I think it was a combination of plugs and carburator plus I did find a bad wire too. Besides, checking the entire ignition system was was a good thing to do on a truck of this age. I even learned about the "resistor wire", what a condenser does and more. It was frustrating for sure, but educational. Still in school at 50! Several hundred brains are better than one! That's why I use forums.

As far as me posting this question here, well, first off there is no forum for P series trucks here. The chassis of my panel truck is the same as a F-350, except it's a 1 1/2 ton. Everything else is the same. This was as close as I could get. This group is for '73 to '79 F100 and LARGER F series trucks. I was going to post in the Engine catagory but there wasn't a whole lot of traffic there. I even read one post there and the poster was told to post in this catagory because it was busier. If it bothered anyone, I apologize.

But I thank everyone again.
Now to find some tires.....

 

Not only busier but smarter too

 

No need whatsoever to apologize, we were glad to have you on this board.

Josh

 

Please don't take my comment as directed at you,it was not.My policy is and has always has been to assist anyone in any way possible.This is a great board to exchange information,learn new things,and fix stubborn problems.As far as not knowing something we were all there once and that was my point.Some guys here choose to put down others and think they can be all big and tough behind a keyboard and squeal like a little girl whose new Easter dress was soiled,the comments I made were directed at them.There are many very knowledgeable people here that are experts in their field and as you are on here more you will see who they are.
As far as troubleshooting goes a leaky carb caused the plug foul situation.If you would have changed the carb and either changed or cleaned your plugs your rig would have started right up.Anyone can troubleshoot a new vehicle but the true test of a mechanic is one who can weed through all the other minor problems and parts that may be out of spec and precisely pinpoint the no start condition with a minimal amount of parts changing.As a mechanic when a customer brings in a truck with a no start and then they get a $3000 bill because the mechanic changed every part that was not functioning properly is a waste of the customers money and in these trying times every dollar counts.don't get me wrong,I would not skimp on brakes,steering and other safety related items but changing a slightly used coil,wires and so on when tthat was not directly related to the no start condition is IMHO unethical.We would all like our customers vehicles to run like swiss watches but these days a coil that didn't need to be changed could have been other essential items.I think now more than other it is time for people to pull together and really be concerned about the customers money especially if the individual is unemployed or really struggling.JMHO

 

I didn't take offense to your statement. I understand. I have been angrily corrected on other forums and voluntarily left them. I agree with your belief on saving cash, especially these days.

Actually I wrote a much more complete reply earlier to this thread, but I guess there was a server problem and it didn't post.

But thanks again for everyones help.

Bob

 

now for payment...