1969 F250 4x4 Highboy 7/9 rubicon

[1971ford]

rjewkes....Yeah i was going to go with Cordova orange over white but i rolled the paint on instead because i don't have several thousand for a decent spray job, and i don't want to worry about an expensive paint job while chasing for the race truck. It's Fire red

THE RPM, welcome! The last few pages of this thread are filled with picturues of the highboy creation Papabug sent you in the right direction

[1971ford]

I did this the day after the last update just never got around to posting it because it isn't much.
I changed the oil and filter.The old oil was a light tan, groooooossssssss!
Soo i installed a new 10w40 and napa gold (wix) oil filter.
Draining poopoo:

I also alligned the doors, and bolted the fenders on 90% so its all solid and i don't hit the fender when i open the door anymore. Aligning the doors is no fun!
I then hopped in, grabbed my key (screw driver) and swiftly started the beast just like a pro car theaf. It fired instantly.... but ran like crud! It was missing half the cylinders. So i shut it off, hopped out, pulled a plug cap and noticed the spark plug move. 4 of the spark plugs were very loose. Tightened them, got back in, perfect purr from the 390. Drove it around the block of course, testing out the new oil. I can't wait until it's registered!


Why don't i have more progress on a summer vacation like this you ask?
Answer:

[BigBlueF250]

Looks like a little water in the oil

[FormerMarine1981]

That's what I was thinking. Hopefully it's just a lot of condensation..

[maverickfe]

Hey great looking truck what year truck did you get the red seats out of?

[1971ford]

You guys might be right about water in the oil. hmm.
Does water settle on the bottom or top? Either way it should be mostly out of there now...
I'll give it an oil change later on and we will see.

Maverickfe, thanks! the seat is out of another fordification member's old bump (convincor). My dad and i shipped his truck to him from california for the seat, which is the one you see. I looked it up and it is a custom built seat for bumps apparently. I can get the brand name again, it's on the cup holder part. But yeah it's not out of another ford. A lot of ford seats do swap in though, some with minor modification. Good luck!

[1971ford]

Oh and about the truck. Long time, no update.

Well i just stripped the old restored 2wd chassis down to the bare frame rails and put it on its side so it doesn't take up space.
This weekend i parking the highboy in the tent structure... and it won't be out for a while.
The body is coming back off, chassis will be partly torn down and drivetrain will be pulled. I can't stand a restored under-body on a 40YO rusted chassis. I am dropping the chassis off at a sandblaster shop so they can strip the entire chassis for $400. I will then POR-15 it all and re-assemble, and put the body back on.I plan on building my own leaf packs in the rear like i did with my race truck and 2" leveling springs up front or my own custom mix. Engine will probably not be torn down at all just some fresh POR-15 engine paint, same with tranny and t-case.

This should all be started in a month and a half from now...

[cheek]

Sounds good Ryan! Have you figured out a way to get better mileage yet?

[1971ford]

yeah, by throwing a diesel in it down the road

We will see! I do want to put a 4bt in it for awesome towing and mileage, i just don't like the idea of putting a more modern engine in place of a simple 390 FE. hmmm

[67mann]

I n the old blue tent----batten down the hatches GL Ryan I new it wouldn't take you long to have to clean up that chassis

[basketcase0302]

Does water settle on the bottom or top? Either way it should be mostly out of there now...
I'll give it an oil change later on and we will see.

Ryan, yes oil always floats on top of water once it settles for awhile. Mixes up and turns to the "milk" you drained.
Do you see high water crossings with the truck? If not I'd be looking at possibly the oil cap not sealing right (rainwater intrusion) or some other place (head/intake gasket leaking) allowing the water to get in. Does the oil still look clear or has it became "milk" again by now?

[1971ford]

Bump!

Today I touched the truck!
I drained the radiator, pulled the radiator, disconnected bed wiring and fuel line, pulled bed bolts out, pulled cab mount bolts out, removed the entire front clip/hood assembly, and disconneted most of the engine/chassis parts from the cab.

I got a quote from american sandblasting sacramento for $550ish to sandblast the entire chassis.
I'm going to pick up my boss's car trailer, and cherry picker.
Then with the help of others were going to roll the truck forward in the side yard and lift the cab/bed off and set them down, then roll the chassis to the driveway so i can pull the transmission, t-case, and engine. Then load it onto the car trailer, and drop it off at the sandblasting place.
Pick it up 2 days later, POR-15 entire chassis, and put body back on. I'll be cleaning up the engine and painting it with my POR-15 engine enamel kit, and painting hte trans/t-case as well. Everything runs/works great so i am not going to touch it until next summer probably.

It should get exciting really quick. Only part is the waiting game for getting it sandblasted. Hopefully I can drop it off middle of next week.

[Doug Comer]

[1971ford]

Trailer and cherry picker have arrived
They take up half the 2-car driveway, and both don't look pretty. Neighbors are going to be pissed for the next week, as well as my mom...
I have the trailer/cherry picker taking up half the driveway, the body will be taking up my space in the side yard, and the chassis is going to get painted and worked on in the garage for the next week or two.
I'm taking over...

[fomocoguy]

Eh, a week won't kill the neighbors. They'll just be that much happier when it's gone! Glad to see you making some progress on the highboy.