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PostPosted: August 30, 2018, 8:41 pm 
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Joined: October 19, 2009, 9:36 pm
Posts: 2199
Location: meadview arizona
can we swap some work for work says my back hoe driver, what do you want me to do i asked, fix the leaking head gasket on my pickup truck, there's a bubbling in the middle he said.

so this is a 1984 ford F150 with an inline six.

well the thing wasn't worth $50.00 but free dirt work i'll take that any time.

sure enough it was bubbling in the center of the head so off it came only to find that a head bolt had broken in the center just where the bubbling was and it had broken flush with the deck, it had been that way for some time and had rusted in.

i got it out but it needed helicioling.

i had the head refreshed at the machine shop and re installed it, that's when the trouble really started.

prior to starting the strip down i had checked the compression on all the cylinders, they were all around 150.

on start up, it knocked and was smoking really bad so i knew i had to rebuild the motor.

1984 ford tried to go computerized and a right pigs ear they made of it with very poor ignition components that are legendary for failure so i bit the bullet and converted it to duraspark 11, well the first module i fitted was from rock auto and was dead so another was purchased, that was number one,

next was the coil, that had to be changed because for use a ballast wire with the duraspark so the 12V coil had to go along with the distributor in favor of the duraspark stuff, so now we have a completely new ignition system.

then the fuel pump which had been pumping stopped and a vacuum check on the pump prooved it did not suck and everybody knows fords suck so that was replaced with a pump that sucked except that it didn't.

the problem was in the tank, the screen filter had disintegrated and allowed dirt to enter the original pump and hold the valves open, this i found when i dropped the tank, to compound this the rubber fuel lines were rotting at the tank and the pump so i had to replace the screen but they are not available without buying a whole new sender unit at $70.00 and a 130 mile round trip to get so with a little help from my lathe i made an adaptor to take a fuel injection screen.

now i had fuel and spark but just a little too much fuel as the carb was leaking from every orifice and some that weren't.

so now was a good time to remove all the broken EGR system and the air pump and replace with some blanking plates and a new carb.

so now we had the right amount of fuel and a good spark as well.

the battery however was not long for this world and was replaced, now i don't know about you but a new battery is a good battery so how come the thing drops to 4V when cranking, you guessed it the starter motor that had turned the original motor with broken rings was a dismal failure at cranking a fresh lump so a high torque starter was installed along with a new solenoid..

the only items under the hood that were not changed were the alternator, radiator and the blower motor and because i was not going to trust a viscose fan clutch that was of no known origin, that also got replaced.

that's a lot of dirtwork i can have done and as i have 24 truck loads to move i'll need it.

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PostPosted: August 30, 2018, 11:51 pm 
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Joined: February 2, 2017, 1:02 am
Posts: 70
Location: Illinois
And now the next question is, how bad is the body? Haha!


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PostPosted: September 3, 2018, 11:07 pm 
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Joined: March 30, 2011, 7:18 am
Posts: 1615
Location: central Arkansas
john hennessy wrote:
duraspark 11, well the first module i fitted was from rock auto and was dead


Un-fondly known as the "Durasuck" ignition system. People used to put MSDs or HyFires on, until some anonymous genius figured out an ordinary 5-pin GM HEI module would work just fine.

1984; be careful around the wiring; at least one of the electrical vendors Ford used, their insulation falls off the wires in chunks with a hard look.


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PostPosted: September 4, 2018, 5:49 pm 
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Joined: December 22, 2006, 2:05 pm
Posts: 8037
I'm sure that I was not the first to figure out the use of the HEI module on other vehicles. I first used one on a honda bike in the late 80s. The stock honda module was about $500. The 4 pin hei module is the one to use. The 5 pin is for ecm controlled advance. I just put a 4 pin on an 86 d100 with a 318 to replace the lean burn crap.

Lots of fusible links and fabric taped connections on those old fords too. They are as good as anything once you address the issues, just like fieros.

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PostPosted: September 5, 2018, 6:06 am 
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Joined: March 30, 2011, 7:18 am
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Location: central Arkansas
4, 5, I'm not into that advanced math stuff... [grin]

I put one to a friend's Durspark Mustang, and on my 1960 Bel Air. Even with the breaker points it made a noticeable difference.

Bel Air story: coming back from Colorado once, circa 1993, it got some kind of ignition trouble around Salina, Kansas. Bad enough I finally found a motel. Next morning (Sunday) I popped the hood and stared at the engine for a while, then limped to a parts store that happened to be open, and bought everything - points, condenser, rotor, cap, wires, plugs, coil, and ballast resistor for about $40. Took about ten minutes to install everything since the engine was hot. Whatever the problem was, it was fixed, and I made the next 500 miles without a hiccup. (it got the HEI module later)

Not "proper" troubleshooting, but when being 500 miles from home on a Sunday and there's not much but horizon and prairie most of the way, I thought it was well worth the money...


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PostPosted: September 5, 2018, 2:37 pm 
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Joined: July 17, 2008, 9:11 am
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Location: West Chicago,IL
On my MGA, I had "issues" on several occasions. Each time, it was something different. I went thru coil, rotor, points, condenser ignition wire, and distributor cap. None of which required a tow home. I was late to my destination several times. I carried spares or was close to a store to get parts. I never had a plug problem.

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PostPosted: September 11, 2018, 11:02 pm 
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Joined: October 19, 2009, 9:36 pm
Posts: 2199
Location: meadview arizona
the body of the truck is completely rust free and there are no dents, it is a step side.

the wiring thing is the reason i changed to the duraspark as the harness to the computer was falling apart.

you can actually buy a grommet to fit the hole where the harness went through the bulkhead.

now i am waiting for another new carb as the new one on the truck is running rich and no matter what i do i can't get it lean at idle and i am paranoid about washing my new bores.

the engine has been in that engine bay for 5 weeks to morrow and is still not running, last week i did 450 miles to get a fuel pressure regulator that would work with the carter carb.

if the replacement carb is no better i will buy an adaptor and fit a 2 barrel holley.

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and chrispin chrispian shall ne'er go by,
from this day to the end of the world.
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