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1978 F250 400 Dual Fuel

rear window gasket all dried out and rear slider missing latch and several pieces

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sprayed lot's of soapy soap and water

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don't have a hood thing, used a plastic scraper to go around at first and then switched to screwdrivers for more force to push the gasket out

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window came out pretty well, scuffed up some spots and added paint to the scuffed up rust areas. "eventually" this will need to be fixed properly when the whole cab gets stripped for paint, but not today

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and cleaned up junkyard window with new gasket went in nice and smooth :) ford trucks and edelbrock stickers were pre-installed from the junkyard, need to find my FoMoCo MoFo sticker for totalled and get it on there :beer:

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and just like that, a major source of water, wind and rattle has been resolved for under $100
 
Down here you can get a "licensed appraiser" to submit form 6969 to use instead of book value.

Typically someone with a dealers license or insurance agent.

that's so dumb :laughing: i guess it is better than straight outta the book

i just want to buy and sell cars like everybody buy's and sells sneakers. of course, WA is one of 2 states in the US that tax every single transaction, yes, even if you give a homeless man a coat, he is supposed to report it and pay taxes on the fair market value of that gift....
 
Replaced all the vacuum lines plugged with screws with actual caps, replaced all the lines that are in use with new. put an actual breather on the engine and new PCV and removed the fast turn knob (still on in image below, not sure if i already posted it, but it was on the camera).

Still goes down the road :rasta:

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couple shots of the window gaskets and door gaskets missing, hard, cracked and smooshed

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new gaskets and door seals. substantial difference in wind noise and the doors no longer rattle

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door gaskets and rear window, just awesome. there is still a little that doesn't seal and i'm going to blame that on the roof having had a large tree branch fall on it. overall, very excited.
 
and also, don't ask questions you don't want the answer to :laughing: I knew there was holes in the front corner, pulled the door trim and started to poke with the screwdriver.
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Put the screwdriver of truth away, flop the floor mat back over it, and pretend there isn’t a hole there until you start feeling the floor move under your feet

yup :laughing:

was curious, so i went until i found a hole, not going any further.

getting the middle seat belt replaced means i can fit 3 wide now, so we loaded up and took it to get ice cream. :)
 
I'm not a turbo guy, but I watched a local guy get really good at them. He started with those shitty 6.5gm turbos on worn out junkyard Ford's, he used little 4bbl, like the 480 Holley IIRC blow thru.
He also tapped his mechanical fuel pump and ran a boost line to it, so it'd bump fuel pressure under boost. Ymmv
 
I'm not a turbo guy, but I watched a local guy get really good at them. He started with those shitty 6.5gm turbos on worn out junkyard Ford's, he used little 4bbl, like the 480 Holley IIRC blow thru.
He also tapped his mechanical fuel pump and ran a boost line to it, so it'd bump fuel pressure under boost. Ymmv

good to know, quality eventually project that could be fun and sounds very do-able
 
Seeing you pull the rear window makes me feel good about pulling mine and fixing the rust.. hoping/not hoping your windshield frame is rusty too so you can show me how easy/hard that is :smokin:
 
Seeing you pull the rear window makes me feel good about pulling mine and fixing the rust.. hoping/not hoping your windshield frame is rusty too so you can show me how easy/hard that is :smokin:

it was well worth doing, my front windshield was replaced after the branch incident, so it is in really good shape soon. i hope to not need to replace it soon :laughing:
 
7.4 and 8.1 vortec hp and tq ratings | Page 2 | Diesel Place

Q101ATFD

Registered


Joined Jun 18, 2007
714 Posts#27 Oct 5, 2011As was said earlier, the 7.4L peaks at 290 hp / 410 ft-lb, but there is no published dyno sheet for that engine. I've attached the GM dyno sheet for the 2005 MY 8.1L.https://www.dieselplace.com/threads/7-4-and-8-1-vortec-hp-and-tq-ratings.434754/page-2
https://www.dieselplace.com/threads/7-4-and-8-1-vortec-hp-and-tq-ratings.434754/page-2

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2005 GM 8.1L dyno chart. some monday motivation for power goals :laughing:
 
M-Block 351M/400 Parts Reference (grantorinosport.org)



edelbrok performer plus 2172 cam ~$250 at jegs with lifters



and some other crower cams - 351C, 351M & 400 - Ford - Camshafts (crower.com)



l1ooks like the crower 15975 is pretty close to the edelbrock, though i about think the smaller 15170 would be the "better" choice for something that is going to spend very little time at 4k+ rpm and a whole bunch of 2500. (based on i know nothing and am looking at numbers that are meaningless to me)

that's also a much further down the road thing so a phone call would certainly be in order. lifters + springs about double the price, plus a timing set, cam should have some decent gains but at a decent cost as well


edit: Crower will PAY YOU $10 to use their recommendation service prior to a camshaft purchase :smokin: :smokin:









Edit: edelbrock recommends 1-5/8" header tubes

COMP Cams XE250H Dyno Results

for the sake of comparison, the comp extreme energy 250 hydraulic cam 206/212* duration @ 0.050" .432/.444" lift @ 1.5 ratio 110* lobes on a 350 small block chebby 9.25 compression ratio, dart heads, edelbrock performer intake, holley 4barrel carb.

Click image for larger version Name:	comp dyno.png Views:	0 Size:	46.7 KB ID:	362878


this is about as close as i can figure would compare to the small crane cam, less lift but similar duration. trade-offs from the obvious 8.0 vs 9.5 CR and the extra 50 cc's, but the same style intake and carb i'm looking at. the curve shape should be about the same even if the numbers pop around a bunch


edit: other option would be the XE262H grind from comp, moves up a few hundred RPM to be above 350lbft TQ from ~2300-5100 rpm with the same engine setup.

218/224* @ 0.050" and .462/.469 lift @ 1.5ratio which kicks peak HP up to 5300 RPM rather than 4700 rpm. not sure that bit of extra top end is worth it, not sure that it isn't either. tradeoff being slightly lower power is the sub 2500 rpm range.


The next year (1972), when more aggressive emissions controls were implemented and SAE net power measurements were used, the difference between the power output of the 400 and 460 was even narrower: 172 hp @ 4000 rpm (400) vs 212 hp @ 4400 rpm (460).



Comparing maximum torque figures for 1972 (SAE net measurements) shows even more dramatically how close the two engines' power output is: 298 ft lb @ 2200 rpm (400) vs 342 ft lb @ 2800 rpm (460). At its peak torque, the 400 produces almost 90% of the peak torque of the 460, and it does it at less than 80% of the 460's engine speed.

how much horse power does the ford 400 motor have it has a 4 barrel carburetor? | Yahoo Answers

for some perspective, stock was laying down at 4k apparently.


:laughing: made a guesstimate on a "stock" TQ in blue and HP in red curve based on the above points

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400s have a lot of potential for great torque and decent hp. 4” stroke and good flowing iron heads
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97F6D849-4CAC-443E-9A37-1A31FB520B30.png Email or call tim, he can help hes got all kind of build dyno backed sheets he can send that aint on his website. Buy your cam from him



Theres alot of power and torque from idle to redline to be found using a set of his pistons to fix quench and raise compression.https://www.tmeyerinc.com/product/piston-set-ford-400/

His facebook has some great build info too but its pretty much buried somewhere before all the aluminum block posts. I found one and gave up. I know theres some more there of non stroker builds, some on youtube as well if memory serves me correct.
 
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400s have a lot of potential for great torque and decent hp. 4” stroke and good flowing iron heads
filedata/fetch?id=362949&d=1617092917 Email or call tim, he can help hes got all kind of build dyno backed sheets he can send that aint on his website. Buy your cam from him



Theres alot of power and torque from idle to redline to be found using a set of his pistons to fix quench and raise compression.https://www.tmeyerinc.com/product/piston-set-ford-400/

His facebook has some great build info too but its pretty much buried somewhere before all the aluminum block posts. I found one and gave up. I know theres some more there of non stroker builds, some on youtube as well if memory serves me correct.

nice :smokin: thanks, i've seen his name/company come up a few times on various ford boards regarding these. in my head, i'd like to give it some gentle love with manifolds and a cam, then do the turbo slap rather than piston swap to deal with the compression. it is encouraging to see those kinds of numbers with the stock heads as that is where i'd like to be
 
No problem,

And I understand where your coming from. 400 2v heads flow really well for what they are.
Unlike 385 series heads that choke the hell out of the big cube motor, the 400 is a victim of bandaid combustion chamber/compression emission bandaid of 72-on. the coveted 71 400 made really good numbers stock because it had not yet been neutered. Just fixing the quench/compression and cam timing gets you near 300hp and well into 400's on torque.

The only thing worse than a stock 72-up 400 is a stock 351m, the pistons are even deeper in the hole and less stroke. I had a stock 78 f150 351m/c6 with 33's and 3.50's. It wouldnt even spin the tires in reverse, backing up hill on pavement, like 130hp from the factory.:lmao:

I am anxious to see how this build turns out
 
This is from here,

https://www.moderndriveline.com/the-confusion-of-the-351m-400-ford-engines/

Good explanation of the core flaw. I wont beat a dead horse anymore

""For 1972, the compression was reduced through the use of dished pistons. The compression reduced again for 1973 and a new timing set retarded the camshaft timing 6° to aid with reducing emissions.
Changes to the cylinder heads for 1975 to add the ‘Thermactor’ emission system caused the exhaust port to be more restrictive than the earlier 1971-74 heads. The 400 was re-tuned by Ford in 1975 to use unleaded gasoline with the addition of catalytic converters to the exhaust system.

The development of the 400 V8 led to a significant design flaw that remained with the engine throughout its production life. With a longer stroke, the compression ratio became excessively high with the 351-2V heads and flat top pistons. Ford engineers reduced the compression ratio by using a piston with a compression height that was too short and this led to an excessive deck clearance of 0.067″ compared to a 351-2V at 0.035”.

In 1971, this method of reducing compression was enough due to the higher-octane leaded fuels. However, once lower octane unleaded fuels became used the excessive deck clearance lead to problems with detonation.

For 1975, Ford dealt with this problem by decreasing the compression ratio further with a larger 15cc piston dish and reducing ignition timing.
However, the 400 V8 obtained a reputation for being prone to detonation. Although Ford did not make a piston to correct this, T Meyer Inc worked with Keith Black pistons to make a 400 piston that increases the compression ratio and gives the piston a “zero deck” deck clearance.


""
 
damn you EPA :laughing:

i was doing a bunch of cam timing reading the other day, apparently retarded cam timing is good for high revving engine flow and advanced is good for low revving but kills high RPM's. the combination of the retarded cam plus a restricted high rpm due to small cam and restrictive intake really helped make the whole thing a dog for the desire of low emmissions.

since i still want a low revving engine with a ~5-5500rpm max, going to a slightly larger cam with an adjustable gear to run ~4* advance should make a reasonable addition, along with better flowing manifolds and carb that can support.

still the deep pistons will leave a good bit to be desired. swapping pistons vs adding air then becomes the next step before it can really "wake up" and do something. at that point, the transmission would be the next step.

i did see a gearvendors overdrive unit on San Fran craigslist for $1200 the other day with the short C6 tailhousing. finding one of those used would be a nice altenative to the 6 speed/lockup conv swap after reasonable power is available.

edit: i will never swap my valve covers though, because the giant "NON CATALYST" epa sticker seems to be impossible to find and i'd hate to need to add cats just due to losing a sticker
 
I'm confused, I figured this truck would be smog-exempt in WA. Is there something like no smog-check but an inspection to ensure everything is still installed?
 
I'm confused, I figured this truck would be smog-exempt in WA. Is there something like no smog-check but an inspection to ensure everything is still installed?

There is no more Smog or inspections in WA anywhere as far as I'm aware. but I will be moving to Texas next year and they have an annual inspection that requires things to be there that should be there, seems to be a visual only type deal.

having the "no catalyst" sticker means they don't need to look for cats, that don't exist.
 
There is no more Smog or inspections in WA anywhere as far as I'm aware. but I will be moving to Texas next year and they have an annual inspection that requires things to be there that should be there, seems to be a visual only type deal.

having the "no catalyst" sticker means they don't need to look for cats, that don't exist.

Your truck is old enough that it won’t need an emissions test. Most places just make sure your horn, lights, and brakes are functioning. I doubt most people doing inspections here will give much thought to something of that vintage. Now, a newer deleted diesel would likely give you problems in some areas.
 
Your truck is old enough that it won’t need an emissions test. Most places just make sure your horn, lights, and brakes are functioning. I doubt most people doing inspections here will give much thought to something of that vintage. Now, a newer deleted diesel would likely give you problems in some areas.

good to hear! it is different to read about on the state website.

another day of no rain, so did some more tinkering.

This here multiport vacuum manifold off the rear of the intake had a wide open port. Score! Also, the line that ran around to the cruise control was not in good shape either. plugged both of those and it seems to idle much more smooth now, I think i've got all the vac leaks finally sorted :)

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also popped on the timing light and couldn't see shit, so hit the damper with some sandpaper and paint and cleaner

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high visibility paint, then a prick to clean out the marks

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factory base timing at 650 rpm is 12* BTDC with vacuum plugged. went to 10* just for kicks, well see how it does. solid and predictable timing control. my tach maxes out at 2k rpm and my adjustable timing light died a while ago, so playing it near stock should be just fine.

i'll have to retake this picture, while changing out the parking brake cable I happened to look at the fuse box :laughing: one "fuse" is just aluminum foil and there is a wire splayed open with 1 or 2 strands "clipped" into what is probably the hot side of another fuse. This will get addressed whenever the rust in the cab gets addressed :rasta:

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and here is why the parking brake didn't work before

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note taking time.

After replacing the parking brake cable and seeing just how bad the muffler has split and the several other rust holes in the exhaust, it is time for a change.

Picked up some used hedman hedders, 1-5/8" primary to a 3" ball flange, came with adapters to 2-1/2". $125 ain't too bad, though they are designed for a 4wd, so they may require some re-arranging. good enough to start with anyways

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and took a video of what it sounds like currently, about 70 db idle at 3' from the exhaust

drew this picture


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and ordered up stuff as it looks like it will all fit.

$150 2.5" steel mandrel bend "kit" with 4ea 48" straight, 45* bend, 90* bend, 180* bend
$150 for the magnaflow

and then summit racing

$30 ea for the cherry bomb turbo styles
$30 for 6 "cheap" clamps
$15 for some manifold gaskets.



Figure i'll weld everything except for the mufflers, but will need it in hand to get actual spots for things to fit. factory is side exit behind the tire, not sure if i will do that or go with a rear exit and a turn down
 
well i intended to have an easy day today pulling the stock exhaust off. Instead, got to spend a couple hours trying to figure out why it wasn't getting fuel :shaking:

fired up no problem, died after a minute or so. yeah, the gauge read on E, yeah it's parked on a hill. dumped a couple gallons in, and it still wouldn't go :confused:

Got to pull apart the top so i could look at the carb, interestingly enough, the choke cable was bent up in a way that it wouldn't open fully, so got that fixed. should help things

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this is the adapter from the propane mixer thing to the carb top. pretty neat

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might be hard to tell in the picture, but this is the "selector" for lack of a better term. The cable runs into the cab "out for gas, in for LPG" and it rotates a ring with 3 ramps on it, they lift and create a large air gap when set to gas and close to draw air through the 'pane mixer when set to LPG. kind of fun

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and here you can see the air gap with the whole shebang installed

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after a whole bunch of futzing about, managed to get it to pump it's own fuel. with it actually running, i was able to switch between the tanks and it seemed to function :confused: i dunno, seems like both tanks will need to be dropped here shortly

Went ahead and took out the starter after reading a few different threads on header swaps that say the starter usually needs to come out. glad i did, it was only held in with 1 bolt, this one is supposed to go through the bellhousing into the starter, it was installed from the starter into the bellhousing :laughing:

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Sprayed the manifold bolts with pb blaster last night, then ran the truck for about 15 minutes to warm everything up and then hit them with a wrench when it had cooled off enough i could tolerate it. worked, all the bolts came out generally easily.

muffler with a big ol' split

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and an example of what most of the bends looked like with small spot holes

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and figured i'd test fit the hedman hedders first. On the passanger side, installing from the top, it just barely doesn't clear the body/bellhousing by about 1/4" or so

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and on the driver side, it hits the steering box from the top and the brace from the bottom.

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the cross brace is only held in with 3 bolts on each side and the radius arms are riveted to another bracket, should all be fine to remove that brace out of the way and easily install both sides from the bottom. that brace also seems most likely to cause any fitment issues, so having it out will make it easy to clearance as needed, rather than modify the manifold collectors.

but that will all need to wait for parts to show up and i need to grab a couple cans of high temp paint as well
 
damn that muffler was a hell of a cork, i bet your gonna enjoy some freed up power. thought about putting looser springs in dizzy for a little more freed up power?
 
damn that muffler was a hell of a cork, i bet your gonna enjoy some freed up power. thought about putting looser springs in dizzy for a little more freed up power?

I've thought about it, but haven't really gone any more than that. probably wait until after changing the cam if at all. I've never messed with much internal distributor stuff.
 
For most of those there's a pretty easy starter upgrade to mini gear reduction, spec a starter for a 94 460 AT, $51 on rock auto, probably similar on Amazon

I put them in a couple 78 4spd trucks I had
 
For most of those there's a pretty easy starter upgrade to mini gear reduction, spec a starter for a 94 460 AT, $51 on rock auto, probably similar on Amazon

I put them in a couple 78 4spd trucks I had

Should work for all 4 speeds then?
 
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