1970 F250 Camper Special Custom

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WRX_Boy
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1970 F250 Camper Special Custom

Post by WRX_Boy »

I recently picked up a 1970 F250 Custom Camper Special from the original owner. It has a 360 2V, C6 auto with power steering. Shortly after purchasing it in So Cal, he slapped a cab over camper on and that is how it spent the next 40 years. The last 17 years, it lived in a storage facility with the camper rotting in the bed. The camper was removed a few weeks before I bought the truck and the tailgate went missing sometime in the past. Below is a picture I took the day it came home.

Image

When I boought it, i knew there was some water in the tranny, but the engine appeared to be running fairly well. However, the 17 years in storage were very kind to the interior. The dash was almost entirely uncracked (only cracks were in the speaker area), the original seat cover is in great shape (thanks to the clear plastic sofa cover the original owner put on it many years ago), the headliner and sun visors are perfect. All in all, the interior was in fantastic shape. The exterior has some minor rust in a few spots with lots of rust stains making it look far worse than it really is. The bed has some thick rust in one spot (thanks to the rotting camper), but it has not made it though yet.
Last edited by WRX_Boy on Mon Mar 07, 2011 2:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.
WRX_Boy
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Re: 1970 F250 Custom Camper Special

Post by WRX_Boy »

First thing was drain the dark colored, pepto bismol like substance from the transmission. It was so bad, I decided to pull the tranny so I could clean it out well and completely drain the torque converter and the transmission.

Discovered something interesting doing this. My '72 I had as a kid, which was a 4 spd, had no clearance problems between the bellhousing and the frame crossmember just behind it. I assumed it would not be an issue here but found otherwise when it got stuck on the way out. I had not stopped to think about the different shapes of the bellhousing and their inspection plates. The stick bellhousing is not a full circle at the front like the auto is. The stick bellhousing inspection plate area angles back at about a 45 degree angle allowing lots of clearance at the crossmember (hope that description makes sense).

Once the transmission was out, I spent a good amount of time cleaning the internals out the best I could without fully disassembling it. While I was at it, I pulled the valve body apart (glad I did) and cleaned the nasty boogers out of it. Since I had it out and apart, I threw in a B&M shift kit set with the RV/Towing mod done. Replaced the vacuum modulator with a TCI unit and installed a B&M drain plug kit while the pan was off. Replaced both input and output seals and installed new trans-radiator lines since the original ones had at some point been chopped and spliced with hose.

Since the drive shaft was out, it was time to avoid a future issue and relace all 3 u-joints.

Another thing I found when pulling the transmission was an exhaust issue. The nice quiet single exhaust that I thought was in good shape, was in fact not. It was a hokey pieced together welding experiment gone awry. I called some local muffler shops getting prices on a new exhaust system and was surprised how much they wanted for one. I opted instead for the boxed 2.25" dual exhaust kit from LMC and was pleasantly surprised with it due to its very low price. The only thing I added to it was a pair of stainless turn-down tips I got off ebay (because I couldnt find basic turn-down tips anywhere else).

Resinstalled the tranny and put the new exhaust in. Fired it up and the transmission was now working great. Time to complete the tune-up on the engine and install a new air cleaner (whole thing) since that had also disappeared, along with the oil filler cap and PCV grommet for the valve cover, during the trucks 17 year nap.

While doing the tune-up and inspecting things, I found that someone had adjusted the choke so that it never opened. I warmed the engine up fully and adjusted the choke properly, only to discover why it had been adjusted closed. The stock Autolite 2 barrel was so worn out, it was sucking air everywhere, including the main throttle shaft. It would not idle no matter what I did, unless that included adjusting the choke closed... I tried rebuiding it but the body was just too worn. After a many hours of messing with the worn out stocker, I caved and picked up a new Holley 2 barrel (500 CFM) and bolted it on. It fired right up and idled perfect.

(stay tuned, lots more to come)
Last edited by WRX_Boy on Mon Mar 07, 2011 1:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.
killakobra
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Re: 1970 F250 Custom Camper Special

Post by killakobra »

Yea shops want a bit to do exhaust work even though it's quick.
1967 f100 stepside 300ci I6
1969 f100/600 stepside retro truck -under construction-
1972 longbed trailer
WRX_Boy
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Re: 1970 F250 Custom Camper Special

Post by WRX_Boy »

killakobra wrote:Yea shops want a bit to do exhaust work even though it's quick.
Agreed, and its not like its a tight fight on these old trucks. There is a ton of room under there and it is practically a straight shot all the way back.
WRX_Boy
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Re: 1970 F250 Custom Camper Special

Post by WRX_Boy »

Once I got the new carb on and adjusted, I finished the rest of the tune-up. Part of that included replacing the points/condensor with a Pertronix Ignitor. Many, many years ago, I worked at a shop specializing in vintage mustangs and I used to sell a ton of Pertronix setups, but until now, had never used one myself. Install was a breeze and it has been working perfect ever since.

Since the gas in the tank was starting to dwindle, I figured I'd take a run up the street and fill it up. About 2 miles down the road, it died. When it did, it felt like it ran out of gas. Called the wife, she showed up with a gas can and I threw 5 gallons in it. Much to my surprise, it would not start back up. I did a bunch of checking around and found that the gas was not making its way out of the tank. With help from my dad the next day, we limped it home with it dying many times along the way.

I pulled the gas tank to try and figure out what was going on. When I looked inside it after draining it, I found it had been coated with a gas tank sealer called Red Coat. Doing a little more digging, I found that Red Coat and methanol/ethanol are not friends, and the lovely CA gasoline has lots of that stuff in it. The Red Coat was peeling off the inside of the tank and clogging the fuel line. Time for a new gas tank...

Once the new gas tank arrived, the truck was really running good. After many local outtings, I took a chance and drove it to work (35 miles one way). It ran great but had a horrible vibration. Wonder if it could be the 20 year old Winston tires that sat getting flat spots for 17 years in storage? :doh: Despite having nearly 100% of their tread left, the sidewalls were pretty badly cracked and they were badly flat spotted. Time for some new tires, and was I surprised when I started trying to locate new, street tread 16.5" tires. I spent quite a while trying to source some on the internet, but unfortunately most of the online tire shops don't list (at least not easily) my truck or the old tire sizes. Luckily, the guy at the local Big-O Tires knew that Firestone was still offering a street tread tire that would fit, so I ordered a set. Vibration is now gone and I am not cringing every time I hit a corner waiting for a cracked sidewall to give out. If and when I ever wear these out, it will be time for some new wheels to go with the tires.

Of course, in the mean time, the heater core started puking, the heater hot water valve is frozen, and the heater fan control switch was dead so I had to replace all of them. And there are tons of little detail cleanup things that I have been working on when I have time.

Also, in the periods that I spent waiting for parts to arrive, I spent some time showing the truck a little love with a buffer. The paint is cleaning up pretty good in most places, but the white paint on the lower half is very thin. Most of the rust stains are coming off and the thing actually shines now, at least on the driver side which is all I have done so far. I also replaced all the rusted mirror hardware with stainless and polished the rust stains off the rest of the mirrors. I am very happy with how they came out.

Now that the tires are handled, it was time for the brakes. The front driver side appears to have been metal to metal for some time, as the grooves from the rivets in the pads are about 1/8" deep or more. Two new rotors, front pads, all three hoses and a few new metal lines later and the brakes are in good shape.

Next on my list is the get the cab sealed up good as most of the weather stripping is toast and several of the firewall plugs are missing. I have most of that sitting in the garage waiting for me to install it. I hope to get some time this weekend.

Oh yeah, don't tell my wife that the truck I bought just to use for projects around the house is now turning into my new project all its own :shh:

Here is a quick shot I took of how it sits now.
Image
Kaizen
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Re: 1970 F250 Camper Special Custom

Post by Kaizen »

Nice! Any updates?
Brad
1971 F250 Camper Special 360ci, Holley 600, Edelbrock Manifold
1978 HD FXE
My project page http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... 22&t=58039
terry1167
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Re: 1970 F250 Camper Special Custom

Post by terry1167 »

That's a good looking truck. Keep us posted of your progress and pics! :D
'72 F250,390,C6,76K Sport Custom, Camper Special "Ole Blu"
'90 F250,460,48K XLT Lariat, Supercab
'88 Lincoln Mark VII LSC, 5.0 H.O.original, was daily driver, now retired
'97 Lincoln Town Car-Cartier,73K, 4.6, fact. dual exhaust,mint/original-Last Big Towncar
'05 GMC Denali XL,6.0 Vortec-for the wife & kids
'02 Cadillac DHS,4.6 Northstar-daily driver
'73 Great Divide 22' travel trailer,restored to original
'79 Mitchell 11' "Challenger XL" cabover camper-restored to original
'88 Lance 11'3" LC 780 cabover-current project
WRX_Boy
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Re: 1970 F250 Camper Special Custom

Post by WRX_Boy »

Sorry for the lack of progress reports. Got side tracked by the many other projects around the house (like the several huge oaks that decided to fall for no apparent reason).

I ended up having the tranny rebuilt. Turns out the clutches had disintegrated when the water got in the transmission (prior to my ownership). I will tackle just about anything when it comes to vehicles, including manual transmissions, but automatic transmissions are a thing of magical wonderment... Off to the shop it went. When I got it back from the transmission shop, it was driving beautifully, except the coolant kept disappearing and I could not figure out from where. Finally found a small leak, at the rear of the passenger side cylinder head.

So I pulled the heads to fix a head gasket leak (injesting coolant) and found I had some very bad valves, one was so burnt it was egg shaped. It was time to do some cleanup and repairs/mods I had been putting off. Nothing crazy, in fact I am keeping the stock cam and stock 2 barrell intake. Just doing preventative repairs and mods.

New timing chain set, new oil pump, new oil pan (stock was totally rusted, almost through in 1 spot), high flow water pump, new lifters, brass freeze plugs, 100 amp 1 wire alternator with Ford specific mounting, Hedman headers (stock manifolds were toast), dual 12" electric thermostatically controlled fans, Pertronix coil (to go with the Ignitor already installed), new plug wires, new hard fuel line from pump to carb, all new coolant hoses, stainless steel bolt kit and lots of fresh Ford blue paint.

I took the intake to the machine shop that did my heads and had them hot tank it for me. It was really cruddy from 20 years of neglect and most of the paint had come off long ago. When I got it back it was clean, except for the rust that had built up on the areas that were free of grease. Nothing a wire wheel in a hand drill couldn't solve. Its funny the things you forget over the years, like how freaking heavy a cast iron FE block intake is. Last time I had one off was about 22 years ago. Just for good measure, I weighed it after it was clean. Came in at 75 pounds even with nothing except carb studs installed.

I am still putting everything back together. Still need to wire the new 100amp alternator, finish the brackets for the electic fans, hook up the exhaust, prime the oil pump and set the ignition timing. I should have it fired up the next chance I get to work on it (time is hard to come by sometimes).

Here is how it sits right now.
Image
Fordnatic
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Re: 1970 F250 Camper Special Custom

Post by Fordnatic »

Purdy!
70F100: 410 Merc with tri-power, close ratio toploader, 4.56 detroit locker 9"
68F100 4x4: 390, 4 spd/NP 205, Rancho 4" urethane susp, 35x12.50 All Terrain T/A's
55F100
01F150 Daily Driver: TP tunes, AF1 intake, elec fans, Magnaflow exh, underdrive pulleys, Centerlines
mbergthold
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Re: 1970 F250 Camper Special Custom

Post by mbergthold »

I too have a 70 F250 2x Sport Custom Camper Special, 390 4v (a Jasper reman, had to give up the 428), rebuilt C6, GearVendor overdrive. I think the only items under the hood I haven't replaced is the starter solenoid, distributor (installed Ignitor w/paired epoxy coil), and the starter. Curious as to what exhaust system you installed. I'm 3rd owner, 2nd did nothing to the truck except drive it, not even an oil change, hence the toasted 428. Orig owner installed dual glass packs, which run outside both frame rails. Only nice thing about them is the chrome tips, but they're about ready to rust off. I'd like to get an exhaust system that mounts in the stock location, between drive shaft and passenger side frame rail, but two in and two out, exiting in front of the right rear tire. I went to 16" tires, oversize, on some nice 70's aluminum rims. I've lined the cab floor with Eastwood sound deadener and a layer of cellular insulation, then a new rubber floor that covers the entire floor. New windshield, new SoftSeal door weatherstrip, tinted side and rear slider windows, installed OldAir HVAC, hood lock w/kill, Classic AutoSound stereo with Bluetooth, dual cone dash speaker, new defroster vents (from a Winnebago, so much better than OEM), a Grant GT steering wheel, step bumper, and receiver hitch. My $3500 farm truck has become a $20k total rebuild, but I figure it's the last truck I'll own. For the price of a new F250 4x4, I've got a new '70 F250 and when completed a new '77 Scout II.
1970 F250 Sport Custom Camper Special (72 F100 cab), a shot 428FE just replaced w/OEM 390, rebuilt C6 2wd LB -bringing back to life after 13 yrs in storage, added GV Overdrive & OldAir
1977 IH Scout II, 345/auto, 4wd, restomod in process
1942 Farmall B w/exhaust lift & B238 cultivator SOLD
Craftsman 2cyl garden tractor, restored
Allis Chalmers B-112, yard art until restored
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