To say thank you to our first 351 subscribers I decided to give my 1980 F350 with a 351M engine some love. I’ve been slowly bringing this truck back from the grave over the last couple of years.
It all comes down to time and money. It seems when I have time I’m broke and when I have money I have no time. To cheat this life problem I’ll buy a part here and there over a period of time. When I think I have a days worth of work I’ll take the time and bust it all out in one day.
I’m not an expert by any means. I learn as I go. Sometimes via RU-vid. Sometimes via experience. If push comes to shove I’ll call an expert or look in an old service manual. Thank you to all the subscribers. I better get some parts ready for when we hit 390 subscribers…
It took me about 7 hours due to the new spark plug wires being too short and having to pull them off and put the old ones back on. I also spent a good 20 minutes per head cleaning the old gasket and debris out before putting the covers back on. The wedges took about 20 minutes the following day. If you think this is a giant waste of time and money I would honestly have to agree. But when you do something out of passion and love, money and time seem irrelevant.
I don’t understand how a 41 year old V8 with a 2 barrel carburetor and some rusty glass packs can sound so much better than a newer vehicle. It’s by no means a rocket with 4:11 gears and a 4 speed with 1st being a granny gear. But when the throttle opens and she starts drinking it does sound similar to the Bullitt Mustang. After a decade of driving tractor trailers, primarily running a Detroit my ears aren’t the best so maybe it sounds like s*** and my brain is tricking me. Either way I have included some great 351M exhaust audio.
Some day I’d like to load it down with a few cage totes full of water and go pull some hills to really hear the pipes sing but I am babying the clutch at the moment and don’t want to push my luck. When I replace the clutch I’m planning at 20-30 min audio video.
Next on the wish/todo list is probably a radiator, clutch and shocks. I’d also like to remove the rear truck style bumper and build a platform off of the flat bed. I want a place to mount a vice and build a real receiver hitch into it. I’d also like to add another fuel tank and get the fuel gauge working.
Lastly a big thank you to the musicians that provide free creator music.
21 сен 2021
