When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Introduction
Since I've made a few different threads I decided I would make one with a universal topic where I can ask any questions I need answers to.
Some questions will be for future reference (e.g seat rebuilding) and others will be just for the time (e.g electrical issues).
Other things will just be updates on it as I progress to my grand goal, which may or may not fully happen, because my goal is at the least partial restoration!
This is a 1979 F250 Custom 2wd that came from my relatives and is also my first vehicle, I got it fall of '23.
Besides the floors its got low rust, and the paint is in decentish shape after scrubbing and oiling (linseed one side and ATF on the other side, linseed is way better)
96k miles, authentic as far as i can determine. It has the 351 V8 with a 4sp that has a 1st, 2nd and R it can idle in with 1st not changing the idle sound. Not complaining about that.
Things I've already done
light carb rebuild
fuel system rebuild
Primed the frame, paint will be soon. Not sandblasted just pressure washed. Which i am aware isn't proper, but that's all I can do
New AT tires
New engine fluids
haven't finished simplifying the vacuum system, need a few things yet
New tail lights
New tail gate hinges (old ones were missing)
Soon to be done
Floor pans
Ordered door seals from Dennis Carpenter
Current issues
Cab electrical gimmicks so be prepared for lack experience/knowledge me Terrible Detonation? Timing is right and fuel might be so I'm starting to doubt its combustion related
Not detonation, it turned out to be a knock
Curious questions
Original style seat upholstery source?
what have you done as daily driver improvements? (this one is really just curiosity)
Average engine rebuild cost (at a shop or not)?
Is there a way to shrink the images? or have them as attachments and not in with the text?
dust doesn't stick to the linseed oil as bad since it enamalizes ATF side its a bit dusty which is part of the downside of using ATF (the steel wool in a rust spot is to keep the critters out, looked like a bird nest in there) 351M V8 power! please excuse the mess... my tools are in it to. The rust will be repaired, I've made some patch pieces
[img alt="frame primed minus inside gas tank area and a couple crossmembers.
I used a paint brush"]https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.ford-trucks.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/underneath_towards_front_f583d159c915a412d581ddabb 80333369097b346.jpg[/img] frame primed minus inside gas tank area and a couple crossmembers. I used a paint brush rear facing underside
Welcome to FTE. Looks like a decent rig. Few things to fix, but that is what is fun about this hobby and how you will learn.
It appears you have either a T18 or NP435 4 speed, so you should have granny low 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Unless towing or hauling some weight you can start out in 2nd gear. Do 3rd and 4th gear not work for some reason?
In my build thread I have a write up related to floor pan repair - Post #18 There are many other threads on this forum related to that project too.
Regarding the detonation. 351M/400 are detonation prone, but there are some things you can do to avoid it.
What is your base timing set at? How did you set it? Is the vacuum advance connected and have you tested to make sure it works?
Daily driver improvements can depend on a lot of things, such as commute distance, what kind of traffic at what speed. Biggest improvement will be making sure all mechanical systems are in good shape & reliable as can be. Keeping a handful of important spare parts and the tools to replace them gives you a lot of peace of mind. Things that could leave you stranded on the side of the road, but are relatively easy to fix. Fan belts, hoses, ignition components, fluids, filters, etc.
Way too many variables to give a cost of engine rebuild. Depends on what the state of your current engine is, what your overall goal is, how much you are able to do yourself versus have to pay someone else to do. What tools you will need to buy or rent and of course the parts needed or wanted. You might be able to refresh the engine and associated components for $1500 or less. Full rebuild with machine work you could easily double that amount. Decide to add some performance enhancers and do the other things required to use that extra performance and you are easily quadruple that amount. Those costs assume you already have a decent tool collection and do most the work yourself.
What is the bungee cord from near driver's side hood hinge to the master cylinder for?
I looks like you're missing a battery hold down. Don't forget to install a proper solid one Please don't be tempted to use the bungee cord. They will not hold a heavy battery in place when you really need it to.
Welcome to FTE. Looks like a decent rig. Few things to fix, but that is what is fun about this hobby and how you will learn.
It appears you have either a T18 or NP435 4 speed, so you should have granny low 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Unless towing or hauling some weight you can start out in 2nd gear. Do 3rd and 4th gear not work for some reason?
In my build thread I have a write up related to floor pan repair - Post #18 There are many other threads on this forum related to that project too.
Regarding the detonation. 351M/400 are detonation prone, but there are some things you can do to avoid it.
What is your base timing set at? How did you set it? Is the vacuum advance connected and have you tested to make sure it works?
Daily driver improvements can depend on a lot of things, such as commute distance, what kind of traffic at what speed. Biggest improvement will be making sure all mechanical systems are in good shape & reliable as can be. Keeping a handful of important spare parts and the tools to replace them gives you a lot of peace of mind. Things that could leave you stranded on the side of the road, but are relatively easy to fix. Fan belts, hoses, ignition components, fluids, filters, etc.
Way too many variables to give a cost of engine rebuild. Depends on what the state of your current engine is, what your overall goal is, how much you are able to do yourself versus have to pay someone else to do. What tools you will need to buy or rent and of course the parts needed or wanted. You might be able to refresh the engine and associated components for $1500 or less. Full rebuild with machine work you could easily double that amount. Decide to add some performance enhancers and do the other things required to use that extra performance and you are easily quadruple that amount. Those costs assume you already have a decent tool collection and do most the work yourself.
What is the bungee cord from near driver's side hood hinge to the master cylinder for?
I looks like you're missing a battery hold down. Don't forget to install a proper solid one Please don't be tempted to use the bungee cord. They will not hold a heavy battery in place when you really need it to.
Might want to get some windshield wipers too...
All gears work and it shifts easily, are you saying its geared extra low in all 4? I usually start in 2nd, I think I read that in the owners manual. I saw the transmission said borg warner on it (if i remember right)
I believe the timing is stock (10*) distributor is unadjustable still... I think the vacuum advance works but I'm not positive since all I did was wiggle the linkage inside the distributor. And simplify the vac lines so its direct to the carb instead of through a bunch of other stuff.
The engine is in good shape for now, but it does have some blow by but its also not been driven much since it sat 13 years. I would like to rebuild it one day, but I'll likely keep it mostly stock. The potential detonation makes me worry about it though, and people telling me "Vehicles back then barely got to 100k miles before they fell apart!" doesn't help. Overall goal? longevity. I intend on keeping this truck as long as possible (which is probably a over said thing).
That's what I'd like to know, it's hooked onto the Z bar (?) for the clutch. which has the boot removed but that's sitting in the cab I just need to reinstall it. Its been that way since I got the truck.
I didn't even know there was supposed to be a battery hold down!
Yup their on the order list.
I'll have to check those thread(s)/forums out.
Last edited by Mr. Moldy; Apr 22, 2025 at 10:37 PM.
Reason: little more info
I guess I misunderstood what you were saying about 1st, 2nd and R in the OP. I thought maybe there was an issue with 3rd and 4th since you didn't mention them.
If the transmission says borg warner it's likely a T18 like mine. If it's original to the truck that should be indicated on the door tag (if that is original and still there). Since the boot is off, if you can see the top cover of the transmission the shifter attaches too, if cast iron is a T18 (most likely) if it is aluminum you have an NP435.
If you don't know what your base timing is and you cannot adjust it, that is likely the cause of your detonation. Each engine is a little different as far as what it likes for base timing, the range is 8-12ish degrees. General idea is you advance it as far as the engine will let you go without detonation occurring. I usually start at 10 and work my way up a degree or so at a time, take it for a drive, listen for pinging under light load. When you get detonation you back it off a degree or two. Depending on your climate and how extreme it is you might need to make small adjustments as the seasons change. Same goes for adjusting carb. The more advance you can give it, the better your bottom end power will be and a degree or two can make a noticeable difference there.
Yes, 351M/400 can be prone to detonation, but in stock form, with a proper tune and good fuel you shouldn't need to worry too much about that.
If you haven't already I would invest in a timing light with tach and a vacuum/fuel pressure gauge. Very important tools to keep these trucks running optimally.
To loosen up the dizzy you can try penetrating oil or use a combination of ATF and gasoline to make your own. Let that soak for a day or two and see if it comes loose. Sometimes they can be a bear to get moving, but to properly tune you need to be able to adjust timing. Carb adjustments should be done after you have timing mostly dialed in, then you toggle back and forth between carb adjustments and timing adjustments to get is running optimally.
A compression test and leak down test will give you a much better idea of what shape the engine is in and measuring vacuum readings can give you a lot of insight to the condition as well.
Everything wears out eventually and anything new or old could leave you stranded at some point. How long it leaves you stranded often depends on your own ability to fix things and how deep your pockets are.
Perhaps the bungee is being used as a makeshift return spring for the z-bar linkage. More pictures would help there. If that is the case you can pick up new universal spring to repair properly at parts store or hardware store.
Given that it is a farm truck, you will probably find all sorts of makeshift fixes that if you want things done right will require repair/replacement. It's one thing to just get things going so you can make it through planting, harvest or whatever. It's something else to repair properly so it is reliable and done correctly.
I guess I misunderstood what you were saying about 1st, 2nd and R in the OP. I thought maybe there was an issue with 3rd and 4th since you didn't mention them.
If the transmission says borg warner it's likely a T18 like mine. If it's original to the truck that should be indicated on the door tag (if that is original and still there). Since the boot is off, if you can see the top cover of the transmission the shifter attaches too, if cast iron is a T18 (most likely) if it is aluminum you have an NP435.
If you don't know what your base timing is and you cannot adjust it, that is likely the cause of your detonation. Each engine is a little different as far as what it likes for base timing, the range is 8-12ish degrees. General idea is you advance it as far as the engine will let you go without detonation occurring. I usually start at 10 and work my way up a degree or so at a time, take it for a drive, listen for pinging under light load. When you get detonation you back it off a degree or two. Depending on your climate and how extreme it is you might need to make small adjustments as the seasons change. Same goes for adjusting carb. The more advance you can give it, the better your bottom end power will be and a degree or two can make a noticeable difference there.
Yes, 351M/400 can be prone to detonation, but in stock form, with a proper tune and good fuel you shouldn't need to worry too much about that.
If you haven't already I would invest in a timing light with tach and a vacuum/fuel pressure gauge. Very important tools to keep these trucks running optimally.
To loosen up the dizzy you can try penetrating oil or use a combination of ATF and gasoline to make your own. Let that soak for a day or two and see if it comes loose. Sometimes they can be a bear to get moving, but to properly tune you need to be able to adjust timing. Carb adjustments should be done after you have timing mostly dialed in, then you toggle back and forth between carb adjustments and timing adjustments to get is running optimally.
A compression test and leak down test will give you a much better idea of what shape the engine is in and measuring vacuum readings can give you a lot of insight to the condition as well.
Everything wears out eventually and anything new or old could leave you stranded at some point. How long it leaves you stranded often depends on your own ability to fix things and how deep your pockets are.
Perhaps the bungee is being used as a makeshift return spring for the z-bar linkage. More pictures would help there. If that is the case you can pick up new universal spring to repair properly at parts store or hardware store.
Given that it is a farm truck, you will probably find all sorts of makeshift fixes that if you want things done right will require repair/replacement. It's one thing to just get things going so you can make it through planting, harvest or whatever. It's something else to repair properly so it is reliable and done correctly.
I got a timing light, haven't got a vacuum gauge yet.
The detonation is pretty severe, I wouldn't even describe it as pinging except for its lightest moments!
The boot I was talking about covers the opening that allows you to see into were the clutch is, wasn't meaning the shifter boot.
I think there was a return spring on the z bar, but I'll definitely get some pictures
A bit of history on the truck is that it used to have (I never saw it like that) a slide in camper on it, so its got a few state park stickers from the early-mid 80s. Its definitely going to be a farm truck under me though, with likely proper fixes. It was also sold somewhere near Minneapolis, I think it's neat to see the old dealer tag.
The climate of my area of Minnesota is like this, winter: cold, very cold and super cold, colder. spring: cold, less cold, warming up. summer warmer hot and hot, fall the reverse of spring! It's quite annoying!
Is there anyway to determine the unoriginality of major things? you mentioned the door tag would say, which i think is original unless it came off of a near identical truck.
I live in Montana, our seasons are as follows...
Almost Winter
Winter
Still Winter
Road Construction
Snowed earlier this week and still gets below freezing at night so I completely understand what you mean.
F25 = F250 2wd
H = 351M engine
P = twin cities Minnesota
EC7376 is sequential build number putting it near the middle of 1979 model year
Trans letter F = Borg Warner T18
Axle 37J = Dana 60 3.54:1 ratio
More can be determined from the door tag but I'm limited being at work on my cell phone.
If you're getting detonation that bad I wouldn't run the engine until you get the dizzy loosened up and can determine what's causing it. Detonation when bad enough can break cast pistons. You can pick up a new or reman'd dizzy relatively cheap at parts store. If it were me, I'd grab one of those, pop the cap on current dizzy to see where rotor is pointed and where vac advance canister is pointed so you can match those with new dizzy. Then do what I need to to get the old one out.
That might be a combination of heat and cold, such as warm up distributor shaft with butane torch then dump some water on it too see if that breaks it free. The aluminum of the dizzy will cool faster and shrink compared to the cast iron of the block, just don't melt any wires. If that didn't work, creative use of a small pipe wrench may come into play. If the heat/cold works to break it free you can keep using the original unit. If you need to get medieval on it, that's why you have spare dizzy on hand which is a good thing to have anyway. Parts are getting harder to find for these trucks.
I'm not sure what they're trying to accomplish with that bungee to the z-bar, I am guessing the spring is worn out so that was added to help.
Given it's 40+ years old it'll be hard to tell what's been done to it without tearing into things to investigate further. The sticker on the pillar matches the door tag so that is good. Those numbers should match what you see stamped into the top of the passenger frame rail inside engine bay.
Quote: and people telling me "Vehicles back then barely got to 100k miles before they fell apart!"
I guess my 79 was an exemption...I would have gotten 200k out of the 351M that came with it but a leaking fuel pump diluted the oil and ruined the main bearings in less than 2 weeks....I forgot to change the oil after replacing the fuel pump. I wasn't exactly easy on that engine either....8 years earlier I put headers on and dual exhaust....Comp Cams 268 bump stick along with a better timing set...Eddy Performer 400 intake and a Carter 625 carb. That thing was. A. Beast! I 4 wheeled the bejesus out of that truck. Sand dunes....mud holes ....twisty muddy trails and still cruised down the interstate at 70mph. I had people asking me if it was a 390. I shoulda just said yes. Lol
I got the outside of my trucks frame painted today, theres still places that need primer though. few cross members and behind the drivers front wheel.
I am mainly using a $1 bristle brush for this, no spray gun used.
Rustoleum Massy Ferguson grey, i used Rustoleum red oxide primer, and light wire brush to knock off any loose bits
[img alt="The black was Van Sickle gloss black spray paint.
There really wasnt much rust underneath to require wire wheeling or sanding"]https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.ford-trucks.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/truck_under_rear_33a4c21787959ece1501f8635c8d5f28c 125561f.jpg[/img] The black was Van Sickle gloss black spray paint. There really wasn't much rust underneath to require wire wheeling or sanding
This Hennessey Takes the Expedition Tremor's Off-Roading Capability to the Next Level
Slideshow: The VelociRaptor Expedition gains a lift, upgraded suspension, Brembo brakes, and trail-ready equipment while retaining the stock 440-horsepower EcoBoost V6.
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
