Howdy all!
First of all let me say that this is a great forum!

Ok so down the road from my house is this 1977 f350 for sale .. duallys in the back ..4speed tranny with granny gear ...6cyl engine i guess that makes it a 300? ...it's got a long wheelbase like 160-161" ..as far as i know it has stock gear ratios ..

so what i'm looking for is adivice on how to find out what that(stock) gear ratio is....and how i can find out how much weight i could tow with this truck, i would be hopeing to be towing 2000-3000 pounds pretty much every day

Do you all think it (1) it could handle that much weight and(2) do it every day.... i drive real easy on my cars and trucks

I do have the VIN number if that would help ...F37BN086365

Thank you all so much ! and i'm sorry to ask so much at one time

will

 

Welcome Will!

Yes I think an F-350 will tow 2 - 3000 lbs. everyday and not even think about it. The 300 may not be all your after on top end power but it will do just fine if you are not in a hury to climb over hills or need to drag race Hemi's.

Others here will know how to decode your vin #.... Standby.

 

Model Year: Unknown, Please double check VIN#
Series: F350 - 4x2 Chassis & Cab
Engine: 6 Cyl, 300ci (4.9L) 1bbl
Assembly Plant: Norfolk

post the rear axle code off of the data plate (the metal plate thats on the door jam)
or take a good picture of it and post it.

 

thank you guys for the quick replys!

Ok here is the plate from the door ..

WB Color Type/GVW Body Trans Axle
161 T F375 AD8 A 28J


08500 1977 25
MaxGVWR Year DSO


Sorry about the VIN number here it is ..F37bno86365

there is another tag on the door jamb that says the gross axle weight rateing is 5700#

Thank you all!
Will

 

how did you decode the vin

 

Model Year: 77
Series: F350 - 4x2 Chassis & Cab
Engine: 6 Cyl, 300ci (4.9L) 1bbl
Assembly Plant: Norfolk
Transmission: 4 spd, Manual, New Process 435
Rear Axle: 4.56 7400lb Dana 70

Shes slow, but just what I'm looking for!

 

You can find VIN and rating plate decoder links in my FTE webpage. Just click the link under my name.

 

Sorry I use another site. Also thats a '77 noa a '72 typo won't be the frist. haha

 

I had a 1978 F-100 with a 4.9 liter 300 cu 6-cylinder. A regular cab with a long bed and one gas tank. When I got it had been sitting for abuot 5 years in a field and was full of bee hives. The suspwnion was shot and the tires were bald. I drove it for about a year until the 6-cylinder became a 5-cylinder. My dad had a 1984 E-150 with the same motor, he said it ran like a top but he didnt have the title. I decided because of the shape of the van that I wanted to take the 300 and put it into my F-100. Myseld and another mechanic did it in about 15 hours start ( removal of old engine) to finish ( tuning newly installed engine). from that point on I changed the oil regularly and drove it everday to school and also regularly hauled full loads of materials (full as in the most I could fit in without it falling out onto the road) to the local dump for extra cash. the 300 never caused me any problems. I did have had the carb rebuilt and did clean the exaust manifold by hand with a wire brush as I am very poor. Going down the highway at 70 with a full load and the 3-speed automatic was very easy. I often took this truck to my dads hunting about 300 miles away pulling a trailer with a 400 kawasaki automatic and lots of supplies in the trailer and in the bed. Despite the shot suspension and the aging 300 i was easily able to pass cars at drive your trucks with ease and understand what the rpms and sound of your engine mean then you should have no problem driving your F-350 300 everyday hauling a load. You may need to replace some things such as the distributer, battery, plugs & wires, fuel pump, carb, and PCV valve. Change the oil often an drive it like you love it and you will have no problems. Please let me know if you decide to buy it and how it performs.

 

did you truck ever overheat

 

No, I never had a problem with overheating. Just keep the RPM's low. I noticed that there is a nice torque curve at 3,000 RPM and the 3-speed transmission has very good shift points and there is no jumping of gears when hauling heavy loads or oing up hills. I've heard that the max RPM can reach 7,000 but you only need half of that to get any work done.

If you have problems with over heating, there is a valve in the exuast and intake manifolds that has a tendancy to get stuck due to rust and carbon build up. I simply took of the manifolds and took a wire brush to them to scrape off any thing that would come loose. After I did that I got better gas mileage and the engine ran smoother and breathed better. It was a good chance for me to run to the auto parts store and get some ord blue high temp spray paint and make te manifolds stand out in an otherwise "gritty" engine bay.

 

Thanks guys!

now i have to ask one other thing(well two really )

(1) do you all think that this truck would be a good deal?

it's got 174,620 miles on the truck,about 60,000 on the engine ..new tires all round,6 of them ..it just had $200 worth of carb and power steering work done ..no rust or dents to speak of ..8 foot flat bed with wooden sides ..it was used as a cattle truck and then for landscapeing ..it seems to have a lot of oil on the engine around the valve cover ..how easy is it to work on a old truck like this? sure is a lot more room in the engine bay then my toyota! would i be able to find parts somewhat easly?

(2) how can i calculate the tow rating for the truck? I belive you guys when you say you think it could do it,but i'm a little worred about that 4.56 rear end ..seems a little high acording to what i've read (here and other places)...

ok thanks everybody!
will

 

To answer part of question 1) as you said the engine bay is so large you can easily climb up and sit down and comfortably get your hads dirty. All the nuts and bolts are easily accessable.

To answer part of question 2) assuming you are running tires with diameter of 28 inches....
3000 rpm in 1st gear your speed = 8.2 mph
3000 rpm in 2nd gear your speed = 16.4 mph
3000 rpm in 3rd gear your speed = 32.4 mph
3000 rpm in 4th gear your speed = 54.8 mph
4000 rpm in 4th gear your speed = 73.1 mph

The 4.56 gears are a little high but is great at hauling large loads and you dont really need to be hauling 3000 lbs at 70 mph in an old truck anyway

 

I think you mean low geared. That would set your crusing speed around 55-60. I think 65 would have the 300 wound up. As far as parts everywhere. No problem there. Serviceabilty easy. Just change oil and watch for problems and a tune up now and then.
Now this truck is slow. If you plan to do a lot of traveling this may not be the ride for you. While it would do fine on the back roads with the weight you want. I don't think this is a freeway truck 60+. The nice thing about that truck is with that gearing, it could have a 460, but it's only going to go 55ish. It may get it there faster, but thats it. With better milage too. If I could find this truck I would buy it.
Before you do take it for a drive. Maybe the seller will even let you hook up you trailer. KNOW WHAT YOUR BUYING. Also with these one tons look for frame damage. The owners have a tedancy to overload them myself included (no damage to my record yet).

The reason I would want a truck like this, the 300 could hual everything you put in it, on it, and behind it (with in reason). Good milage. The 300 dosn't have the hoursepower for the freeway loaded. With the low gears that fine, because empty it couldn't travel the freeway easly anyway.

FYI my 460/C6 4.10 combo runs 55-60 easy 70 is pushing it. The 300 turn a little faster so thats my referance it maybe about the same.

 

Wow talk about your space cadets! i forgot to post the price!

seller wants $2200 but i know him real well and i think i could get it for $2000 or so ..

thanks for your help ejustin3724 and biginjunchief ! much appreciated!

the PO said that the truck would go 80 no problem so i don't know if that means she was driveing too fast or what !

i can't seem to figure out the owners manual as far as tow rating go'es .. do you guys know any ways to calculate that ?

thanks again!

will