1969 F250 4x4 Highboy 7/9 rubicon

[GSequoia]

A different Side Note Ryan...

Stay away from Expo Portal, that site will make you spend more money than racing!

[FormerMarine1981]

You mean this site Ryan?

http://www.kustomfit.com/company.htm

[1971ford]

OOPS I linked to a another link i had copied earlier to show a buddy who just bought a 02 4runner. I'll go edit that


That's the link

[1971ford]

Borrowed some tires from other trucky.

[rjewkes]

Allright. Good shots Ryan.

[1971ford]

Today's update: smoke pouring out of dash.

Tired of these weekly problems. I don't have the time for BS like this.

[Joshpow]

Its ok ryan. things bound to go wrong in old wiring. youll get it.

[1971ford]

yeah, it's just from poorly done splices by me in the windshield wiper connections. I'm going to hunt for a '69 manual tranny, ranger dash harness that has absolutely no splices and I'll have to tear my dash down and swap it in. I'll probably just do that when I repaint the truck.

For now its not smoking any more and I'm driving it... with a fire extinguisher. Don't have much of a choice.

[Fordnatic]

Add a pair of vise grips to the fire ext. Use them to pull the battery cable off if the harness really starts smokin'. Taking the power away will cool the wires the fastest. Ask me how I know.

[1971ford]

Today I bought some new exhaust gasket donuts. I bought new ones when i did the top end rebuild but i've learned that you should NOT use steel donuts on anything but a brand new manifold, they don't seal. I had a major exhaust leak that was driving me insane.
So I swapped them out for the ones that give a little when you tighten those suckers down.

Then I pulled the holley 4v off and put the race truck's holley 500 2v on, because i know the holley 500 works perfectly and i was just curious if maybe the 390 could run even better.

I hop in, pump gas and turn the key and crank it for the typical 1 second but nothing.
after a couple seconds of thinking its probably no fuel in the carb, it occurred to me, that the engine was running.

I literally can not hear the engine/exhaust AT ALL while sitting in my cab, unless I listen very carefully for a few seconds and look at the shifter knob to see it barely moving. It's incredible, the layers of sound deadening, all new weather stripping, and sealed up engine is really paying off.

Only problem now is It sounds like a prius and im not sure if i like that. I wanted the truck to be very quiet as i'm building it to be a luxury bumpside daily driver, but I think im burning my clutch now by just doing it by feel, not being able to hear the engine
If my MPG test mentioned below is in favor of the 390 then I'll be building new exhaust with magnaflows to give me SOMETHING to listen to besides the radio.

The 500 gave the truck more power and it idles way smoother. It's incredible. I gassed it up the big hill I go on several times a day and it scooted more than it has done in the past. Feels like a 390 now.
Now im looking for a second holley 500 to put back on the race truck

Now that I have that carb on there and the 32's are going back on i'm going to calculate my MPG's and see what i am getting with the 390. I'm thinking if it is 10mpg or lower I swap to an EFI 300, and if it is 11+ I keep the 390.

[fomocoguy]

Let us know! If you get more than 11 I am coming to CA and stealing your 390 in the middle of the night. My 360 isn't doing so well; my last tank I got 6 mpg, and it's in perfect tune.

[1971ford]

Bummer! If my number is single digit or even 10 i'm not havin' it! A EFI 300 will get me 14mpg at the lowest, so If i am getting something like you then I'll be doubling my mpg's easy.

I am excited to see the result and destiny of how many cylinders I'll be running

[1971ford]

INterior is almost done but not quite.






32's are back on. I miss the 35's. I'm trying to find someone to trade 6 nice 32's for 4 good 35's. I'm going to try 35's on original steelies.

[Joshpow]

the holley 500 2v is a great carb. ran one myself. still got it but the 4v just had to go on mine!! had to jet it a little to match the 302 but it was great. 600 is better though!!

[fomocoguy]

Hey Ryan, any idea where your seat belts came from in your truck?