I finally found one of those great deals, or so I think. A couple months ago I picked up a 1983 Ford F-150 Explorer 2wd with the 302 engine, AOD, and long box for $700. It had been parked for a couple years after the owner went into a nursing home (a coworkers elderly uncle). It was stored under a shelter and seems to be completely rust free with the odometer reading 83k (I was told it is the actual mileage). I'm looking for something to drive to the dump, pick up stuff at Lowe's, and move couches around so hopefully this truck will fit the bill. I'm working on getting it prepared for an NC inspection. I'm hoping I can find some advice from FTE on getting it roadworthy. This is my first time ever dealing with a carb, vacuum lines, and a V8.

First of all, I started with a basic tuneup (new plugs, oil, etc., and general cleanup). Initially, I could get it to start with some starter fluid sprayed into the carb and it would run for 1-2 seconds. This was all in place, where I purchased it. We had hoped to get it running well enough to make the 25 mile drive home. No luck, and I had it towed into the driveway for $100, cash.

Back in the driveway, I did some more basic troubleshooting (with many hours of reading on FTE) and determined that fuel delivery could be an issue. So, I picked up a fuel pump and changed it out, which turned out to be both cheap and easy. Success, kind of! It would sometimes sputter to life but ran very poorly. At this point, cleaning the carb seemed like the next step.

Using some directions found on FTE, I tore into the Motorcraft 2150 and cleaned it up as best I could. I got it back on and much to my disappointment, the truck still wouldn't really start. At this point, I started taking a closer look at vacuum lines.

The air pump has been disconnected (one hose plugged with a golf tee, another with a spark plug) and there is a mess of lines cluttered around the carb. At first, I found two lines that had cracked at the plastic connectors. I trimmed them down and managed to get a tight fit. Finally, it started and more or less purred. My wife and I took it for a ride around our property (3.5 acres with a lot of gravel paths running through woods). It definitely didn't run great, but it was the first time we could actually get it up to temp.

The next morning it was back to no start. It just cranked and cranked. It was very disappointing but we had some bad weather and I had a few other things to tend to, so I left it for a few weeks while I did some reading on the forums.

Finally, I did some more tinkering yesterday, messing around with vacuum lines, trying to decipher the diagram. Got it to start again and run smoothly for a few minutes, revving it up and down. Then it cut off, out of nowhere. I took a look around and then managed to get it started again a couple hours later. It ran for a few minutes than cut off, yet again.

So, at this point, I can occasionally get it to start and run pretty well. But, most times it will start and run for a few seconds, and just chugs along and doesn't take any throttle at all.

A few things I'll be dealing with soon:

- My issues trying to get the engine running. Next step I'm going to try is buying a few feet of vacuum line and start replacing it, piece by piece. I recently found one line that seems like it should be connected somewhere, but I'm having a tough time reading the diagram.
- All of the door and window seals are shot - I'm currently parking it under our carport to keep it dry and rust-free. I'm looking at a few kits available for the doors and the windows. This one is going to be done soon so I can free up covered space.
- The power steeling pulley is very wobbly, so I'm thinking that'll need to be replaced.
- I'm considering taking off the air pump and such. The previous owner seems to have disconnected all of the hoses, anyways.

Longer term:

- I want to take a look at suspension and bushings, they all seem pretty cheap to replace.
- The exhaust pipe has a significant area rusted out, towards the end. It didn't seem to cause any issue during the times the truck has run, so I'm not too concerned.
- The interior is in pretty good condition, with some wear in the driver's side of the seat and carpet. It has AC, AM/FM Radio, and cruise control. Unfortunately, I haven't tested any of these things yet. Overall, since this isn't a daily driver I'm less concerned about these things, anyways.

I've got a few other small issues that I'm working through on the truck. I will probably continue to post more questions on here.

 

First of all, Welcome to the forum ! For $700. , you can hardly go wrong.
The running rough issue may be as simple as a choke adjustment, although the 302 does rely on solid vacuum lines.
Does it have the original air cleaner ?
A few engine compartment pictures would be helpful. What area are you hailing from ?
Good to see that you removed the Wal*City wheel covers... We look forward to your ideas for the truck and any questions that arise...Good Luck !

 

X2 what he said.
I think you are on a good start with the vacuum lines more so if you have found some cracked.


You said the truck had been sitting for some time, how old is the gas in the tank? It could also have a lot of rust & dirt so if you pulled apart the carb for cleaning you could be putting this back into the clean carb.


I asked how old the fuel is because old fuel will cause the motor not to run or not run so good. I would hook a long hose up to the suction side of your fuel pump and run it into a can of fresh fuel and see what that does fro you.
If it runs better then you will need to drop the tank and do a cleaning of it and fresh fuel.
Dave ----

 

Thanks for the warm welcome. I'm in central NC, between Greensboro and Durham.

The truck has an automatic choke on it, which I've been told tend to have issues. I don't know much about adjustment, though.

It also seems to have the original air cleaner. I'm not sure why I haven't taken any pictures of the engine compartment. I'll get a few tomorrow and post them in a response.

As for the wheel covers - I only had three of them anyways! I like the look of the steel wheels so I'll probably just clean them up and give them a coat of paint. We'll see how the current paint on the truck cleans up before I decide on any colors.

 

Welcome to FTE! I love the truck.

 

There are numerous threads in FTE about the choke adjustment as it seems to be an issue depending on climate. I went with a manual choke (control freak) and it was easy to do.
If all the components are still there such as exhaust manifold heat stove, tube, etc. then it shouldn't be all that hard to get the original equipment working right. Cool on the steel wheels !

 

Gary chiming in reminds me...a "must have resource" is :
Gary's Garagemahal - Home

 

I think I got lucky with the fuel - it seemed like they ran the tank dry when it was parked. I tried to pump any fuel out and my hose came out dry. Maybe I can take a look at my fuel filter and see if its got any rust and crap in it? Running from another can into the fuel pump sounds like something I could do pretty easily - I'll definitely give that a shot.

 

One issue I've had with these trucks is bad fuel hoses. There may be several of them if you have dual tanks: one from each tank to a steel line, two from each of those lines to a switching valve, one from the valve to a line headed forward, and one from that line to the fuel pump. I've seen the lines have porous walls such that they allow air into the line and kill the vacuum the fuel pump uses to move the fuel.

Go buy a few feet of new line and replace yours.

 

Having dual tanks, I can testify....Stick with steel line as far as possible from start to finish, avoiding the "swelling" of neoprene hose which causes pressure/vacuum differences in fuel delivery. Use Neoprene for junctions in short lengths. Replacing an unknown fuel filter makes good sense as it is part of scheduled maintenance anyway.

 

Actually, that's what I meant. Use the steel lines that are there, but replace the old hose that connects them.

Also, you can usually get the tanks low enough to get to the hose by running the nuts all the way up on the long bolts/all-thread that hold the tanks. Further, if you have dual tanks but don't need the second one, stick with one tank. Replace the valve with a fuel filter as that's a perfect place to put another filter.

 

I do have the dual tanks, although I've only used the forward tank so far. Is there anything particularly special in replacing these lines? Will I have to drop the tanks? I'm just trying to get a better idea of what I'm in for - My Chilton manual isn't much help on this and I can't go climb under the truck at this moment.

Would you recommend using steel lines, as Whatsachevy suggested? Do you have an estimate for how many feet of fuel line I'll need?

 

You shouldn't have to drop the tanks unless you suspect contamination.
A 25 ft. roll of steel fuel line can be had from local auto parts stores pretty cheap. Keep in mind that you will have to flare the ends for fitment where applicable. Flaring tools are loaned by most parts stores free of charge with a $ deposit refundable upon return.
Carefully removing the existing fuel lines will serve as a template for bending and fitting the new ones that you create.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I'll assess the situation under the truck tomorrow and talk with the good folks at Advance Auto about a flaring tool and such.

 

I'm really not suggesting replacing the steel line. But, you will need to lower the tank(s) to get to the rubber line that connects the tank to the steel line. Lower, but not remove. As I said, use the long bolts/all-thread to get the tank lower. And, while you are in there replace the rubber hose to the vent as well. Fuel system illustrations are here: http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/1980...s--bronco.html