Hey everyone

I picked up my first 80's truck yesterday. I've had a couple from the 60's (still have a 66) and one from the 70's, and now the 80's. I'm moving up in the world
It's a 1982 F-150 4x4 with a C6 and 302. Even has an 8 track player with "truck drive songs in it"
I was originally looking for dentside but it was a pretty good deal so I went with it.

The good: It's pretty clean...for a northeast truck lol. Everything is pretty solid and it runs well. 4x4 works, the bed is lined, and surprisingly the tailgate has no rust at all. It must be a replacement. It was a one owner truck by an elderly gentleman so it wasn't beat on. And it has a 120k original miles.

The bad: It needs anew driver's side floorpan and rocker. Possibly cab corner. And it may need a new rocker on the passenger side. The tranny fluid was pretty dirty, but it shifted fine. So i'm thinking with a tranny flush it should be ok.








The plan is fixing the floor issues, going through the brakes, and doing a general tune up. Then it'll just be a matter of fighting the winter salt and getting it to last as long as possible.

Cheers

 

Good find. Have fun! Thanks for sharing the photos!

 

Nice, alright, always good to find a seasoned truck that hasn't been "messed with".

Crikey, 8-track player! I've attempted to tell my sons and his friends about driving around with an 8-track "case" that looked like luggage and took up the passenger seat - but was state-of-the-art at the time.

 

Nice truck...and, welcome aboard!

That tailgate is definitely a replacement; the OEM tailgates had 'F O R D' embossed in the metal. Still a sharp-looking truck, and I wish mine was 4x4 like yours.

 

Do you remember how at the end of a track, the song faded and there was silence for several seconds, a noticeable "click" and then the song would continue! What joy! I once mounted one sideways on a kick panel... it would skip at every bump in the road.

 

I thought it should've said Ford on the back but wasn't 100% if it was still the stamped lettering.

 

Not sure if I should start a separate thread for this...but on to beating the dead horse of mileage lol.

I'm not looking to do anything too extensive, mainly just making what I have as efficient as possibly. Any guidance on what I can do with what I have is much appreciated.

My plan so far is just the basics...new cap, rotor, wires, plugs, coil. Make sure the tires are properly inflated, no brake drag, and basically drive it like there is an egg under the gas pedal lol.

From the reading I've been doing around the interwebs it seems like the stock 2v is pretty decent. My plan is to just rebuild it, but I've also heard that a 4v could be pretty good too if you stay out of the secondaries?

Also am I correct in thinking that this truck would have DSII?

My big question is is there much to gain in the way of ditching any of the emissions stuff? And if there is does the timing/distributor need to be adjusted?

I know it's a truck and it will get used like one. I don't have any wild expectations of 20mpgs lol. My last v8 Ford was a 74 4x4 with a 390 and C6. 10 mpg all day no matter what. One rare occurrence of 13...So anything better than that is fine with me

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

If the emissions equipment is fully functional, I would leave it alone and follow what you have listed, above in the 3rd paragraph.

 

Best thing I did to my 84/302/AOD WRT mileage, is installing a vacuum gauge under dash. Helps me keep my foot out of the carb! Even so, my mileage is in the mid teens, nothing to brag about.

 

I'd be happy with that mileage lol. Thanks for the idea.

 

Well after doing the DMV runaround I finally got to go get the truck

It made the 120 mile trip fairly ok. It slowly overheated starting at mile 40 and hit "H" by the time I pulled in the drive. I'm hoping that's just the thermostat, but I'll find out this afternoon.

Also the tail lights didn't come on when the headlights were activated. The brake lights/turn signals/hazards all work, so I've got some wire tracing to do as well.

The transmission is also worse than I thought...it hangs from 1-2 (unless I put the selector in 2). Goes from 2-3 fine though.

On the plus side the 302 fired right up and ran without a hitch. Everything else seems to function as it should.

Glad I made it home without anything serious happening and I'm excited to finally get to work on this thing

 

I have an 86 F250 8700+ 4wd, extended cab, long bed. With 4bbl, 351 w/headers, C6 and 3.56 rear.

Best I've ever seen was 12.0 mpg. At night, on the highway, at 65. But the heat here is pretty brutal so that doesn't help.

Good luck with the truck, these are a lot of fun with the right attitude!

 

I average 9-11 city with my 86 F250. 2WD, 351W, C6, 3.55 gears. 4bbl intake, headers, RV cam, carb, my average is 10.5 MPG with a light foot. I live in a valley in the city, so I go uphill constantly and am in traffic a lot.

These trucks are not designed for fuel economy.

There's more to life than gas mileage!

 

Turns out the line from the thermostat housing to water pump was kinked. Replaced the thermostat anyway since I had it apart.

I can't seem to get the rear lights to turn on with the headlight switch though. The wiring is intact. I guess I'll have to check the grounds and make sure it's connected at the switch. This dash doesn't look too fun to take apart lol.


This is true and I didn't buy it with fuel mileage in mind. I just like to see what the best I can get is and like to see if anyone has any tricks lol. On the 120 mile trip home I averagaged 13. In my eyes that's pretty damn good. Everyone else I talk to that doesn't have the "old truck sickness" thinks it's terrible

 

Of course they think that's terrible. Because they have high cost of repair, high insurance rates and the monthly payment to keep up on. FWIW my brother had an 08 F150 crew cab short box with a 5.4. He averaged 11-12 city 14 highway with it.