Hey all..long time no see..

I found a truck in Seattle WA that I want and am considering flying there and driving it home. It is a 1977 F250 extended cab long bed. Everything under the hood is new, including a fresh 460 (800miles on it..I have photos and receipts of work done)...alt, starter, carb, intake, heater core, 2 batteries, newer tires, late 90-s ford alum rims, gear vender overdrive...no rust, straight, solid..sweet old truck. Anyway, considering the elevation changes that I will encounter on the way back, what precautions should I take? what shoudl I expect, if anything....? I was worried, with the motor being new...if the tuning was off a bit I might get some ping if it leans out... help!
Thanks
Mike

 

actually if it is in seattle it is at sea level, and will be as lean as it will get as you go up in altitude you can advance the timing and at higher altitudes you will find that the gas they sell is lower octane. basically I would just make sure the brakes are in good shape if you come back on I 90 there are a couple of pretty good down hill grades. Best advice I can give you is take along a 1/2" wrench and when it starts to feel gutless at higher elevations bump you timing up a little if you want but don't forget to back it off when you come down other than that you shouldn't have any problems. When I moved from Laramie to Iowa (7200+ altitude to 1000') I had to back my timing off because it did ping some but like I said you are starting at low altitude so if it is ok there then you will be fine on the entire trip, and snoqualmie pass isn't very high but will give you a good idea of what will transpire on the rest of the trip.

 

isn't I-80 a better routeto take this time of yr? I didn't think it has as much altitude change - and the weather is better. Could be wrong. We took vacation out to Seattle this year - 2 weeks, tent camping all the way, out of a 2002 Explorer Sport Trac. Great time - (eastern Washington is awful).

If you see my brother-in-law while you're out there, see if he has my green T-shirt - I think I left it there.

BTW, the more into the mountains you go, the worse the gas prices get, so you will be glad to be buying the lower octane gas!

 

no I-80 has sherman pass between cheyene and laramie highest point on I 80 and gets closed alot even on 4th of july for snow plus logan canyon salt lake then you have the blues, and the columbia river gorge all of which have alot of bad weather and wind in wyoming.
wave as you go through moses lake area though that is were my folks live, and I was born and raised around seattle (actually bremerton WA just across the bay) Oh and don't forget to wave at Ivan when you go through spokane if you go on I90

 

I agree stat off I 80, best bet would be I90 to I 35, it also more scenic

 

Sounds like that'll be an awesome truck. Should be a fun truck if it actually runs as well as it sounds.

 

Hey, I read your other post to the effect of the same, here, if you do go for the one in La, and need a second driver, give me a heads up, I'll go with.

 

Tickets to LA are about $175 one way....the owner of the truck called me yesterday..."hi MIke, this is Larry....in sunny, warm Southern CA...80 degrees here today"....you SOB, Larry.

HAHAHA

HEll, I am not coming back.

 

I thought you had one in Louisiana, not LA the city, I can't afford to help in that way at this time, but if you were driving down, i'd go with, my mistake.

 

I bought my 1970 in Helena, MT (elev. 4300 ft.) a couple months before I moved to Nebraska. I drove it here without any problems last June, and I have not re-tuned the carb since getting here either... still runs fine and I haven't noticed any difference in performance.

Just as an FYI, I-90 in through Montana can be a little tricky this time of year. There isn't a whole lot of traffic outside the bigger towns and the highway (especially the left hand lane) can stay pretty icy long after a storm has passed.