So I've got a free 72...I'm new...what to do...

[TexasNomad]

is it a short bed!! ask him if he'll trade

 

[Mulder]

Wow...What a lot of nice responses. Thanks guys. I'll see if I can address most of the questions.

1) We are located in Sandpoint Idaho, which is about 45 minutes south of Canada. Beautiful....absolutely beautiful area. Mountains, wilderness, huge lake, etc. But the truck is located in central Washington right now.

2)The truck's use: Mostly she wants it for fun. She is a Mary Kay Cosmetics consultant and wants it to be her sexy truck to get business. Hence the gunmetal gray w/ pink flames, pink snow plow, and have "Mary Kay Director" in pink on the back. Not exactly what you expect to see when most of them drive pink cadillacs or something like that. So it would get people's attention and she has always loved the truck since the day her dad brought it home (used), wanted an old V8 muscle vehicle. I have a 2004 Tacoma, which I use for hauling, gathering firewood, etc. So her truck wouldnt need to be a work truck.

3) Where is the VIN plate on the engine located so that I can determine if it's a 360, 390, etc. It's pretty grimy and I dont want to search everywhere.

4) Her dad said it only got 14 mpg. Which could be an indication of a larger engine (390), or just a poorly tuned smaller engine with carbs that need rebuilt. Or maybe that's great mileage for these large old engines. You'll know better than me. What would we expect for mileage with an engine built to make say....400HP. What should a 390 make stock well tuned?

5) So if the C6 tranny is bulletproof, should I just add some new gear oil into it and call it good to go or could it use something new while it's out? How much does it weigh? Cost of having a reputable shop rebuild it?

Does the manual transmission use a 3 on the tree or does the shifter come up through the floor?

6) Are there any negative effects of lifting a 2WD truck 4 inches? Not practical perhaps, but just for the look of a larger, meaner truck. Or if she wants a large looking truck should I convince her that we just need to buy a 4x4 that's already been restored. I'm all for buying something that's already what we want. Seems like you save a lot of money that way. Certainly save sweat and blood.

 

[john112deere]

4) Her dad said it only got 14 mpg. Which could be an indication of a larger engine (390), or just a poorly tuned smaller engine with carbs that need rebuilt. Or maybe that's great mileage for these large old engines. You'll know better than me. What would we expect for mileage with an engine built to make say....400HP. What should a 390 make stock well tuned?

That's pretty good for that truck. It's heavy, powerful, and nobody gave a flip how much gas it burned when they designed it.

Does the manual transmission use a 3 on the tree or does the shifter come up through the floor?

Probably, you'd do better to go with a 4-speed, which would be floor shifted.

 

[Bricks]

3) Where is the VIN plate on the engine located so that I can determine if it's a 360, 390, etc. It's pretty grimy and I dont want to search everywhere.

Nothing on the engine - you'll find the plate on the drivers side door.

Post up the numbers and we can tell you what the truck had in it originally.

 

[Fellro]

The 360-390's weren't known for good mileage, but torque was definitely in their design. Lifting with a twin I-beam front suspension isn't a good way to go. You could do a body lift if you want the higher profile. Snow plows are tough on front suspensions, and make driving a little more troublesome, be best to stick with the regular truck.

 

[masterbeavis]

LOL, 14MPG, that is great! Be glad it did not get the industry standard 8-10.

 

[TexasNomad]

if you want a gas saver don't go with a 70s truck bro

 

[Mulder]

if you want a gas saver don't go with a 70s truck bro

Indeed.

Well after discussing all of your input with my wife about how she shouldnt lift it and put a snow plow on it, she has lost much of her Gung Ho. What's the point in putting so much work into restoring a truck if it's not what you want in the end? So if she really likes the 72 body style so much, perhaps a 72 4x4 would make more sense. It wouldnt be free, but we'll pay to make sure we get what she wants.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

You might post the 72 in the classified area on the forum here. If I had a place to park it, I'd probably buy it. Others may be interested.

Ryan

 

[TexasNomad]

is it a Short bed!!

 

[Mulder]

How short/long is a shortbed vs a longbed? It didnt seem short to me. It seemed like a pretty standard length. Big enough to fit some plywood in I'd guess.

 

[TexasNomad]

Short bed trucks rule! i've been trying to get my hands on one for some time now..

 

[john112deere]

How short/long is a shortbed vs a longbed? It didnt seem short to me. It seemed like a pretty standard length. Big enough to fit some plywood in I'd guess.

Long beds are usually just over 8' (a sheet of plywood is 8' long); short beds are typically around 6 and a half feet or just a little over.

I'd guess it's a long bed, being a '72 F-250, unless it's a crew-cab.

 

[Mulder]

Not a crew cab. not even an extended cab.

 

[A_G]

okie dokie

those trucks came with the following engines, if i missed one let me know
300 I (inline) 6 cyl
302
351 (all variations i believe)
352 (very rare i have one)
360
390
400
i believe

As far as the trannys go
Auto:
C4
C6
Others?
Manual:
T-18
Np435 (i have one)

Body styles.
Crew cab (rare)
reg cab
Long bed
Short bed


Trim styles:
Ranger
Explorer
Camperspecial
Contractor special
So on

Rear ends:
I have a 250 and all ive seen is d60s d70s, i have a d70

Most if not all where 2 barrel

All FE blocks have the stamping 352, because the 352 is a base block for all Fe model blocks, the only difference is bore, stroke, ?

Some had Onan gen units under the hood

Power steering wasnt a very common option.
Neither was factory AC

ill add more when i got back and read the thread.

 

[A_G]

going back and reading some posts.

14 mpg for a classic like this is great, Mine got 8 when parked. My 96 gets 15 on the highway.

C6 should be fine, just change the ATF in it. Go with it

as far as lifting a 2wd truck, yea i got the same dilema going on right now, i wanna lift my 96 but will it hurt it, no. Im stuck between is it pointless or not.

Now. Sorry ryan, dont think you care. But another spin off site, Totaly dedicated to BUMPSIDES (67-72) is

www.fordification.com

they can tell you everything. ITs only dedicated to these era of trucks.
They have wiring diagrams, engine diagrams, how to find out what model you have, what engine etc etc. Even like disk brake mods, etc etc.
even a forum. Great info there


Btw the reason its called a bumpside is because theres a bump running the entire lenght of the truck down the side. Where as 73-79 pickups have a indentation running the length of the vehicle.

gah i miss my 67 now.

 

[Old Ford Blue]

okie dokie

those trucks came with the following engines, if i missed one let me know
300 I (inline) 6 cyl
302
351 (all variations i believe)
352 (very rare i have one)
360
390
400
i believe


Ok, first of all, there was a 240 inline 6.
The 351(M) and 400(also M) did not come out until 77.
The 352 was only in production until 67. My 67 had one until with more than 200k miles it was swapped for a hi-po 390.

Everything else is correct.

Gabe

 

[A_G]

i was pretty close. I knew i had forgot some thanks for adding them

 

[1970Custom]

Mulder, if the inlaws are set on getting rid of it I know of a good handful of folks in the northern Idaho area that might be interested (If I wasn't in Sacramento and back home near Boise I'd drive up )

Also if you want TONS of info on the '67-'72 trucks check out www.fordification.com that's the first place to look when its about these trucks...