Well my service truck for work has a crane on it.......soooo I just opened the doors and ran my big lifting strap through the cab and hooked it up to the crane. It balanced pretty well. For the box I just used some chains down to a few points. It made this a one man operation!!

-Jake

 

I like it. Good thinking on your part!

 

Time to update! I haven't done much of anything lately. Getting ready to rob parts off my spare 2 wheel drive and junk it, so if anyone needs anything let me know. It's a 71 F-250 Camper Special. I am going to put power steering on my Highboy and a few other little odds and ends and it will be "done" for awhile. I am thinking of taking the Flowmasters off and putting glass packs on because it's too quiet for it's own good..... I am also thinking of making a "Lincoln locker" for the rear end because I am tired of the one wheel wonder. Has anyone else welded their rear end? I have read on here that you shouldn't do it if you are driving on the road much, but my dad said he did it in his old '79 F-250 so I don't know......

I did have a little excitment with the Highboy the other night. Fired it up to move it and heard a really loud ticking noise....popped the hood and found the fuel pump just hanging there by one bolt and gapped from the block about 3/4 of an inch. I removed it and checked to make sure everything was alright. The holes are a little stripped out from the bolts rattling and I had to put a longer bolt in the one side to get it to tighten up. It was a pretty sweet deal, I hope it never happens again.

-Jake

 

Still haven't had the guts the weld my rear end in the Highboy. Anyone have any input on this? I did, however, mount a headache rack with 2 150 watt lights on it. It looks pretty sweet and they are quite bright. I will have to get some pictures.

My '72 is gone! I guess you could say it went to a good home. I took it over to Randy and it resides in his yard now. I used the Highboy to pull it over there. I weighed 13,500 loaded down. I didn't get in too big of a hurry, but it handled it pretty nicely. I need to get my brakes set up a little bit better though.

I also got the '69 out of hibernation a few weeks ago. Had a big ol' nail in a tire. I took it to Big O in Grand Island to get fixed and then it sat in the back of the pickup for two weeks before I could get it put back on and wouldn't you know, it went flat all on it's own laying in the back of the pickup. Took it back and they fixed it for free, no questions. All that aside, it sure felt good to drive the beast again.

Washed my GMC tonight. Needed done bad and since the weather should be decent for awhile I thought I'd do it.

-Jake

 

If you are going to continue to pull a trailer with the truck, then DO NOT weld it up!! With the extra weight on the rear + welded spiders = broken axles or more. But if you aren't planning on pulling a trailer, weld away!! The welded rear makes a huge difference on the hi boys.

Since you're only dealing with a 60 rear, you should be able to find a factory Trac Lok pretty easily and pretty cheap. Shop around and put one of those in. Have posi and still be able to tow with it!!

 

Factory trac loc would be the way to go. That's what the 60 in my '69 has and it works GOOD!! I have chirped the tires on accident while going around a corner on dry pavement and have been on a few WILD rides with wet pavement.

Also, don't go to Big O in Grand Island. My tire was flat on the '69 again after sitting for only a week. I haven't really had that great of luck with Big O, but I needed a tire fixed on a Sunday and they were the only place that was open.

I need to find that money tree I keep hearing people talk about. I am thinking the 390 in the '69 would be pretty nice in the Highboy, then go bigger in the '69.

-Jake

 

Scored a set of 36 x 12.5 x 16.5 Goodyear Wranger R/T II's for the Highboy. I got them put on. They rub just a touch when you turn left. Going to get some add-a-leafs for it and fix that problem. Hopefully I have time to put a radio in it soon. Might take the Blowmasters off and put glasspacks on it too!

-Jake

 

Got my glasspacks on. They are kinda quiet yet, need to burn in. I swear I have another Volvo dash kit around somewhere but I can't find it. I have a radio just sitting there waiting to be installed so I need to find it and get a speaker put in too.

I also found out how big of beast my '71 is.... Had to go to a burn pile in one of our fields and it was muddy. Dad was sliding all over in his Dodge. I just put it in 4 wheel and idled right through it all in 2nd gear. I had to goose it and throw some mud at him though.

-Jake

 

Jake! How's it going bud? Hey, scored an 89 F-250, for the drivetrain in the 67.

 

Been awhile. Went and loaded up my uncle's old '75 Highboy and hauled it over to dad's with my '71 here awhile back. Bought a house July 5th and hadn't been doing much until this week when I decided to get that '75 running so I can drive it to my house and start tearing it apart. After about 2 total hours of sweating I got it running after sitting over 3 years. Timing is all messed up and carb needs dialed in. It runs but has a mind of it's own. It currently won't pull it's way out of a wet paper bag, but I will fix that.

'75 F-250 4x4
360 (?) 4 barrel, Automatic
Full time 4x4
7500 GVWR

Springs will look good on my '71 and so will the power assist steering. I was surprised at how well the power assist works. I'd only heard horror stories about it. Anyway, I will probably completely strip this one. If anyone needs anything let me know. The body is pretty shot. I really just want the springs and the steering set up, but I think I am gonna pull the complete drivetrain and maybe keep the axles too. Dana 44 HD low pinion front and Dana 60 rear. Nothing special, but you never know when I'll need one or when someone else will.

I would think about keeping it but the only way I could do that is the sell the '71 and then find another '73-'79 with a good body and do a body swap. Probably not the smartest thing I could do at this point.....

-Jake

 

Hey Jake,

Is this 75 the truck that has the 203 x-case and not a 205??

Good luck with the power assist. Hopefully, it keeps working for ya. I have seen these work in a truck after sitting and then once you run them for awhile, they start leaking and work like crap!! All you can do is try it though.

 

Jake, how's the tailgate on that truck??

 

This is the one with the 203.

The tailgate is probably in great shape where ever it's at.....it has been seperated from the rest of the pickup.

Anyway, getting this thing running better each night I mess with it. Decided that the dampener has slipped or something goofy. Can't set the timing with the light. In fact when using a light it shows it as ATDC! Had it plenty advanced and pulled it back today. Runs much better now when out of the idle circuit. Yesterday it would hardly move but now once you get rolling it isn't too bad. Need to get the idle set up. Hard to adjust the mix when it won't even idle stable enough to do that. I think I am just going to put another carb on it that I know is good and get the timing set so I know for sure that it's not messing with me.

I am wondering whether this is a 360 or 390. Pulls fairly strong for no better than it runs. Has a C6 where my '71 has a 4 speed so it's hard to compare. It's night and day compared to my '69.....but that's not stock

-Jake

 

So, I went out to the farm yesterday and pulled the carb off to take a look at. Unhooked the few vacuum lines it has, unbolted it. Flipped it over and drained the fuel out of it. The fuel in the secondary bowl was pretty nasty compared to the fresh coming from the primaries. Went over to the bench and started cleaning the outside and noticed that the full manifold vacuum port wasn't plugged. I didn't unhook a line from there either. So I got my caps and capped the port. Threw the carb back on and couldn't get it to start. Advanced the timing. Hey, look at that it runs. Set the idle speed up to 1500-2000 and let it warm up. Dropped the speed down to about 900 and set the timing. 14 degrees BTDC. Runs good. Dropped the idle a little more and then set the idle mix. Runs good. Runs amazing actually. Before this, dad and I got into the discussion of whether it was a 360 or a 390. I pulled the plug, found TDC and did the ol' wire trick. Rolled around to BDC and did it again. Came up with 3 3/4". So, I have a 390 with a Holley 4 barrel!! Sometimes a guy gets lucky!

After close examination of the body I need a passenger's side front fender. There is a small rust hole in the floor on the passenger side. Then I need to either get a good box or throw the box away and find a decent flatbed for it (which I am more inclined to do). Then maybe sand her down a bit and shoot some paint on it.

Whoops! Thought I had enough pickups already....

-Jake

 

Bummer. Hey, congrats on the 390 score, though!