1972 highboy questions

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Mar 9, 2010 | 07:43 AM

skoalio42

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1972 highboy questions

I recently acquired a 1972 F250 and would like to remove and replace the leaf springs all the way around but dont know where to look. Just about nothing on this truck is stock which makes part hunting that much harder...it started as a 2wd with a 360 and a 4 speed but is now 4wd and has a 429 C-6 combo from a 72 "big" ford car. I also have an issue with it being extremely cold blooded and do not know if this is normal or if there is anything I can do at all to help the issue, it already has a block heater but i dont always have access to an outlet

Mar 9, 2010 | 09:35 AM

Unimog005

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From: Westminster, Colorado

You might want to find a good used ford truck place nearby....those guys can often identify parts from various years easily....outside of that, be prepared to do alot of returns of parts....lol.....that's how I learn most of the time....the part I order does not fit or is completely different...I post here and "Numberdummy" tells me what I need and what year my part came from....

I have quite the frankentruck....it's even green....

Mar 9, 2010 | 10:05 AM

DarrellJ

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From: Sidney, BC, Canada

For springs, your local 4x4 or spring/suspension shop should be able to help you out, even if the truck isn't stock. They should be able to measure the springs and the mounts and figure out a combination for you. Are you looking for a lift kit? If so, there's several aftermarket suspension kits you can buy...

As far as cold starts go, if you're running an open filter (ie chrome) with no heat riser off the exhaust manifold you'll probably find that old truck a little grouchy in the morning. I find with mine that there's a period of time when my temp gauge is up to normal temps, but it still doesn't want to run well at idle. My intuition is that the motor is warmed up but the carb (and maybe the 80lb cast iron intake manifold) haven't come up to temp yet. I just avoid stop signs and traffic lights!

hth

darrell

Mar 9, 2010 | 07:12 PM

1969Highboy

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Another reason for cold starts being bad is if you still have points in your distributor and they may not be pullin out good spark (either change to a later model distributor with electronic ignition or use something like the pertronix kit), maybe your spark plugs are farely old or fouled, it would probably be better if you had an electric fuel pump if you already dont, the first few seconds with a mechanical fuel pump doesn't really pump much to your carb. And if your carb is old, that could be another slight issue. Otherwise any of these will help your starting.

Mar 16, 2010 | 04:40 AM

skoalio42

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Well, the distributor was been upgraded years ago and has a solid state ignition in it also, I believe it was a ford duraspark but in two weeks will be an MSD 6AL with a new coil to match. The spark plugs were new as of november 2009 (I changed them as soon as I got it from my dad). My dad also upgraded the fuel pump years ago, and him and I rebuilt the carb about a month ago (Holley 750). So more than anything I think once winter hits in another 9-10 months, I will just have to make sure that I can get to an exterior outlet to plug in the block heater. The starting issues have been slightly better since the initial tune-up and since it is being started and driven on a semi regular basis that seems to have helped also.

Mar 16, 2010 | 02:37 PM

1969Highboy

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I have the msd 6al box and blaster coil on my truck and it works pretty good, but I just bought the cheaper street fire for my mustang and my mustang starts alot better. So you could go alot cheaper and go with street fire if you wanted to.

Mar 17, 2010 | 12:35 AM

skoalio42

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Yeah I've already got the blaster coil in the truck and a buddy of mine is selling the ignition to me for less than a hundred bucks, so I can't really beat that price. Any ideas on where to find new leafs I have only seen one company that has any and all they have are lift springs. I will go that route with a small (2 in.) Lift if I absolutely have to but would prefer to keep it at the ride height it currently has.