Re: \'79 F-250

The motor in the truck is not a cleveland, it is either a 351M or a 400M. The 400M is a longer stroke 351Clevland design of a motor with small valve heads, retarded timing gears, two bolt main and different rotating assembly. The 351M is a 400M with different crank and rods. If he saysit is a cleveland he is wrong, they only truck that the clevland was available in was the 73-74 rancheros and such.

The c6 tanny is a good workhorse if you take care of it.

The rear end will proabably he a Dana 60 or a Ford 10.25. Either wway they are both damn good.

Hope this helps

Hey Ya`ll, watch this!! (famous last words)/wwwthreads_images/icons/cool.gif

 

Re: \'79 F-250

A definite long shot, probably not worth your time and/or money.

 

Re: \'79 F-250

Why do you say that?
The truck's basically going to be handed to me, if I get it. That's the main reason I'm looking at it; no real initial investment (that I know of). Otherwise I'd be without a vehicle 'till I could get the Scout put back together (if that happens, God only knows when that'll be). Time isn't really an issue for me.
Granted you didn't know that, I'd like to hear your reasoning behind saying that. I'm not looking for a street rod; just a work truck that'll go from point A to point B reliably (relatively speaking, since the truck will be able to buy us all a round of drinks next year). Will this truck not do it, even put back together and with a new carb and everything?
I'm open to opinions, but would appreacte reasoning as well...thank you in advance!

The Warden

1980 International-Harvester Scout II SD-33T

 

Re: \'79 F-250

If you like the truck, go for it. Especially if it is just being handed to you. They are big work trucks. The C6 was the best automatic ford put in the 1 Ton and under class. The rear end should be a stout unit as well. As for the engine, it wouldn't suprise me if that wasn't the origional motor. In that case, it could be a 351 Cleveland. It could be a mismatch of all sorts of parts throughout the years. This doesn't mean that it will be impossible to work on. It will just make things interesting. Personally, I would go for it. Sounds like fun. It would probably be easier to pick up most of your parts from a performance shop. Performance parts are built with basic, no frills approach and will make installation and tuning easier. Then you can go anywhere from a simple one wire electronic distributor from MSD to an Edelbrock 4bbl carb on a nice intake. Most basic setup for an engine. Those guys can help you identify the engine and year as well. Good luck, Eric.

If it ain't broke, I can probably still fix it.

 

Re: \'79 F-250

Just re-reading your post...have a question. Besides, want to see if anyone else has anything else to say about this.
What type of ignition is stock? I know that, around '79, a lot of manufacturers were switching from points to an electronic ignition. I don't know when Ford did the switch, however.
Also...I never got an answer to what type of diff gearing (besides 4.10's) was available for '79. Venturing to guess, I suppose maybe either 3.54's and/or 3.73's, but any hard figures?

Thanks for all the responses so far. BTW, I talked to the guy...he thought it was a Cleveland because he didn't know the Michigan existed (he thought there were just two versions of the 351). I still haven't had a chance to actually take a look; was going to last week but we missed connections, so I'm hoping for next week. Going to replace the water pump just to be on the safe side. Again, any opinions or anything? Thanks in advance!!

The Warden

1980 International-Harvester Scout II SD-33T

 

Re: \'79 F-250

If you measure from the crank centerline to the to of the block (the deck) and get a measurement of approx 10.28 inches you have a 400M or a 351M, if the measrement is about 9.30 inches, you have a 351 Cleveland. If you have a Cleveland the motor in good running shape is worth a whole lot more than the truck ever will be. If it is a 4V Cleveland then it is worth even more, the heads are probably worth a thousand dollars in untouched shape. (no porting or polishing) However chances are that you will not have a cleveland as they are damn difficult to stumble across.

Ford switched to a electonic ignition in 76, my 76 4x4 came with a 390 and electronic ignition stock. FYI any distibutors from an electonic ignition FE block will fit a non electronic FE block.

Your 79 will definetly have the "Duraspark II" ignition, it's pretty bulletproof, all solid state - no moving parts.

have fun

Hey Ya`ll, watch this!! (famous last words)/wwwthreads_images/icons/cool.gif

 

Re: \'79 F-250

Sorry to have been blunt. Considering you want a trouble-free truck to drive between LA and SF, I stand by my original thought. Those trucks get 10 mpg at best. Even if you get it free, the unknowns seem to override the positives. They are reliable trucks and great workhorses but things like tires, brakes, condition of the engine "internals", transmission performance, cooling system, etc. are all questions to be considered. You could drop 2-3K into it easy. If $2 a gallon gas doesn't bother you and you are a skilled "wrench", it might work for you but why not just get a Ranger four-banger that's already road ready?

 

Re: \'79 F-250 - UPDATE - Need Help

Well, I finally got to work on the truck, and have been doing so for the past 2 days. Here's what's happened with the engine, and where I am now.
The current owner had been battling a problem for a while. The truck would cut out on him on the freeway. If he put enough gas in it, it'd kick back on before he came to a stop. One day, he was driving and the engine cut out again on him. He tried the same thing, and it wouldn't re-start. Finally, he got a really loud backfire (I think out the carburetor; the air cleaner cover is black above the carb, but he thinks it went out the exhaust pipe). The engine hasn't run correct since. The best that can be gotten out of it is a really low and erratic idle (with the pedal all the way down) for a bit (up to about 30 seconds) before it dies again. Most of the tiem, it won't even turn over (cranks like a champ, though ). He replaced the carburetor, the coil (apparently twice), the exhaust system (shortly before the backfire incident and truck finally died; note that everything else was replaced after this), and finally the timing chain. Due to difficulties putting the cover back on, he then let it sit about a year. A little while ago, he decided to get rid of the truck. Knowing that the truck I'm driving is on it's last leg, he offered to give it to me if I can get it back together and running. After a day and a half of misery, I got the entire engine back together, again, with a new timing chain and gears. I double-checked; the marks lined up. It didn't change a thing. The engine is behaving exactly how it was before. The ignition timing and the valve timing are both good, the ignition module was tested, proved bad, and replaced (although doing so didn't make a difference whatsoever), the spark plugs were all replaced (old ones had an unusual amount of carbon deposits on them, but otherwise seemed okay), the wires, distributor, and rotor all appeared to be okay, connections looked good and were verified, compression is actually really good for an engine this old in a former construction work truck, and, by all rights from what we can see, the engine should be running perfectly. I even went so far as to play with the fuel/air mixture (even though the carburetor supposedly came out of the box adjusted), and no noticeable difference was made. The engine's definitely getting fuel; the fuel pump should be fine (in fact, at first I thought it had too much fuel going in; that's why I was messing with the mixture in the first place). I'm about at my wits' end...but really want to see this pickup running. Given it's past history, it's in great shape bodywise...other than this issue with the engine, I think this'll make a very good driver
Any ideas, anybody? A fairly quick response would be appreciated...thank you very much in advance!! I'm not giving up yet, but I'm about ready to...

The Warden

1980 International-Harvester Scout II SD-33T

 

Re: \'79 F-250 - UPDATE again

Well, I went back to the truck today, and I think I've gotten it narrowed down to a couple things. I tried pulling the EGR valve off, as per a person's suggestion, and the engine ran! It didn't run beautiful; wouldn't run unless you held some pedal in it, but, other than that, it seemed to be okay, and I think that's because I messed with the carburetor jets (guess I just get to keep playing with them 'till it runs good). I figured the EGR was bad; replaced it, and it acted like it did before I pulled the EGR off the first time. I pulled the EGR completely off and left the holes there free, and started it, and it ran like it had before, except there was a really loud HISS, which turned out to be fairly high-pressure air coming out one of the holes. I talked to the current owner, and he pointed to a tube running from the intake manifold to the smog pump, saying that he had heard somewhere that that could be it. Figuring I had little to lose, I put the EGR back on and disconnected this hose. The engine did the exact same thing that it had done with the EGR valve off; loud HISS and a lot of hot air coming out of that hose. That hose, again, goes to something that the manual calls a valve of some sort, and then to the smog pump. I know almost nothing about emissions; my first two cars were pre-smog and my third's a diesel. I'm guessing that this high pressure air (why else would it be coming from the intake?) is supposed to go through that valve (I blew into both ends; from the intake side, I couldn't force any air anywhere; from the outlet side, some air went through the vent on the side) and into the smog pump, and, assuming this valve is trashed, that air had nowhere else to go and was forcing itself back up through the carb (with everything secure, in addition to not running, stuff was spitting up out of the carb; I put my hand over it and my hand was soaked in gasoline when I removed it) and making the cylinders not get enough fuel. Make sense to you guys? It does to me, but again, I don't know for sure how the smog system's supposed to work, and the manual's pretty vague on it. I'm mostly making an educated guess, and this truck's drained my pocket too much for me to spend very much $$ on another guess. I'm going back to the truck on Thursday, at this point figuring that either that valve, the smog pump, or both, are bad. Any other thoughts? Soon would be nice.

The Warden

1980 International-Harvester Scout II SD-33T

 

Re: \'79 F-250 - UPDATE again

Have you tried checking the manifold vacuum and simple things that would tell you if you have air leaks or similar trouble. The trouble with the fuel cutting out when the tank starts getting a little low can be a problem with the fuel pump or simply a hole in one of the soft fuel hose junctions. A hole in the line inside the tank will do that too.

The smog pump thing has a valve that is usually actuated by engine temp and vacuum. Under no vacuum (acceleration) it should turn off. At low engine temps (start up) it should also be off. Many times these engines will run a whole lot better without these pumps, but bypassing them raises combustion temps lots, so it can also tear up your valves if it gets a little lean. They are fun to use as jacuzzi pumps for the bubblers, although they are a little noisy

With the pump disconnected, and the hole on the manifold uncapped, the engine should run real lean. When the hole on the manifold is capped, it should go closer to normal, but the mixture will be way off -- more oxygen to the engine. Try that and see what happens.

Then check the manifold vacuum. With a 2v carb on a 351, it should get 15-20# vacuum at idle and go to 0 at wide open. This will tell you if you have bad vacuum lines, a leaky carb, or some malfunctioning emission equipment.

good luck.

John

 

Re: \'79 F-250 - UPDATE again

E.G.R.= Exhaust Gas Recirculation. Does that answer the question about hot air? Can't say how your system is supposed to be set up because it depends on the emmissions requirements in the area where the vehicle was originally delivered. The extent of the required repairs likewise depends on the current emmissions requirements in area were you intend to license the vehicle. Some of the emmissions equipment may be bypassed or eliminated unless the locals require an "under the hood" inspection. Better check on the standards you'll have to meet before you spend more money. BTW, the EGR must be correctly matched to the application. (Did you get the right EGR?)

 

Re: \'79 F-250 - UPDATE again

There was more than one EGR valve listed; I matched it with the old one as close as possible. And I understand what you mean, but the sheer amount of air that's coming out of the hole tells me that it's not all supposed to be getting to the EGR in the first place. Either that, or for some reason, it's getting into the intake system even when the EGR's supposed to be completely closed. Get what I mean? I know what the EGR valve's purpose is; I just think more exhaust's getting there than is supposed to. In any case, I'm thinking more along the lines of the smog pump than the EGR valve at this point.

The Warden

1980 International-Harvester Scout II SD-33T

 

Re: \'79 F-250 - UPDATE again

hey, i had the same problem and i had a bad fuel pump, even though i got fuel. Also if your emmissions has been tampered see if you have the vaccum diagragm under the hood still. Too many guys start pulling hoses thinking that ford didnt need all those things when the built the truck WRONG. You can remove a lot of the vaccum stuff IF you put an aftermarket carb on. I bought an edelbrock for under 200 and it never needed an adjustment, and let me drop all my vaccum line(not the tranny kick down, timing advance, and one that goes inside to run your heater controls. I have several 79's any help i can give you let me know. I am curious, did you determine if you had a clevaland or modified?