The Green Dragon

[A_Dub]

Hey y'all! Figured I'd register since I've already gotten some great advice from ya. Allow me to introduce my new ride, the Green Dragon. A 1970 F-250 Ranger XLT Camper Special. California truck, w/ the original plates. Just picked her up about a month ago for $500 bucks. Got a rebuilt 390 bored out to a 409 (?), with only a few thousand miles since the rebuild supposedly. Runs strong!

Since I've had her, I had the vacuum advance, starter & battery replaced. Put on all new tires. Replaced the bench seat w/ a black vinyl one a picked up from an '86(?) F-150. Tore out the carpet, removed the trim, and just tonight, w/ a little help from Fordification, fixed the fuel guage! (I had to take apart the tank switch). Nice tip there. Also put in some more transmission fluid (& a union for the busted line), power stearing fluid (dipstick was floatin around the engine compartment), and changed the oil.

Next, the exhaust manifold gaskets are leaking pretty bad, so I gotta replace them. Plus the auxiliary tanks' hose is leaking gas, so... that's gonna be ordered from LMC here soon. And I'd like to get dual exhaust. Can anybody tell me why headers won't work on a camper special?

Thanks.

A_Dub

[fireguywtc]

from Texas!

[1970FordTK]

Welcome from North Carolina.

[Mancar1]

you may have a sway bar in the way of headers. I wouldn't worry about headers, (unless they are a must have 4 U) you can make it plenty fast enough without them. Welcome from Northern Ca. 68 CS

[Hemmi06]

You'll find out that

[jbohall001]

Welcome from Lousiana!!

[A_Dub]

Thanks for the warm welcome all! Used to live in Texas, and got family in the south. God bless. I'm pretty stoked about the ride. @ Mancar1 - I don't need headers. But, how do I make it faster!? Thanks.

AW

[brandon.k]

Welcome from north Texas

[towtruckerfour]

Welcome from Idaho. Santa Clara is my hometown in California. Looks like you got a good truck.

[guerra]

from west Texas

[71highboy]

welcome from south dakota. i have a 71 f250 4x4 and i run headers on it but i will never do that again.pain in the a--it is a lot easier to just leave the stock manifolds on in my own opinion use to live in clear lake ca.miss the weather.

[71F100SportCustom]

Welcome from Louisiana....

[robroy]

Good day A_Dub!

Like Troy, I'm from nearby your area. I was born in Santa Cruz, and now I live down in Salinas and work in San Jose next to the airport.

I think your new F250 looks superb, and it sounds like you got a fantastic bargain!

As for how to make your F250 fast, while this question's a very good and reasonable one, I believe it may be akin to, "How can I be healthy," or "How can I improve my oil painting?" As you probably know, making cars fast is a life-long interest and pursuit for many guys. There are lots of different ways to improve an F250's acceleration; top-speed's a less frequent concern given the brick-like shape of our trucks, not to mention that their suspension wasn't designed to exceed highway speeds.

An inescapable truth is that these trucks--especially F250s and F350s--were made to haul heavy loads without complaint for years on end. Since beginning my project I've learned that going fast is a very different goal. So the faster you'd like your F250 to be, the more radically it will need to be modified.

While there's no doubt fun and learning to be had by making changes right away, the most effective way to improve your truck's speed may be to do lots of reading. The more informed you are regarding the possibilities for your truck, the more clear and realistic your mental picture of the desired end result can be. And if I'd done better at following this advice my wallet would be fatter today!

Thanks to the amazing amount of top quality guidance I've received here since 2008, I've managed to give my F250 a whole new attitude. Perhaps you'd be curious to browse through my adventure--just be careful not to repeat any of my mistakes.

Main #50 Project Thread: 1972 F250 4x2; 8,100lb GVW; FE+T18

Robroy

[71highboy]

Good day A_Dub!

Like Troy, I'm from nearby your area. I was born in Santa Cruz, and now I live down in Salinas and work in San Jose next to the airport.

I think your new F250 looks superb, and it sounds like you got a fantastic bargain!

As for how to make your F250 fast, while this question's a very good and reasonable one, I believe it may be akin to, "How can I be healthy," or "How can I improve my oil painting?" As you probably know, making cars fast is a life-long interest and pursuit for many guys. There are lots of different ways to improve an F250's acceleration; top-speed's a less frequent concern given the brick-like shape of our trucks, not to mention that their suspension wasn't designed to exceed highway speeds.

An inescapable truth is that these trucks--especially F250s and F350s--were made to haul heavy loads without complaint for years on end. Since beginning my project I've learned that going fast is a very different goal. So the faster you'd like your F250 to be, the more radically it will need to be modified.

While there's no doubt fun and learning to be had by making changes right away, the most effective way to improve your truck's speed may be to do lots of reading. The more informed you are regarding the possibilities for your truck, the more clear and realistic your mental picture of the desired end result can be. And if I'd done better at following this advice my wallet would be fatter today!

Thanks to the amazing amount of top quality guidance I've received here since 2008, I've managed to give my F250 a whole new attitude. Perhaps you'd be curious to browse through my adventure--just be careful not to repeat any of my mistakes.

Main #50 Project Thread: 1972 F250 4x2; 8,100lb GVW; FE+T18

Robroy

thats quit a trek from salinas to san panty jose

[hdpusher]

Welcome from central Pa.