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

[evan_flatt69]

Yeah those cameras are good cameras. People use them for everything. People in my hobby who have more money than I do strap them to RC planes for awesome aerial videos. I even see them used for TV purposes like in-cab shots of American Pickers and all over the place on Mythbusters.

[robroy]

Good morning Terry, Bobby and Evan, thanks for your great replies!

As always Robroy.....love your threads. Always very informative and detailed. I always learn something after reading your updates. Love the fact that you include a lot of pics as that is always very helpful but interesting too.

Thank you Terry!!! Learning from guys like you here on FORDification is at least 50% of the hobby to me (maybe even more).

By the way, I noticed that #50 sits very "even", meaning that the front is very level with the rear. Since it's not a 4x4, did you lift the front?

I didn't intentionally lift it, but I know what you mean! Before I put the new coil springs in, it sagged in the front just like most old F250s seem to.

My 72 CS sits up a few inches higher than the front and since it is a CS, it does have the overloads. I like the stance of #50. Please let me know if you did any front suspension modification and if so, point me to the thread.

Thanks! Yeah I'm happy with its looks this way too.

Its even stance is a result of its new springs. I actually couldn't find any pre-made springs that were an exact match for what it had from the factory, since its 8,100lb GVW rating was unusual, but I wound up using springs designed for heavy Dentsides. The fit was OK but not perfect--I wound up having to make my own lower spring retaining plates to keep them in place, since their fit on the bell-shaped cup wasn't as good as the OEM springs.

I went through a few different spring types before finding one that seemed like it would work, although they still didn't fit "like a glove." I might re-do this some day. Here's the thread:

Will '73-'79 coil springs fit my '72 F250? (8,100lb GVW).

One more note: the alignment shop told me that my camber's a few degrees off still. I'm hoping that after driving the truck a few thousand miles it will settle down and get within spec', yet that remains to be seen. Considering that these springs weren't an ideal fit, I'd rather not have the beams bent to accommodate them.

Robroy, I'm glad you're finally getting out and enjoying some mileage in #50. I drove mine over the weekend, also. Like you, I've spent more time under my truck and under the hood than I have inside the cab

Thanks Bobby! Yeah it feels good to know that I'm finally doing something to properly break-in the engine. And I know what you mean about spending more time working on it than driving it. My ratio of working to driving is probably about 1,000:1 so far.

Incidentally, I spotted these GoPro cameras. Not sure if you've heard of them. They have a motorsports version camcorder that has some anti-windnoise features built-in. Pretty reasonably priced. There are actual videos shot with the cameras on the website so that you can get an idea of how they silence the wind noise.
http://gopro.com/products/

Wow! I admit that before looking at that site I was feeling skeptical about the benefits of adding another "gadget" to my collection--but that is cool!!! With 2.5 hours of recording time, I could record entire drives, then cut out the highlights and post videos of those here. That would be a lot cooler than the relatively funky videos I've been posting so far. I'll seriously look in to this; thanks Bobby!!!

Yeah those cameras are good cameras. People use them for everything. People in my hobby who have more money than I do strap them to RC planes for awesome aerial videos. I even see them used for TV purposes like in-cab shots of American Pickers and all over the place on Mythbusters.

Good to know--thanks Evan!

Terry, Bobby and Evan, thanks for your awesome replies!
Robroy

[robroy]

Good day!

Kasie's preparing for the Santa Cruz "Warf-to-Warf" race in July, and a half-marathon in Moab, Utah this Fall, so we took #50 to the Fort Ord Dunes State Park yesterday so she could go running. The park's about twenty miles from home. Meanwhile, I had some time to drive #50 around in big circles and tinker with it.

The park's a beautiful and unusual place even on an overcast day. There are enormous sand dunes right at the water's edge, with paths leading down to the beach through them.




#50 ran well!!!




After all this chilly overcast weather I'm ready for some sun-shine; it's hard to tell it's June!



I took this walk-around video with Kasie's point-and-shoot camera.

Low Quality H.264 (8MB) Lower Quality WMV (15MB)


Thanks for all the superb guidance!!!
Robroy

[robroy]

Good evening,

The sun came out today so #50 and I drove around the Toro Park neighborhood.

Medium Quality H.264 (55MB) Low Quality WMV (69MB)


Thanks for the copious words of wisdom!
Robroy

[robroy]

Good evening,

I took #50 on a fifty mile drive today on some Salinas country roads, and stopped at the hardware store for some odds and ends. Here's today's photo:



Thanks for all the excellent advice!!!
Robroy

[FreakysFords]

I think Darlin's jealous!

Just caught up on the last video (home with T1 instead of on the road with android). NICE!

Hope to have a radiator and motor mounts for Darlin b4 winter hits, for now the bike's getting it done, but Darlin has an enclosed cab with a heater.

Frank

[robroy]

Good day Frank, thanks for replying!!!

I think Darlin's jealous!

Just caught up on the last video (home with T1 instead of on the road with android). NICE!

Thank you Frank! It's coming along very well!

Hope to have a radiator and motor mounts for Darlin b4 winter hits, for now the bike's getting it done, but Darlin has an enclosed cab with a heater.

Most excellent! And I can relate to the enclosed cab and heater business; I'm looking forward to having a heater again in #50.

Today's Updates:

I've taken #50 on several >100 mile test drives over the past few months, and it's really a champ--especially driving up steep mountain roads! Also, I got to ride passenger in it for the first time ever on October 29th, when Rich (1972hiboy) and I took it for a cruise. That was a lot of fun!!!

Last night I finally got signs for my business installed on its doors! I hired Klay Schott at Safari Signs and Graphics to make these vinyl signs and put them on. He had to clean and buff the door skins to get them to stick, but I sure am happy with how they came out! His bill was $160, which seemed like a great deal to me.

Klay showed me some of his personal and customer projects and I was really impressed! One of the most impressive was a museum-quality restoration of a 1914 race car, which he pulled out of a local field where it had sat for ninety years! He had to search around in the dirt with a metal detector to find all of its parts, including the gears out of its differential. Today it's an incredibly beautiful antique that he actually races in antique car races.

I was going to wait for a sunny day to take some nice photos of these, but I wasn't patient enough for that, so here are my new door signs (click to enlarge):






Frank, thanks very much for posting!
Robroy

[1972hiboy]

Those look awesome on your truck Robroy!

[forrestbump]

Bump to top.

Robroy (and Mods too) this thread should be a sticky. I always find myself using information found here that pertains to other members questions.

Robroy, you, your well thought out writing skills, photos, detailed descriptions are absolutely amazing and so very much appreciated by all of us here.

Thank You and Merry Christmas!

[67mann]

X2.....usually easier than the search mode...to just see what Robroy learned

[forrestbump]

Bump!

Too much blood, sweat and tears on Robroy's part to just let this thread "fall" to the bottom pages...

A great deal of useful information here for all our members also.

[porter858]

Robroy, you are the forum master! Outstanding job on all your well documented posts! The timeline with links to all your posts is awesome!

I figured I’d bump this post, and see how the truck tuning is coming along, and if you have any mpg reports for the mileage bets .

[robroy]

Good day Rich, Larry, 67Mann, and Porter858, thank you for your kind replies!

Those look awesome on your truck Robroy!

Thanks Rich!

Bump to top.

Robroy (and Mods too) this thread should be a sticky. I always find myself using information found here that pertains to other members questions.

Robroy, you, your well thought out writing skills, photos, detailed descriptions are absolutely amazing and so very much appreciated by all of us here.

Thank You and Merry Christmas!

Thanks so much for your kind thoughts Larry! And a very late Merry Christmas to you too! Hope you have time to log back on soon and let us all know how you're doing.

X2.....usually easier than the search mode...to just see what Robroy learned

Thanks! I'd be lost without this map of all the advice I've received, since I forget and have to re-read almost everything.

Robroy, you are the forum master! Outstanding job on all your well documented posts! The timeline with links to all your posts is awesome!

I figured I’d bump this post, and see how the truck tuning is coming along, and if you have any mpg reports for the mileage bets .

Thank you very much Porter858! Nice of you to say.

The truck's coming along fine, though its primary occupation has been snoozing in the cozy garage while I've worked like a hamster on a running-wheel.

I don't yet have any objective mileage reports, since I haven't attached the speedometer yet. I have gone through a few tanks by now though, and my subjective sense is that the mileage is quite good. It seems similar to the mileage it got with its stock 360, even though I horse around with the new engine every time I take it out. That said, I don't have extreme confidence in the accuracy of my subjective mileage observation, so I'll have to wait until the speedometers attached and calibrated to really see.

I don't have a whole lot of news, but here are the updates:

• I'm considering removing #50's bed soon, and driving it bedless for a while. Ultimately I'll either install a super clean styleside bed, or put on a small, wooden flatbed. I'm leaning towards the small flatbed. I really like the looks of this one, actually, though I'd want mine to be even more low-profile.
• Last week I spoke with Scott at Reincarnation Automotive, and he's setting up a custom-curved Duraspark distributor for me. He has a steel gear on order for compatibility with my camshaft, so it will probably be a month or so before the distributor's in hand, but it's in progress. I'm looking forward to seeing how the addition of vacuum advance changes things.

Rich, Larry, 67Mann, and Porter858, thank you guys for the excellent replies.

Robroy

[FreakysFords]

he's setting up a custom-curved Duraspark distributor for me.

Me thinks you will be quite happy.

Thanks for the update!

Frank

[1972hiboy]

Yeah spark advance is a good thing! I think you can unlock some serious hp with a good distibutor in your truck Robroy.