1980 F350 4X4 C6 Project

[Atlas75]

Well, as I start to do research on this truck I purchased I have started to ask many questions.  I figure it is time to start a thread to ask those questions and keep them all together.  Let’s start with a photo.



It runs, drives, and stops so I drove it the 20 or so miles back to its new home.  Half way home I started to wonder if that was a good idea based on how soft the pedal was and how much the thing was vibrating at 45 mph.  Anyways, I’m sure we will get into those issues later.

My questions now are related to the Marti report I purchased.

F36ZPHA3006_dlxrpt.pdf

Does anyone know what is included in the snow plow package and what the lower body moldings are?  There don’t seem to be any moldings on the truck now and when I look on LMC Truck, the lower moldings don’t start till 1981.  Is there anything else listed that seems interesting?  Thanks!

[ArdWrknTrk]

I'd imagine you get quad shocks and a front sway bar, high output heating, etc.
If it were a later front end it would have bigger locking hubs.

But I know very little about trucks as early as yours, so I'm looking forward to seeing what others say.

[Gsmblue]

Nice, looking forward to more pics and your progress.

[Gary Lewis]

Carl - Jim is right on at least some of the things in the snow plow package.  I have the 1980 Dealers Fact Book but don't have it up on the site, although I do have the 1981 version on the site and I doubt it changed in a year.  In the menu go to Documentation and then click on Literature.  That will open a page with a spreadsheet that shows all of the literature on the site.  Go down to Dealer Facts Book and click on the link for 1981.

Then go to the F-Series tab, the 4X4 tab, and then the Optional Equipment tab.  If you scroll down to Packages/Groups you'll see that the snow plow package is discussed.  But it doesn't say what is in it.  However, if you go to things like Shock Absorbers and then Stabilizer Bars you'll see that they are included or required with the snow plow package.

But there are other things, like cooling & batteries, that changed if you had the snow plow package, so read through all of them and you'll figure it out.

And, by the way, you shared a link to your report.  But do you want your report to show in the thread?  I can do that.

[Atlas75]

Sure, go ahead and show it.  I'm very much a newbie when it comes to how to use the forum buttons.  I'm impressed I got the thing to attach at all!  I'll check out the documentation as well.

[Gary Lewis]

It isn't as easy as you might think. First, it has to be somewhere that won't go away and that will provide an "embed code". My Microsoft OneDrive is used extensively to do just that on the forum and the site, so I downloaded it there.

And, you then have to tick the box above entitled "Message is in HTML Format". And having done that you'll quickly discover that formatting isn't the same and you have to click the Formatting button and then click Line Feed to get a blank line between paragraphs.

But, having done all that and pasted the embed code in, here 'tis:

[FuzzFace2]

Nice truck.
I was thinking if it was a late 80 then the molding might have been a different type but I see it was a vary early 80 being built 12/79
Maybe it was built with out the molding option but should have been but being a new model it was not installed because it was not in the bin when coming down the line?
Who would know but the dealer that ordered the truck or someone checking the window sticker?
Even dealer or buyer may not have picked it up again new model.


A little OT / high jack, is there a sample of say a 1981 window sticker on here some where?

On the AMC forum I am also on, guys have been redoing window stickers to show options they have added and the price it would of gone for listed.
I think they had a PDF sample you could copy and a list of options / price you could play with and then print it out and display at shows.
Wonder what a dual tank option on flare side would go for or custom bumpers
Dave ----

[salans7]

This was my 1980 F150, It was a Custom trim, built 12/79 in San Jose, CA. You can see the moldings at the bottom of the lower accent line. The majority of the pieces are held on with little clips that slide over a stud. If this style of molding were removed, you would still have a bunch of studs down the body line. I can't see those, so if your truck did have this style, it was likely repainted and the studs were removed during body work.





Another type of molding the truck might have had is the type that goes at the bottom of the wheel arch. I would assume Ford would refer to these as "wheel" arch moldings, so I'm not sure on that one. They're easy to remove though, and you'd never know the difference.

It's possible the moldings were never installed, but I can't imagine that being the case so late into production (we've seen 1980's as early as August 79 if I recall correctly).

And finally, it's possible that Marti's info is wrong, but I don't know if I've ever heard of that.

[Atlas75]

Thanks for the photo Shaun!  That gives me something to go by as I try to figure out this truck.  I do know it was repainted as that is not "medium gray metallic" though I do see remnants of the original color in the door jams and other places.  So it is possible the molding was removed during the repaint.  The fender badging was removed also.

[Atlas75]

Ok, two questions.  Shouldn’t the accelerator pump plunger be in contact with the arm?



And what is that yellow fitting screwed into the side of the thermostat housing by the upper radiator hose?  Nothing is connected to it.

[ArdWrknTrk]

There's a gap setting for the accelerator pump.
Mine was 0.015" IIRC. (It's been a while since I had a 4180 or any other factory emissions carb)

I do believe your vacuum advance should be plumbed through the yellow Vacuum Control Valve.
It is there to step up the idle speed if the truck starts to overheat in traffic by using full manifold vacuum, instead of through the calibrated vacuum restriction.

You can see this on the vacuum routing diagram that should be on the radiator support.
Maybe yours has been painted over?

[Atlas75]

Well...I braved the -4 high temperature for today and went out and snapped this photo.



I don’t know what most of this means but I am pretty sure that at least half of it is missing or not hooked up.  For example, the distributor is hooked directly to the carb and the drawing shows a few things between those two items.  So I guess the question is...is it worth trying to put it back the way it should be or just figure out what is there and run it like it is?

[ArdWrknTrk]

Carl,
Honestly it looks like your accelerator pump plunger is stuck in.

Some things like the air cleaner cold weather modulator and the throttle kicker would help your truck run better and or more smoothly.

Most of the rest is emissions related, and that would depend on if you need where you're registering the truck.

But you can see how the distributor advance would be plumbed through that frontmost vacuum control valve.
One leg is direct to intake manifold vacuum, the other path is through the vacuum restriction.

[Atlas75]

I finally had a little time to research the snow plow package that this truck came with.  Following Gary's advise I used the 1981 Dealer Facts Book to uncover the following about F350's (Other models included different things).

There are two levels of show plow packages.  Snow plow special (SPS) and snow plow special plus (SPSP).
Here is what was included:

Gauges - Ammeter and oil pressure (SPSP)
Clearance lights - (SPS)
Multi-surface tires - (SPS)
Shock absorbers - heavy duty front and rear (not quad) (SPS)
Battery - 63 amp hr (also included with 400/C6 combination) (SPSP)
Cooling Package - I have no idea what is included in this yet (SPSP)

[Gary Lewis]

Well done, Carl!  And now you know.  

[ArdWrknTrk]

I'm really surprised that Ford didn't upgrade the alternator for a winter vehicle.  

[ArdWrknTrk]

Atlas75 wrote

Your hood seal is GONE.
Keeping a bunch of water out of the carb would be a good move.
(You might put a rubber washer on the air cleaner nut too)

[Gary Lewis]

Good point, Jim.

Carl - Go to our page in Documentation/Underhood/Cowl Seal to see how to use a garage door seal to make a cowl-to-hood seal for very little money.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I first noticed how crusty the element was, then all the rust inside the housing.
It's never good when the lid fills up and follows the stud right into the carb.

Hydrolock is a very real possibility that will total your engine when you bend a rod before the engine even starts.

But it could help explain why the accelerator pump is seized.

[Atlas75]

Yea, it looks like the heavier alternator was part of the trailer tow, camper special, or fog light packages.