FuzzFace2

It does look good. Once on all 4's it will feel good like you got something done for a change, it did for me on my project. Dave ----

To tell you I did not have a "write up" before I just posted what I did in my build thread and I may not have even gotten that deep into it on here as I did in another forum but again it was just a bit in passing. This is a lot better "write up" of what I did to add the rear tank on a flare side. For me having the parts truck to take everything from was a god send as I don't know if I would have added it other wise. The other thing I was looking into was a 38 gallon rear tank. Only issue with that is where to place the spare tire? With the factory 19 gallon rear tank I can still mount the spare under it. I don't have a wheel that fits my truck or it would be mounted. As for the 19 gallon side tank it would have been nice if it fit but with the 19 gallon rear and the amount I have been or will be driving the truck I don't think a 19 gallon side tank will be needed. I also don't know why Ford used the 16 gallon side tank and not the 19 gallon rear tank or both like I did? Just after I got the truck on the road 2 weeks ago the rear tank sender stopped working. I filled both tanks up and been running it off the rear tank to run it dry so I can drop it to fix. I just fixed the speedo so don't know how far I have gone but just guessing between 150 & 200 miles. Because we will not be driving them all over like we did back in the 80's when new do we really need 40 gallons of gas other than to say we can? Then again the guys with big v8's may wish they had 80 gallons LOL Sorry for the rambling Dave ----

Thanks guys for the information. I was at about 45MPH when I went WOT on this hill and got just little hint of pinging. Before I made that can adjustment I would have pinging all the time at almost any speed even on flat ground. Yes I should see what base timing is but it starts great, no kick back like to far advance and fires right off. One day I will check all parts of the timing curve but I stopped the pinging, still have good power and that was the main goal to save the motor. Cory, NP on the high jack as it may also help others if they do a search. Dave ----

Math whats that Little lazy on my part. I should at least see what the base timing is and to see if the mechanical advance works (moves not the numbers). Main thing right now is to stop the pinging before I hurt this motor as the truck will be parked for a long time as I don't have the money to fix that. Wife has been saying I should have taken $10k and bought a newer truck. I keep telling her I cant fix them with out another $5k in tools and could take days to fix as you have to take EVERYTHING apart just to do something simple. On new stuff most you need to drop a pan just to get to the drain plug! Thank you I will keep my old truck that I can rig to get home to fix it right, try that with something new. Dave ---- The easiest thing I have done on the truck so far has to be adjust the dist. vacuum advance can. I forgot I gave it 3 turns to start as the pinging was pretty bad. Well after a good road test I only get a little pinging when in 4th gear pulling a hill RPM about 1000 and foot to the floor. If I hold it steady or just a little more throttle no pinging. It still has good power from off idle on up the RPM range so I am going to call it good. Dave ----

Parts truck was 2/81 with red belts now in my truck. My truck was 11/80 with dirty black belts. I cant even reach the Ebrake re-lease it is so tight. After my first cup of tea I will go out and check the belts out. Dave ----

Thanks guys I have today off, slow at work, so after some running I need to do I will check if it is pulling out all the way and the other side if different. I will also pull out the old belts to see how they are. Dave ----

Dave can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe his front tank is still the factory 16 gallon. He added the 19 gallon rear tank. The Styleside short box trucks were available with the rear tank, it's just that the Flaresides were not. Dave did some pretty crafty work grafting the 2nd fuel filler door into the Flareside fiberglass fender. Again, Dave can correct me here, but I think it would be really difficult to swap a 19 gallon front/side tank into a short box truck. Cory you are right. There is not enough room to use a 19 gal side tank in place of the 16 gall on a short wheel bed truck, I tried. I used everything from my long bed parts truck rear 19 gal fuel system. Beside the tank & straps the cross member just in front of the tank is different, IIRC it has the slots for the straps. Wiring is also different from the main harness across the dash to the switch and the one that runs down the frame as it is also setup for duel, 2 gauge sender wires and fuel switch valve. I used all this from my parts truck. Could you make a harness to do this? I guess you could but it would be work. For the filler door my brother sent me part of the glass fender w/door and the filler neck parts to the top of the tank from the front tank from a flare side. I cut the hole in the fender and glassed in this door to look factory. On the filler necks I had the mickey mouse setup my truck came with, the front & rear style side parts truck and the parts my brother sent with the filler door. I think I used the parts my brother sent to fix the front factory tank to be factory, hard part is the fill / vent setup the factory uses. With the left over parts I came up with the rear that would work. Again making sure the factory fill / vent would work as it should. I even used the evap system from the duel tank truck right down to the 2 charcoal canisters under the battery. I know a few others have done this but they don't get into the wiring / dash switch or the fill necks / epav / switching valve setup. For me it was easy as I had the parts truck with duel tanks I took everything from Dave ----

Thanks guys next time I have the panels off I will get a pair to replace the ones I have in the doors as they are the wrong ohms. Dave ----

Nice looks like it will be a clean looking install from the front, behind the "curtain" is always a different story. I still need to aim both the head lights and the bumper lights. The bumper ones may be hard as I did not leave enough room in the opening to "adjust" as I thought I needed. Dave ----

I am using the belts out of the parts truck as they were clean and red to match the rest of the inside I also used from the parts truck/ Question is the belt seams to short. I have the seat all the way back, I am tall. The belt will clip in and is not tight on me but if I was bigger or had the seat forward the belt would not clip in. I have it pulled out all the way, will not pull out more to just get it clipped in. If someone was shorter like my wife I don't think the belt would be able to clip in. I have not tried the passenger side but if the same and she wants to learn to drive stick I would not be able to wear the seat belt because she is short and need to move the seat all the way forward. This cant be normal for the truck is it? I will pull the other set out of the storage bin and see if they are longer but I don't see that happening , longer. So what you say normal? How can it be made longer & safe? Thanks Dave ----

When you say "behind my bumper" are you going to do something like I did? Dave ----

Thanks I am also happy it is adjustable as I was having night mares on it if it was not. Am I reading it right being my truck is a 12/80 F100 4x2 w/300 and M/T I can see the 1980 but the rest does not match? I see 4x2 as a F250 with 300 M/T? Then see 1980 F-U 150/250 -- F/W/D (4x4) It is what it is and it's working so it stays but just strange is all. Thanks again Dave ---- edit: still raining, pretty good since I got up at 6am, so have not taken the truck out for a test drive.

Math whats that Little lazy on my part. I should at least see what the base timing is and to see if the mechanical advance works (moves not the numbers). Main thing right now is to stop the pinging before I hurt this motor as the truck will be parked for a long time as I don't have the money to fix that. Wife has been saying I should have taken $10k and bought a newer truck. I keep telling her I cant fix them with out another $5k in tools and could take days to fix as you have to take EVERYTHING apart just to do something simple. On new stuff most you need to drop a pan just to get to the drain plug! Thank you I will keep my old truck that I can rig to get home to fix it right, try that with something new. Dave ----

My .5 eye missed the DOT part Dave ----

Well I do have 3.5 eyes going for me yes I have 1 bad eye and the CDL waver to show for it and needle in the eye every few weeks just to keep the .5 I have. I still would not buy them but that's me. Dave ----

Yep that was the only way to get the pedal to come up. As others said adjust the drum shoes first. I get them to drag pretty good them hit the pedal a few time as this will center the shoes in the drums and check the adjustment again till they just start to drag. Now I did all that, had my wife help bleed the system front & rear and still a low pedal. I made a pressure bleeder using 3" PVC pipe & cap(s) an old master cap (should come up with something better for the next time) with a screw it tire valve (core removed) and regulator / gauge for shop air to the PVC. Filled the PVC pipe with brake fluid and put 10 psi from shop air. I started at the rear and did see a little air but I did not think it was much, no air out the front. Well as soon as I pushed the pedal I know it was good. Oh I also changed the booster & master to try and fix this before the psi bleeding. I used a tape measure as the book calls for almost 1" and I figured just a hair under would work and it has. At first I was too long, master would not sit flush to booster, thinking that may get the pedal higher it did not. Dave ---- one day I will take better pictures and put it in the garage / tool area

Then again it has this Description: This all white 5x7 7X6 inch CREE HIGH AND LOW Beam Led Headlights are manufactured to Highest possible standards, the led lights use latest 5x7 7X6 inch with strong cap design, comes two headlight (2 piece) of 105W High power High intensity LED Chip, I have not will not use them as I don't like the look or the out put. Also are they DOT legal? I did not read that far to see if they are. All you have to do is get 1 officer to pull over or a state inspection each year to pull them or get a fine. Dave ----

Checking timing could be an issue as my dial back light walked with a bunch of my drills & Saw Zall so I was just going to get the pinging to stop before damage is done and the truck parked. I think I can put hands on my vacuum gauge so I can at least check when the arm starts to move @ what HG and where it stops. Dave ---- You know how posts go - Good news Bad news First the bad: I left the truck out last night and it started raining before I could get it inside (not the bad thing). When drying it I could not wipe the drips off the windshield then hit me it leaks! 1 of the 2 spots that the sealer did not "seal" to good I did not add enough of the left over to seal it. Hope once dry I can stuff more in there. I checked the oil level and the stick had milk shake on it. Had to run it in & out a few times before I could see a level. It is down 1/2 qt but looked clear. Checking the cap only the cap had a little under it but none on the rockers or head. I think I have not driven it enough to boil out the condensation. Yes it have a new stat, factory gauge reads low, and the PVC system is new but will check both when I can run it outside. The good: The vacuum can on the dist. is adjustable! Uses a 1/8" Allen wrench Here are the numbers on the tag. 91 E0TE or EOTE 12127 PA 9J27 The can had a 4 cast into it. Don't know what all that means? I am sure this is not the motor from this truck as it had electric switches on the valve cover that would be for a newer year maybe with feed back system, mine did not have any wires to plug into them or listed on the radiator stickers. So I don't know if this dist. is from this truck or not? I gave it 2 turns counter clock wise as per what I think Gary had posted and will see what that does as a starting point. I don't have a dial back timing light to know where I am at and why I just turned it. If not raining tomorrow I will take the truck out for a spin with wrench in hand and adjust as needed. Dave ----

Checking timing could be an issue as my dial back light walked with a bunch of my drills & Saw Zall so I was just going to get the pinging to stop before damage is done and the truck parked. I think I can put hands on my vacuum gauge so I can at least check when the arm starts to move @ what HG and where it stops. Dave ----

Thanks Cory & Jim, In day light in a few hours I will see if my vacuum unit is adjustable or not. I have also thought of a lint or hard stop but don't know just how this could be done till I get inside the distributor but with some luck I won't have to. Dave ----

South America had a lot of interesting cars & trucks that we never got here. You should see some of the AMC cars they got! Dave ----

Nor did I! Looked at the search results and thought "That's kinda the way I string words together." Then got in there and it was deja vu all over again. I went over the link you posted on FTE and if I understand it the factory cans / vacuum advance units for the 300 six could be adjustable for 81 & 83 and not sure on the 82? I will check and hope my can is adjustable as we (me) are not sure if the Crane unit will work or not. Also when I looked up the cans on Summit Racing, Standard products, none were adjustable from the details. So unless mine is not adjustable I will need to find a Motorcraft one for 81-83 300 six. There is hope yet Thanks Dave ----

I will go out with my Allen set so I don't have to keep heading to the tool box LOL I did a Summit & Jeg's search: Jeg's did not list anything for the F150 truck for any motor? Maybe why I don't use them? Summit did list the Crane but think was for the 302 and was not sure it would fit the 300 six? And at $45+ I would have to do more checking before I pulled the trigger for it. Fingers crossed mine is adjustable. The others listed on Summit were Standard products non-adjustable, 6 different part numbers but no listing of the working HG so I don't know how you would pick the right one ? I did not think of checking over there to see if anything was listed. Didn't you post that at your show you did a vacuum adjustment and if so was this on a 300? If also so was it the stock factory can bolted to the dist.? Good news the Blue Top box has been ordered. Banker said I needed it so before she changed her mind I got it. I also checked both boxes I have and both have casting marks from Ford so core(s) should be good. Dave ----

Thanks for the reply. 2 that say the red top has got issues down the road and not a long road (Cory) at that so blue it will be. I meant to pull the vacuum line for the drive home to test and forgot, will have to do that before I use the truck tomorrow. I will also see if the Allen wrench will fit. Hope I get lucky as I was not looking forward to finding one for a Ford 300 six motor, everything is for v8's. On the clutch I don't think it is dragging but it is grabbing close off the floor and I don't remember adjusting it there. Will have to go over the clutch linkage and adjust the clutch to see if that helps. Other than being a pain to shift and the grinding that comes up the stick to your hand (the pain part) I can live with it for now. Thanks Dave ----

Dave, There was discussion about steering on one of the local Ford truck FB pages the other day, and the guys were talking about steering wander and steering boxes, etc, and I had to laugh because one guy said that "You have to remember, the 1980-1996 steering gear is less like a steering box and more like a suggestion box"...haha! Anyway... I went through TWO new (reman) steering boxes from Napa, and it really is surprising how much play there was in them. Shocking really. And that was with new everything...all joints and bushings, and everything brand new between the pitman arm and tie-rod ends, rebuilt steering column, all new tires, fresh alignment, etc. All good...it still sloppy and loose steering. You know what I did notice though? Nice solid steering in the turns. I could be driving down a straight road, and steering like they do in the old movies...back and forth...lol. Get into a long sweeping turn, and the steering would be smooth and firm, and would hold the line perfectly. Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong, but that told me that the box gears were worn in the center where you drive most of the time, but once turned you got to the nice tight teeth with much less wear on them. That was my perception at least. I always joked to myself and said I wish this damn truck steered as nicely on a straight road as it did in the turns. Anyway, whatever, it is what it is. I finally gulped hard and spent the money on a RedHead steering gear. It was a huge improvement, and I do like it, but it too now has a little slop in it with some use. Not nearly as bad as before, but still there's a bit there. I don't really have any good advice for ya...I know many others will strongly disagree with this, but I don't think there's a lot of harm in adjusting the box a little bit. If it doesn't help it doesn't help, but if it's sloppy anyway, it might not hurt. "steering gear is less like a steering box and more like a suggestion box"...haha!" That is great LOL Thanks for the reply. I also find the steering a little more "sure" in tighter long turns like on back roads but on the high way still has play so it may be really bad? With everything else done on the steering I cant think of anything else it could be. I did check out both red & blue to see what the prices are so I can break it to the banker LOL Blue look to be a about $30 cheaper, every little bit helps, so if I get the OK will be getting it. I may give it a try to see if I can take up a little of the play, Gary also said to maybe back it off as the wheels do not come back to center and if someone already took it up it may be binding and not returning but still have the play? Cant hurt to give it a try tomorrow and see. Thanks again for the reply Dave ----