Hey Paul,
Looking good over there! Get us some pics from the gas station next time out!

Ben in Austin

 

Joyfull news, sounds like you will be crusin with your wife (best friend) real soon. Right on guys.

 

Yeah you have heard that "light at the end of the tunnel" thing before right?
Thats like what you see before heading through the pearly gates?

Hey Paul the light is really a set of those lights at a dragstrip!

Pedal to the metal man! The Elderly lady behind you is honking!!! and Yelling!!! " Get out of my way! You are not ready! Turn left and stop looking at me that way! "

Keep fighting Paul ! I am glad to hear about the ride, you and Mrs. Paul

Now I am gonna go listen to your engine video again!

Prayers to you!

 

My FTE Friends,

You are - simply put - THE BESTEST!
All day today I worked on the truck and it felt good. My wife wants to kick my butt for smelling like a refinery... but she got over it once I picked her up from work in the 56 ride. You should have seen her... Priceless!

So I managed to put the fuel tank back in, but before I did that I made sure that the pickup tube was clean and clear of debris AND to ensure I don't get any more junk in there (or as minimal as possible) I stuffed my shop vac inside the fuel tank and made sure there were no debris clinking around as I tilted it side to side and upside down... you know? Put it all together, drove to the gas station with my trusty 2 gallon gas tank and filled her up... $4.25 per gallon times 17 gallons - Yikes!

It's all good friends. I drove approximately 15 miles without an incident and it felt good. Funny how you notice all kinds of creeks and sounds from the old/new beast... Tomorrow, I will empty the radiator and engine water flush fresh water through it all and then add a gallon antifreeze and more fresh water... I'd like to keep the temp around 180 if possible otherwise I'm looking at $500 for a new radiator - double Yikes!!

Friends, I'm stoked. I know some of you have already been thru this process but it's new to me. I can’t' wait till I feel comfortable enough to take her to a chemo appointment...
In order to do that, I need to make sure it won't overheat - and it shouldn't. I'd like some input on the rear end gear ratio... right now judging from the RPM gauge, at about 2500 RPMs I figure I'm doing MAYBE 40 MPH. I should really calibrate my electronic speedometer so I don't have to guess at my speed. Perhaps tomorrow as well.

It seems that now that it's running, although a little rich, the REAL fine tuning begins. I'd also like some input on what I should be looking for after say the first 50 miles.

You know my friends, I'm rambling of excitement!
I've been telling my wife that I would not die until I drove this truck, now I really do not want to die... I want to drive this baby for a LOOOONG time.
Let me log off now... Sunday I will post a video. I promise.

Thank you for your prayers and best wishes.
Paul

 

There are several words that are frowned upon in this forum, like SBC, C***y, rat rod, and die. You're not allowed to mention those words, especially the last one.

Good spirit brings good health. Keep up your spirits!

 

Great to hear of your continued success with the truck. Just about everyone has a portable GPS and they are great for determining speed. In fact the speedometer part of my "speedometer" does not work so I use the GPS until I find a working speedometer head.
And congratulations on your driveable truck.

 

Man!! you are FULL of good news.. I'm gonna go work on my 56 today.. been a couple months (just not fun at 100 degrees)..

what rear axle do you have? the stockers are great for the farm..
not so much for the newfangled highways..

and congrats to the wife for a great pick up from work!

Sam

 

Good story but one thing lucky for you the tank was clean when you used the shop vac. I have heard story's about cleaning a tank with a shop vac and then the vac blows up. from the fumes in the tank.

 

This is awesome, to hear the good news on your health, your wife and your truck!

 

Paul,

I worked on my 56 crew cab today.

Its great to hear your spirits are up, keep on truckin!

As you begin to put some miles on and test the limits and abilitys of your truck, be sure to start checking things over.

Check the driveshaft bolts, check the lug nuts, maybe change the fuel filter, change the oil, re-tighted anything you removed or adjusted. Its funny how things loosen up.

Good luck.

 

Thanks to sdetweil I found yer new thread. I pray everyday for you and yours. I know what your going through. I really do. Your doing great and it gives others the strength to keep going. Think positive and play with old Fords and have a good partner. Ya can do anything.

 

Paul

Great news.

You know, I wouldn't worry too much about the rear end right now. Just fire that puppy up and drive it - it's therapy after all.

Are you running hot temps today? Not sure about why you're concerned.

There is a whole new kind of calm driving that I find with my beast. I pull stay on the side roads, pull over for traffic, and wave/honk a lot. Oh, and I'm grinning like a goof.

Regards,

DW

 

It's a great feeling when you figure out how to fix a problem. Good luck getting her further down the road!

 

Keep up the good work Paul, there is much to be said for persistence and truck therapy!
Glad to hear about your progress...

 

KUDOS Paul!! I couldn't be happier to hear this!

Very cool that you were able to solve that issue. A clogged up pick-up hadn't crossed my mind.

Now get out there and get some mileage!