Main #50 Project Thread: 1972 F250 4x2; 8,100lb GVW; FE+T18

[robroy]

Good day!

As I type, #50 is on its way to Tom at FE Specialties!

Tom's going to make a cut-and-weld style, mandrel-bent exhaust system. He's also going to test-drive it and do some initial carburetor and timing adjustments.

I've only racked up about fifty miles on the truck so far, so it's not ready for its major chassis dyno and O2 sensor tuning quite yet--I heard from Tom that that's best done after 500 to 1,000 miles.



Thanks so much for all the fantastic guidance!
Robroy

[robroy]

Good afternoon!

#50 arrived at Tom's and he already took it for a test-drive! Here are his observations:

• The Edelbrock 1407 carburetor's A/F ratio seems much too lean, especially when the engine's cold. He said that it's running quite badly, and thinks he'd have to run through three iterations of tuning and test-driving to get it to a decent state.
• Since it would take hours of his time to get this carburetor tuned, I asked him to go ahead and replace it with a carburetor of his choice instead. That'll be some kind of Holley that he thinks is a much better match for this FE, and that he has a ton of experience with. I heard that it should drive and idle much better with that change, so I'm really looking forward to checking that out!
• I heard that in his opinion, the truck's extremely fast, even in its out-of-tune condition. He took it to 4,000 RPM in second gear and was shocked at how aggressive it felt! It felt even faster than the 428-powered Bumpside F250 he owned years ago.

I'll no doubt hear more as he begins the work next week!

Robroy

[Hemmi06]

[BiggDogg]

I'm so glad things are coming together for you with your truck Robroy

[FormerMarine1981]

Congrats on all of your hard work. Especially putting this thread together!

[BobbyFord]

Time for some more popcorn...
How did the Holley turn out? Which carb did Tom choose?

[Hemmi06]

Time for some more popcorn...
How did the Holley turn out? Which carb did Tom choose?

[fomocoguy]

Boy I bet you can't wait to get it back in a perfectly drivable state of affairs....

[stephen44]

Great News - I'm excited for you Buddy !

Let us know the carb he chose - I want to buy stock options

[robroy]

Good day Hemmi06, BiggDogg, FormerMarine1981, Bobby, Joe, and Stephen, thanks for your excellent replies!!!

I'm so glad things are coming together for you with your truck Robroy

Thanks!!! It's exciting and surreal to realize that it's basically "on the road" now.

Congrats on all of your hard work. Especially putting this thread together!

Thank you!

Time for some more popcorn... How did the Holley turn out? Which carb did Tom choose?

I actually haven't heard how it turned out yet, since he just did this work this past week (more details in today's update)! And I haven't gotten a carb. model number from Tom quite yet, but I'm exciting to find out what he went with.

Boy I bet you can't wait to get it back in a perfectly drivable state of affairs....

Indeed. It's definitely exciting to be near completion on the most extensive rebuild I've ever experienced.

Great News - I'm excited for you Buddy !

Thanks Stephen!!!

Let us know the carb he chose - I want to buy stock options

This I'll definitely do!

Today's Updates:

Last week Tom completed both the exhaust and the carburetor install+tune!

When the truck first got there earlier this month I let him know that he ought to prioritize other customer's stuff before mine, since I've been so busy lately--that's why he took a few weeks to begin. I heard that he was working on completing an R-code Mustang restoration at the time.

As y'all know, I had #50 towed up there and planned on driving it back (~180 miles). Since Tom knew about this, he looked the truck over to see if he'd give it his blessing for such a long drive.

I heard that before taking it on this drive, I should really improve the fan setup. It's still configured with the temporary flex-fan setup with no shroud (shown in this photo), yet Tom's biggest concern was that the fan's much too far away from the radiator to do any good.

In all of #50's test-drives, I never saw the temperature crawl even a hair above 185 (its thermostat rating); the engine seemed completely cold-blooded. It even took quite a while to warm up! Yet I trust Tom's judgment that it ought to be improved before taking such a long trip.

To improve the setup while keeping things simple, Tom recommended putting on a shroud, and using a longer fan spacer to correct the fan's location.

Although I've received a lot of wonderful advice on an electric fan setup, I don't have the time these days to figure it out and put it together. And, the truck seemed so incredibly cold-blooded during the test-drives, that I feel less inclined to get my hands in to such an elaborate cooling system. It's always something that I can tackle if I see any heat issues in the future.

Tom offered to order a shroud for me to LMC, yet the Dennis Carpenter shroud price actually looked better (at $120), and I wanted study the options some. So Tom offered to let me order the parts and have them delivered to his shop, and I agreed.

So I'm currently hoping to find a 6 or 7 blade, non-flex, mechanical water pump fan, and a shroud to match. Tom recommended the 6 or 7 blade fan over the OEM style (4 or 5 blade), and mentioned that he prefers them over flex-fans since they're quieter and more effective.

I'll update y'all again when I hear more about the carburetor!

Hemmi06, BiggDogg, FormerMarine1981, Bobby, Joe, and Stephen, thanks again for your great replies (and for being interested despite my delayed updates)!

Robroy

[Power By Ford 70 F250 4x4]

Hey Robroy ! Glad to here things are coming together and that your busy,not to many can say that.I'm having trouble finding a shroud ,I tried two different ones from LMC and neither fit.So if you have better luck please let me know.Thanks

[robroy]

Good day Power By Ford', thanks for replying!

Hey Robroy ! Glad to here things are coming together and that your busy,not to many can say that.

Thanks!

I'm having trouble finding a shroud ,I tried two different ones from LMC and neither fit.So if you have better luck please let me know.Thanks

Oh I see! Yeah I've heard that this can be tricky, which is why I'm being so careful myself. I'll definitely post all the details of the shroud I pick out (and whether it works or not)!

Today's Second Update:

Tom sent me a couple of photos showing the current exhaust pipe exit location, since he wasn't certain that he'd understood what I was asking for. This was the exact location I had in mind though! I sure am curious to hear how #50 sounds now.

EDIT: In case it's not clear in the photos, they show the RH exit, which is right in front of the wheel.



As y'all may be able to see in the right-hand photo, the exit's at a slight aft angle. Tom recommended that instead of going with a perfect right angle to prevent wind from messing with the exhaust flow on the freeway.

Power By Ford', thanks again for your great reply!
Robroy

[basketcase0302]

Robroy,
Real good to see the progress on the truck and that Tom's still working with you, (after all you've been through on #50).
I bet you're real excited about #50's 180 mile journey home!
Hope you have a safe and awesome ride bringing #50 home!

[robroy]

Good evening Jeff, thanks for replying!

Real good to see the progress on the truck and that Tom's still working with you, (after all you've been through on #50).

Indeed, I was definitely happy that Tom was willing to do the exhaust, and it gave him a chance to evaluate the installed engine. I'm really glad he was able to find the A/F ratio problem before I drove it more than I did.

I bet you're real excited about #50's 180 mile journey home!
Hope you have a safe and awesome ride bringing #50 home!

That will be an exciting event, and thank you! I'll try to time it to avoid getting in any traffic jams. It'll also be a chance for me to measure its gas mileage (just for the sake of curiosity, since it's obviously not set up for economy).

Thanks again for your great reply Jeff,
Robroy

[fomocoguy]

Glad to hear Tom will have it completely ready for you!

You wanna take any mileage bets? I'm gonna guess about 9 if your easy on her...