CA 351M. This thing needs to be rebuilt. 193,000 miles. Tired. Valves are rattling, plugs are fouling, burning oil.
Got the truck into the garage last night. Had to do something, so I went at the hood.
Thing was heavy and awkward by my self, but I wrestled it onto the back for safe keeping.
Next morning I read this. Well now ya tell me!
This is my crew.
Got the bumper and grille off.
Oil cooler is toast.
The fenders weren't too bad.
The front bottom bolt was rusted pretty good. I thought the retainer nut was going to can opener my fender.
Battery tray is gone.
Other than that, everything looks to be in pretty good shape. I am struggling to get the radiator clip off because the bolt that runs up through both of the frame bushings is completely seized. Might just have to get the sawzall out tomorrow. Breaker bar about broke me.
There is still time to chime in on what I should do to this thing. I have a thread in the tech section called "Motor Rebuild Advice.". I have been getting some real good input. Probably going to make it a 400. I need to get it apart and see how much work is needed.
Thanks. I have had this thing for 10 years. The yellow has really grown on me. I need to take care of some rust, but overall it is in good shape. Only mod planned is changing it to a 400. New cam kit. Basic i think.
I'll be following your build. Mine is the same yellow - I think. Mine is stock 78 Bright Yellow although your's looks brighter than mine! But mine just may be faded. What color is your interior? Anyway, good luck with the engine build. I think you'll be glad you decided to go 400.
You can do a 400 swap cheaper than what Tmeyer quoted for parts, You can get a crank from auto zone for about 200 bucks that includes new main and rod bearings. Pistons for slightly less depending on how much they bore the block. Having the new pistons pressed on to the old rods will prolly run you about 8 to 15 bucks each. That's pretty much all you need.
I'm not trying to say anything about Tmeyer because from the dealings i have had with him he seems like a great guy who sells good stuff but for 1300 bucks your getting new rods, new ARP bolts, new pistons with pins and the whole assembly balanced which is great if you have the cash.
One thing i would suggest if you go with a crank from Auto Zone or Orielly's or anywhere else is to make sure you plastiguage ALLof the bearings just to be sure they gave you the right ones. Nice Truck !
Yup. They honestly love this truck. They play in it all the time. Stopped me from getting any work done today though.....radiator is drained and shroud off, but didnt get time to yank it.
Here is the inside Scoop. Not much to talk about here except all the work I need to do! The yellow is not original. It was silver off of the lot. You can see it poking through in quite a few places, along with the rust.
agreed........i can't get enough of these old fords.:thumbup
looks like that radiator is in the way of getting that bolt out, no?i'm sure you've gotten by now, but good luck and nice work.
HA! I left myself wide open for that one. My writing is actually worse is the sad thing. I wish they made a font with backward letters. I would use that.....
Thanks. Not sure which yellow it is. It is bright though! Still debating whether to paint over it, but I have grown to like it.
Did some work Saturday:
I was passing an RV on a grade and put a bit to much pedal into it. When it kicked down there was a big explosion sound under the hood. Pulled over and the fan shroud was grenaded. Figure I had a broken motor mount and the motor torqued into it when it kicked down.
Turned out this motor mount bolt was loose!
You can see which blade hit the shroud.
Got the radiator out. It is in pretty good shape. Just flush it out and its probably good to go again?
This bushing had to be cut with the sawzall.
Got the radiator clip off finally.
Ready for the fun stuff.....
Found this at the pick and pull. Pretty beat down.
Gonna snag this seat because it actually better than mine. A little elbow grease and it should be good to go!
good luck on the build. shop around for a shop to send your motor to. i just got mine back from the rebuild shop and the end total was 1226.16. this was for a long block that included new cam, crank, lifters, pushrods, pistons, and having the heads rebuilt.
not a bad price i'd say. the two week wait was more than worth what i got for that price.
if you can i would recomend having a couple puzzle boxes for bolts. they work great since you can just poke a hole and stick the bolt in and label it.
i say this because im doing a very similar thing to what you doing and in the rebuilding process it is amazing how easy it is to loose track of which bolt goes where.
Thats a beautiful 78. My first vehicle was a 78 that was a candian built bronc got myself in alot of trouble with the old brown terd some 18 yrs ago. lol
i'm right there with ya bro! i am having the hardest time spending almost $200 for the 1500lb stand i need for my 7.3, it's gonna hurt to pull the trigger on that one. air tools? what are they? :toothless
DT7E-A2B.....70's truck, 77, bronco- (what is A2B again?)
Appears to be the same type of FOD I found under the valve cover....
Wonder what it was?
Ok, so I am not sure how to do much more. I dont have the cylinder honing thing that removes the lip from the top of the cylinder so you can get the pistons out. I dont have a pulley puller thing for the waterpump, and other pulley. I dont have the valve spring compressor....Cant seem to get the flywheel bolts loosened up. Think I am going to have to ask for some help now. :whiteflag
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