Well when I needed $ to go some where, or to get a needed dirt bike part or later on once I was 16 and I needed a truck part. I just got to hustling harder, as in busting my hump working at all jobs I could get. I believe there are more jobs out there than hard working people, so get busy working.

I started when I was like 10/11 mowing grass and splitting fire wood. Cleaning out fence rows, gutters, help with cows, repair fence and gates. Dad taught me to weld, so I could expand my services, and it was all stick welding back then. At 12 I was a bus boy and dishwasher, and finialy got to be a short order cook at 14/15. Child labor laws did not exist back then.

Once 15/16 I got my 1st Ford truck and then could cut, split and take rick or a coard of wood to the Walmart parking lot and sale it right out the back of the truck. I used the truck to haul animals for people from the sale barn to their farm.

Also did all sorts of farm work, vehicle maint is one thing that most farms and or farmers to NOT have time to do. That could be your nitch for steady work.

Heck even when I was in the active Army (for 20 years w/Aviation) I would still have side gigs at night if not night flying. I was a DJ and bar tender at a German country bar when I was stationed over there. Once back in the US I really got busy working on buddies trucks in the MWR vehicle repair shop on base in the evening. I have did oil changes in a Army helicopter hanger at night. Ah the good ol days of being able to do that.

If you can change the steering knuckle (and all attached parts) you might be able to swap it over.

 

Thats a pretty cool setup that youve got on that truck. EFI 5.0 must be nice not having floats on it so itll just work.

Everybody loves a deathtrap why fix the sketchyness.

Gotta learn to work on the stuff its the only way of preserving anything.

I hear you, ive been working on some projects here and there. Ive currently got a 00s yamaha bear tracker at my house that needs a tune up and a tank replacement.

Sounds like you did alot of stuff I pretty much stay to doing mechanical work for people. I help my buddy out with landscaping stuff from time to time.

I got my white truck when I was 14 and have used it for alot of work over the years since ive owned it.

I wish I live in the farm lands but I live in the desert so not many farms todo maintenance on.
Currently working on doing classes to get in with the local utility company as a electrical mechanic.

Thanks for your service! That sounds like an interesting side job you did there.

Did heli's use a ton of oil or is it kinda similar to a car oil change.

I was thinking the knuckle may be the same between them but wasnt sure.

 

Went and helped my buddy pick up his new project a 68 or 69 F250 Camper Special. FE engine Auto should be a good truck.

 

Oil changes in a UH-60L Blackhawk helicopter are part of a strict, hour-based maintenance schedule, not a fixed calendar date. While preventative maintenance checks (PMI) occur every 40 flight hours, engine and gearbox oil filters and oil samples are often changed or analyzed during phase inspections, which occur roughly every 150 hours.

• Preventative Maintenance: A 40-hour inspection interval is standard for the UH-60 series.
• Phase Maintenance (PMI): Major inspections and deep maintenance, including system lubrication, are often completed in 150-hour intervals (Phase I-IV).
• Oil Samples: Gearbox (42 and 90 degree), transmission, and both engine oil samples are taken frequently (sometimes during 25-hour or 150-hour checks) to analyze for metal shavings and contamination.

 

I see, sounds like fun. Ever done a sample of your trucks oil and sent it in out of curiosity?

 

No I never though about doing that, I just stuck to the (old school) standard back then of the 3000 mile oil change.

The 3,000-mile oil change interval was a standard based on 1970s engine technology, which used conventional (mineral) oil and had looser engine tolerances. This frequent interval was necessary because older engines produced more contaminants, and conventional oil broke down faster, leading to sludge buildup, particularly under heavy severe driving conditions.

Why it Changed:
Today, most vehicles use synthetic oil, which lasts longer and protects better. Modern manufacturing and oil life monitoring systems allow many cars to safely go 5,000 to 10,000+ miles between changes.

 

I see, I do the 3k mile oil change on everything I own as well.

I drive my parents Ford escape fairly hard so I always change it around 3-4k miles plus it has 240k miles on it.

Ill probably treat my vic a little worse because it has 112k miles on it so ill run up to 5k or something.

 

The other day the local High School threw on a "Car show" so we pulled up in our trucks.

 

Got some stuff I need to get rid of let me know if anyone is interested in any of this stuff.

Ive got a tow truck to lift/load the cab onto any trailer or pickup bed.

I also have a 2 barrel FE intake and some other random FE stuff.

Acton, CA

 

Converted my Super Camper into a Crew cab! Now I just need to mount the seat..
Thinking im going to build some sort of platform thatll use the bed bolts to secure it to the chassis and bolt the bench to that.
This bench seat has been sitting in our shop for as long as I can remember its the original bench seat to my dads 71 El Camino.
Yeah yeah Ford blasphemy but to be fair none of my Ford bench seats are narrow enough to fit between the SCS hump and bed.

May or may not get passengers at this event im going to in a little over a week from now should be a good time so well see!
I threw in a video compilation of last years Jamboree. Theres another video I want to throw in but cant find it..

 

Heres the video I couldnt find last night.

 

I change my mind alot with my trucks.. I think im going to sell all of my trucks except for my White truck, Wrecker, and F100.
Been thinking about it I mentioned about my Service truck earlier in the forum and I think ive still got to many trucks at 4 with the service truck.
I think the White truck for Towing/Offroading the Wrecker for Offroading and the F100 for Shows/Parts running and whatever else is enough!

So after this years Jamboree im bringing home my 84 F250 and my Parts 85 F250 and get parts swapped around and get them both sold.
Then I need to bring home my 72 F350 throw the 77 F350 disc brake setup I have from that half truck onto it and sell it.
After that Bring home my 65 Dodge W200 get whatever it needs to run and sell it.
Then Ill bring home my 70 Chevy C20 swap the engine out on it for a marketplace engine get it going and sell it.

Then that brings me to my 73 F250 the Service truck. Not totally sure what todo with it as of now. Thought about throwing it onto a highboy chassis.
It was originally a F28 truck however has been swapped onto a 87 F350 chassis. To get it running on that chassis youd need to get a 460, both
driveshafts, Front D60 85-91, shoes&drums for rear S10.25, master cylinder, and a bunch of other things im sure im forgetting.
I think a mostly complete Highboy chassis would be easier and possibly cheaper to get it going on plus making it less hackery.

Anyhow so back to my trucks that I want to keep. White truck is up first. Ive been looking around online it rides pretty rough being a Super Camper
and all so it still has the F350 springs but with 4" lift blocks from a Highboy. I mentioned it when I originally made this thread I am going to use 17+
super duty leaf springs on the rear and I still plan on it however I wanted to mention it again with some pictures of my buddies truck that has them
under it already. Hes got the Battle Born Brakes perches as well. Hes running the Skyjacker leaf springs but im thinking ill run the Atlas leafs on mine.
Heres also some pictures of how Doc Johnson on instagram put a 85-91 D60 underneath a dentside. I think I am going to basically copy what he did.
I also was thinking should I do an intercooler setup on the 7.3 IDI in the white truck it should make a bit more power with that..
Heres some pictures of a dentside with an intercooler shoved in behind the grill.







My buddy also recently swapped his truck over to the 99-04 Super Duty front leaf springs and he had this front leaf perch made and I think its neat he
put a receiver in it so when I do the 85-91 axle swap ive got to remake that crossmember since its a wider perch axle so I think ill also put a receiver in mine.








Secondly the Wrecker im going to have the 6.9 IDI from the 85 F250 im going to throw that into the wrecker however im thinking I may want to also do an intercooler setup on it.
I also think im going to do the same exact suspension setup on the wrecker as im going to do on the white truck however ill have bags on it so when its loaded I can air them up.
The spring rate of the same springs may be lacking for when loaded so the bags are a must but im happy with them not being good enough for when loaded as that means its going
to give me a pretty soft ride which will be pretty nice. Not like the wrecker is exactly a work truck more of a toy for me and if my friends or whatever get stuck I can help them.
I also want to put a winch on the front of the wrecker and I was online and came across this setup that Doc Johnson did on a truck of his and I like it. Thinking I could do something
similar on my wrecker and run the winch line through the tube bumper it has. My license plate already sits over the big tube so it works out perfect for hiding the modern fairlead id
be running since I want to switch my wrecker over to synthetic winch line.

 

That ’73 Super Camper sounds like it’s being built with a real purpose instead of just throwing parts at it. The plan to tow a gooseneck with a service bed and Alaskan camper while still keeping it trail-capable is a pretty ambitious combo, but the drivetrain and suspension ideas seem well thought out.

The 7.3 Powerstroke with a ZF5 would probably be hard to beat for the mix of towing, highway miles, and reliability you’re after. A few tow truck operators around Massachusetts run older Ford-based rigs sourced through Crawford Truck Sales, and it’s interesting seeing how many of them still stick with simple, proven drivetrains because parts availability matters when you’re hundreds of miles from home. While looking at some towing equipment builds, I came across this resource and thought it might interest you if you ever start comparing heavier-duty truck setups or service-body ideas, you can just click here.

The D60 swap, ram assist steering, and newer Super Duty leaf conversions should make a huge difference once the truck starts carrying real weight. Looking forward to seeing how this project evolves because it’s becoming a pretty unique dentside build instead of the usual restoration route.

 

Intercooler for sure. Curious why the 6.9? I had an ‘89 with the 7.3 idi for a minute, and it was great except for the automatic (wanted a 5spd) and it was in no hurry to get anywhere. I did enjoy doing 55 everywhere.

While I know they’re relatively simple set ups as opposed to a newer diesel, what makes you want to go idi? Hate to say it but a 12valve Cummins would give you a lot more options down the road if you wanted to bump up power (and break parts I suppose).

 

Thanks, I try to make the most out of my trucks. No reason in treating them like a super car gotta use them for what theyre made for which is work.
Dont get me wrong though im not saying to go bash the truck up or anything of that sort though.

After wheeling my truck all weekend ive got to say I really like having this Knaack box at the end of my bed with all my tools in it. Really easy to grab stuff and actually makes the ride really smooth and not to bouncy.

Kinda thinking I want to leave it there but if I were todo that I couldnt tow a gooseneck with it.. I wonder if I could get away with the same trailer setup but as a tow behind.

Ive actually been looking into doing a ZF6 transmission on my trucks recently as apparently its not to different from the ZF5 and has another gear.

It should be a really good setup for the both of them trucks. My wrecker will most likely be the guinea pig for all the work and ill make the changes I dont like about it when I do the white truck/super camper.

I was talking with a buddy of mine whos doing a 12v swap on his 73 Highboy actually the green one to the right in the second picture and he started telling me about how some cummins engines came with after coolers.

I thought that would be an interesting idea to instead of intercooling the IDI's to setup some sort of aftercooler on them and then I wouldnt need to cut holes in the radiator support and crowd up the grill even more on top of future A/C.
He also mentioned that the aftercoolers work better than intercoolers as well which I thought was kinda neat.

The reasoning behind doing the IDI's on the trucks is that theyre different but also I know somebody who has a 7.3 short block and parts 7.3 long block that I can get dirt cheap and build them however I need them to be.

The 6.9 for the wrecker would be bone stock out of a 85 parts truck ive got. It doesnt need a whole lot of power so a simple non intercooled turbo 6.9 should be more than enough id think.
The 7.3 idi the same guy I got the 85 parts truck from would be for the white truck. He has a brand new set of heads, bearings, gaskets, seals, pistons, and I just need to clean up the block and assemble the thing as well as find all the accessorys/brackets for it.
Going todo head studs on the 7.3 when I build it as well not that itll ever really need them but why not since its all apart anyhow.
I dont think I need a ton of power just enough and it sounds like 300hp isnt a crazy number to ask out of a 7.3 idi and if I could make it make around 325-350 horse that would be way more than enough for what id be doing.
I grew up riding in a bone stock 05 6.0 with 325 horse on 38s and 4.10s and that truck just towed like no tommorow I really loved that truck my dad had and if I could make my truck tow anything like that truck man that would be sweet.

Reason I dont want a cummins frankly I dont care for 6 cylinders and dont really like how they sound. But also theyre cookie cutter engine swaps just like LS engines. You go to car shows oh its another one of those swaps its not something different.
Is an IDI the best thing in the world definitely not but I think its got what it takes to get what I want out of it and be different which works out great for me!