"Rocky" - 1981 F250 Restoration

I'm so glad your daughter is helping!  That is wonderful!  (I'm hoping one of my grandkids will want to help some day.)

On the welder, I don't know how I'd do w/o one.  Honestly, I think you will need it as you go forward with the project.

As for the radiator, mine tilts back a bit.  I think they all do.

Got interrupted, but made tiny progress yesterday - I got a rear shock installed. I'm glad I did this. The front shocks were clearly replaced at some point and while there was some wear/dry rot in the bushings, they still acted like shocks. The rear ones were totally shot. I could very easily compress them fully and they didn't expand again. For giggles I made this video. If you've ever seen a bad shock this video is basically valueless but here it is anyway:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/u27vq1MakmqP3cY4A

I was really hoping to take off the drums to inspect the shoes and adjust the parking brake but I didn't have time to mess around with the axle and bearings which is part of the process on mine. And I still don't have time today, so time for another project. If possible I'm going to drop the rear gas tank and replace it. I bought LMC's version of the new tank which some folks have said fits fine and others have apparently had issues with. We'll see how it goes...

I replaced shock on a Suburban we had years ago and set them against the wall to get rid of later.

One went down by itself! I guess it was time!

Replacing rear shocks on mine helped how the front of the truck behaved as it stopped bouncing around.  Especially with no load, the back would bounce and change the direction of the truck.  

Keep on going.  You're getting there.  Glad to see it.

How to fill a radiator in just 20 easy steps:

1. Finish attaching fan shroud after dragging feet for a week for no apparent reason.
2. Attach pressure/leak tester.
3. Trace massive leak to a crack in the tester itself. Remove tester. It'll be fine.
4. Examine and admire gorgeous stainless coolant hose kit from eBay.
5. Set kit aside and install original hoses. It's faster and they'll be fine.
6. Attach "Spill proof radiator funnel".
7. Add 2 gallons of coolant (half full).
8. Let sit 3 minutes while you get the mail. Observe no leaks.
9. Text friend "no leaks after 30 minutes" because that's how long it felt.
10. Add another gallon. Observe funnel now 1/3 full and holding steady despite you knowing you have almost a gallon to go.
11. Start engine.
12. Observe no leaks, funnel bubbling away. Top off with another pint and wonder how another whole gallon is ever going to get in there.
13. Take quick video of funnel bubbling.
14. Text video to a friend.
15. Hit send.
16. Observe water level rising VERY rapidly in funnel (about 2 seconds).
17. Observe as added weight causes funnel to fall off radiator, spilling coolant everywhere.
18. Admire steam cloud as radiator begins to boil over.
19. Shut off engine.


20. Post "Happy Tuesday, everyone" to forum where surely you aren't the only person who has done this, and grab a beer. Job well done.

Not the only person, as I've done it.  

But, your title is a bit misleading as you didn't get it full.  

Over time you'll find you have to keep adding coolant.  (As will I 'cause I didn't get as much back in as I drained out.  )  It is really hard to get these systems full.  Bill's trick is to pull a heater hose off at the heater core as it is the high spot in the system.

That's a good thought. I was wondering, actually. Bleed ports aren't that expensive. Anybody ever tried something like this in their system?

https://www.z1motorsports.com/z1-products/z1-motorsports/z1-coolant-bleeder-port-heater-hose-p-11190.html

I like that, but it is kind of pricey.  I've used this flush kit for that in the past: https://www.amazon.com/Dorman-Help-47018-Hose-Flush/dp/B000COCTR6

I have definitely done that. Seems this Ford truck likes to do that to me.

I wouldn’t use a bleed port because it’s another place to leak.

I’ve filled the radiator to close to the neck then run it, just fill enough to keep it about there.

Then I drive it a bit, let it cool check it, then drive again maybe 1 or 2 more times.

Then a long drive. I think the best way to bleed coolant systems is to drive it.

Threw another gallon of coolant in the radiator today which just about filled it. No telling how much is in there now but I ran it for 15 minutes and it stayed in the "low" section of the normal temp range, which is what I'd expect for a 50 degree day. So I'm sure I have SOME air to bleed but I have a working cooling system, at least.

Do you guys run an inch or two of coolant in the overflow tank or leave it empty? Not sure what the standard procedure is here. I have an aftermarket wiper/overflow tank, the one where the tube comes in the bottom port now, not a tube just hanging over the top edge, if that changes anything.

More important, I need some advice. Even bad or completely wrong advice.  While the engine was running I decided to explore my high idle a little bit more. Again, I have the info now on adjusting this Holley Street Warrior carb but I'm reluctant to do that yet because I feel like this is a new issue, something I may even have caused myself. I don't remember it doing this when I bought it (idling around 2000rpm no matter how warmed up it is) and the engine was recently rebuilt (by the same shop that installed the carb) - I can't imagine they had something so basic adjusted so wrong from the get-go. So I'm looking at every other possible cause first.

I took a better pic of my throttle cable bracket, under my air cleaner:



If I take a pair of pliers and push left / counter-clockwise where I've drawn the arrow, the idle comes down. My PCV tube used to impinge on the throttle cable around this area but I fixed that by rotating it a bit so it has about a 1/4" gap - hard to see, but I don't think it's the problem.

I noticed when I do this that there's a mystery screw on a bracket to the left of the throttle cable bracket. You can just see it peeking out to the left of the PCV tube, a vertical red spring. I notice it flexing slightly when I press the bracket left. Not sure what it does or if it could be related.

When my PCV tube WAS impinging on the throttle cable, it was hard for me to rev the engine at all. While trying to, could I have bent something? Everything in this linkage seems pretty stout and I wasn't stomping on the pedal THAT hard, maybe 10lbs of force max. But maybe?

Failing anything obvious I guess my next step is to run the engine a bit with the air cleaner off so I can get a better look at what's going on. Just wondering if any of you had any thoughts, even wild guesses, about "may as well try XYZ". I have nothing to lose...

that little screw with the red spring is the accelerator pump arm on a holley carb. i recommend that you relocate the pcv position to the passenger side if you can without interfering with the choke assembly. yo will need more pcv hose or you could form one from copper tube and just use hose for connectors. but crowding the throttle is dangerous. start your investigation with the air cleaner completely off and see what binds and what your choke fast idle cam position is.

I don’t run any coolant in the overflow tank or catch can as I’m prone to calling it.

I run the coolant in the radiator about an inch down from the neck. Works good for me.

I differ from Dane - I have a line on the "catch can" and I expect my coolant level to be there when the engine is cold.  Otherwise I have a leak somewhere.

I don't worry about how much is in the radiator - although it is always about 1" down.  But the catch can provides a good way to monitor the coolant level at a glance.

For sure, make sure the throttle cable and linkage is not catching on anything. If it's clear, then it's time to manually release the choke, make sure it's coming off completely.  Then adjust the idle screws.  On down the line.  

But in my case, it turned out that a screw came off the throttle plate and the butterfly couldn't return to closed idle.  

All things to check.  Open choke and make sure the throttle plates are closed, if you can see through to there

Thanks everyone, this was super helpful. I'll check these things out shortly.

Needed a change of pace so I decided to tackle the rear fuel tank. Mine is missing everything from the filler neck out to the door and that was duct-taped over so I figure it can't have been recent. No telling the condition of the tank in terms of rust and gas-turned-varnish so I just bought a new tank, filler neck and everything in between.

So today I went to install it. I successfully used a razor blade to slit the duct tape inside the filler door. Then successfully used some rubbing alcohol on a paper towel to remove some residue. Topped it off by holding the filler neck more or less in position to have a look at it. It was 9 minutes well spent because. Well. Do something every day right?

LOL!  Yes, I fully understand the need for a change of pace every once in a while.  And a good day is when you've made progress w/o causing more problems.  And you have a very good day.  

Tiny progress today. Using the sunshine while I had it, I threw a coat of primer on the right rear of the bed. I haven't been posting pics of this along the way because it was all piddly little bits of progress, but I've been filling and patching it a little at a time over the past few weeks. Not going for a showroom finish here, but this is the first time I've painted something so large actually. I figure what better chance to learn than on a truck where I don't care if I make a minor mistake?

I also yanked my left rear tire and replaced the shock there. Good thing too - just like the right rear it was completely dead and doing nothing. Honestly, driving with a truck camper in there must have been terrifying. The previous owner must not have done it much because one tight mountain corner would have done him in.

Then I started to pull the rear gas tank, but there the train went off the tracks. I got the strap bolts off OK, but discovered the tank wasn't as empty as I thought. There must be at least 5-10 gallons of "something with a gas-like odor" in there - the tank feels like it weighs about 60-70lbs just on instinct and I can hear the sloshing.

But it didn't drop on my head despite my poor supports, because apparently when the previous owner installed the rear receiver hitch, he not only bolted it on, he also tack welded.  I could grind them off but not that close to a gas tank with unknown vapor. I could fill the tank with water but then I just have 20 gallons of hazmat to get rid of. So I guess I'll try a sawzall with a bimetal demo blade..




Then I need to decide whether to keep this receiver. It's nice enough, but not actually mounted very well despite the massive bolts. It sits too far "forward" under the bumper, so any hitch would need about a 1' stick-out just to have the ball clear the bumper. But as poorly configured as it is, I guess it's still better to have it than not...

I like the idea of learning on your truck when you don't care if you make a minor mistake.  Good approach for learning.  

And replacing the shocks is always a good idea.

But dropping a tank with that much liquid in it is not fun.  That slosh makes it very difficult.  But creating sparks around it sounds like an even worse idea!  Good luck!

More mix of project fatigue and bad weather just making certain things impossible. But we had enough hours above 50F to do this:



It's a better pic than reality. I have plenty of rough edges here. But it'll do for a hunt truck, for sure.

1. Bondo and solder-fill holes as appropriate
2. 2 coats of primer
3. Wet sand to 320 grit
4. Wash and rinse
5. Two coats red

To do:

6. Wet sand again, add another coat of red
7. Tape/mask and add two coats white to center band
8. Wet-sand all
9. 3 coats of clear coat

$20 says I don't bother with the whole procedure over the whole truck...

What paint and where from? I have been gagging at the cost of rattle cans..