It really was a WTF how moment. I've literally never seen a distributor break that easily or be that stuck. I'm really hoping that the the Angel Pee (aka Kroil) works it's usual miracles. Cause I'm really not wanting to drive it out from the bottom or break it out in little pieces. But I'm taking some vacation later this week, so I suppose I'll be fighting with it until it cooperates. Option B is to swap in the essentially new 351m out of the Bronco. I hate that engine, a lot.

I'm digging the coffee table & kicking myself for not doing something similar. Pretty sure I saw one at the the daughters favorite thrift store last week.


On a side note, my mother in law has decided that she needs a truck now that we've let her put a place in on our land. She's getting on up there in years & ain't in the best of health, plus has exactly nobody else around to help her where she lives now. So I may be going to look at a 79 F250 2wd automatic later this week for her. Said that if she expects me to maintain it for her, it's going to be a dentside.

 

Well that was fun, but it could've gone oh so much worse. Few days soaking & the gentle ministrations of an 18" pipe wrench and a 3' cheater bar.

I wish that some folks would realize 2 things, rtv is a privilege & not a right & that the distribution O-ring is a maintenance item.



Yes, i cleaned all the junk off before pulling it. Gonna do an oil change anyway as a precaution.

O-ring failure let a lot of goop in, wasnt a bit of corrosion. This was after I cleaned it up, was just a solid black mass of grease, grime, & dirt.


And in with the new.


Granted I did cost myself a new bump stick. Told the wife that if I had to swap in the 351m, it needed one. Oh well, i really didnt want to do the swap.

Going to look at that 79 F250 for my mother in law tomorrow. Why a blind lady wants a truck, I'll never understand. But it's her money, so whatever. She'll pay me to work on it for her.

 

It's alwasys an amazing feeling when you get done pulling apart an engine. Messing with the timing. Getting it all put back together. Having it fire up & run the first try. And then promptly run out of gas..... Son of a biscuit eater. After a trip to the gas station to fill up my 5 gallon fuel tank, he runs again. Still need to mount the MSD 6al box & tidy up the wires, but at least that headache is done. Now it's back to putting in the new fuel tank & hopefully remembering to to buy an air cleaner finally.

 

All mounted up, cleaned up & tidy. I need to play with the timing some more, but I've got to color fill the timing marks on my balancer. I just can't see that well. Could probably use a new set of metering rods ad well.

Then went for a little ride through the backyard. We'll at least the flat part of it, I still have to do the front driveshaft.


Next weekend will either be brakes on both trucks (this one & the mother in laws), or the fuel tank in this one.

 

Let's discuss hydroboost brakes and proportioning valves. Specifically of our 45 plus year old factory valves are up to the job with a hydroboost system or if a new aftermarket valve or aftermarket adjustable valve would be a good idea.

I spent last weekend replacing the whole braking system. Master cylinder, brake booster, front calipers / pads, rear drums. Had already replaced the wheel cylinders, shoes, hardware & adjusters, rear hard lines, drop lines front & rear. Bleed em RR, LR, RF, LF (had the wife help). Bench bleed the master cylinder. Made sure I had the little pin on the proportioning vale out. Shoes centerd in the drums.

My brakes are absolutely not cutting the snuff still. Better than they were. If I'm needing to stop in a hurry, it taking 4 - 5 pumps of the pedal. Regular braking is taking realistically 2 pumps. Which is a problem I'm my book.

So I'm back on doing the hydroboost brakes, got a Battleborn kit on the way. That led me to wondering about the proportioning valve as well.

I'm real picky about brakes. I was in a really bad wreck years ago due to a brakes failure. I rolled an 85 Ranger when the brakes werent there all of a sudden & lost control in a curve. I almost died in that wreck, so I've never been my usual cheap skate self since when it comes to brakes.

 

My parts arrived, but I'm not sure were this extra part goes.


That's Holly, the unexpected little Manx. Her mama disappeared for a month then came home & had kittens. Holley was the only tailless one of the bunch.



No idea if I'll to it this weekend.

 

Well that went in "almost" without problems.




But it's the little things that hold a feller up. I got great big fat bag of connectors & fittings for the pressure lines and guess what, not a single one fits my steering pump. Which is my fault, I've got the old small neck Thompson pump & completely spaced out that they're different size & type connectors than the C2 pump. My credit card absolutely hates this truck, got a Saginaw pump & bracket coming.

Was a fun day though. The wife was the main wrench turner today. I like hanging out with her.

 

That brake set up looks good, was it bolt and go for the rest of it? And where did you get it from?

 

Aside from digging through the supplied fittings (which are marked for what they are & go to) it was bolt & go. Took maybe an hour & a half to install, bleed the MC, hook up the steering gear & realize my steering pump snafu.

Got the setup from battleborn brakes.
https://www.battlebornbrakes.com/pro...conversion-fb2

Going with Wildhorses for the saginaw conversion. Seemed to be about the best regarded for it in my reading here.
https://www.wildhorses4x4.com/78-79-...RoCUaoQAvD_BwE

Then finish up the fuel system, front driveshaft, parking brake cables, put the dash back together, put that stupid tach in, insatll 1 mirror, remember where I left the seat belts. Then maybe, just maybe I can actually drive the thing without some calamity happening. And hopefully pass inspection. Got something nifty for the license plate I've been wanting to use for 6 months now.

 

A great FTE saginaw swap thread. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...naw+conversion

 

And now I've got me some super brakes. I need to tidy things up still, but he stops reeeeeeeeeally good. The steering was good before, now it's better. I didn't want to cough up the coin for the saginaw, but I suppose it was the right decision.

 

Saginaw pump is definitely the way to go. Do you have any lessons learned about the brake conversion? I have a hydrobooster from a Super Duty and a Saginaw from a Lincoln. I am kinda of hesitant to get the rest of the parts to convert my truck because it already stops pretty good. At least I think so anyway.

 

If you're thinking that you're already able to stop pretty good, I personally skip the hydroboost brakes. My problem was that i wasnt stopping at all. Most likely a combination of a worn out master cylinder & not enough vacuum to really run the brake booster.

My main lessons learned though. Make sure that the connecting rod from the pedal to the booster unit matches. Ford was retarded in the late 70's & used 3 different rods. Double check all your pressure lines connections & make sure theyre tight. Because a lot of steering fluid can shoot out in a quick way. Just take word for that.

Also, I do belive that I prefer the transparent master cylinder reservoir.

 

Alright folks, carburetor issues I've never delt with before.

I went today for safety inspection finally (and passed). The shop that we've been using is roughly a 40 mile one way trip, so it's a bit of a hike to get there. Stopped to fill the tank at about 10 miles in. Ran 55 to 60 mph the rest of the way & the truck ran great. Good oil pressure, good temp, no spitting or struggling down the road.
Coming into town there is a down hill slope with a 4 way at the bottom & the shop I was going to is a few hundred feet off the stop. Coming up to the stop I hit the clutch to stop & the engine dies. Coast to the shoulder & it flat wouldn't start. Fiddled with the mix for a few minutes and it started. Went to the shop & it did it again when I hit the clutch coming to a stop. Sat for a few & it started again. It was taking a fair bit of cranking to get it to fire up again. Got my inspection & it fired up afterwards like normal. Went to Walmart since we were already in town & it is a fairdrive to get there. After an hour of shopping the truck fired up like normal. Perfectly uneventful drive back until coming down a hill to stop for a turn & it died again soon as I hit the clutch to stop, 10 miles from the house. Same shoulder routine as earlier. Sit for a bit & he'll fire up again. Died again when I turned off the main road onto our road. I was frustrated by this point & just started popping the clutch rather than sitting for a few. Did that two or three more times in the mile to our driveway.

I've never had an Edelbrock act like this before & would welcome any advice before i go & spend money on stuff. For whatever reason, my head is screaming heat soak. But I truly don't know. I've had this carb on this intake on two or three different engines & have never had this issue before. It sits & idles just fine, even after it starts again after dieing.

Appreciate any advice.

 

Heat soak can be trouble shot with a few old style wooden cloth pens clipped to a fuel line before the carb. When you 1st had it stall, did you remove the air filter and hand run the throttle and look down in the carb throat for a spray of gas? If it had a spray of gas, then sounds like maybe a clogged fuel filter or heat soak since it behaved after setting a few. Any inline fuel filters you suspect? How old is the electronic ignition box? Original?