So I inherited (through neglect, not death) a 1978 F150. My dad is the 3rd owner and it was used to tow a boat somewhat regularly until 2017 and has sat ever since. It has some issues that caused this though. It has something going on that is causing gas to get in the oil. Compression was good but I didn't do a leak down test so that is next. Long term, I would like it to be a short distance hauler and cruiser so it is going to get much lower. Man is this thing tall.
Always had a big soft spot for these trucks. So dang cool.
Leaky mechanical fuel pump diaphragm?
In reply to hedg12 :
That is an interesting idea. This became apparent when I put a Street Demon 625 carb on it and my Dad blamed the carb. That has never made sense to me.
Floats too high, leaking mechanical pump, leaking fuel through carb.
The original demon carb had a bunch of quality control issues with dumping that was not metered. A lot of leaks and a lot of issues. I don't know about the new demons stuff though. Also running excessively Rich will cause fuel to be in the oil
It is very possible that it is running really rich. I would be stoked to find out that the long block is fine. I have the smallest set of jets for that carb to put in but I have almost zero experience with carbs and am struggling a bit .
Nice ride.
Should do all the normals: oil, gas, plugs, wires, filters, cap, rotor, verify timing, verify vacuum. Then lets spitball problems.
Only big problem is its a smog d3/d5(?)/D6 head. A set of aftermarket aluminum SCJ or P51 heads with an airgap intake and a mild cam would wake this "turd" up for largely minimal dollars.
Also and FYI, all the modern, until 1996, I-beam things are a bolt on largely. Then you can do the big brake conversion too.
In reply to Ranger50 :
Once it is running correctly, I suspect that it will get a Crown Vic front crossmember.
If I buy heads, it is a LOT more likely that I buy some speedmaster style heads.
https://angusracing.com/shop/cylinder-heads-ford-bb-429460-assembled/
As I don't see a reason to spend $2500+ on a set of heads for something that isn't going to be used in a motorsports application. If I could get the speedmasters on the block for ~$1500, that would be a reasonable option. Rebuilding the stock units would be a sizable fraction of that cost.
singleslammer said:In reply to Ranger50 :
Once it is running correctly, I suspect that it will get a Crown Vic front crossmember.
Why not the whole chassis?
In reply to Ranger50 :
Because this needs to be a smaller project than all my other ones.
OOOH! This looks like a nice one. Even has that old-school bug deflector!
I had overfueling issues on the original 318 in my Dodge, and it ended up being (strangely) junk in the fuel tank, which made it up through the filters and into the fuel pump and carb. I would make sure you're getting clean fuel and make sure the pump is doing pump things properly.
The Samurai is out of the shop so the f150 got a quick bath and was pulled into the shop. Naturally it doesn't fit well. I can't put it on the lift with garage door down so that is annoying.
The bath removed some paint, which was expected. It did uncover some bubbling paint over the rear driver's wheel arch.
Weld in patch panels for both sides are $70 shipped so I am going to order both.
That thing is crazy clean. Its in original "old man truck" form too. Whitewalls 'n hubcaps yo!
Lowered on some nice wheels would look great.
In reply to TJL (Forum Supporter) :
It actually got a macco paint job in the 90s but overall it is pretty much untouched.
will be following
and I second a leaking mech fuel pump gasket/diaphragm
Ordered a fuel pump and got some maintenance items. I need to grab a gasket set too as the valve covers are leaking badly.
Pulled the intake and valve covers off. The cam has some wear but doesn't look too bad. All the pushrods look straight. The cast iron intake is getting recycled. Also, it can go straight to hell. Looks like most, if not all, of the oil leaking is valve cover related as all the bolts were hand tight and both sides had fried gaskets. Weiand Stealth intake is going on along with a new fuel pump, all the sensors, gaskets, and a straight up timing set if I can remember where I put the damn thing.
Anyone have any suggestions about how to fix up the AC? This came off and the system was already empty. I would like to go with a new, more effcient unit but need to look into how to do that.
Finally got some time to work and got the mating surfaces cleaned up, a new valley pan and gasket set ready to go in, and the fuel pump replaced. As soon as I took the old pump off, fuel drained out from the place where the arm comes out of the pump. Looks like we have a winner so thank you to everyone who made that suggestion. New intake should go on tomorrow and then start up Wednesday afternoon is the plan.
Not a ton to say other than this is a cool truck and happy to see you got the fuel thing sorted.
In reply to 1SlowVW :
Hopefully this is the issue but it certainly looks that way.
singleslammer said:So I inherited (through neglect, not death) a 1978 F150.
I see this truck, and immediately visualize riding in the back of it to the A&W after tee ball games. And then running back inside to catch The Incredible Hulk on TV.
This already is cool and looks like you're going to make it even better.
I got the intake dropped on last night. RTV should be nicely set by now so I can finish installing the various things and maybe get it timed tonight.
Cool old Ford project!
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