I's still running, believe it or not

[radioactivelarry]

Hey Rich, I must have driven it over a hundred miles so far. The engine and drive train are very good and runs great. Now I can pay attention to the other things it needs.

That Pertronix distributor made the big difference.

[iwhodat]

My Pertronix set up was one of my best upgrades. I drive that 360 like I stole it I can get 85mph on I-10 all day long. It may be faster, I just haven't pressed my luck!

[rbeck204]

Larry,
Good to hear the truck is still running. What's your next task on the truck?
Rich

[tsherry]

85 MPH? I couldn't get my F250 up to that if I dropped it off of a cliff.

[radioactivelarry]

Next thing is the body work on the cab. Going to install the fender I got from you (Rich) so I can concentrate on the cab. I will do work on the outside and the inside. I am going to install the 2:75 rear gears and see how the NP-435 will handle it. If not I will install the cruise-o-matic. As far as other upgrades I will deal with them when the opportunity presents itself.

When I bought the truck the engine had been rebuilt as a 390 and has a nice cam. With a fresh tuneup the cam had a nice lope at idle and seemed to perform well but I knew there was more. I even worked over the distributor but it was a problem I was fighting for quite a while and was the main reason for all my woes. After installing the Pertronix with compatible coil and plug wires it unleashed the monster in the engine. The idle was significantly smoother and still has a lope. The best thing it does is run like a 390 GT engine. The heads are 64 T-Bird numbers and have at least 10 or 10.5 to 1 or so. I have to be careful taking off as it really wants to break loose and start a burnout. If I goose it a little it just keeps on burning. Fast & Loud and that's in 2nd gear! That's why I want to go with different rear gears. Highway speeds and mileage.