Home

I moved to the Phoenix area in July and one of my first purchases was Betty: a 1976 Ford F-350 Super Camper Special (without the camper).  The plan is to use Betty as a revamping project as well as a primary vehicle.   She runs well enough to drive from point A to B but is at the point where some items MUST be replaced and some should be replaced soon.

Here she is: Came with the 5 genuine ford truck manuals, yes there are 5 of them!

She starts up strong, idles a little rough, seems to run a little on the cool side but runs well, accelerates and keeps speed wheel.  Engine seems strong but probably needs some fine tuning or carb adjustments.  Transmission is doing it’s job well and is very smooth.  On and off heavy rumbles and shakes (maybe wheels, tires or bearings). Ride is definitely rough and squeaky!  So I will prob need to do belts, shocks, struts and replace all rubber bushings (there are a lot).  After I get her into the driveway I noticed that she is leaking some oil(black) and some transmission fluid(red).  The leaks are from the pans, not the engine or transmission so I will need to drop the pans and replace the gaskets.  I did a full inspection of all lights, some were out and need to be replaced.  The left front turn signal does not blink but instead is always steady on, which may just be a bulb out.  Turn signals work well other than that although the turn signal must be held with your hand because it will not stay in the ‘turning left’ or ‘turning right’ position.  The dash instruments work but the lights are out so it won’t be visible at night and need to be replaced.  The odometer is stuck at 67 thousand miles (I think it has much more than that on it!).  The interior is in OK shape but the seats could be better and a lot of the plastic is cracked.  Also, all of the rubber liners in the entire truck are shot and need to be replaced, eg. around the doors, windows, hood etc.  If the gas tank is filled too high it spills out onto the ground (same symptoms with both gas tanks).  After driving the second time the steering gear started pouring out power steering fluid and lost all power so it looks like I found my first job, replacing the steering gear box.  There was also a lot of play in the steering.  The body is in pretty good shape for the year.  It has some dings, a dent in the tail gate and there is heavy scratching and a little rust in the bed.  There is not heavy rust on any other part of the vehicle which is one reason why I purchased this truck.  At some point she will need to be smoothed out and painted but that is far down the road.  Air Conditioning is not working but all of the components are there.  The guy I purchased it from had removed the A/C belt and mentioned that the A/C had not been run in probably 15 years.  The heater appears not to be working since I can’t get it to blow any warm air.  Radio is present but no power is hooked up.  Brakes seem to be working well but should be checked anyway.  The guy I purchased it from mentioned that she won’t always start after it has been raining or moist outside. I think that covers most of it.

Read more...