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Copied this from exert from troubleshooting website:
MY VEHICLE IS MISFIRING OR BREAKING DOWN UNDER LOAD. WHAT SHOULD I DO?
This problem is NEARLY ALWAYS associated with low voltage at the unit, preventing the unit from operating correctly. The unit is actually turning off, and back on as the coil charges and releases energy. The best possible remedy for this problem is to wire the Ignitor™ unitS RED WIRE directly to a switched 12-volt source away from any voltage reduced circuit, such as a resister wire or ballast resistor. These circuits usually are in the wire from the ignition switch to the coil. The Ignitor™ lead (red wire) can go directly to the ignition switch or any other "switched" source on the fuse panel. The coil will still need a minimum of 1.5 ohms of resistance, either internally such as the Flame-Thrower™ or in the form of a resistor wire or ballast resistor. We think you will find when you have these "breaking up" problems, low voltage is the culprit! We also highly recommend seeking a qualified auto-electrician to make this adjustment for you.
Hm. Guess I have forgotten what type of ignition is installed? Pertronix ignitor and stock coil?
Okay. Plowed through this again and see you have the ignitor. They will work OK down to around 8 or 9 volts, the instructions at least don't mention bypassing the resistor wire. I always do, however.
Depending on what coil you have installed this may be an issue, however. The coil primary has a certain amount of resistance built in to it. Some coils are designed for a bit higher output than a stock coil (whether this is really necessary is a topic for another day) and have no trouble with a full 12+ volts continuous.
I run a FlameThrower coil direct (bypassed "pink wire") and have had no trouble. Check for arcing at the distributor cap with your new arrangement. The OEM ignition components will handle higher voltages though everything has to be in good shape. Always use dielectric grease in the boots, plug, distributor, and coil.
If this doesn't fix your problem it may be fuel related. Make sure fuel output is at least 1 pint in 30 seconds, check float level carefully at carb. Blow out fuel lines as a precautionary.
So, went to collect truck from he garage, ran it around the block and still rough at high speed. Not the coil then. They re-tuned the truck and we had another drive, still stumbling.
Have asked them to complete a dry and wet compression test. Might need to have the motor re-built (or at least parts of it). It also appears that on crank over the breather on top of the right rocker cover is chuffing fumes also. The PCV valve is going mad on the left rocker cover. My money is on valve or piston ring issues.
Absolutely a beautiful truck. My '61 shows signs that it was orange from the factory. From time to time I've played with the idea of painting it back orange. Now, after seeing yours, I'm thinking again.
Any idea what color orange that is on your truck?
The colour is Ford Rangoon Red 'Y' colour code. The truck looks a little more red in real life.
The truck had a frame off resto job done in the state around 8 years ago. Landed in the UK around a year ago, i'm the second owner in the UK. I have pictures of the restoration, which was completed in a guy's barn.
I see your problem. Your truck is parked in a Land Rover only parking spot and the Land Rover has hexed it! Rangoon Red is a "J" colour/color code. "Y" is silver blue poly (I have the '66 Ford color chip chart). Hope you can get your issues sorted without breaking the bank.
I gotta get a new laptop. That truck looks almost U Haul or C**vy Orange on my screen.
Still got me thinking about going back orange, even if the truck is red.
Now you've got to give us some pictures of the interior, under the hood, undercarriage, etc. and more details of what components were used in the re-do of your VERY nice hot rod Slick!
Wollow - where in the UK are you located? Thanks for posting the additional pictures. I was especially interested in trying to decode your warranty plate, but the picture was largely illegible. Under the body code does that say 581 or is that some letter in front of the 81? Trans is correct "C" for 3 speed manual light duty. Axle 17 is for a Ford 9 inch non-limited slip with 3.25 gears. Does the DSO read 24? If so, that's the Jacksonville, Florida district sales office that ordered the truck originally, and it was not a special order vehicle. Unfortunately, with the restomod work that's been nicely done, it's impossible to tell if your truck is really a Ranger. It certainly isn't now. The Ranger trim package would have had '66 Mustang bucket seats in it, and possibly a '64 Falcon Sprint console (which was an option in the Ranger package). It would have had carpet (which you have) and also a petrol tank cover - which I could not tell one way or the other. So your later model bench seat, nice though it is, makes your truck not (currently) a Ranger. The Body Code on the warranty plate will also help identify it as a Ranger or not, depending on what it says. Your truck has some interesting touches. I see an air conditioning compressor under the bonnet, but no evidence of it in the cab. The two controls to the left of the choke are not original. Do they have something to do with the A/C? What are the two outboard gauges in your dash? They are likewise not original. The dual chamber master cylinder is a good safety addition that didn't come on the truck originally. Nor did dual exhausts. The passenger side exhaust manifold looks stock, but the driver side manifold isn't. Wonder what it came off of? Hey, it works! I hope you don't take this as criticism - it isn't intended that way. Just information that you may or may not have known. It's a beautiful truck and I hope you get it sorted soon. Cheers!
I'm located in Reading Berkshire, which is around 30 miles from London (out to the west).
I have another picture of the vin plate. I will dig it out and post it here. The bits you are talking about are not original/correct. I belive the mod's were made during the restoration. The upgrades have been made to reflect bugbears I believe the owner had at the time.
I'm not sure if it is an original ranger. The seat has been replaced with a later F100 seat, believe a 90's seat. The additional clocks on dash are oil pressure and amp-meter. The aircon was added later. The 2no ***** to the right of the original heater **** are fan control, and a know to open a water valve on the water lines which originally fed the heater element (not sure why its there as the heater pipes have been looped under the hood). I was aware that the master cylinder had been changed and the exhaust has been modified. I have no idea where the manifold came from, would love to speak to the guy who restored the truck but have no way of finding who or where he lives etc.
The carpet is new, and the fuel tank no longer resides in the cab. The truck now has a massive tank under the truck. The fuel filler neck runs from the original location to the tank underneath. The tank is massive!
The truck is 3speed manual with a 9" diff.
The truck is great, everyone loves it. I intend to re-cover the seat, rewire the electrics and modify the dash at some point. All upgrades will be completed to match the trucks look and make the electrics a little more reliable. The weather in the UK is changeable, damp quite a lot of the time. There has been some cable/connector breakdown, which has resulted in various cable faults. It would be good to have a reliable set of electrics. Also the seat needs to be black or red leather (with suede insets and some nice detailing). The dash is OK but it would nice with a set of period gauges, and a nice billet dash. Tart it up a bit
Any info you can give me on the truck is great, not criticism. The truck has a history which i'd love to get to the bottom of. Would love to get in contact with the guy in the US who spent the time to make it look pretty
Wollow - my wife used to live in Reading in the late 60s to early 70s. I was stationed at RAF Mildenhall (Suffolk) 1972-76, and again 1981-85. I know your country (and its climate) pretty well. Have a mechanic friend who lives in Lincs who has a couple of Yank Tanks, but he's probably too far away from you to do you any good. Since your truck is 49 years old, any number of changes could have been perpetrated upon it, including changing out the driver's door with the warranty plate not swapped. It happens fairly often over here as people cobble bits together to resurrect a truck. But assuming your warranty plate actually was on your truck when it was born (no door change) the mounting rivets don't look disturbed, so . . . F10 = F100 2 wheel drive truck. Y = 352 cubic inch (5.8 L) FE V8 2 bbl carb engine. L = Michigan Truck (Wayne, Michigan) assembly plant. 734161 = assembled in August, 1965 (very early '66 model truck). 115 = your wheelbase in inches. J = Rangoon Red exterior color. F100 = 5000 pound gross vehicle weight rating for ½ ton truck. 581 = Red Vinyl interior in a standard cab. C = 3 speed manual light duty Ford Type 3.03 transmission. 17 = Ford 9 inch non-limited slip differential with 3.25 gears. 5000 = GVW rating. 172 @ 4000 is NET horsepower rating and rpm where achieved. (original air cleaner decal would have said 208 h.p. which was GROSS h.p. rating). 24 = Jacksonville, Florida district sales office from which the truck was ordered. It was not a special order vehicle. So the warranty plate tells us it was never a Ranger in spite of what the front wing badges say and the lying VanAuto Motorsports of Evansville, Indiana said. That's used car dealers for you. It wasn't even a Custom Cab originally, although someone has put CC bits on it including the bright windscreen surround. The Audiovox radio looks like something someone would have added in the late 60s or early 70s and it wasn't exactly a quality piece even then. One wonders about the lack of a heater/defroster in present nick and the half installed A/C system. You'll need that in the near future. I put a Classic Auto Air system in my '66 which has the heat/defrost and A/C in one self contained system and dispenses with the original heater. Did you unload your Land Rover to make way for your Yank Tank? I know the price of petrol has gone down a bit over there, but still, feeding that thirsty (but great sounding) FE V8 must hurt. Looking forward to final victory over your lump's demons. Cheers!
Garage had compression tested the truck, all bar one cylinder is showing 130 (guess PSI) apart from one which is showing 125. They seem happy with the results. The truck is not running hot, not smoking or loosing oil. The truck is breathing pretty heavily, but I guess seeing the age this is a common occurrence.
They have narrowed the stumble down to carb jets. The truck runs lovely but stumbles at cruising speed. They did lean out the air fuel mixture by opening the choke slightly during cruise speed which sorted the stumble.
So the plan is to get some new jet and tune the truck in on a rolling road in a couple of weeks time.
Will use in the meantime, also away for a week so no big shakes. Is good that the engine is still usage, for a while at least. Was dreading a rebuild!
