'76 F250 Turbo Build
- Thread starter jgavac
- Start date
Yes stock lock mani and a relatively new Carter YF. I'm unsurprised the tuning is off, I slapped this thing in quickly and tuned it by ear (albiet a very untrained ear). Didn't even have a timing light. Didn't think I'd be driving on the motor as long as I have been
I got ya. . Really glad to get an actual wheel power pull, especially a stock log. THANKS! . . The log intake is terrible on the 300. I've posted about it before. Below 2100 rpm the carb is too big for the intake, above 2700 the carb is too small for the intake. The '79 with the 2-something awful rear gear never sees 2000 rpm under normal conditions, including 55 mph. (303 trans). Under any sort of moderate load, vacuum runs between 2" and 5", less than half throttle. Now wonder it gets 10 mpg. . I always felt like the carb was rich under those conditions, so interesting yours read lean. Valuable info!
As expected, the radiator support mount bolts gave me problems. Passenger side came out with no issues, but the drivers side was so badly rusted and seized that the bolt head immediately rounded off. If I had a sawzall or plasma cutter, this probably would have gone a lot smoother, but I was stuck with a hacksaw and a dream.... And 3 hours of my time 
The rest of the front end is now dismantled and I have everything disconnected from the engine and fluids as drained as they'll be. I'm now deciding if I want to pull the transmission with the engine like I originally planned, or pull the transmission separately later... It'll be easier to get it out now since that thing is one of the densest objects know to man - and from experience, manhandling it down from so high up underneath really sucks, so I'll probably just pull it now.
The rest of the front end is now dismantled and I have everything disconnected from the engine and fluids as drained as they'll be. I'm now deciding if I want to pull the transmission with the engine like I originally planned, or pull the transmission separately later... It'll be easier to get it out now since that thing is one of the densest objects know to man - and from experience, manhandling it down from so high up underneath really sucks, so I'll probably just pull it now.
Well unfortunately, June got kinda shot for me getting any work done 
I was really busy the first couple weeks, then I got covid after having dodged getting sick for 3 years, and I'm now done waiting out my isolation period.
I did get a bunch of things ordered up for all my tertiary work. Had POR15 for the frame come in just before getting sick, and I just placed orders for
-Radiator support
-Pass side fender apron (was planning to get both but LMC sold out of the drivers side)
-new hood hinges and latch
-all new rubber for the aprons and etc
-American Autowire retrofit update wiring harness
I've also now got the frame side motor mounts, Shock mounts, cross members, and assorted brackets and other parts pulled and ready to go for sandblasting. I am planning to take a wire wheel/flap disk to the frame to clean up before the POR15, but for curiosity sake I did reach out to a couple companies about dustless blasting to see what that would cost.
Next up I'll probably tear into the dash so I can start planning out where the ECU is going to mount, and how I'll route the MS3X wiring through the firewall. I want to do a bulkhead connection, but I may just run it through grommets.
I was really busy the first couple weeks, then I got covid after having dodged getting sick for 3 years, and I'm now done waiting out my isolation period. I did get a bunch of things ordered up for all my tertiary work. Had POR15 for the frame come in just before getting sick, and I just placed orders for
-Radiator support
-Pass side fender apron (was planning to get both but LMC sold out of the drivers side)
-new hood hinges and latch
-all new rubber for the aprons and etc
-American Autowire retrofit update wiring harness
I've also now got the frame side motor mounts, Shock mounts, cross members, and assorted brackets and other parts pulled and ready to go for sandblasting. I am planning to take a wire wheel/flap disk to the frame to clean up before the POR15, but for curiosity sake I did reach out to a couple companies about dustless blasting to see what that would cost.
Next up I'll probably tear into the dash so I can start planning out where the ECU is going to mount, and how I'll route the MS3X wiring through the firewall. I want to do a bulkhead connection, but I may just run it through grommets.
I got mine through Dennis Carpenter. LMC sells them as well, prices are $80 each from DC and $50 each from LMC. General consensus seems to be that the DC parts are better quality than LMC.
Parts, parts, and more parts!
New core support
Galvanized passenger fender apron. Planned to get both sides, but drivers side was sold out when I orders.
American autowire update full truck harness, with ATC fuse block and all new switches
Bunch of parts back from the sand blaster, and one (t-case shifter) powder coated.
New core support
Galvanized passenger fender apron. Planned to get both sides, but drivers side was sold out when I orders.
American autowire update full truck harness, with ATC fuse block and all new switches
Bunch of parts back from the sand blaster, and one (t-case shifter) powder coated.
80f150custom
Well-known member
Looks awesome. Where did you get the core support from?
Thank you! Came from LMC Truck
Well I've run into a snag, the HOA in my neighborhood received a complaint about my truck being "derilect and an eyesore", and I now need to get it out of the driveway. It didn't fit in the garage before (lengthwise), but I might be able to fit it now without the bumper on. If I can't get it in the garage, it needs to be removed from the property by next week (originally they told me 48 hours, and I pushed back saying it would take more time). The HOA only feels it's a violation of the bylaws because it's disassembled and non functional. Once it's back driving, I should be fine.
The big issue is where to take it if I can't be in my garage. Not really allowed to work on cars in storage units (not to mention potential lack of lights and power), and don't know anyone in the area with space to spare.
I knew it was a risk, working on it in my driveway, but I honestly wasn't sure of the HOA was even active - we just rent the house I'm in and in 2 years never heard anything from the HOA - and that it's been like this for 2 months I figured I was in the clear. So this puts a significant wrinkle in things.
The big issue is where to take it if I can't be in my garage. Not really allowed to work on cars in storage units (not to mention potential lack of lights and power), and don't know anyone in the area with space to spare.
I knew it was a risk, working on it in my driveway, but I honestly wasn't sure of the HOA was even active - we just rent the house I'm in and in 2 years never heard anything from the HOA - and that it's been like this for 2 months I figured I was in the clear. So this puts a significant wrinkle in things.
My next Door neighbor behind me ran a Top Fuel Dragster and he was on a Busy Main Street, so he just Cut a hole in the back of the Garage and added a little addition on part of the back wall big enough to get it quickly under wraps.
That's one way to do it!
Before I got derailed by the HOA incident, I had been making progress on the frame. I ended up having to do a round of POR15 earlier than I wanted to because we had rain in the forecast for the first time in a couple months, and wanted to get some of the bare metal covered up.
Truth be told, this has been a pain in the ass to do with an angle grinder with wire wheel and flap disk. And painting is annoying too. In hindsight, I'm thinking I should have waited to do anything on the frame until I could have the whole thing sandblasted and on a rotisserie. But, live and learn.
Truth be told, this has been a pain in the ass to do with an angle grinder with wire wheel and flap disk. And painting is annoying too. In hindsight, I'm thinking I should have waited to do anything on the frame until I could have the whole thing sandblasted and on a rotisserie. But, live and learn.
You're doing fine. Get as much of that grease and grime off with pressure washer, some degreaser and a wire wheel or brush. Scrape the flat spots and don't worry about getting it down to bare metal with a grinder. Some rust on the surface, (as long as it isn't flaking off) gives the rust paint something to grip. I used an undercoat/rockerguard gun to spray on Tremclad rust paint, same as Rustoleum, better price than por 15. Brushing works good to, just takes longer and harder to get at some areas. Will post some pictures when I get a chance.
By the way you have a very nice project going on there.
By the way you have a very nice project going on there.
Thank you, can be hard to keep motivated sometimes. But I agree, in the areas inside the frame where I just hit it with a wire wheel to knock the big rust off I like the finish a lot better. Part of the reason for grinding down in some areas was because I actually still had factory undercoating and paint on the frame in some spots, so wanted to be sure I got down to metal before painting. I think as long as there isn't an existing coating, I'll clean up the rust and paint over it. Almost like how the product was intended to be used
Yeah, HOAs can certainly be a good thing, but so often I feel like they give people power trips they don't need. In the harness kit, the connectors are all oem style. You can see the pins are standard blade style
