and here you can see the rust working on the bottom on the drivers door and the fiberglass repair already done on the cab corner:



I was going to take more pictures of the rust damage but the batteries on the camera died on me.

It's my goal to keep this truck as long as possible, which means beating winter road salt and roads that sometimes make the Rubicon look smooth. She's running decently and is fairly solid for an old Maine truck but as my experience is more with maintenance and 'easy' repairs then rebuilding or tearing stuff apart I'm gonna have my hands full.

I'll be updating this thread with pictures and questions as I start digging more into her, I'm hoping the good folks here (and I know you're good, I read most of the threads on the first few pages of this forum before joining) will be able to pass on some knowledge and tips for what needs to be done with her.



Ohh yeah, as promised, here's what happened with my old truck after I turned the heat on the other day:



The heat worked extremely well for a few minutes (so good I actually had to pull over and get out) but now I can't even get the heater to turn on!

 

That still wouldn't be warm enough for me

What happened?

 

Wow! You had more than your fair share of heat! Glad you made it out without getting hurt! Great replacement truck.

 

I think a mouse or squirrel nibbled on the wires a bit, but the fire pretty much destroyed the evidence. It was hot enough to crack the windshield and flames were coming out of the windscreen, but amazingly didn't even touch the engine compartment and some of the electrical, like the 4-ways, still work fine. I'll spend the money I get from parting it out on the '79

 

And for the next phase of our Tour De Ford...



Pretty clean interior for an old plow truck. Most everything works, the gas gauge only about 20% of the time (ground maybe?) and the temp gauge barely moves. The coolant is good but the interior heat is pretty weak and it drove the 60 miles homes without an issue so I'm guessing a missing thermostat.

As a 6'1" guy my knee sometimes hits the back of the steering wheel when driving, when I first got it the seat was forward to make room for these classics:



Needless to say I'm putting something smaller in. Speaking of the radio, it's not OE but it definitely fits the era!



Couple more quickies, including the drivers custom door panel and the headliner:



Sadly the passenger door is stock.



I'm considering wrapping the headliner in a pirate flag, just got to find one the right size.

I'm pretty happy with the inside of the truck, a new radio and seat cover at some point but overall no complaints. There was a small hole in the drovers floorboard to repair, I'll get a shot of it when I'm ready to fix it.

 

So the weather cooperated and I got the plugs/wires/cap/rotor and air filter changed. It can be rough living in Maine and not having a garage to work in.

Couple engine shots prior to starting(with the crappy camera, sorry)





Any wires or hoses that look out of place likely belong to the plow controls (I hope!)




Here are the old plugs, it's a bad picture but they were as nasty as they look:





The oily mess is the plow hydraulic pump leaking fluid.


She's running better but still hesitates under load when warm, I'm going to replace the fuel filter tomorrow and order a carb rebuild kit Monday, I'll do the overnight parts soak that folks here recommend also...I should do a PCV and grommet if I don't go with the idea below.

I'm going on record as hating the stock air filter box on the 300, anyone have an inexpensive replacement idea and thoughts on what to do with the emission hoses that plug into it?

 

Well I replaced the fuel filter but the hesitation and stuttering under load didn't improve. I've double checked the plugs and wires and everything looks good, guessing it's a carb issue, I'll be ordering the rebuild kit tomorrow.

On a positive note I was rummaging thru the small gutted camper I use as a tool shed and came across these:



I had picked them up a few years back, put them on a shelf and promptly forgot about them, they should come in handy!

 

HA! I thought my truck was the only one with an air pump still working on it! I have the same engine as you. For a second, it looked like you snapped a picture of my truck. (I just shot it factory dark brown poly)

You have a really nice looking truck there. Good luck with it!

 

So I was getting the model number off the carb when I noticed that I might be missing a piece or two:



It's a D9TE-MA carb with a manual choke, shouldn't there be a linkage piece on that little loop between the main body of the carb and the choke housing...and if so would NAPA (my only local parts store) have one?

Also would this be a cause of it running poorly?

A few more pictures of it:

 

So I've finished the rebuild, came across a couple interesting finds while in there.

There was no float ball or weight in the carb, I put replacements in.

The carb choke linkage was missing, I got one on the way from Mikes.

The float bowl looked like it had a thin layer of dirt in it.

Hopefully it'll fix the running issues, anyone got an opinion on driving it without the carb choke linkage?