Hey guys,

I totaled my 95 F150 a week ago. It was my first truck that i bought when i was 15, i am 21 now. I am terribly sad and miss it a lot, but i managed to make a purchase that will keep me happy.

My father, a friend and I drove down to Virginia to pick up this little guy:

http://www.championautomotive.net/pi...1fordf100.html

If you click the link you will see a bunch of pictures.

So we towed it home and i got to work.

The truck ran like crap and had a real hard time starting. I replaced the burned/half connected/brittle/crumbling away ignition wires with new ones and solved 1/3 of the running problems. Then i replaced the wrotted vacuum caps and solved another 1/3 of the running problems. Now i just need to adjust the timing and tune the carb, and she'll be 100%!

I had an EFI 300 in my 95 F-150. I plan to use a fuel injected 300 with an AOD in this truck some day.

Any how, i do have a few questions to go with the truck of course.

Has anyone worked with alignment? This is my daily driver and i want to make the front end a little more modern. We have an alignment machine at the shop I used to work at, my boss would gladly let me take the shop for the weekend to work on this puppy.

I am thinking she could use 2-3* of toe in the front and 4.5-5.5* of caster. Camber i guess I'd leave at 0 or maybe a very slight amount positive. Any ides?

There is a slight rumble which i plan on investigating tomorrow. I need to check and see if the wheels are balanced, and check the bearings and brakes and such.

No power brakes but she stops great anyways! What gives?

I AM SO EXCITED!!!

 

Congrats on the new truck! Looks nice!

Only need to adjust tow on these rigs, no caster/camber. Under normal circumstances anyway. Otherwise you have to heat and bend the axles which isn't really recommended.

 

Hmm. I will take a look under there and see if i can't machine a part to adjust the caster. Camer isn't really too important anyhow.

Thanks for the help. It feels like it could use a little more tow, it tracks like its zero'd out.

 

Front I beams use King Bolts. Adjustment is done the same as big rig solid axles. Bend with hydraulics to spec, no heating necessary. There are no parts to machine. Replacement bushings in the radius arms go a long way in helping the front end. Avalible in rubber or Poly.

Toe in is done the old fasioned method. With tie rod links.

Garbz

 

Great truck. Very good beginnings. I like the 300 EFI AOD plans. Congrats!
Bart

 

I'll take a bumpside any day over a 90's "everybody has one" truck, again congrats, looks good.

Mitch

 

Wow that thing is a beauty in that red and shortbox nice find congrats

 

Thanks guys!

I guess i'll have to take the truck to an alignment shop that can twist these i-beams for me. Thanks for the heads up. I checked under it today and know what you are talking about now.

One question- anyone know how big the gas tank behind the seat is? Haven't filled her up all the way yet.

 

I've gotten about 16.5 - 17 gallons to the top of the fill spout. Not a good idea since it dripped with just the slightest tilt. Oops.

 

Thanks Bart.

Another question (trust me, i have a ton)

What are you guys gettin for gas mileage? I'm hoping i can find an AOD pretty soon to swap in, as the overdrive would be great. Any issues with this swap or is there some goofy hard to find parts i will need?

Also, there is a slight rumble when going over 40mph, seems to be coming from the front of the truck. I popped off the brake drums and the bearing bolts were very loose. The bearings and races showed no signs of damage though. The rumble seems to have subsided greatly now. I have a feeling though that there is a bad bearing either in the tranny or at one of the wheels. I am going to take her on the highway tomorrow.

once i get back up to school in RI, i can get her in the shop and have access to all the tools and equipment i need! Except that i-beam press of course... I thought our 94' Bear alignment machine was old!

Heater core is pretty plugged up as well. $20 for a new one! I can't go wrong!

 

congrats!!I saw it and was going to bid---wife stopped me! LOL Ijust bought a 71 sport custom also. 302/AUTO WITH 66,000 Virginia miles---but had an engine fire. Rangoon red,and stock. Looks almost as nice as yours--but soon hope will be on the road. Bill

 

Tyler,
With a 302 & C-4 and everything tuned well, you could expect 14-16 mpg on hiway @ 65 mph. Around town it'll be a bit less, 12-13 mpg. I'm assuming a 3.25 rearend.

With an AOD you'll only see better hiway mileage. Around town it'll be the same. It is a direct bolt up, but you'll need to convert to TV cable to regulate the transmission and possibly mod the driveline. I'm not sure of the flywheel and AOD torque converter mating issues. It's been done, a google search will find you the necessary info.

 

Cool. I'd really like that 4th gear and will probably get an AOD pretty soon, once i can find one for a reasonable price.

Drove her around quite a bit today. She has a rumble! I'm not sure if its engine or tranny. It isn't wheel balancing, and it doesn't feel like bearings. Almost feels like a bad u-joint, but they are nice and tight.

I replaced all the plugs, they are all tan idle bars with black around the ring, so she's running pretty well.

What are you guys running for base timing with 87 octane? Its got a vacuum advance and i guess its a trigger system ignition, there are no points. Does that mean i can put a high output 12v coil in there without fear of burning anything out?


Oh, by the way, the 302 is pretty cool but i really miss my six. It was a 95 EFI with a home-ported head/stock valves, 204/214 cam, 1.73 roller rockers, exhaust, 19lb injecters and AFR. She was a real torquer. I got her dyno'd and it peaked torque at about 1100rpm, and stayed flat to about 3000rpm, then tapered off slowly till 3500rpm, and they hit the 300 EFI head brick wall past that and crapped right out. Great tow motor though. I bet it would pull this little girl around really nicely!

 

Yea, I've an itch to try a 300 I6 in one of these trucks. But, so far I've stuck with the fe engines because of their toughness, torque and reliability. I have hundreds of thousands of miles on my engines and they won't die. Blue smoke when I start them up and poor gas mileage, but no signs of quitting.

 

Rhetor - Good looking truck! She'll serve you well. I brought my '72 up from NC to N.VA, 60mph the whole way, no pull roar or rumble. Gas milage was pretty bad, probably less that 15 HW if I remember correctly, but I'm running pretty rich right now, so that might have something to do with it. You can get to the pipe clamps on the tank neck to spout connection if you hold your hand just right, should deal with most of the smell (but that cab will always smell like a truck - wouldn't have it any other way). Check the vent & sender jsut to be sure all is sound.