I just joined here and over at the Fordification site and between the 2 sites, I am pretty sure I will be able to learn everything there is about my new truck. Anyway, below is what I posted over there and to save time, I just cut and paste here.. but wanted to say hello and I plan on being here for quite a while from here on out!

I have spent the last 5 years doing a frame off restoration on my 67 Firebird and decided I was ready for a new toy. Growing up, my dad had a brand new 73 Ford F250 that I have fond memories of, so knowing that I am giving my daughter my 98 Dodge Ram in 2 years when she turns 16, I figured I am going to be needing another truck. I have been watching the early F250's for sale in So Cal on Ebay and Craigs List for the past few months and found a 72 F250 that looked promising. I went and inspected it and found the body to be absolutely perfect without even a ripple in it. It needs paint and some engine work, but I became very excited about the truck and won the auction on Tuesday evening. I pick up my new baby tomorrow evening and cant wait to start tinkering with it.

Besides the fact that I fly all over the map on makes (but I stick with American built at least), I get into my vehicles and will be looking to learn quite a bit about the bumpsides. I am a newbie right now and Im sure I will be asking questions when I cannot find the answers, but this seems like the right place to be. Glad to find a website dedicated to these particular generations of trucks. I know the First Generation Firebird site was a goldmine for me as I was (and still am) working on my bird.

I will eventually post photos down the road as I work on the truck, but seeing other posts, I know you guys like to see them. Here is a link to the Ebay auction that I won and there are still a bunch of photos on it. Comments and opinions are welcome and Im even curious to know how you feel I made out on it. I wont be offended if it is determined that I overpaid.. . It is worth it to me and I was watching what nicer trucks sold for, so I dont think I did too bad. Again, I went and inspected this truck and test drove it. The body is perfect with no bondo and not even a small dent or ripple (except inside the bed, but hey, its a truck!). I crawled under the truck and no cancer of any sort... It was built in San Jose and has been in California its whole life. It drives strong but is burning a bit of oil and has some oil leaks. I will do a complete rebuild on the engine and tranny anyway, so thats not an issue. I figure with some paint, a few new trim items, new rubber, and some engine work, this thing will be great!

Anyway, here is a link to the auction with the pictures:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140409186259&viewitem= &sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT

 

Hi and welcome!

Looks pretty good from those pics, but you should take some yourself and post them up. At least you don't have to go too far to pick it up, and it looks like you got it for a pretty decent price.

Oh, and you'll find this a lot friendlier and more informative site than that OTHER place... Be sure and check out the So. Cal. chapter: California, Southern Chapter - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

 

Looks like a nice find,, Congrats....

 

Nice Truck...

Welcome.

 

Thanks for the welcome. I picked up the truck the other day and truly am impressed with its condition. Of course, with any 38 year old vehicle that has been sitting around for a while, there are a few small issues, but that is to be expected. At least the body is solid and straight.

Anyway, a real newbie question here, but gotta start somewhere. The truck has 2 fuel tanks with one being in the cab and the other under the bed along the frame rail. I noticed that there is a switch under the dash for fuel where one side says Main and the other says Aux. I am assuming that this toggle is for the fuel gauge on the dash. On the floorboard next to the driver's seat is a 3 way switch for OFF, MAIN, and AUX. So again, this obviously is the actual tank selector switch.

Now for my newbie question... Am I correct to assume that the tank under the bed is the main tank and the tank in the cab is the Auxiliary tank? It appears that the sending unit on my auxiliary tank is bad as it always shows empty, but the main is functioning however seems to always show half. Also, when I filled both tanks up, upon filling the tank under the bed, gas started pouring out from somewhere near the top of the tank once it got full. Upon driving, gas was sloshing out from on top of the tank when I took turns as well. Now that the tank is half full, the gas no longer pours out but there are constant fumes. I am obviously going to need to pull the tank and see what the problem is. Who is a good supplier for the tank on a 72 F250 and is this tank readily available? I need to get on this, but dont want to dive in until I have all my ducks in a row.

So there are a handful of questions mixed in there, but I guess I need to know all I can about the fuel system on this truck and what things I should be aware of and look out for before I tackle this step. This is the first of many projects I will be taking on with this truck, but due to the unsafe nature of my current situation, this is the first project I need to take on with this truck.

Thanks in advance for any help!

-Rich

 

The Tank in The Bed is The MAIN, The One Behind The Seat (Which is a 15 Gallon) is The Auxiliary. Last Year for in-cab tanks was '77.

 

Sorry Anthony, you have that backwards. The Main tank is the in-cab tank. It's in all bumpsides whether single or dual tank equipped. The Aux tank is the optional tank mounted along the driver's side frame rail.

The most likely cause of fuel leakage from the Aux. tank is the the filler hose, after close to 40 years it's probably rock hard and split. It's also possible that it's the vent hose, or even both of them. Other possible sources of leakage are the sending unit seal or the fuel hose itself.

 

Wow, really? I would have thought the tank under the bed was the main just due to the size of it. It looks so much bigger than the in-cab tank. And as the fuel spilled out and I drove, the fuel gauge kept going down, so again, I figured it was the main tank. So if the tank under the bed is the aux tank, then that is the tank that my sending unit is not working in and might very well explain why fuel is pouring out from somewhere.

Anyway, once I get it up on a lift, I will find out what is going on with that tank. I went ahead and ordered all new rubber for the windows and fuel tanks today anyway, so good or bad, its all getting replaced once I get it. Thanks for the info... My main tank is almost empty according to my fuel gauge, so when I go to fill up, then I guess I will be filling the cab tank.. lol

-Rich

 

Yeah, as I said, if there's only one tank on a truck, then it's the one in the cab. That makes it the main...