This truck has many issues. The door panel says 1977 f250 ranger xlt. Vin code shows 460 w 4barrel carb. Bed and hood black. Cab is brown. The problems- it is sitting on half ton running gear. The firing order on intake points to 302 but the water pump matches 360/390. Prev owner 'thought' it was a 351 w. Cannot find engine code. It has a v8 and 2 barrel carb. It squeals but sound matches speed. Hubs were hot 45 min after driving 1 mile-bearings? It dies when put into gear-automatic-and sitting at a stop. Messed with idle and timing-carb rebuild? Timing set at 14 btdc. Had to connect downshift linkage to carb and now pedal sticky. Colum shifting very hard but when shifted from beneath its smooth. When accelerating have to feather gas pedal but after that it gets up and GOES! Please help!!!

 

Sometimes it's best to just start back from scratch. Is there no casting numbers on the engine?

 

If you want to work with it from where you are, it sounds like it's a 302. The timing should be set 10 degrees btdc. Your front bearings are toast in the front end, I'd check it carefully for other damage. Try tweaking with the carb a bit more on the dying from a stop. In gear it should idle at 550 and in park it should be at 650.

 

And on the sticky pedal, there should be a spring pulling towards the back of the engine and one pulling toward the front.

 

Welcome to FTE

How do you know it's a Ranger XLT? No code within the VIN defines such. The BODY code stamped on the Warranty Plate decodes to the upholstery and whether the cab is an 81A, 81B, 81E, XLT or Lariat, but...

The BODY code has to be decoded to find this out.

360/390's not available after 1976. 302 not offered for F250/350's, 351W not available for F150/350's until 1981.

The engine code is the 4th digit of the VIN = 1977/79 F100/350:

B = 300 I-6 / G = 302 2V (6 valve cover bolts) / H = 351M (8 valve cover bolts) / J = 460 4V (7 valve cover bolts) / S = 400 2V (8 valve cover bolts).

360/390: 5 valve cover bolts / 351W: 6 valve cover bolts.

1973/79: The doors are the same. Is it a 1977, is it a Ranger, is it an XLT...or not?

People replaced damaged left doors with used doors. 99.9% of the time, they failed to install the original Warranty Plate on the replaced door.

Compare the hidden frame VIN with the VIN on the registration and with the VIN stamped on the Warranty Plate to verify if all match.

 

More than likely a 351M.

 

Number Dummy- Thank you for all the information. My first issue is trying to figure out what is original and what isn't. Where is the vin located on the frame. I can't get to the engine code. I will post pics.

 

Sounds like a lot of stuff is not original on this truck. The vin codes don't really mean anything at this point. Look on the block and cylinder heads for casting numbers. If you can't find them, look up some pictures of the 351 and 302 online and see if you can identify it from that. If it has a two barrel carb, it's definitely not a 460. 460s were 4 barrel only for their whole production run until Fuel Injection. It may well be an FE 360 or 390. Just because the truck is a '77, it doesn't mean someone couldn't have put an older motor in it.

Your idle and acceleration hesitation problems sound like your carb needs a rebuild or at the least a proper tuning. Your shift linkage problems sound like someone did not properly modify the shift linkage when converting the running gear. Also 14 degrees of timing at idle seems like it's too high. The squeal is most likely a loose, old belt that may have some oil or coolant on it.

Anyways, it sounds like you have a hell of a project on your hands. I would do a compression test, leakdown test, get a vacuum gauge on there, etc. and see if the motor is even worth saving. With a truck that old in that condition, it may very well need a complete rebuild and might not be worth your money or time. Hopefully you don't have to rebuild or do an engine swap. In my humble opinion, you'd probably be better off selling or scrapping the truck and putting it out of it's misery. Put the money towards a complete, numbers matching, and running truck and you will save yourself a lot of headaches down the road.

 

Geoffunkel- that's exactly what I'm doing. I put a vacuum guage on it. It lost a lot. Tomorrow it either going to scrap or getting sold. Too much headache for me! This is ford number 4 to go down in history. Think I might be done with em! Thank you all for the information.

 

I think you made a wise choice. I hate to see an old classic like that go to the crusher, but sometimes they are just too far gone and their time has come. Fords can certainly be reliable. They're just as reliable as any old Chevy or Dodge. A lot of people swear by a certain brand, and insist that they're better in every way. In my eyes, I see Fords as pretty much equal in reliability and performance to an old GMC, Chevy, Dodge, etc. I just prefer the styling of Fords and am more familiar with their mechanicals, so I stick with them.

Anyways, look for a complete, well-maintained classic truck of whatever brand you choose. The extra money you spend will save you in the long run. Good luck!