Not sure why I did this...

[mcheath]

72' F250.jpg

Okay so last weekend we were riding about town on our scooters, no agenda, and came across an old Ford for sale. After some scoping it out, getting the owner out, and a test drive, I parted with 1200 bucks and it was mine.

So it's a 72' F250 Camper Special Custom Sport. 360, C-6, 2bbv, dealer installed AC, PS, PB. 120k original miles, still wearing it's original paint, with all the trim intact, and a straight body with no dents of note. Even has a great seat, no holes, good shape and padding, and a good cover.

That's the good.

The bad is the floor of the bed is rusty as can be, plenty of holes through it from the owner leaving grass sitting in it for years. The accelerator pump is shot, it even leaks fuel through the vent hole. And it leaks power steering fluid, trans fluid, and did leak oil from the filter. (changed that out, it was overtightened) The brake booster is shot as well, leaks vacuum and makes that giant sucking sound.

And the tires look to be from about 1980, bias ply, cracked and hard.

No idea why I felt the need to buy it.

So I found this forum, and have been gleaning information and getting excited about working on the truck. Here's a picture of it the day I bought it.

[Kurt Combs]

from northern Cali! Nice ride from another 72 F250 owner. It will grow on you over the years. My 72 also had grass growing in the bed when I bought it, took me a couple of days to clean it up, and then the fun began. That was six years ago and I spent two hours working it tonight doing the brakes, so the fun just keeps coming.....

[basketcase0302]

from choo-choo town.
Nice looking survivor you found there, it'll come together in time.

[1970FordTK]

Welcome from North Carolina.

[mcheath]

Thanks. Was out last night puttering about with it, fixing a couple of easy items and getting a good lookover of what I bought. Ordered a carb kit for it to stop the pump leakage, brake booster will be next. My dad had one of these, a 71' F250 CS with Explorer trim, green with the "mag" rim hubcaps. I remember being a kid, maybe 6, when he bought it new and brought it home, sitting in the seat and playing like I was driving it. Maybe that's why I bought it.

The owner gave me a new hood and tailgate, as well as two more 16.5 rims with mud tires on them. "New" of course means used for the metal parts.

One of the things that hooked me on this rig was the fact that it is a survivor, no one has ever monkeyed with it, it's pretty much a 1972 time capsule. Here are some more pics, including the truck in our driveway after a good bath. Not sure what to do about the rusted bed floor.

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[Kurt Combs]

Watch Craigslist for a bed that was under a camper for years. You will see them every once in awhile and they are generally in really good shape. If you find a really good one the main issue is color and getting a bunch of friends to help R&R the bed. Of course, if you are like me you will turn it into an opportunity to at least clean and paint everything in sight.

[1972hiboy]

Welcome from Santa Cruz! nice score!

[fireguywtc]

from Texas!

[mcheath]

Changed the accelerator pump out this evening. Runs a lot better off the line, won't stall when I punch it . This thing is kinda fun to work on, easy really, everything is out in the open and not buried under tubes, wires and electronics. Except of course it was 104 degrees out there.

Thanks for the welcomes.

[basketcase0302]

two more 16.5 rims with mud tires on them

This will be one of the first things you'll want to address. The 16.5 tires are a "white elephant" and becoming harder and harder to find these days, (especially in a radial fashion). Keep your eyes out for some 16" rims.
Gotta love working on our trucks! There's not a truck made today you can climb into the engine compartment like our bumps!

[mcheath]

Yes the rims are an issue, that size is rare and pricey I've found. Thinking about prowling the local Pick-A-Part to see what they have in 16".

Yeah I was sitting in the engine compartment working on the carb yesterday, pretty funny.

[Kurt Combs]

Where are you in California? I'm in Lake County about a mile from Clear Lake, the largest natural lake in the state.

[Diamond N]

Welcome from Indiana...

[mcheath]

I'm down near Fresno. Clear Lake is very nice! Great area!

Fixed all the remaining leaks today, valve cover gaskets and power steering pump connections. With those and the oil filter and accelerator pump repair we are moving along, slowly. This truck has lots of what they call "deferred maintenance" in the real estate world.

Battery is bad. Figures. Got O' Reillys to test it and the alternator is okay, so that's something.

[FLATBEDFORD]

Nice find. There's nothing like that here in the Northeast. You can use 16" 8 lug wheels from 1967-1997 F250/350 trucks. They are cheap and plentiful. 235/85 16 is probably close to stock 16" tire size.