Well, this is it. Got my truck in fairly decent running condition. Tomorrow the wife and I are driving it to Stanley, Idaho from San Diego, California(about 1100 miles one way). We plan to do it in 2 days each way. Time for a little R&R after working on the truck for a month straight.

I have to admit, I'm a little nervous. We drove the truck up to Big Bear, CA(went from 4000 to 8000 feet in about 20 miles) earlier this month towing a 21 foot boat and it did just fine(except for the speedo going out and a lack of power). This will be the longest trip the truck has been on in my lifetime(the truck is older than me BTW).

I'm confident in the work I have done and had done to it, but I realize it is asking alot from a 32 year old vehicle. Good thing we have AAA. I don't think there will be any problems though(knock on wood)

If all goes well, we should be snagging some fish by monday.

Wish me luck.

Dennis

 

Dennis, you and your wife enjoy your vacation! Man, that's a lot of driving for 2 days. I'm sure your truck will make it fine but you're gonna have sore butts! Are you taking provisions like oil, water, fan belt, tools, flashlight, jumpers etc? Not that you'll need them but maybe to help someone else. I wouldn't hesitate to drive my truck that far except for the mileage maybe.

Hey catch one for me ok?

Take care!

barry

 

Yes it is alot of driving. Fortunately, I put in a CD player and new speakers to make it a little more bearable. One step ahead of you on the seats. Put in nice soft seat pads under the seat cover.

Got all that and then some, even have the old hoses and the old fan from when I did the cooling system. I thought bringing the old radiator might be overkill. I was a boy scout, and I still believe in being prepared. I have enough stuff I could rebuild the truck on the side of the road if necessary.

Will do. It may get eaten before we make it home though

Dennis

 

Hey mypa'struck, Sounds like a good trip. Best of luck on the fish, and the drive. Just one question though, you mentioned that you installed a cd player and some speakers. Where did you find the room? I've been debating a couple of options on my '71, and about the best I can come up with is mounting the head unit overhead. Still no idea on where to put the speakers, since I have the in-cab gas tank, which leaves no room behind the seat.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Take care and have fun.

 

I mounted the CD player just above the climate controls. My dad had a cassette player there before, I think it's where a factory radio would go. I ran into the same problem with the in-cab gas tank. Would've been a great place to put a small box, but I mounted some nice 6x9's in the doors. Replaced the crappy little speakers that were there.

Hope that helps.

Thanks, I'll let you guys know how it went.

Dennis

 

Well, we're back. Truck ran really well, with the exception of a little vapor lock about 80 miles from home. But I'll reroute the fuel lines when I install the edelbrock manifold and 4 bbl carb.

Didn't have any issues with the cooling even though we went thru Vegas and the California high desert in 100+ degree temps. Got about 10-15 mpg.

This trip did reveal some small issues I still need to fix.

1) The heater box has a small leak in it and dripped some coolant into the cab. Not alot but enough to notice.

2) The auxillary tank under the bed has a leak in the hose between the tank and the filler tube. As a result, we weren't able to get it past 3/4 full. Made a little mess at the gas stations we stopped at.

Also, anyone have an idea of how big this tank is? It came standard on the truck from Ford. My dad thinks it might be 26 gallons but he doesn't know for sure. Does this sound right?

3) Speedo cable I ordered was for the wrong tranny so I'll have to see if they have the right one. Driving 2200 miles without a speedo isn't too bad if you have a tach, just have to keep an eye out for the fuzz.

We were both very pleased with how the truck did, and I am especially happy, because all the work I put into it paid off.

I have to say I LOVE FORD TRUCKS!!

BTW caught 1 rainbow trout and boy did it taste good Also caught 6 other fish but wasn't allowed to keep them, something about endangered species....

Dennis

 

Glad your trip went well. Nice story.

 

I recently made a round trip from east Texas to Alaska. I was driving a 97 Powerstroke with no tunes. I made 700 plus miles most days and did 950 one day. I wish I could say I did some fishing along the way, but once I get into Canada all I can think about is ALASKA!!. And the closer I get the harder I push. I had to drive the same way coming back since I waited until the very last minute to leave Ak. to get back here to work. Oh yeah I did catch a king and a few silvers while "home". 10-4 on the sore butt. Oh yeah I had a point, I wish I could have done the trip in my 68 F-250 and planned to but my brother talked me into taking my company truck. In washington I coasted into a Ford Garage to spend $1000 on a new cam sensor and fuel pump and had to put a new starter on in Ak. for $300. I'm just glad none of that happened in the Yukon. I could have replaced my 68 for that amount of money.

 

Your dad's right about the gas tank; I still have the original owner's manual (mine's a '72) and the auxilary tank is listed at 26 gallons.

 

Yeah it was a great experience. I wish we had A/C in it though, man it was hot! Maybe someday. Eventually we plan on driving it on the Hot Rod power tour when it looks a little prettier.

Thanks fasttexan. Would you happen to know the size of the in-cab tank?

 

Most of the in cab tanks are about 19 gallons. I have squeezed 19.7 in before when almost dry.

 

Thanks. I thought it was around 18-19 gallons. We never got it completely empty. We were only able to get about 18 gallons in the aux tank thanks to the leaky filler tube.

 

Dennis, welcome back! Glad you had a safe trip, great mileage!

I hear ya on the leaky aux. tank hose. When I bought my truck it leaked too but the owner had a new replacement hose from the dealer which aren't available anymore. It's not that easy to change, you need really small hands to reach in and get it on the tank. Somebody here a while ago had an answer to that filler hose, I'm gonna try and find it.

Hmmm, one trout and six endangered species. Sounds like the trout is the endangered species!

Barry

 

I'd love to go on the power tour myself someday too. I just haven't quite got ready to give up all my free time in Alaska. Hopefully in a couple years I can do summers in Ak. and winters down south. I have a 64 Ford custom 2 door post that I have a 289 and 3 speed overdrive I want to put in with the original 4:11s. It already has a stout hitch so I would like to find a small vintage travel trailer to pull. Also planning GT40-P heads and 3 dueces if I can find a set that is affordable. The car is a one owner(besides me) and has 58,000 miles with a 226-6 and 3 speed. Someday, hopefully, when the orthodontist is through with my kids it will have a 427. Also planning to drive my 68 F-250 to Ak. on my next trip.

 

Thanks Barry. I also wanted to thank everyone on this forum. You guys are an invaluable resource.

WillowBilly3, I hope you bring plenty of oil and water with you. My truck used about a quart a day. Guess I need to figure out why it's using so much. I think when I put on the 4bbl manifold I'll poke around in there and see if there are any leaks. I have noticed some oil around the intake manifold and valve cover. It'll also gimme a chance to clean 32 years of dirt and grime off the engine.

Maybe I'll see you on the Power Tour someday.

Dennis