11/24/00

Uh, I guess it has been quite awhile. I haven't posted anything here, mostly because I haven't done anything to my truck. I've just been driving it all summer.The fact that I haven't done anything to it is a good thing. It means it has been working pretty well. Right now it's put away now for the winter.

4/12/00

Hello,

My ftp connection has been down for 3 months now! I get home late and the people are gone at Wings. I finally got it fixed today, so there should be some updates soon.

2/29/00

Hello, I don't really have anything to add other than the fact that I am considering putting a 3.8 L EFI V6 in my 63 and letting my daughters drive it. I am still looking for an automatic shifter steering column assembly and misc. related parts for my pickup. If you have one and you don't need or want it, let me know.

1/2/00

Hello, It's been awhile since I've updated here. I took the last two weeks off from work and enjoyed myself.

I do have a little story. I drove to work a few weeks ago and on the way home the gas gage was a bit low, but I thought I could make it to the gas station near my house. I pulled off the highway and at the end of the off-ramp all the sudden my electric fuel pump went crazy running full blast. The engine didn't seem to mind though, and I pulled into the gas station with everybody looking at me wondering what the racket was. My 14 gallon tank only took 13.1 gallons. I wonder if I would have made it to the gas station if I had a mechanical pump instead.

Here's a pic of what my truck looked like a few days ago.

Oh I almost forgot, happy new year!

11/29/99

Well I've been using my truck alot and I really enjoy it. I put a CD player in it this past weekend and 6x9 speakers under the seats. If anybody else has put a stereo system in their Econoline and gotten creative with the speaker placement, let me know how you did it, I need some ideas! Rock-n-Roll!! haha

10/24/99

It's getting colder now. Winter is around the corner. Bummer. Today I replaced my coolant with new antifreeze so it doesn't solidify this winter. I don't plan on driving much though. I took the kids for a fullblast drive today. They really like the old truck.

Here is a website a guy made for his van. It's a beautiful van.

http://homepages.msn.com:/redmondave/kosche1/

10/17/99

Hello,

I've been driving the heck out of my truck. Last weekend I put a tach in and changed the speedo drive gear. I replaced a 17 tooth gear with a 20 tooth. It's nice to actually know how fast you are going. At 70 mph the tach says 2900rpm. That's a little high, but I can live with it.

I hooked up a manual choke too. It helps on the cool mornings we've been having lately.

I replaced the horn button with the type that has a ring, so I can blow the horn with my thumb without removing my hand from the wheel. I like it alot better. I have bumped it once or twice while turning though.

I haven't been adding much here lately because my truck is pretty much done and I've been in 'use' mode. I have been considering doing the body and repainting it. I don't know if I want to open that can of worms. If the paint and body are perfect, then I'll worry about it all the time, and I won't enjoy using as much as I do now. I'll keep thinking it over.

9/7/99

Hello,

I've still been driving my truck alot. I haven't really done much to it lately. I did put a new carb on it, a 600 cfm Edelbrock. I only put a new carb on because I wanted to move the 750 to my 429 thunderbird. I hooked up the kickdown this time and it shifts better now. I highly recommend you hook up the kickdown linkage and adjust it per the manual. It shifts harder under full throttle with it and you can ease into it from a stop then hammer it once you are rolling to help prevent wheelspin.

Oh, for those of you paying attention, I haven't scrapped my plans of installing the AOD tranny. I just haven't had the time, and I don't want the truck out of service. Maybe this winter.

I finally have pictures of my 302 piston problem from last march. Click picture for larger image.

7/17/99

I've been driving my 66 alot lately. I have been a little unhappy with my cooling setup. I don't think my bellypan works well enough. I think it lets too much air bypass the radiator. On hot days I have to run down the road with the electric fan on. I am thinking about putting a fan back on the water pump and making a shroud. That should fix it.

I adjusted the steering box so it doesn't have much slop anymore. I like my short jaunts to100+mph much better now:)

I replaced the horn with a nice loud one and repaired the spring contact mechanism in the steering wheel assembly. I don't know how it should be but the contacts had a spring between them and a wire connecting them as well. As soon as you push the horn button the horn would honk maybe once and then it wouldn't work agian. Because after pushing the contacts in when blowing the horn, the wire connecting the two contacts was preventing the spring from pushing them back out. So I removed the wire and soldered the spring to each contact. Works great now.

I get alot of comments on my truck from 'hey...that's cool' to ' uh...what is it?'

7/10/99

I got my new radiator in, and it works pretty well.

I made a bellypan yesterday from lexan. If you look through the front grill you can see the ground like it's not there. I only used lexan because I already had a piece.

I just bought a used AOD transmission today. I hope to install it in my 66 soon.

6/24/99

My wife made some seat covers for my truck. They have gray seating surface and black sides and back. I like 'em, they are much more comfortable than the old vinyl.

I ordered a new custom radiator today. A high efficiency 4 core. I hope it cools as well as my mustang's does. It should be done next week.

I also got my air/fuel ratio gage installed. It says my carb is just about right.

I have been thinking about bringing fresh air up into the air cleaner housing from under the bottom of the radiator, instead of just using the air that comes through the radiator. Have any of you done this?

I picked up a set of the 14" aluminum Ford ranger wheels at a swap meet a couple weeks ago for $50. They are the kind with the simulated rivets. I think they'll look pretty good. I need a set of tires for them though. I have to wait on those after spending all the money on this truck I have lately. It's fun.

6/6/99

I put a set of headers on it today. It seems like it is a little bit quicker.

We have had some hot temps around here lately and my truck runs a little hot (220) when it's hot outside. I think I'll have the radiator re-cored.

5/23/99

Yeehah! again. I've been working alot on my truck lately. I wasn't happy with the 650 holley so I bought an edelbrock 750. I chose 750 instead of a 600 because I wanted the option of using it on a 429 in another car and the guy from summit racing said I should be able to tune it for the 351. The edelbrock worked much better right out of the box than the holley. I really like these edelbrock carbs. I have one on a 390 in my 77 F250 too. I know some people love holleys, but I just don't have the know-how to make them work very well.

I replaced my single speed wiper system with a two speed system from a 67 van yesterday. If you do this make sure you get the switch with the wiper motor because the two switches are different. My wipers would turn on for no reason and then I couldn't get them to turn off, so I replaced the system. I like the two speed better too.

I also bought seats, visers, and a padded glovebox cover from a local salvage yard. My glovebox cover had a rip in it. My drivers seat has a rip in it that is getting very bad, and the only thing left of my visers is cardboard. The van I took them out of looked like an army van. It was all green including the wheels and dashboard. It also had an aftermarket window installed in the rear right side. The junkyard had stacked it on top of a newer van. It was sitting right on top of the other one with each tire on the edge of the roof of the van underneath. Needless to say it was a bit stressful wrenching up there hoping it wouldn't fall off.

The owner of the salvage yard told me when he was 13 ish years old he had to water their cows with a hand pump and the cows were a few miles from the house. He would drive his dad's econoline pickup down to water the cows.

Here is a funny little story. I was tuning my carb yesterday. I would make a change then make a run, then make another change then make a run. When I take off at full throttle from a stop the rear right tire burns out pretty well. So yesterday i make a change and take off and the burnout is unbelievable! I let off at about 45mph and got right back into it and the tire breaks loose again right up in smoke, lots of smoke. I take my foot back out of it and back into it ,lots of smoke and nice long black marks on the road. Cool ,I thought, that combo works good. I pull into a driveway to turn around, back out put it into drive and I sit there. It finally rolls forward off to the shoulder. I put on the flashers and checked the tranny fluid level, it's low. I get underneath to see what's up and a tranny line (a short flexible piece) has burst and sprayed fluid all over the right side underneath including the tire. I had no indication of the leak just the unbelievable amount of torque my engine was making to break the tire loose at 45 mph. HAHA

5/14/99

Yeehah! I buzzed her on up to 90 mph tonight!! I had to fix the speedo. It stopped at 30mph. The needle was touching the numbers because it was bent. Now it works.

5/7/99

I drove it a few days ago, and it takes off pretty darn well. I like the torque of the 351 alot more than the 302 I had in there before. I've been busy and haven't worked on it as much as I would have liked to.

I ended up using a Holley double pumper 650 instead of the projection. The fuel pump for the injection was bad and a new one cost $100. I was also missing a sensor that cost $20 so I decided to wait and mess with it later. The seats went in quite easily. I was suprised how easy it was. My drivers seat came with front to rear adjustment, but the passenger seat didn't.

I had a hard time getting the 351 to run well at first. It seemed like it had a miss to it, and when I put it into gear it would shake pretty bad. It would backfire up through the carb when I put my foot into it. I checked and rechecked everything and everything was correct but it still missed. I was getting pissed! The guy I bought it from said it had a 268 compcams bumpstick in it, so knowing the cam wasn't stock I took a long shot and changed the plugwires to a 302 firing order and it ran great and hauled ass!

4/5/99

The 351 is in! I put it in last friday. I patched up a few holes in the floor on thursday night, then on friday I got up like a normal workday ( I had the day off from work ) and had the engine in before noon. It looks perfect sitting in there. I've got the exhaust hooked up, starter installed, fuel injection throttle body in, throttle linkage hooked up ( that was a hassle ). I still need to install the wire harness, electric fuel pump, and fuel return line for the fuel injection, the radiator, doghouse and other incidentals. The doghouse may be a bit of work to expand it to clear the 351. I'll also have to modify the rear inner leg of the seats.

My wife and I think it would be neat to install a flip up bench seat, so both of the kids can ride with us in the front without bouncing all over the place. We also thought it would be cool to make a topper out of a van top, maybe even only a half length type. I think we might as well get a van then. Can you say pipe dreams?

By the way, do yourself a favor and put a fire extinguisher in your truck. They don't cost much and can save your truck ( or someones life ) in case of fire. Terry Turner at econoline connection told me about a guy who fixed his econoline up real nice. He worked on it for years I guess. Anyway he drives it to the barber one day and he's in there getting a haircut when someone runs in and asks if that is his truck on fire. He runs out there and it's on fire and he dies of a heart attack in the parking lot.

3/27/99

My decision is made. The 351W is going in. The weather was great today and I got some work done on my truck. I cut the floor to allow clearance for the 351, and started working on relocating the alternator to the drivers side of the engine. I think I will enjoy the torque of the bigger motor.

3/24/99

Wow I haven't added any news for quite awhile. I have gotten alot done on my 66 pickup though.

I succesfully modified and installed a new 61-64 falcon (car) gas tank into my 66. I also installed a new pickup/sending unit as well ( and the gas gage works now , the float had fallen off ). The tank was on sale from JCWhitney for $99 and I think the sending unit was less than $30 ( also from JCWhitney ). The fill tube on the falcon tank is on the top and has to be relocated to the lower drivers side and then the old hole has to be plugged. I also soldered a fitting on the drivers side of the tank near the top for a fuel return line for my Holley Projection fuel injection system.

I also made new gas tank straps from stainless. They look pretty cool.

I did a bit of repair work to the rear mounting point of the drivers side rear leaf spring. The rust was pretty bad there, and I was worried about getting into the throttle real hard and having the rear end come loose!

Here is the bad news: I had to pull the 302 from my 66 because it was making a noise. It was a very unusual noise. I checked a few things before I removed it, but couldn't find the problem. Disconnecting cylinder number 4 plug wire would make the noise much quieter. So I pulled it. It looked really good everywhere except piston and bore number 4. The piston was galled and showed signs of excessive heat on the sides of the skirt ( I will add a picture of it soon ). A very knowledgeable friend said he thought the cause was a combination of not enough piston to wall clearance ( not neccesarily out of tolerance though ) and high piston temperature. Back when the engine was in the car I did alot of hard driving on it. I was racing on the highway ( wide open and relatively trafficless ) and had the car in third gear and ran the engine up to about 5800rpm and kept it there for a while. When I pulled into a parking lot later that day I heard a slight 'tick'. I thought the 'tick' was a header gasket as I had to replace them once before. It wasn't the gasket. I kept driving it hard for awhile and decided to get rid of the car. I kept the engine and trans. When I put the engine in the Econoline the sound was 'right there' next to me and the noise was much more obvious and pronounced. It wasn't bad at all with the doghouse closed, but with it open it was too obvious to ignore. So..here I am with a 302 that needs new pistons and a hone job. I have a good 351W and I am considering putting it in instead of the 302. I would prefer the torque of the 351, but I don't want to cut up the doghouse for clearance. On the other hand if I cut up the doghouse I can cut off a little extra and I will then be able to install my headers, which I really want in the truck. I will make my decision by this weekend.

Whew that was kinda long-winded.

Click for gas tank picture.

Click for cast iron weight picture.

2/20/99

I recently bought a book with some good econo info. I will add some of that info here soon.

1/13/99

I found some aluminum heads for my 429. M 6049-C460 pro stock. The price was right so I bought 'em. I've got people telling me not to build up the econoline. They think I should build up a cobra kit car instead. Any comments or experiences?

1/4/99

I was out bombing around in my 66 this past weekend and ran into a little problem with fuel. It seems like my gas tank has a bit of rust in it. I have a new filter just before the fuel pump , so I didn't get any rust in my carb. I am going to drop the tank and get it restored ( or replace it ). I'll try to get a picture of the cast iron weight while the tank is out.

12/9/98

I have been trying to educate myself on how I should do the suspension on my 63 for drag racing ( and wheelies too! ). I have read articles, surfed the internet, talked to people, looked at catalogs, etc. I think I have decided to go with a complete tube chassis with all different suspension/brakes/steering,etc. Now it is still difficult to decide which type of tube chassis to choose. There are many companies offering sub-systems and other components. Other companies will fabricate a custom chassis in their shop. I would like to fabricate it myself.I have the room and most of the equipment, I just need to learn more, and I will. If anybody has any experiences making a custom chassis or having one made let me know how it went.

Thanks,

Mark

11/30/98

Well my 63 is a bit different than my 66. It has a different dashboard, rear end, driveshaft, taillights, heater, motor crossmember. I guess it doesn't matter if I'm going to put the v8 in tho. It is interesting to see how much more heavy duty the 66 seems. I'm telling you the driveshaft in the 63 is the smallest diameter I've seen.

Competition Engineering has what appears to be an affordable line of hipo suspension parts available. Does anyone have experience with them?

Awhile back I got an e-mail from a guy who said that these trucks had a 300 lb cast iron weight in the back near the gas tank to improve traction. I wonder if that is in addition to the 2415 lb curb weight listed in my shop manual or included.

11/22/98

Finally there are some words here!

Well, the news is that I bought another Econoline pickup. This one is a 63 5 window, red with white stripes. This truck is slated for maximum acceleration. I don't know yet which engine I am going to put into it though. I have two likely options: 351W or 429Thunderjet.

The 429 is already completely rebuilt with minor head work and a performance cam. The problem is that this engine is very heavy. Just the crank weighs 70 pounds ( compare with 32 pounds for a 302 and 47 pounds for an Olds 403 ) , and the block weighs 220 pounds. The intake and heads are heavy as well. I don't have an aluminum intake for the 429 either.

The 351W on the other doesn't seem to be too much heavier than the 302 and I have lots of parts for it including dual and single plane four barrel alum. intakes. Also a set of aluminum heads are available for less than $1000 ( can't even get close to a set for the 429 for that price).

The plan is for a late model 8.8" traction-lock rearend ( I have a 9" but it isn't a posi unit ), automatic with shift kit ( c4 or c6 ), the doghouse is coming out, the floor is going to get cut to open up the hole for the engine. I have a friend that works with aluminum sheet and he thinks we could build a nice doghouse out of diamond plate.

Gotta go but I'll keep ya posted on my plan/progress

Mark