K folks, already asked a couple questions about it, so here is my new beast!







What engine is this? I think I know but I want the experts to tell me for sure!



Still can't find a VIN.

 

looks like a 351m/400 to me. the vin is under the cab on the frame rail,at least thats where it is on mine. Good looking work horse you have there.

 

nice truck! i think we got the same carbs. haha

 

I ran one close to it for years, and still use it a lot.
This was a couple weeks ago.

 

Sweet rig MadFrank81. I had been watching that one on Craigslist. Glad a fellow FTE got her! Are you going to keep it a wrecker?

 

Yeah, I really wasn't sure if I wanted it after I checked it out with all the rust and the title not being available, but I've been itching for a project so I went with it (made Lynch's tow it to my house as part of the deal!).
To be honest I don't know what I'll do with it, a lot depends on the title situation, if I can't get one then it'll just be my yard truck and I'll probably get a plow and let it rust into oblivion. BUT if I can title then I will eventually ditch the Holmes bed and get a normal bed and make room on it for the dually wheels, would like to convert to rear fuel tank too.

Sucks about it being a 351M, I had hoped it was a real BB, but I don't know squat about engine identification. (sad thing is I already owned a '78 with a M and I didn't even recognize it, lol)

Hey I'm having a no start issue, if you pour gas down the carb it'll run but won't run off the fuel line, I replaced the rubber sections of the line and used a new filter but it still won't run. Any ideas on what to check? I know it had old fuel in the tank but I added about 4 gals of fresh, should be good enough to at least fire up.

 

Nice truck starmilt, I think this one's towing days are behind it, I don't know if the pump works as it needs the pto to run and I can't get the thing to run for more than 2 seconds!!
Did come with a 5 gal bucket of hydraulic oil though .

 

Not sure on what your Title situation is, or even the laws where you live, but from experience...when I bought my truck 1 1/2 ago, the 4 previous owners had NEVER had it Titled or Tagged in their names...still had the Original Title and owner listed...after a year of dealing with the STATE (should be enough said), I finally talked to one of my buddies, relative who is a lawyer...had to get my insurance company to write me a surety bond, then take that to the state, have 2 different auto appraisers, appraise it...a '78 F100 that had been a farm truck for Lord knows how many years...really! Finally the state gave me a Bond Title...Have finally received the "official" Title, bond finally expired, and amazingly no one laid claim to it...I do have to share this story, and don't mean to hijack the thread...the state told me they would have to inspect it in order to give me a Bond Title...however their inspection facility is 45 min south of me...so I asked if they could fax me a letter stating I was driving it down to them to be inspected so I could get the Title and Tags for it...they said NO they couldn't do that, and why would they need to...I reminded them that it didn't have tags, and I needed some type of proof, so I wouldn't get a ticket for driving without tags. They told me DUH, you have to have tags to drive it down here, (thanks Sherlock wasn't aware of that), so you are going to issue me a temporary tag so I can drive it down and have you inspect it so I can Title and Tag it? Can't do that sir, not without a Title...bring it down we will issue you a bond title and you can get tags...As God as my witness this conversation went on for at least 20 minutes before I hung up the phone...expect the least of the very least when dealing with the state, and you will only be disappointed 90% of the time! Good Luck and Good Looking Truck by the way!

 

Caleb...buddy....don't even get me started on the retards working at the DMV, or should I say RMV here in Massachusetts, I guarantee you Mass is worse than any other state for screwing over taxpayers with redundant BS. They don't even have temp tags here, you have to insure, register and get plates BEFORE you can even drive a car off the lot here.

On that note, does anyone here know what horrible requirments Mass. has as far as VIN inspections go? I haven't even looked into it yet. If I can't find the VIN will the state police or whoever look for me or what? I shudder to think what horrors await me in trying to get this thing titled, the seller did say he'd help me if I found a VIN though.

 

mad frank81, check the feul pump, those go bad after a while. It should only be a 25 dollar
part

 

There's no VIN on the driver's door frame? Assuming that the engine hasn't been changed, and if you locate the VIN, the 4th digit in the VIN will tell you if the engine is a 351M(H) or a 400(S).

 

Here in Alabama the "laws" aren't too bad...thankfully we still live in a free state, and don't have to deal with Emission Crap! The night I bought the truck, I actually got pulled over for having no tag, and a busted tail light...showed him the bill of sale, explained I was heading home, no problems...the day I bought the van I ripped the engine out of to put into my truck...same thing...but it was "expired" tags, that the officer saw from half a mile away (yeah right) I called his bluff, and he finally admitted to me it was an older looking van, and he took a shot in the dark, and it worked...gave me a warning for driving with no insurance...asked about the 10 day rule...Just in case you get stopped again, it will be in our records...my comment back...this van will not see the road after about an hour more...I think I would have rather not had a title than to have the original with 4 different guys signatures on the back! They told me the best thing to do was go back to each guy, have them title it in their names, then sell it back to each other, on down the line to me!!! We should be allowed to vote DMV employees into and out of their positions! Good Luck! And don't take NO for an answer...there is always someone who can make something happen!

 

Nope, last owner had some shop throw on a cab & paint and they lost the tags, door tag isn't any good for VIN inspection anyway from what I hear, they will only go by the frame's VIN.
The frame/engine is supposedly a '79 and the cab is a '77 or older.

 

MF81, I know what your saying about Mass RMV. I know everyone complains about their own state, but really, MA RMV (now "MassDOT" - I guess they had excess budget money to spend and could not think of anything to spend it on so they changed the name to buy new sign's letterhead, etc) is the worst. I have been trying to title my truck since January! They put the wrong name on the tile the first time and it has been 3 1/2 months of going in every three weeks wondering when the corrected title is coming. Each time they find out "someone else" dropped the ball and it didnt get done. I'm a patient person, but one of these days I'm actually going to want to use my truck instead of just looking at it in my driveway! Today will be the 6th time going in (and waiting an hour to explain the whole story again) to hear what the next excuse is!!!!!!

Not sure exactly what they would do in this case. I dont think an inspection garage is going to go to the extent of locating a frame VIN which would require removing the front passanger fender...Luckily my door tag and warranty sticker are in good order and match my title so I presume when it comes time for me they will just match those up and not ACTUALLY try to locate a frame VIN. ?

 

Hey BDawg, I'm talking about an actual VIN-only inspection, I think the state police do it, it's to check for stolen cars and stuff since the truck isn't known to have ever been titled. (trust me, by comparison, you got it easy, at least you have some sort of title already even if it's a messed up one!)
I gotta get the SP to sign off that's it's a legal VIN on the frame and then take that form and go down to apply for a title. Joy!