Haven't decided to keep it or sell it yet. Throw a carb cheater and 4 barrel on? Might have to just for the fun of it. EDIT: Carb Cheater once again available @ Thecarbcheater.com Also: updated version of my timing light amzn.to/3Uph57Y
Uncle Luke, I was literally yesterday years old when I discovered the carb cheater. AMAZING!! However, I have a couple of questions, what if you had a ‘64 GTO with tri-power carbs; could the carb cheater work with that? What about dual carbs? Sorry for asking this here, I didn’t know where else to go. Thanks .
My uncle bought one of these brand new with no bed, just the cab and frame. Built a custom welding rig out of it and it was his mobile welding shop for many years. I worked with him during the summer of '71 when the rig was pretty much brand new. Brings back memories.
I was an Auto Shop teacher and I agree that Luke would do well in that role. If I was still teaching ( retired now ) I would be showing his videos in class.
Please keep and fix this truck. I'd love to see more content on it. This is an awesome truck. I've looked into them a little bit in the past as possibly buying one and I've never seen one that wasn't a grain bin, a dump truck, a fire truck, or just a frame in the rear. Super cool to see one with a truck bed
I don't know if I said this in my previous comment, so I'll say it again. WELCOME BACK LUKE. I didn't realise how much I'd missed you until I watched this video. You have a good way of putting things across that is so easy to understand. No waffle, no sales speak, just good old fashioned sense! Thanks Luke, you have been missed. From UK.
Another tip on the gaskets- keep a tube of chapstick in your carb parts box, rub it on the new gaskets on install and they come back off easy and less messy than grease. Bonus tip- also works on Holly bowl and metering block gaskets. All flavors work but I like the menthol stuff😁 Lots of solid knowledge in this video! Keep spreading the work man👍
-- The old school material to use is Vaseline... in the past, I kept some in a small medicine bottle which eliminated the need to carry the larger jar and kept both the pill bottle and the jar unspoiled. Wives tend to get peeved when they find the jar missing (in the garage) or something other than Vaseline in the Vaseline jar. Don't ask me how I know that! Peace & good vibes! - Max Giganteum
Well done Luke. As a guy who learned to tune carbs in the 70's, from trial and error and books...pre you tube, LOL I appreciate you keeping the carb knowledge alive. That 50cc pump was a common mod many moons ago in roundy round racing. Some o the lower class deals required using 2bbl carb, but didn't specify the intake...so guys would get a decent dual plane 4bbl intake and adapt it to a 2bbl, drop the Holley 500 on. They would work, but the pump shot was weak with a larger intake volume/runner change. So they added the 50 cc pump shot and it helped...and they would pass the "inspection" at the track. The info you gave on the mixture screw going back from max vacuum is correct, and something I frequently see done wrong on cars guys bring around here. That truck had some serious effort put into it at one time, those super single wheels and tires were not inexpensive, I think someone was building a truck they planned to use. It has promise, maybe investigate that leaf spring pack, LOL. Leaving stuff alone is never any fun. I once did a tunnel ram with 2 500 Holleys on a mild 350 based chevy...it worked surprisingly well...
That's a 500CFM 4412 holley 2bl. They are really common and designed for limited class oval track. they come with a 50cc pump because they are designed for an engine with a cam that has low idle vacuum. Your going to want to check the power valve it is probably a 6.5 or less maybe even a plug not good on an engine with 12 " of vacuum or more. What happens on limited race engines is the motor can actually pull vacuum at the end of the straight due to a small carb "500cfm" and shut the power valve lean out and burn a piston or 3. Or just hang the power valve open and foul the plugs on yellow flag laps. Then when it turns green your friends will try to run over you, They are designed to run on the main jets with little or no power circuits used . So put a 10.5 or at least 4 numbers below cruise vacuum ( the vacuum advance hooked to manifold vacuum will help with cruise vacuum.) Some oem holleys came with a 2 stage power valve and tuned properly can be surprisingly efficient. Jet it down till it surges at light throttle cruise. Then add 2 numbers. Even then the metering block that comes with those carbs is specialized so it will be a compromise on the street. Now the 391 The good news is they came with a steel crank same stroke as a 427. I seem to remember they had an oversized crank snout to run accessory's. The heads were terrible really small valves basically designed to detune them. I think they had sodium filled exhaust valves. A set of decent car or truck heads a mild cam and an intake maybe a 650 carb would do wonders. And headers the OEM manifolds are horrible. And soak the upper bolts with blaster they like to break off. It could have the truck pattern heads which was a different bolt pattern drilled. GT 390 fairlanes used the same pattern but different heads.
On my 72 FE engine I used the resistive wire as my trigger wire for a 12volt/30amp relay. I ran a double black/red wire from the engine to the battery, the black side being the trigger to the relay, and the red wire being the full power from the relay back to the distributor (Pertronix ignition). The relay I had safely tucked into place on the passenger fender. Gave me full 12v to the HEI. Still only got 9.98 mpg with the pig 360 fe. Lol
As a pilot flying old carbureted Cessnas, I have to adjust the mixture screw on the fly as I am changing altitude, due to the change of levels of oxygen at different altitudes. Less oxygen you want less fuel. You are absolutely right that rich-of-peak is the way to go. That is adjust until you have the highest possible EGT value, and then go a little bit rich from there. Keep it up! Great videos!
I have to wonder if Luke's carb cheater would do that for you. Obviously it would be a custom job, and getting a product certified for aircraft is a nightmare, but I thought it and had to say it
Due to the unbalanced induction system on those old carbed cessnas, rich of peak is the way to go. In many modern fuel injected airplanes with balanced inductions or GAMI injectors, Lean of peak is actually preferrable
I think you are the go to for people who want to learn how to fiddle with older cars since you explain the processes very clearly. My first vehicle was a 1962 Ford Econoline van that I got for $75 back in 1980 when I was 16. It was a piece of crap, but it did teach me how to set points and timing, and adjust the carb. I actually got it running pretty good.
Im one of the Few that have played with these FTs, I put a 391FT into my 66 F100 and it was an interesting build, best thing i ever did was pull the FT heads off those 1.75/1.50 valves and 79.5-82.5 cc dont do all that great, I used C8AE-H heads and a Edelbrock Performer intake 600 holley and headers it was an amazing boost of power and efficiency, with all that extra rotational weight you about couldn't accidentally kill it, i taught my wife to drive a standard in that truck hauling hay, eventually the demise was all my higher rpm driving and it lost the #8 rod bearing
You know Luke you dont post tons of stuff but long term followers Always are subconciously looking for you lastest post ,and its worth it ,everytime .😂
Lots of these were the absolute backbone of the volunteer fire service for decades... I was fortunate to have experienced driving and operating them. What great memories!!!❤
I wish there was a guy just like you who focused on small block Chevys instead of Fords. I don't own any carbureted Fords, but know more about them than the Chevy's I own thanks to your channel.
I drove one of these that was a bucket truck through the hills of Pennsylvania back in the 80's. Three on the tree and it was massive. Nobody got in it's way!
Luke….speaking as a trucker with 2M miles under my boots, those wide-base singles on the back of your truck are part of what’s beating you half to death due to the 120 PSI inflation requirement. Not to mention the destruction they cause when one of those lets go…Just a thought, swap out to duals and drop the pressures to around 75-80 PSI and see how that might improve the rough ride characteristics. Swapping in an air-ride suspension on the rear would help as well, but it’s all in how far down the rabbit hole you want to pursue this. Granted, hooking onto something and hauling/pulling would smooth it out as the suspension is designed to operate under a load….. Great video as always, drives home not only the value of tuning, but knowing what to check before the first mixture screw is touched on the carburetor.
The yellow is the original Ford color. I had a 73 grabber in that color with black stripes. I also had a 72 f750 grain truck we used as a sap hauler in that yellow we called the tree bee.
Then I have a question. Is that Yuma Yellow? The doors look like meadowlark yellow. I'm thinking the doors may have been replaced. I really like the yellow in that cab. My '69 is Meadowlark, just a bit too pastel for me.
@@coltonkruse2313 -- There's a good chance the yellow color is due to the fact that the truck was purchased for commercial use by a private business entity, a city, a county, a state or the feds. That was very common in the 60s & 70s. I wouldn't guarantee it but the odds are good based on my experience. Best wishes! - Max Giganteum
Just when I think I know a good bit about carbs, you manage to school me with important but very practical information about tuning and setting them up
Good morning from Cape Cod ⚓ let me say, Luke you do a fantastic job of explaining the steps that needs to be taken to tune a carb and timing correctly. The difference is like night and day. Seems like a pretty awesome truck, if you feel up to it I would like to see more done with it. Keep up the great work and the awesome content 👍✌️🇺🇲
Reminds me of my uncle Phil. When growing up in the 70"'s and 80's I went there every weekend and more in the summer. Always had work clothes on and in the garage or slitting wood and what not.
I've been told that my hometown's ambulance squad had a 70s F600 with a walk-in rescue until 1998 when they replaced it. The F600 had the lovely issue of the engine shutting off as the volunteers were going down the driveway. Since it had power brakes, they had to quickly restart the truck to prevent it from slamming into a house at the bottom of the driveway.
I drove one as a grain truck. Stalled out going into the elevator in town when i was 16. Started rolling backwards. No engine, no vacuum, no brakes. Used the mirrors to navigate down the sloped elevator approach, narrowly fitting between the incoming line of trucks and a power pole, while trying to get the thing to start back up. Fortunately I had no collisions, but that was an issue I remember all too well.
You Sir are the master of tuning a Ford. Nice work on the old gem. You got to get her back after the engine is removed. That interior looks super clean.
Hi Luke! Wow, I had no Idea this truck even existed. And a 391 FT? But I love the look and stance of it. IMO, A keeper for sure and it might just be handy around the farm with the PTO set up. Take it to the local car show and watch a crowd form around her. Thanks for sharing. Love and blessings to you from Motown/Dearborn, Home of the Blue Oval!
The FT engines were basically an industrial FE with a forged crank, and governed ignition and carb (so someone didn't shock load the driveline under heavy load). They had forged cranks, slightly different heads, distributor, intakes ... they look like an FE, but ironically almost nothing will directly transfer from one to the other.
@@ThunderHead289 Thanks Luke! I will be doing some more research on this beauty. Oh, thanks for reminder of vacuum gage high point and then adding a 1/4 turn on the air/fuel mixture screws. Totally forgot that and will check it later on the 460 750 Holley.
What a beast! I'd hate to have to replace those rear tires though... wow. Almost looks like something that Dalton from Pole Barn Garage would have. It's one of those "just because" vehicles!
New sub here !! Love your videos! Been working on cars and trucks for years…how ever just don’t see many old carb set ups! Just had a guy drop off a 69 eco line Ford van!!! this was a nice refresher. Thanks a bunch.❤
Back when I was a mechanic, I was the resident carb guy - always fun as many younger mechanics look at folks tuning that stuff like your performing vodoo magic 😄 Used to have a little spray bottle labeled "holy water" that always threw people off 😄
The 55-66 Chevrolet fenders are genius! I use a 1970 F-500 short wheelbase versa-lift bucket truck to trim the oak trees out on my acreage. It’s really maneuverable for it’s size and I have defied death and mounted new 750-20 bias tires on two of the original Firestone rh-5 Widowmaker two piece rims. Four more to go! The exhaust manifolds are shot and three bolts are still stuck. But I douse them with liberal amounts of penetrating oil every time I power the lift or the electric winch. The original onboard Generac makes 220 ac which can also be useful. It has the same hydraulic brake lock that yours does, but it still needs a new brake vacuum booster and other safety issues before it is ready to terrorize the streets of the big city. …..to trim my loved ones trees!
That truck is cool! I built the medium duty GMC version and take it to cruise ins and drive it on nice days. Let me tell you, youll get all kinds of thumbs up and people staring! Kids love it too, looks like a real life monster truck to most youngsters. You should definitely keep it and have fun with it!
That grill looks more like the grill I remember on our 68 Ford farm grain truck. Not surprising with all the other parts mashed together. Looks like you are making great headway on it.
I love working on old cars because I don't need 5 thousand dollar scanners. I just gotta use my eyes and ears to check and work on older cars. Old cars don't have thousands of sensors that go bad either alot less to check. I always appreciate your tips and ways to check carbs and timing and anything on older vehicles
Interesting and informative as always. Farm boys are pretty awesome mechanics. Growing up with wrenches in hand because there's always something to fix.
I've got one of these I use around the farm and to haul feed and farm supplies. I ended up pulling the 391 out as it was worn out and converted it to a 7.3 power stroke diesel. It runs very well now, and it has been serving me for 10 years.
Honestly if somebody told Luke to try and get a nuclear reactor going again, I'd watch it. I love these videos. It's always a hell yeah moment when these old beauties come back to life.
I had a 71 Mustang convertible in the early 80s with a 250SS, and I HATED how often I had to mess with the points, nitrous or not, so I finally pulled an HEI distributor and wiring out of a later luxury car, and I LOVED how much better it ran from then on. Wiring it up as it was from the factory in that car was the key. Never had a problem with the ignition again.
I looked up the model number for that 2-barrel Holley. It is a 500 cfm performance 2-barrel and comes stock with a 50cc accelerator pump. It sure sounds and runs better after your repairs and tuning.
@@ThunderHead289 It's good to have a job you love and a hobby different enough so you don't get bored or burnt out. Screw the algorithm, keep posting at your leisure, we'll all be here waiting patiently for the next one.
@@ThunderHead289 -- Careful there Luke... you may regret the thought in the future. When you're as old as I am, you think about things very differently. You may end up looking back and wonder why you never set your own hours, decided to NOT be your own boss and why you didn't go to work for yourself! Set your expectations low and you'll easily achieve them. Best wishes! - Max Giganteum
What's funny is I remember seeing this exact truck for sale on FB marketplace not too long ago lol, nice to see it went somewhere where it can be appreciated.
I'm an old dog, yet I always learn something (or remember something I've forgotten) from your videos. You do a great job of explaining what (and why) you're doing, and it all makes sense. Could you maybe fix our Government? I'm pretty sure there are a few screws loose!
If someone can't tune a carb and set an ignition after watching some of your video's, they're simply dead inside. As always, awesome content and instructions.
Pretty cool to use hay bail for a step. When I was just out of high school and worked In many different auto shops. Many mechanics used a metal milk crate as a step and put shop towels on for a seat/chair for eating lunch. Thank you cool stuff.
Great Job! Not going to lie, i saw this when it was listed and had the idea of making the trip to check it out bouncing around in my head. This tuning is something i KNOW i wouldve chased for weeks! Enjoy that BEAST! i pictured towing around a Airstream Land Yacht.
👍 Bought a 500cfm Holley 2 barrel new sealed in the box back in late 70`s with race bowl and is equipped with a 50cc pump. It ran great on a stock Ford 1968 302 Galaxy.
Must be how the 500cfm units are where the 350cfm units is what I've always had around. I have a strong feeling that a 300cfm primary on a 600cfm will run pretty decent - not that it actually isn't pretty good as is honestly.
Absolutely BADASS!!!! I'd be proud to take that to town [and use on the farm]! Great safety tip too about the fan and your hand for the youngens, hopefully they will heed. As for that carb, why not use your magical carb doodad? Would love to see what a difference that might make?
6:55, as a retired Ford, Lincoln, Mercury technician, I would take a yellow grease pencil and fill in the timing marks after the engine had wamed up, wiping the excess of with a rag. That makes them really glow with a timing light.
Thanks for spreading genuine knowledge, Luke. You have helped me with understanding the theory of all these systems and it helps me all the time. Much appreciated.
So many peeps here suggesting that Luke should keep this truck. So long as it has use, I would agree. Certainly if the truck were to not be used often enough to keep it viable then it will degrade sitting around.
You're an inspiration Luke and a well of old school knowledge. Can't afford a Carb Cheater here in Australia just yet, they're like $550.00 AU, but that will be my next install on my 460 BB in my bus. Cheers from Australia.
It's been several decades and then some before I've wrenched on these babies! It was fun stumbling on this video and reminded me of a F-250 3/4 that I modified to a one ton to circumvent gas restrictions at the pump after the 70s I'm not sure but in my mind's eye I want to see a fan shroud on that radiator to improve Cooling. Thanks for the ride along
I am always so glad to see you upload, I know it takes a special kind of person to handle the stress of fay to day life and do RUclips so I can't blame you, I am just glad to see what you're up too. You're a very bright dude, right up there with my buddy Dallas Brown you can take 15-20 minutes and tune a vehicle up better than it has any right to be.
Bill it's so great having followed you since u very first started your channel and seeing how you have grown so well and the fact that your now teaching the youth and inspiring people to do it and try their best!
Everything is forgiven and forgotten about the old way of doing it once and only once correctly. You doing that and stressing the correct way is awesome and I enjoyed your video and let's see it roll down the highway!
I've been drooling over the idea of building one of these old Ford's. Main thing holding me back is the old bolt pattern and ways to upgrade the brakes to something that is easier to aquire parts for.
I bought a 74 Chevy C10, 454 running points. The guy I bought it from said he tried a GM-HEI but went back to points because it ran like a dog, so the first thing I did was R&R the distributor for an HEI, but wired the ignition to the fuse box for a full 12V. It still runs perfect after almost 10 years. I've never bothered to remove the resistor. Never needed to after wiring direct to the fuse box
Excellent presentation. Thank you. I really, really enjoyed this one. I have fought timing and carb issues many times in the past and this was a great refresher.
That thing is totally kick ass. It really can't be understated how much thought and effort someone put into the brake/axle conversions on this. Everyone that messes with these old medium duty trucks wants to update the brakes and axles but seems very few actually pull it off. It takes a headache inducing amount of time and research to come up with the right combo of parts and then actually hunting the parts themselves down. I can't help but love the gear whine those old Clark 5 speeds make, my 71 B750 sounds the same. I've got a factory 4V FT intake laying around I'm tempted to offer you but it's a big heavy cast iron beast. The shipping cost and installation effort probably wouldn't be worth the performance gains, if any.
Luke! List #4412 carburetor comes from the factory with the 50cc pump. Favoring the throttle side of the choke air horn,stamped is the word list with the the number stamped. Enjoy your videos! Learn alot from them. And enjoy them!
I just subscribed ☺️. You're awesome & very knowledgeable. Don't ever listen to the negative comments. I'm old, skool, too. You just gave me one heck of a schooling on carbs & Ignition. You blew my mind. THANK YOU!Keep up these great videos.
Pretty cool conversion! I owned a 1969 and 1971 F600, the 1969 had the 391FT, 71 had the 330 HD FT. There's videos on my channel from years ago, sold the green 71 when I got the red 69, sold the 69 when we moved out of NY state. That "HEI doesn't want a coil resistor" got me a really good deal on a 1980 AMC CJ-7 with a GM Iron Duke and HEI.
I always learn something watching your vids. You mentioned how nowadays people really don't understand carbs. I'm so old I remember when folks talked about mechanics who were "good" at tuneups. As I'm older looking back, I suspect there were guys who had your level of knowledge about the fuel-ignition relationships and working those out. But they probably were still not so common. Most guys just put in new parts and didn't necessarily make sure things were running optimum.
If you want to keep it for mainly towing a hauling really heavy stuff but, you want it to ride better, maybe removing leaves, adding airbags and having an onboard compressor would be the move. It definitely deserves some mild mods, maybe an aluminum intake, 4bbl, long tube headers. I have always looked at those old U Haul and Penske trucks and thought it would be awesome to mimic the fat front fenders on a pickup bed on the back. It's exactly what I had in mind as a kid realizing how much bigger those trucks are yet realizing the cab eas the same size. If it was mine, I might consider putting a beam kit on it like a Pre-Runner with big coil overs that soak up all the bumps and bypasses, bump stops and limit straps, with a 4 link in the rear too. I would expect that once it had a suspension of that caliber fulling the ample fender wells, it is going to probably need at least a 40" offroad tire, possibly as large a 44,46,48" and once it got that far it would need some serious power, like a built 7.3 Godzilla, 460 Windsor, 557 BBF or something with boost like a 9.5" Windsor. Running through a ZF-5 S47 or S6-650 manual. Once it had the power, it's going to need an exoskeleton in case it lays on the sides or the roof to protect you and possibly the body and be nicer than having the interior full of tubes and needing a helmet not to smack your head. A pre-runner build like Wings World does in their own garage with plans designed on Solid Works is very time consuming and expensive but, it sure would be cool to do with a widebody truck like that, maybe cut the back of the cab and front of the bed out, make it unibody, have a removable cap and back seat so it's like a LWB F750 Bronco 600-1000hp with 16" front and 18" rear suspension travel. Not very useful in Iowa but, it would be a show stopper at Silverlake.
Haven't decided to keep it or sell it yet. Throw a carb cheater and 4 barrel on? Might have to just for the fun of it.
EDIT: Carb Cheater once again available @ Thecarbcheater.com
Also: updated version of my timing light amzn.to/3Uph57Y
Just trade it to me😉 After you’ve thrown on the carb cheater and four barrel.
Keep it and definitely try the hay baler
Yes, keep it to make lots more content with it, very cool truck.😎👍
Uncle Luke, I was literally yesterday years old when I discovered the carb cheater. AMAZING!! However, I have a couple of questions, what if you had a ‘64 GTO with tri-power carbs; could the carb cheater work with that? What about dual carbs? Sorry for asking this here, I didn’t know where else to go. Thanks .
KEEP
My uncle bought one of these brand new with no bed, just the cab and frame. Built a custom welding rig out of it and it was his mobile welding shop for many years. I worked with him during the summer of '71 when the rig was pretty much brand new. Brings back memories.
Luke would have made an awesome H.S. auto shop teacher in the 70's-80's.
He'd make an awesome auto shop teacher in 2024.
I was an Auto Shop teacher and I agree that Luke would do well in that role. If I was still teaching ( retired now ) I would be showing his videos in class.
Kids need that now way worse than they did back then
I'll buy it if the price is appropriate for what it is. Terry
I like this truck.
Please keep and fix this truck. I'd love to see more content on it. This is an awesome truck. I've looked into them a little bit in the past as possibly buying one and I've never seen one that wasn't a grain bin, a dump truck, a fire truck, or just a frame in the rear. Super cool to see one with a truck bed
Agreed! Now if he paints it the same color as the interior.... it will really stand out.
If it just has the frame in the rear, find a bed to put on it.
Make it tonka tough
Yes please more of this BFT please
Yessss!!!❤❤❤
That old rig is indeed fortunate to have Uncle Luke in its life.
It's refreshing to see a young mechanic that knows old school engines and how they work. Great video.
He's an engineer
Loved to listen to this young man that KNOWS what he's talking about.
Greetings from an old retired Petrol head in South Africa.
Never in my life have I ever seen a more perfect duo then you and the truck 😂
AMEN!
That truck looks like it was made for him!
Dude that's a keep and drive rig! She's beautiful
I don't know if I said this in my previous comment, so I'll say it again. WELCOME BACK LUKE. I didn't realise how much I'd missed you until I watched this video. You have a good way of putting things across that is so easy to understand. No waffle, no sales speak, just good old fashioned sense! Thanks Luke, you have been missed. From UK.
Another tip on the gaskets- keep a tube of chapstick in your carb parts box, rub it on the new gaskets on install and they come back off easy and less messy than grease. Bonus tip- also works on Holly bowl and metering block gaskets.
All flavors work but I like the menthol stuff😁
Lots of solid knowledge in this video! Keep spreading the work man👍
-- The old school material to use is Vaseline... in the past, I kept some in a small medicine bottle which eliminated the need to carry the larger jar and kept both the pill bottle and the jar unspoiled. Wives tend to get peeved when they find the jar missing (in the garage) or something other than Vaseline in the Vaseline jar. Don't ask me how I know that! Peace & good vibes!
- Max Giganteum
Lucas, that 750 pickup is a keeper! It's just one of a kind. Never get rid of it.
Ah man F650-F750s will always have a special place in my heart. Learned how to drive stick on one of those as a teenager hauling dirt and rock.
when I was growing up automatics in pickups were not common so learning to use a clutch was common and the 4 speed with Granny low again was common
Well done Luke. As a guy who learned to tune carbs in the 70's, from trial and error and books...pre you tube, LOL I appreciate you keeping the carb knowledge alive. That 50cc pump was a common mod many moons ago in roundy round racing. Some o the lower class deals required using 2bbl carb, but didn't specify the intake...so guys would get a decent dual plane 4bbl intake and adapt it to a 2bbl, drop the Holley 500 on. They would work, but the pump shot was weak with a larger intake volume/runner change. So they added the 50 cc pump shot and it helped...and they would pass the "inspection" at the track.
The info you gave on the mixture screw going back from max vacuum is correct, and something I frequently see done wrong on cars guys bring around here.
That truck had some serious effort put into it at one time, those super single wheels and tires were not inexpensive, I think someone was building a truck they planned to use. It has promise, maybe investigate that leaf spring pack, LOL.
Leaving stuff alone is never any fun. I once did a tunnel ram with 2 500 Holleys on a mild 350 based chevy...it worked surprisingly well...
Been running my 300 in-line off a resistive lead for a year… That explains a lot! I appreciate it
That's a 500CFM 4412 holley 2bl. They are really common and designed for limited class oval track. they come with a 50cc pump because they are designed for an engine with a cam that has low idle vacuum. Your going to want to check the power valve it is probably a 6.5 or less maybe even a plug not good on an engine with 12 " of vacuum or more. What happens on limited race engines is the motor can actually pull vacuum at the end of the straight due to a small carb "500cfm" and shut the power valve lean out and burn a piston or 3. Or just hang the power valve open and foul the plugs on yellow flag laps. Then when it turns green your friends will try to run over you,
They are designed to run on the main jets with little or no power circuits used . So put a 10.5 or at least 4 numbers below cruise vacuum ( the vacuum advance hooked to manifold vacuum will help with cruise vacuum.) Some oem holleys came with a 2 stage power valve and tuned properly can be surprisingly efficient. Jet it down till it surges at light throttle cruise. Then add 2 numbers. Even then the metering block that comes with those carbs is specialized so it will be a compromise on the street.
Now the 391 The good news is they came with a steel crank same stroke as a 427. I seem to remember they had an oversized crank snout to run accessory's. The heads were terrible really small valves basically designed to detune them. I think they had sodium filled exhaust valves. A set of decent car or truck heads a mild cam and an intake maybe a 650 carb would do wonders. And headers the OEM manifolds are horrible. And soak the upper bolts with blaster they like to break off. It could have the truck pattern heads which was a different bolt pattern drilled. GT 390 fairlanes used the same pattern but different heads.
That's a goldmine of information
When you dropped that carb tuning knowledge I instantly subscribed, respect.
On my 72 FE engine I used the resistive wire as my trigger wire for a 12volt/30amp relay. I ran a double black/red wire from the engine to the battery, the black side being the trigger to the relay, and the red wire being the full power from the relay back to the distributor (Pertronix ignition). The relay I had safely tucked into place on the passenger fender. Gave me full 12v to the HEI.
Still only got 9.98 mpg with the pig 360 fe. Lol
What a cool truck. Shocking to see a young person being so knowledgeable about such an old truck. Great video.
As a pilot flying old carbureted Cessnas, I have to adjust the mixture screw on the fly as I am changing altitude, due to the change of levels of oxygen at different altitudes. Less oxygen you want less fuel. You are absolutely right that rich-of-peak is the way to go. That is adjust until you have the highest possible EGT value, and then go a little bit rich from there. Keep it up! Great videos!
You're a brave man!
I have to wonder if Luke's carb cheater would do that for you. Obviously it would be a custom job, and getting a product certified for aircraft is a nightmare, but I thought it and had to say it
Due to the unbalanced induction system on those old carbed cessnas, rich of peak is the way to go. In many modern fuel injected airplanes with balanced inductions or GAMI injectors, Lean of peak is actually preferrable
I think you are the go to for people who want to learn how to fiddle with older cars since you explain the processes very clearly. My first vehicle was a 1962 Ford Econoline van that I got for $75 back in 1980 when I was 16. It was a piece of crap, but it did teach me how to set points and timing, and adjust the carb. I actually got it running pretty good.
This video renews my desire to fix my 1975 F600. It's got a 361FT with a 4BBL.
Im one of the Few that have played with these FTs, I put a 391FT into my 66 F100 and it was an interesting build, best thing i ever did was pull the FT heads off those 1.75/1.50 valves and 79.5-82.5 cc dont do all that great, I used C8AE-H heads and a Edelbrock Performer intake 600 holley and headers it was an amazing boost of power and efficiency, with all that extra rotational weight you about couldn't accidentally kill it, i taught my wife to drive a standard in that truck hauling hay, eventually the demise was all my higher rpm driving and it lost the #8 rod bearing
You know Luke you dont post tons of stuff but long term followers Always are subconciously looking for you lastest post ,and its worth it ,everytime .😂
Lots of these were the absolute backbone of the volunteer fire service for decades... I was fortunate to have experienced driving and operating them. What great memories!!!❤
Us old timers remember the use of wooden clothes pin on fuel line, good old remedy vapor lock. Nice truck. Az Ford Guy.
I wish there was a guy just like you who focused on small block Chevys instead of Fords. I don't own any carbureted Fords, but know more about them than the Chevy's I own thanks to your channel.
I used to build and sell sbc engines all the time - the tuning tech is actually the same 🙂
Very much so not ford specific at all
Derrick on Vise Grip Garage is mostly SBC
I drove one of these that was a bucket truck through the hills of Pennsylvania back in the 80's. Three on the tree and it was massive.
Nobody got in it's way!
Luke….speaking as a trucker with 2M miles under my boots, those wide-base singles on the back of your truck are part of what’s beating you half to death due to the 120 PSI inflation requirement. Not to mention the destruction they cause when one of those lets go…Just a thought, swap out to duals and drop the pressures to around 75-80 PSI and see how that might improve the rough ride characteristics. Swapping in an air-ride suspension on the rear would help as well, but it’s all in how far down the rabbit hole you want to pursue this. Granted, hooking onto something and hauling/pulling would smooth it out as the suspension is designed to operate under a load…..
Great video as always, drives home not only the value of tuning, but knowing what to check before the first mixture screw is touched on the carburetor.
The yellow is the original Ford color. I had a 73 grabber in that color with black stripes. I also had a 72 f750 grain truck we used as a sap hauler in that yellow we called the tree bee.
Then I have a question. Is that Yuma Yellow? The doors look like meadowlark yellow. I'm thinking the doors may have been replaced. I really like the yellow in that cab. My '69 is Meadowlark, just a bit too pastel for me.
That yellow color is pretty cool. These trucks were always red or white where I grew up I don't think I had ever seen a yellow one.
@@coltonkruse2313 -- There's a good chance the yellow color is due to the fact that the truck was purchased for commercial use by a private business entity, a city, a county, a state or the feds. That was very common in the 60s & 70s. I wouldn't guarantee it but the odds are good based on my experience. Best wishes!
- Max Giganteum
Just when I think I know a good bit about carbs, you manage to school me with important but very practical information about tuning and setting them up
Drove an old(similar vintage to that) f700 as a water truck in the early 2000’s with a 5+2, fun to drive for sure 🚚
Awsome truck. I would buy that rig in a heartbeat. As always Luke, you are a great teacher.
Good morning from Cape Cod ⚓ let me say, Luke you do a fantastic job of explaining the steps that needs to be taken to tune a carb and timing correctly. The difference is like night and day. Seems like a pretty awesome truck, if you feel up to it I would like to see more done with it. Keep up the great work and the awesome content 👍✌️🇺🇲
Reminds me of my uncle Phil. When growing up in the 70"'s and 80's I went there every weekend and more in the summer. Always had work clothes on and in the garage or slitting wood and what not.
I've been told that my hometown's ambulance squad had a 70s F600 with a walk-in rescue until 1998 when they replaced it.
The F600 had the lovely issue of the engine shutting off as the volunteers were going down the driveway. Since it had power brakes, they had to quickly restart the truck to prevent it from slamming into a house at the bottom of the driveway.
I drove one as a grain truck. Stalled out going into the elevator in town when i was 16. Started rolling backwards. No engine, no vacuum, no brakes. Used the mirrors to navigate down the sloped elevator approach, narrowly fitting between the incoming line of trucks and a power pole, while trying to get the thing to start back up. Fortunately I had no collisions, but that was an issue I remember all too well.
You Sir are the master of tuning a Ford. Nice work on the old gem. You got to get her back after the engine is removed. That interior looks super clean.
Hi Luke! Wow, I had no Idea this truck even existed. And a 391 FT? But I love the look and stance of it. IMO, A keeper for sure and it might just be handy around the farm with the PTO set up. Take it to the local car show and watch a crowd form around her. Thanks for sharing. Love and blessings to you from Motown/Dearborn, Home of the Blue Oval!
The FT engines were basically an industrial FE with a forged crank, and governed ignition and carb (so someone didn't shock load the driveline under heavy load).
They had forged cranks, slightly different heads, distributor, intakes ... they look like an FE, but ironically almost nothing will directly transfer from one to the other.
@@ThunderHead289 Thanks Luke! I will be doing some more research on this beauty. Oh, thanks for reminder of vacuum gage high point and then adding a 1/4 turn on the air/fuel mixture screws. Totally forgot that and will check it later on the 460 750 Holley.
@@robertclymer6948is your family kin to any of the Clymers who published auto \ motorcycle repair manuals?
I'm really jealous. Definitely a keeper.
Good morning Uncle Luke you are a really good teacher. I always enjoy your videos because I can learn more about working on vehicles and saving money
That dang pink resistance wire. Great place to start. I would definitely try to hold on to this bad ass rig, for sure!
I know that truck. I’m so glad you got it. He put a lot of work into it and we always stared at it heading out of town. We call it Mad Colfax 😀
Oh yeah that's beast mode. That truck looks down and laughs at little F350s as it drives by them hauling twice as much.
4 bags of groceries instead of just 2?
@@kisielthe1st Plus truck testicles, nicht wahr?
@@kisielthe1st -- More like 4000 pounds instead of 2000. 🤦🏻♂
- Max Giganteum
@@MaxGiganteum we're talking about truckolds.
When I saw the thumbnail for this video, my jaw dropped.
This is the most badass truck I believe I've *ever* seen. I want one.
Very informative! I just installed an HEI in my 67 Cougar, I definitely want to go back and check supply voltage.
It makes a big difference - number 1 reason HEIs "fail" all the time on fords, as well as pertronix.
It's actually just an under voltage issue
What a beast! I'd hate to have to replace those rear tires though... wow. Almost looks like something that Dalton from Pole Barn Garage would have. It's one of those "just because" vehicles!
Got that right
One of those rear tires is about 1150 dollars. 😊
An OD unit behind the transmission would help.
@@carlbernard4197That's a lot to pay for a vanity wear item.
Those are super singles tires they're more expensive than the traditional dual tires dual rims
New sub here !! Love your videos! Been working on cars and trucks for years…how ever just don’t see many old carb set ups! Just had a guy drop off a 69 eco line Ford van!!! this was a nice refresher. Thanks a bunch.❤
Back when I was a mechanic, I was the resident carb guy - always fun as many younger mechanics look at folks tuning that stuff like your performing vodoo magic 😄
Used to have a little spray bottle labeled "holy water" that always threw people off 😄
The 55-66 Chevrolet fenders are genius!
I use a 1970 F-500 short wheelbase versa-lift bucket truck to trim the oak trees out on my acreage. It’s really maneuverable for it’s size and I have defied death and mounted new 750-20 bias tires on two of the original Firestone rh-5 Widowmaker two piece rims. Four more to go!
The exhaust manifolds are shot and three bolts are still stuck. But I douse them with liberal amounts of penetrating oil every time I power the lift or the electric winch. The original onboard Generac makes 220 ac which can also be useful. It has the same hydraulic brake lock that yours does, but it still needs a new brake vacuum booster and other safety issues before it is ready to terrorize the streets of the big city. …..to trim my loved ones trees!
That truck is cool! I built the medium duty GMC version and take it to cruise ins and drive it on nice days. Let me tell you, youll get all kinds of thumbs up and people staring! Kids love it too, looks like a real life monster truck to most youngsters. You should definitely keep it and have fun with it!
That grill looks more like the grill I remember on our 68 Ford farm grain truck. Not surprising with all the other parts mashed together. Looks like you are making great headway on it.
I've been doing the grease the gaskets and some bolts trick for years. So simple but effective. I enjoy your channel.
I love working on old cars because I don't need 5 thousand dollar scanners. I just gotta use my eyes and ears to check and work on older cars. Old cars don't have thousands of sensors that go bad either alot less to check. I always appreciate your tips and ways to check carbs and timing and anything on older vehicles
Interesting and informative as always. Farm boys are pretty awesome mechanics. Growing up with wrenches in hand because there's always something to fix.
I've got one of these I use around the farm and to haul feed and farm supplies. I ended up pulling the 391 out as it was worn out and converted it to a 7.3 power stroke diesel. It runs very well now, and it has been serving me for 10 years.
Honestly if somebody told Luke to try and get a nuclear reactor going again, I'd watch it. I love these videos. It's always a hell yeah moment when these old beauties come back to life.
What a cool, unique truck. Can't wait to see more videos on this sweet rig!
I love my Carb Cheater!!👍💯
It really works! And the electronic cut off/security feature cool!
So glad 🙂
I've been waiting for them to come back in stock!
I had a 71 Mustang convertible in the early 80s with a 250SS, and I HATED how often I had to mess with the points, nitrous or not, so I finally pulled an HEI distributor and wiring out of a later luxury car, and I LOVED how much better it ran from then on. Wiring it up as it was from the factory in that car was the key. Never had a problem with the ignition again.
Yes, test how good a 4bbl carb runs on a 2bbl intake. Very interesting adapter you made.😎👍
I've always liked your content Luke. We don't see enough of you in my opinion. I wish you the best, sir!
Thank you 🙂
I'd like to be around more, but I always have my hands in a lot of things all at once 😄
@@ThunderHead289 Understood, sir. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. You are always welcome on my "feed". Subscribed
I looked up the model number for that 2-barrel Holley. It is a 500 cfm performance 2-barrel and comes stock with a 50cc accelerator pump.
It sure sounds and runs better after your repairs and tuning.
Love the 72 ford,growing up my dad had had a fleet of 750 dump trucks w the hood scoop on hood i lerned to drive w them at 15
I have a 56 F700BIGJOB, 20+2 . 5speed Clark, 3under-1over pto splitter and a 2speed diff. All original and drives ! 45 is top end.
I'm digging this pick up, nothing says "don't get in my way" like the look of this truck.
let me be the first to say you're content is always a must watch! sadly you don't post as often as i'm sure we all wish you did.
The crux of being a working stiff - I like working in big factory automation too much to leave
@@ThunderHead289 It's good to have a job you love and a hobby different enough so you don't get bored or burnt out. Screw the algorithm, keep posting at your leisure, we'll all be here waiting patiently for the next one.
@@ThunderHead289 -- Careful there Luke... you may regret the thought in the future. When you're as old as I am, you think about things very differently. You may end up looking back and wonder why you never set your own hours, decided to NOT be your own boss and why you didn't go to work for yourself! Set your expectations low and you'll easily achieve them. Best wishes!
- Max Giganteum
What's funny is I remember seeing this exact truck for sale on FB marketplace not too long ago lol, nice to see it went somewhere where it can be appreciated.
I'm an old dog, yet I always learn something (or remember something I've forgotten) from your videos. You do a great job of explaining what (and why) you're doing, and it all makes sense. Could you maybe fix our Government? I'm pretty sure there are a few screws loose!
If someone can't tune a carb and set an ignition after watching some of your video's, they're simply dead inside. As always, awesome content and instructions.
With 7.4 compression ratio make good starting point for turbo it's has has four rings per Piston
They oddly are somewhat perfect for a boosted scenario - forged crank in the FT as well
Only bad thing is you'd have tear it down for ring gap
Yesssss!!!❤❤❤
Pretty cool to use hay bail for a step. When I was just out of high school and worked In many different auto shops. Many mechanics used a metal milk crate as a step and put shop towels on for a seat/chair for eating lunch. Thank you cool stuff.
Dude you are the man on tuning I have learned more from you than anyone
Great Job!
Not going to lie, i saw this when it was listed and had the idea of making the trip to check it out bouncing around in my head.
This tuning is something i KNOW i wouldve chased for weeks!
Enjoy that BEAST! i pictured towing around a Airstream Land Yacht.
That's a nice looking rig Luke! Just because you can is not always a good idea, but in this case it is 😄
👍 Bought a 500cfm Holley 2 barrel new sealed in the box back in late 70`s with race bowl and is equipped with a 50cc pump. It ran great on a stock Ford 1968 302 Galaxy.
Must be how the 500cfm units are where the 350cfm units is what I've always had around.
I have a strong feeling that a 300cfm primary on a 600cfm will run pretty decent - not that it actually isn't pretty good as is honestly.
Holy Cow! @4:32 and you are 6' 7" !
Yeah, kind of a freak of nature - always throws people off when they see me in person
I said the same lol
I'm glad to hear the Carb Cheater has sold as well as it did.. it's great to hear guys (and gals?) keeping the carb going. Nice truck!
Ive got a 69 F600 dump truck....this is on my bucket list to do someday.
I absolutely love that 750 Frankenstein truck. That's something I would build for myself. I'd say keep that old truck !!
Absolutely BADASS!!!! I'd be proud to take that to town [and use on the farm]! Great safety tip too about the fan and your hand for the youngens, hopefully they will heed. As for that carb, why not use your magical carb doodad? Would love to see what a difference that might make?
6:55, as a retired Ford, Lincoln, Mercury technician, I would take a yellow grease pencil and fill in the timing marks after the engine had wamed up, wiping the excess of with a rag. That makes them really glow with a timing light.
Love the content your one of my favorites man. Very informative
Thanks for spreading genuine knowledge, Luke. You have helped me with understanding the theory of all these systems and it helps me all the time. Much appreciated.
Holy crap, I'm in love! You better keep it, I see nothing but fun coming out of that one.
So many peeps here suggesting that Luke should keep this truck. So long as it has use, I would agree. Certainly if the truck were to not be used often enough to keep it viable then it will degrade sitting around.
@@claztube Dude! Make him an offer? 😊
You're an inspiration Luke and a well of old school knowledge. Can't afford a Carb Cheater here in Australia just yet, they're like $550.00 AU, but that will be my next install on my 460 BB in my bus. Cheers from Australia.
In this episode. Big Man buys a Big truck.
It's been several decades and then some before I've wrenched on these babies! It was fun stumbling on this video and reminded me of a F-250 3/4 that I modified to a one ton to circumvent gas restrictions at the pump after the 70s I'm not sure but in my mind's eye I want to see a fan shroud on that radiator to improve Cooling. Thanks for the ride along
If your engine is tired BLOWER, if there’s coolant in your oil BLOWER, if you need new spark plugs BLOWER, in short never fix only blower.
I am always so glad to see you upload, I know it takes a special kind of person to handle the stress of fay to day life and do RUclips so I can't blame you, I am just glad to see what you're up too. You're a very bright dude, right up there with my buddy Dallas Brown you can take 15-20 minutes and tune a vehicle up better than it has any right to be.
Bill it's so great having followed you since u very first started your channel and seeing how you have grown so well and the fact that your now teaching the youth and inspiring people to do it and try their best!
Everything is forgiven and forgotten about the old way of doing it once and only once correctly. You doing that and stressing the correct way is awesome and I enjoyed your video and let's see it roll down the highway!
Have been looking for something like this here in Australia but very few and far between here in the land down under
Awesome looks great 👍
I've been drooling over the idea of building one of these old Ford's. Main thing holding me back is the old bolt pattern and ways to upgrade the brakes to something that is easier to aquire parts for.
I bought a 74 Chevy C10, 454 running points.
The guy I bought it from said he tried a GM-HEI but went back to points because it ran like a dog, so the first thing I did was R&R the distributor for an HEI, but wired the ignition to the fuse box for a full 12V. It still runs perfect after almost 10 years. I've never bothered to remove the resistor. Never needed to after wiring direct to the fuse box
Excellent presentation. Thank you. I really, really enjoyed this one. I have fought timing and carb issues many times in the past and this was a great refresher.
That thing is totally kick ass. It really can't be understated how much thought and effort someone put into the brake/axle conversions on this. Everyone that messes with these old medium duty trucks wants to update the brakes and axles but seems very few actually pull it off. It takes a headache inducing amount of time and research to come up with the right combo of parts and then actually hunting the parts themselves down.
I can't help but love the gear whine those old Clark 5 speeds make, my 71 B750 sounds the same. I've got a factory 4V FT intake laying around I'm tempted to offer you but it's a big heavy cast iron beast. The shipping cost and installation effort probably wouldn't be worth the performance gains, if any.
When Luke said it needed a tune I automatically thought we got this!
Luke! List #4412 carburetor comes from the factory with the 50cc pump.
Favoring the throttle side of the choke air horn,stamped is the word list with the the number stamped.
Enjoy your videos! Learn alot from them. And enjoy them!
I just subscribed ☺️. You're awesome & very knowledgeable. Don't ever listen to the negative comments. I'm old, skool, too. You just gave me one heck of a schooling on carbs & Ignition. You blew my mind. THANK YOU!Keep up these great videos.
Pretty cool conversion! I owned a 1969 and 1971 F600, the 1969 had the 391FT, 71 had the 330 HD FT. There's videos on my channel from years ago, sold the green 71 when I got the red 69, sold the 69 when we moved out of NY state.
That "HEI doesn't want a coil resistor" got me a really good deal on a 1980 AMC CJ-7 with a GM Iron Duke and HEI.
I always learn something watching your vids. You mentioned how nowadays people really don't understand carbs. I'm so old I remember when folks talked about mechanics who were "good" at tuneups. As I'm older looking back, I suspect there were guys who had your level of knowledge about the fuel-ignition relationships and working those out. But they probably were still not so common. Most guys just put in new parts and didn't necessarily make sure things were running optimum.
Sweet truck.
Deserves a nicely built 460. High compression a fat cam and to be done justice and right.
If you want to keep it for mainly towing a hauling really heavy stuff but, you want it to ride better, maybe removing leaves, adding airbags and having an onboard compressor would be the move. It definitely deserves some mild mods, maybe an aluminum intake, 4bbl, long tube headers. I have always looked at those old U Haul and Penske trucks and thought it would be awesome to mimic the fat front fenders on a pickup bed on the back. It's exactly what I had in mind as a kid realizing how much bigger those trucks are yet realizing the cab eas the same size. If it was mine, I might consider putting a beam kit on it like a Pre-Runner with big coil overs that soak up all the bumps and bypasses, bump stops and limit straps, with a 4 link in the rear too. I would expect that once it had a suspension of that caliber fulling the ample fender wells, it is going to probably need at least a 40" offroad tire, possibly as large a 44,46,48" and once it got that far it would need some serious power, like a built 7.3 Godzilla, 460 Windsor, 557 BBF or something with boost like a 9.5" Windsor. Running through a ZF-5 S47 or S6-650 manual. Once it had the power, it's going to need an exoskeleton in case it lays on the sides or the roof to protect you and possibly the body and be nicer than having the interior full of tubes and needing a helmet not to smack your head. A pre-runner build like Wings World does in their own garage with plans designed on Solid Works is very time consuming and expensive but, it sure would be cool to do with a widebody truck like that, maybe cut the back of the cab and front of the bed out, make it unibody, have a removable cap and back seat so it's like a LWB F750 Bronco 600-1000hp with 16" front and 18" rear suspension travel. Not very useful in Iowa but, it would be a show stopper at Silverlake.