I just purchased an 86 f150 4.9, about four or so months ago. It drove pretty good for about a mo. Until I began to notice It wasent getting very good mpgs. then some smoke and then a real rough idle. I took it to my mechanic who adjusted the timing w the distributed and adjusted the idle on the carb(then the carter feedback) it ran for about a week until the same smoke and rough idle came back. Back to the mechanic. He said I needed to clean/buy different carb and that the sensors also may be bad. So after some google searches and trips to the local autozone i learned about the duraspark conversion. As of now I have, from scrap yards Craigslist ads and eBay acquired what I think to be a pretty decent setup. Offenhauser dp intake, hedman headers? and a Holley 4bbl carb. Plus a few other bits n pieces. camshaft, air cleaners, duraspark modules, coils, gas caps, distributors.
But right now I need some advice on the direction I need to mount the carb and have the original fuel line and throttle cable line up...the throttle body facing then cab looks like it might be the best option using the original throttle cable, except it doesn't pull the throttle in the right direction?
Fuel line is not very close either.
Would a flexible fuel hose be a good solution?
Any help would be helpful. Also someone let me know if and where I should repost this for better answers. Thanks!

 

Thread moved to 1980 - 1986 F-150 forum.

Welcome to FTE, I6satx.

 

I advise you to run a flexible line with an in-line filter to it. I'm having to do that on my 400, but it will also give you a visual idea of your fuel condition.

 

Welcome to FTE! You've come to the right place for free opinions - we have lots of them. But, I agree with Critter that you should have a clear fuel filter. In fact, on old tanks I run two filters - one ahead of the pump and one after.

On your question about the carb orientation, I don't know. But I do know that's been discussed on here so use the search function and you should be able to find it. And, another resource is the forum for the six cylinder engines - click Forums/List and scroll down to find it.