North Idaho Driver

[Idaho Chris]

I figured I'd start a thread on my '69. I spent several months looking. My search was confined to locating an F250 4x4 with 6 cylinder engine and a manual transmission. Preferred a Bump, but would have taken and early Dent if it came along. With such specific requirements, trucks offered for sale were few and far between. I went to look at a few, but they were mostly basket cases requiring too much work (for me) to bring back.

I wanted a 'driver, not a show truck, and really didn't want to have to do any material bodywork or rebuild an engine.

Well back on June 22th I found her in Northeastern WA about a three hour drive from my place, and quickly made a deal with the seller. Here's a photo of the exterior and the engine from the seller's listing:




I came back with a trailer on the 25th and pulled her home





First order of business was to clean her up. Yep, that'll buff right out! (Used EZ-Off to get rid of the pinstripes)



Next new wheels and tires from Les Schwab. The old rubber was severely cracked and deteriorated.
Looking better:



Next I reupholstered the seat.
Old:


New:


New door gaskets:


And finally a new muffler and exhaust to quiet her down:


Next up are seat-belts and a Pertronix ignition, maybe a rubber bed mat. Many other things, more photos to follow in the future.
I've put about 250 miles on her in the past two weeks. She drives real nice and tracks true.

[wndsofchng06]

Looking great

[Busboy]

Beautiful.

[jzjames]

Well YEAH you wanted a 4.9 inline six!

[hfdco4]

Damn nice truck!

[Idaho Chris]

Well YEAH you wanted a 4.9 inline six!

Yeah, love the torque on the Ford 4.9s! Added benefit of reasonable mileage and easy access for work. I just filled up and got 14.8 mpg on the last tank! I was expecting closer to twelve. It will be interesting to see if the Pertronix ignition gets me over 15.

[lennyp]

Really nice truck. Good luck. Enjoy!!!

[jzjames]

It will be interesting to see if the Pertronix ignition gets me over 15.

OK, let me know on that would ya?
I have put an Offy C intake and FI exhaust manifolds on mine, and a 1.08 Motorcraft 2 bbl carb., (auto transmission), on a high mileage engine. The mileage went down to about 13mpg. (Im still dreaming about getting it rebuilt).

I probably need the upgraded distributor, right?

[idaho_cowboy]

Great to see it coming along! You've added some nice touches already!

- Joseph

[Idaho Chris]

OK, let me know on that would ya?
I have put an Offy C intake and FI exhaust manifolds on mine, and a 1.08 Motorcraft 2 bbl carb., (auto transmission), on a high mileage engine. The mileage went down to about 13mpg. (Im still dreaming about getting it rebuilt).

I probably need the upgraded distributor, right?

I'll report back my mileage results once I get the Pretronix installed and run a couple tanks of dead dinosaurs thru her. It might be awhile, I'm traveling a bit over the next couple of weeks. Have you got a photo of your engine that you could post up? I'd love to see it!

Great to see it coming along! You've added some nice touches already!

- Joseph

Joseph- From my many searches on this forum I see that you have fixed up a bunch of these old rigs in Idaho. It also appears that I could have saved myself a lot of trouble searching for my new truck if I knew about your operation months ago! I never thought to look anywhere but Craig's list. Oh well...anyway, I am all ears to any ideas you may have that I should be focusing on. I'm new to these old trucks and am learning every day. Thanks!

[popeyes71]

Just with the few things you have done so far, she looks great! Keep us posted on your progress!

[DuckRyder]

Amazing what an improvement a couple little things make...

[Idaho Chris]

OK, so today I installed the bed liner. I will be hauling some pavers and didn't want to dent the bed. The liner is quite thick and heavy rubber material. I sourced it at JC Whitney. It comes as a big sheet and has to be cut to fit. I went thru four blades on my knife before I was done. Below is a picture:



My new shocks came in so I installed them this afternoon as well. Why Monroe paints their shocks bright yellow I don't know, but I did not want them to stand out in the wheel wells so I sprayed them with a few coats of primer gray. Truck rides nice now and the "hobby horse" ride over bumps is gone.

[Idaho Chris]

Oh, almost forgot... When I was under the truck replacing the rear shocks I removed the little side steps a previous owner had installed. While there were somewhat useful getting in and out of the Highboy cab, I thing the truck looks much better with clean sides. What do you think?

I will probably install some stainless sill protectors to protect the paint below the factory trim at some point. I think LMC sells them.

[DuckRyder]

It looks better without the steps for sure!

Good idea about painting shocks, I’ll do that to my KYB when its apart! (black though)