Howdy yall. New to the forum and wanted to introduce myself. I got my first Ford a couple years ago when I bought a beat up old '78 Bronco. I got hooked immediately and before I knew it had taken the whole thing apart, stripped it, had it painted, and then basically put Bronco Graveyard Jeff's kids through college with all the new parts I ordered. I post over on fullsizebronco from time to time.

On Monday I came across another Ford I couldn't turn down: a 1983 F-150 with a hunting rack on top complete with drive controls (down in South Texas we call it a Top Drive).










As I started looking under the hood I realized how different it was from my '78. Its amazing how much they changed in 5 years (beyond the obvious switch to square headlights). I started by trying to decode my VIN which revealed that it was manufactured in 1983 in Canada, is in the 6,001-7,000 LB weight class, F-150 Styleside body, and a 5.0 302 under the hood.

My first task that I am still working on is to get it running. The previous owner informed me that the in-tank fuel pump is shot on the rear mounted tank, and that there is a pinhole in the side mount tank that causes it to leak. Considering how awful modern ethanol-diluted gas can be for a ranch truck that sits for periods of time, and that I will only be idling around a ranch property, I figured I would only need one fuel tank, so I ordered a new plastic side mount tank that will arrive today. Since the truck has sat for several years I have decided to replace all of the fuel hose and fuel filters. I replaced the carb mounted filter and universal fuel filter between the pump and carb and ran a gas can into the fuel pump. I cranked and cranked and still no fuel would pump. Starter spray in the carb will get it to sputter but there is definitely no fuel getting to the carb.

My first question for yall is: How do I get to the mechanical fuel pump? Will it require removal of the power steering pump? Or can I get to it by simply removing the radiator hose thats in front of it? Also, as I have searched for a replacement fuel pump, I noticed that they all have a different fitting than my current one:





As you'll notice, the line in and line out face away from eachother at a 90 degree angle. All of the replacement fuel pumps I have seen available for sale have the lines in and out facing the same direction. Anyone have any idea whats going on there? Also, can anyone think of a reason the the fuel wouldn't be pumping from the gas can to the carb unless the fuel pump was shot?

Thanks in advance and I'm looking forward to being a part of the forum here!

 

Probably is the fuel pump. That one fitting is just a rubber line, so if you get the other pump, see if the rubber line can be re-routed to fit or maybe made longer to fit. You do need the steel line fitting to be the same though.

Why would someone need that "top drive" setup? I have never seen that before. Is it all homemade or does a company usually make a kit to do that?

 

Franklin thank you for your reply. I figured that was the case with the fuel lines, just wanted to check in case there was a different of style of fuel pump I should be looking for. I will be replacing it in the next few days so any pointers on what I do need to remove / dont necessarily need to remove in order to swap fuel pumps would be greatly appreciated. When viewing from above I'm guessing I at least need to pull the power steering pump but still not sure about the radiator hose or oil filter.

Top Drives are built specifically for the purpose of hunting. The added elevation makes it much easier to see over the brush we have in South Texas..killer for hog hunting. There are some companies out there that build them professionally as of now but the majority you see are redneck engineered.

 

In the Midwest, We call that Mad Max stuff ! LOL .....
Welcome to FTE !