[GeorgeWiseman]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

I love that body style and I'm fascinated by this truck.

Me too I only sold it because I got married and couldn't have my 'bachelor' truck reminding me of previous girls. That marriage didn't last and I miss that truck still.

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Did you build it in '74?

I acquired it in 1974. It took a couple of years before I could totally rebuild it. At first, with the thrashed 352, it drank oil so bad I just poured used crankcase oil into it by the gallon. It had a knock which turned out to be a piston slapping the head because the crankshaft bearing was gone. You frankly wouldn't believe the piston warpage; I wouldn't if I hadn't seen it. I burned out two sets of clutch disks before I got a chance to rebuild and install the 361, because the engines power was so low I had to rev high and slip the clutch to get it going. By 1977 I had it rebuilt and doing the mileage I claimed. I did things with it no one believes when I tell them now. Yeah, I loved that truck, it never let me down.

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

When it surprised the hot cars- going from 50 to 80mph in seconds- did you have to downshift or was it already in the sweet spot and all you had to do was floor it?

I just floored it. It was fun

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

I think you swapped that carb onto it- did that engine come with it? Besides the carb swap(?) and the low rear gears, were there any other mods or was the rest of it stock parts?

The 2150 Motorcraft carb came with the 361 engine, which must have been about a 1975. The engine came out of a commercial sized truck and had a 9 quart oilpan, which was a lot of fun when I went into those oil change shops and they started looking under the truck to see if the oil was leaking out

I made LOTS of mods to this truck, but most of them weren't fuel related. I could shut off the ignition with a switch hidden in the carpeting on the passenger side (in case I didn't like what the driver was doing). I switched the horn and starter portion of the ignition so that when someone tried to start the truck the horn would honk (people were always 'borrowing my truck). Obviously then to start the truck you hit the horn. My actual horn was on the floor, a dimmer switch that honked a wailer that would scare cows (come around a corner on a gravel road at 70 mph, you want those cows off the road NOW!); that way I could keep both hands on the wheel. I put a board under the engine (after my fuel pump went missing) and made a hood lock (after my battery and ignition coil walked away). I rebuilt the suspension system to handle driving on gravel roads at 70 mph (went through a set of heavy duty Monroes every three months). I put in two extra fuel tanks to extend my driving range and I traveled all over the USA (including to Alaska) with that truck. It'd be a book to list all the mods, but as I said, mostly not fuel related; and I'm missing that truck the more I talk about it.

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Re: rear axle origin: Was it Ford or something else? I wonder if you were able to use the original wheels or if you had to run different wheels front and rear. 14" or 15"?

I'm really sorry, I simply cannot tell you anything more about the rear end. It was 2:1 ratio and the rear wheels tracked inside the front ones (two sets of tracks). It had ball bearings instead of roller bearings. Otherwise it fit the truck perfectly, (springs, shocks, etc.). I ran the same 15" wheels all the way around, so I'm assuming the axle was from a Ford; but it had to be a car because of the ball bearings.

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Thanks, I have so many questions about this- I don't want to get hung up on EFIEs or blogs or anything until I can wrap my mind around this truck.

Understandable. Today there're so many more things I'd do to further improve the efficiency of that truck. My Carburetor Enhancer often doubled the mileage of those 2150 carburetors, I'd also add the closed loop upgrade so I could control the fuel ratio of the carb. I'd install the HyCO 2A. I'd put in higher temperature engine cooling fluid, an electric cooling pump and change out the fan for an electric one. I'd put in super lubricants, etc.

Well, off to bed. Thanks guys