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-   North Carolina Chapter (https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum88/)
-   -   Hello from Raleigh (https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1567882-hello-from-raleigh.html)

superspost 01-04-2019 09:10 PM

Hello from Raleigh
 
Hi Everyone,

i am am new to the forum and wanted to say hello! Just before Christmas I got a 1977 F150 that will need quite a bit of work and I thought I’ll see how many are active in the area! I am super excited about starting to fix this truck up and can’t wait for the weather to get better and get going!

Thanks
Niko

MAKO314 01-04-2019 09:50 PM

Welcome to the chapter. There’s lots of good info on this site

Ug666 01-05-2019 10:00 AM

Welcome, I'm just about starting a 73 to return it to DD status.

superspost 01-05-2019 05:59 PM

Thanks Mako and Ug!

Today i started to replace the spark plugs and the dist cap + rotor. On the driver side i got all plugs out and one of the plugs was actually broken - so it was running on 7 cylinders :-X15.... On the passenger side there is sooo much less space to work and i am not sure whether i need to get the AC assembly out of the way first... cylinder 4 seems unreachable... see pictures. Do you think i need to take that unit off?

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...c0ec749d07.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...335e8e94db.jpg


superspost 01-05-2019 06:00 PM


Originally Posted by Ug666 (Post 18400117)
Welcome, I'm just about starting a 73 to return it to DD status.


Sounds cool! What do you mean by DD status? :)

56panelford 01-05-2019 06:14 PM


Originally Posted by superspost (Post 18400770)
Sounds cool! What do you mean by DD status? :)

Likely daily driver

MAKO314 01-05-2019 07:06 PM

Man that is tight to be A 70’s model truck. Have you tried a spark plug socket with a universal joint? That may would help a little.

Benztechnc 01-06-2019 08:41 AM

Hello and welcome to the Carolina Chapter. We have quite a few active members around the Raleigh area. Also we have a get together in a couple of weeks over in Smithfield, if you can make it.

I agree with Mako, that is pretty tight for a 70's era truck. Take the air intake off and see if that give more room to work, and universal joints are your friend on this type of thing.

superspost 01-06-2019 11:52 AM

Thanks Josh! I will try to make it to Smithfield! I do have a universal joint - might just have to put more elbow grease into it :-X21

Benztechnc 01-06-2019 12:28 PM

I approved your request to join the chapter and sent you a PM. Don't forget to sign the roster. With spark plugs I like to take my time. There is nothing like snapping one off, and turning a very simple and easy maintenance chore into a painful top end rebuild. Which engine is that. I'm thinking it's a 360 FE, but the shot wasn't really that good. Is that insulation on that spark plug wire damaged? And that coil looks like it's got some age to it as well. If i was doing a tune up, I'd probably go ahead and throw a set of motorcraft wires on as well as a coil. Did you pull the dizzy cap and see what the contacts are looking like under there? Even if you take a piece of sand paper and just score them up a little bit, it might help in getting a better spark.

But before I keep spewing out suggestions, perhaps I should ask what your experience is with turning wrenches, after all if you are a master tech, then, perhaps these are all things you learned years ago!

superspost 01-06-2019 07:12 PM

Your suggestions are more than appreciated - certainly no master tech here. I am a materials engineer by training but have not wrenched on cars before and my knowledge is very thin. As a teenager I fixed up two stroke engines of dirt bikes but these trucks are a completely different animal... :) I am doing this because I love these trucks and want to get to know them better. Also, once the truck is in better shape I want to drive it on the beach ��

i couldnt try again today to get that last plug out but did take the intake off. I do have new wires and distributor cap with rotor that I am replacing as well. The rotor and cap looked actually pretty good - they must have been replaced at least once...
That coil does look really old and I def should get a new one too!

Once I am done with the wires, I think the next job should be to check for vacuum leaks... The idle is pretty high and also the engine still runs pretty rough... (let’s see how it’ll be with new plugs etc...)

Anyways, thanks for all the comments - I really appreciate it :)

superspost 01-06-2019 07:24 PM

Oh and I forgot to mention, it has the 400 engine...

Ug666 01-07-2019 06:51 AM


Originally Posted by superspost (Post 18400770)
Sounds cool! What do you mean by DD status? :)

As said above, Daily Driver.

Looking at the space available to you for that spark plug makes me happier that I lack the a/c!

Benztechnc 01-07-2019 07:59 AM

I'm going to need a picture of the truck... for reference. :-whud But it's possible it could be an ignition issue with it running rough, though, without knowing anything about your setup, I'd like to know what carb is on there and how old it is. A pack of vacuum caps in the glove box has never done me wrong on anything I've owned.

superspost 01-07-2019 10:38 AM

I should have known what DD stands for :-X19... Ug - I am curious about your truck - do you have a picture?

It has the original Motorcraft carb, I will need to snap a picture of the exact number and also get some better shots of the engine bay... maybe I can do that tonight if it isn't dark already...

Vacuum caps - i should add that to my list! I need to find all the vacuum lines first though :-X24



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