12 degrees here yesterday and I haven't started the truck in a couple of weeks but needed it yesterday to do a lumber run. A little slow to crank due to the cold, but she fired right up after a bit and ran really well as always. I have not adjusted the valves or changed the points, plugs or wires since I put the truck on the road eight years ago. I do regular oil changes and check the timing/adjust points and plugs once a year. I drive it everywhere and even took it all the way to the Jersey shore for the Race Of Gentlemen this year. It usually starts with half a turn of the crankshaft and runs out just fantastic. I see no reason at all to change out the engine until it gives up the ghost which will probably not be for quite some time. Andy
I'm right there with you, Andy. Mine drives like a truck, turns like a truck, and rolls right down the road. I love that old 228/4 speed thing. I put a nice sound system in mine. It turns out, that was the biggest waste of money and time yet. Nothing like listening to the sounds of the truck~
So very true. My life long friend that I lost this last July had a 48 Club Coupe with the old 216 when we were in college in Minneapolis where winter temps were REALLY cold. When it was colder than zero he would carry the old 6v battery into their trailer to keep it warm overnight and then reinstall it the next morning; often in 15 below temp. It would grunt over about 2-3 turns and fire up. He would then go around the trailer park and and push off several other friends that often had newer cars.
That's good Andy ! . Not keeping after the valves means you're making that unhappy day come sooner . Why not just do this simple thing and make it outlast you and your boys ? .
I had to pull mine out of the garage and park it on the street like I do every CHIEFS game. Man, it was COLD yesterday (and even worse today). I pulled out the choke, pumped the gas about 5 times, hit the starter and it fired right up! Hardly spun the starter! This, after it had set all week. I LOVE IT!!!! This is also with stock distributor/points.
Paul ; Did you ever try to pump it once , before pulling out the choke ? . Remember to hold the throttle to the floor for a moment after you pump it and are pulling out the choke . Then release the throttle , switch on the ignition and depress the starter button .
It's colder today, by far. When I get home, (I'm at school right now) I'll give that a try! Thanks, Nate.
Nate, I should have said I have not needed to adjust the valves since I put it on the road 8 years ago. I have checked them every spring and are always within tolerance. Andy
Wow Andy ; how many miles was that ? . I find they'll need slight adjustment every 10,000 miles and I work my rig so it gets lots of miles . Paul , that's why you should always read and commit to memory , the owner's booklet ~ it's chock full of good tips .
Nate, I don't believe I have gone 10,000 miles since I put it on the road. It's my work truck used mostly for around the town hauling. I have made two "long" trips with it. One to NJ from Long Island to pick up my Ford Flathead V8 for my Hot Rod from my pals shop (2 hrs. each way) and another to NJ for The Race Of Gentlemen (4 hrs. each way). Kind of hard to tell how many miles because I have swapped out speedometers as they fail. Currently no speedometer working. Every time I put an aftermarket cable in it, the cable fails or it mucks up the speedo. Last time, my original cable got messed up when the speedo seized on the trip back from The Race of Gentlemen. I need to find a good original cable and also have my speedo rebuilt. Andy
