Hello, This is Henry in Kansas.

I just bought a 1972 C-750 Cabover. It started out as a Coca-Cola Delivery Truck and was then converted to a Fire-Rescue truck. I bought it on Ebay and haven't seen it in person yet. I'm going to Colorado next week to pick it up.

Here's the Ebay Link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=018&sspagename=STRK%3AME WN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=280118004122&rd=1,1

For $761, how can I go wrong?

What I want to know is this: I am going to pick up a truck I know very little about, and then have to drive it 600 miles. It has the 391 engine and a 5x2 transmission. The owner already said that the shift linkage is sticky.

What should I look out for? Is there any MUST CHECK stuff before I drive 600 miles?

Are there any tricks to driving or working on it? Like, how do I flip the cab up and not kill myself? How do I air up the tires and not get killed?

Am I crazy, or did I buy a nice truck?

I'm sure that after I bring it home, I'll have lots more questions.

Henry

 

We had a 71', C-750 cabover, with the 391, 5x2, AAhh the good old 5' of shifter linkage, I can recall shifting it,,the shifter would go from the hitting the Dash,,,to hitting the Seat lol, Make sure you have a couple fuel filters,,pretty sure these are the type on the bottom of the fuel pump,,in a small can you un-screw,,the radiator air intake is like a big scoop down low under the front bumper,,make sure it's not full of leaves and stuff,,or it will overheat.

Seems to me no other real issues other then exhaust manifolds leaking,,ticking, check the oil,,radiator, 600 miles is a pretty good run for a 35 year old truck, hope it has been running recently.
Now when running properly these 391's are a pulling engine,,if the four barrel is working they run great,,air brakes too. A buddy of mine has a few 6x6 trucks for plowing, one is a 72' F700, now with a 391,,other is a 86' Chevy C 70 (? not sure) with a 427,,,he says the ford will kill it with or without a load on,,the 86 is more of a smog engine too,,,Good luck with your trip !,,,,,,,,,Mark

 

Welcome to FTE

C4AZ-9365-A .. Cartridge Type Fuel Filter (Motorcraft-FG-1)

Filter fits into tomato juice sized can with serrated edges mounted to fuel pump. Filter is easy to find, it also is used on cars: 1960-72 & F100/350 1960-72. Note: Most ppl have no idea today there is this fuel filter in the fuel pump, so the can may be stuck. The can unscrews. I have the correct parts catalog for your C Series if you need part numbers.

 

Welcome to the forums. Beyond what the guys already mentioned, use basic common sense as to whether this thing can be driven safely. Being that it is presently a fire apparatus, I am banking that it is not inspected or even registered. You should figure on getting the temporary transit permit and taking it for a test drive to determine whether it will drive safely to your satisfaction. In NYC, the FDNY does annual PMP (periodic maintenance and prevention) to all apparatus. This might or might not be the case there. Good luck.

 

Thanks so much for all the suggestions!

Henry

 

OK, it didn't go well.

I took a 23 hour bus ride from Wichita to Ft. Collins Colorado. I picked the truck up at the bus station and started to drive home on the Interstate.

After about 30 miles, it started losing power and backfiring. Within 5 miles, it was doing 20 mph, so I pulled onto a 2-lane and kept going for about 5 more miles till it died. I let it cool off for about an hour, and it started up fine. It went about 20 miles that time, and died in the middle of a major intersection in Longmont.

It took $195 for a semi-sized tow truck to tow me to a heavy truck repair shop. They couldn't look at it for 5 days, so I took another 20-hour bus ride back to Wichita to wait.

Sounds like vapor lock to me, but I'll wait for the shop to call, and see what they say. It has two factors that make vapor lock worse:

1. Using winter gas in the summer. It was in a small town way up in the mountains, so they might have lots of winterizing stuff in the gas, plus it had been sitting for months. It was in the 90s that day.

2. High altitude. It broke down at 6000 feet.

It also might be the gas filter, like you guys warned me about.

Except for that, it's a pretty nice truck. It doesn't want to go over 55, but that won't be an issue once I get it home. And the shifter is reeeeally sloppy. That 1st to 2nd shift is tough.

I'm sure that this has NEVER happened to anybody else in the group, but my wife really criticized me for wasting good money on a ratty old truck.

Thanks for all the help so far.

Henry

 

UMMM, small town volunteer fire department. No such luck. Imagine Barney Fife and Andy Griffeth in fireman's turnouts.

Henry

 

LOL....... Have you considered having it shipped?? With gas, tolls and time it might be worth it.

 

It's a 35-foot long, 28,000 pound truck. I think shipping would be very expensive.

Henry

 

would take long trailer but probly weighs half what you're thinking