New member, grew up with my 70 F100

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oleblue
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New member, grew up with my 70 F100

Post by oleblue »

Ole Blue is a 1970 F100, Tu Tone: Light blue on the bottom, dark blue on top. What's really unusual about it is that the cap is NOT painted light blue like all the other Tu Tones I've seen. Paint is factory (at least what's left of it). 240 straight six, automatic, no power nothing. All original. Still have the ladder racks dad made for it 40 years ago, and still have the camper top it occasionally wore (it's pretty rough though). 127k actual miles. Odometer only rolled once according to the original owner, and I know him pretty well...

Dad bought Ole Blue brand new in 1970 (four years before I came around). I've got the original sales slip, manual, even the warranty card.

I grew up riding around in the old truck, and I regret to this day that, when I was a teenager and Dad wanted to fix it up with me, that I wasn't interested. So ole blue sat parked while I drove an 84 Mazda GLC. When I was in college, dad thought about selling ole blue, but I guess nostalgia took over and I talked him into keeping it. Then in about 1996, our neighbors Jeep rolled down their driveway, where it crashed into ole blue, messing up the front left fender, and squishing the left headlight housing. Also messed up the hood a bit. The Jeep was trashed (1980's fiberglass vs 1970 American steel, no contest!).

Their insurance offered to give Dad $1000 and haul it off. Dad talked them into $750 and we keep it. I gave Dad the other $250 and he signed the title over to me.

My grandfather borrowed the truck from Dad, and my son has riden in it, so at least four generations of Hatcher men have known ole blue. It's possible dad's grandfather rode in it, but Dad can't remember for sure.

Needless to say, Ole Blue is NOT for sale. Sadly, he's been parked for the last seven years after the brakes went out and I just never got time to work on him. Tires are 10 years old, and have so few miles on them that the knobs haven't wore off yet, nor has the blue stuff off the raised letters. Battery is 15 years old.

I'm hoping to get ole blue running again this spring/summer. My to do list to get it running includes gas tank (I drained six year old has out of it last summer, after it started leaking), carb rebuild, brake lines (and probably master cylinder), coolant flush, oil change, new battery, and who knows what else I'll find. Of course, I've got to remove all the junk I've been storing in the back.
Last edited by oleblue on Mon Mar 26, 2018 9:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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magic bus
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Re: New member, grew up with my 70 F100

Post by magic bus »

Nice, hope you get it going. Worked on mine two years, still working on it. Pics would be nice
71 F100 2WD Longbed Sport Custom 390 C6
67 Econoline E100 200 I6 3 on the Tree
70 Mustang Coupe 302 C4

97 Expedition 4x4 Eddie Bauer
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hdman90
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Re: New member, grew up with my 70 F100

Post by hdman90 »

Sounds like you have your work cut out for you! Consider starting a thread under the "Project Updates" section.

Oh, and :wel: from Pennsylvania!
1969 F-100 LWB 2wd 240 3spd manual
1969 F-250 LWB 4wd 360 4spd manual
1976 F-250 Supercab LWB 2wd 390 4spd manual
lennyp
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Re: New member, grew up with my 70 F100

Post by lennyp »

:wel: from Massachusetts.
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WarEagle
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Re: New member, grew up with my 70 F100

Post by WarEagle »

:wel: from Alabama.

Good luck, with all that history, you won't regret it.
1972 F100 300 cid straight 6
2009 F150 4.6L Super Crew
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Bullitt74
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Re: New member, grew up with my 70 F100

Post by Bullitt74 »

:wel: from Alberta, Canada,

That is a great story, and I hope you're able to get ole Blue up and running this summer. There should be enough collective knowledge here to guide you through the process! :)

Pics would be good, and a project thread even better! :D
Steve F.
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
'72 Ranger XLT, 4x2, 390-2V, C6, Wind blue & Wimbledon White (‘Smokey’)
8)
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Follow my build thread for 'Smokey': http://fordification.com/forum/viewtopi ... 22&t=85070
crazyhorse
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Re: New member, grew up with my 70 F100

Post by crazyhorse »

Mr Blue, :wel: to the best site period. :fr:

Hope :pray: you like it here. :pray:

Pull up a chair and stay awhile., :fr: :fr:

Thanks for the good history write up.

My first bump was a '68 blue short bed.
oleblue
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Re: New member, grew up with my 70 F100

Post by oleblue »

Finally got a chance to snap a few pics this evening.

If you are wondering, that's a bunch of old vinyl siding up on the ladder racks. Unfortunately, I'm a bit of a Fred Sanford...a few years ago, some friends were having new siding put on their house after the old stuff was damaged by hail (we had a BAD hailstorm...most of the cars around here had bad hail damage. Ole Blue just had some rust knocked loose). Of course, I saw what was happening, and picked through the old stuff and took home a bunch of "good" pieces, thinking I'd use it on our sunroom, or maybe on a shed. :doh: It ended up just being garbage on the back of the truck.

Anyone want some free siding? Come and get it! LOL

Anyway, here are the pictures:

Notice that the cab top is dark blue...I've never seen another Tu Tone bump side with the dark color on the cab top, and I can't find any photos of such, but I know this truck was NEVER repainted.
Image

I cleaned both fenders sometime back to show my son what the color USED to look like. I need to get a pic of the inside of one of the doors behind the panels...this truck used to look REALLY NICE.
Image

Wish I had this custom tag...just a bit of photo editing there. 8)
Image

Body damage from the Jeep incident (I banged the panels back out, but they are rough):
Image

Engine bay, good old 240 engine :
Image

Custom Tool box under the hood my dad made and installed (he was a sheet metal craftsman):
Image
Image
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popeyes71
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Re: New member, grew up with my 70 F100

Post by popeyes71 »

:wel: from California! Nice complete truck! :fr:
-Popeye-
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1966 Chevy Nova, 8 second 10.5 car
oleblue
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Re: New member, grew up with my 70 F100

Post by oleblue »

Just realized almost exactly a year passed since I posted Ole Blue on here.

Got the 240 running yesterday after 8 years of sitting. Here's what I did:
1. Pulled the plugs and poured some Marvel Mystery Oil down each cylinder. Waited a bit then turned the engine by hand and verified everything was free.
2. Rebuilt Carter YF carb using kit ordered back in 2017 from Mike's Carburetor Shop (see, I've been slow!)
3. Opened can on the fuel pump and removed old filter. While it was apart, I blew out the hard line between the carb and pump, as well as the pump itself.
4. Setup a temporary "gas tank" under the hood, with rubber hose connecting to the fuel pump.
5. Borrowed battery from another vehicle (for some reason, the 20 year old battery Ole Blue had just doesn't hold a charge :hmm: )
6. Reinstalled plugs and tried to crank. Hmm...no spark.
7. Punt
8. Tested coil and verified it was good. Verified voltage on + line from ignition switch.
9. Ordered points and condenser, rotor, distributor cap, and wires from Rock Auto. And a feeler gauge.
10. Installed new points and condenser, put some old plugs that had been sandblasted in, and put old rotor/dizzy cap, and wires back (wanted to prove it was the points/condenser)
11. Turned key, didn't touch gas pedal...FIRED RIGHT UP!!! First try after new points and condenser! I bet the starter didn't even spin more than 3-5 seconds! :woohoo:

My takeaways:
1. Apparently, I'm good at rebuilding carbs (this was my first, other than a lawnmower engine carb).
2. #1 is a lie...truth is, this is a super simple, rock solid engine, which was running fine before being neglected.
3. I got lucky!

Put it in gear and discovered the front left drum brake was locked up hard. That wheel wasn't going to turn! Managed to move the truck less than 18", with that wheel just sliding in the grass. Soaked it with WD-40, banged on it a bit and let it sit overnight. Next day I popped the grommet used to access the self-adjuster, and shot more WD-40 in. Hooked my Nissan Hardbody 4 banger 4x4 to it, started pulling, and to my delight, the wheel turned. I would have cranked Ole Blue up and let him move under his own power, but the Nissan didn't want to loan him his battery again. :lol:

Probably gonna buy a new battery for my wife's car, using Ole Blue's ancient battery as core, and let Ole Blue keep her cars old battery, which is almost four years old. I figure the car we drive everywhere in should get the new battery, instead of the truck that's moved five feet in eight years.
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jzjames
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Re: New member, grew up with my 70 F100

Post by jzjames »

Looks like a fun project. These trucks are fun.
FORD TOUGH!
Suggestion; when you get it driving, throw in a bottle of Marvel Mystery Oil in with your new oil. Drive it for 50 miles or so, then change your oil. Can’t hurt, and may be helpful for your lifters and rings and a little engine cleaning.
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redstone65
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Re: New member, grew up with my 70 F100

Post by redstone65 »

WarEagle wrote::wel: from Alabama.

Good luck, with all that history, you won't regret it.
War Eagle!

That's a great looking 6-cylinder. Just can't kill those things. I also like that toolbox under the hood. What a great idea that is. Good luck getting it back in good shape. Probably need to go ahead and get a heater core. If it's not rusted out already, it won't last long.
Dave

‘65 F-100 (240) Former military truck
‘70 F-100 (360) restoring with my son
crazyhorse
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Re: New member, grew up with my 70 F100

Post by crazyhorse »

Mr Blue, congratulations on getting Ole Blue started .
You just can't beat these old bumps.
Good luck as you continue to repair it.
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timachone
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Re: New member, grew up with my 70 F100

Post by timachone »

Thank you for sharing your story with the old bump and the successful wake-up - great :clap: :thup:

Have fun!
Tim :drive:

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oleblue
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Re: New member, grew up with my 70 F100

Post by oleblue »

redstone65 wrote: That's a great looking 6-cylinder. Just can't kill those things. I also like that toolbox under the hood. What a great idea that is. Good luck getting it back in good shape. Probably need to go ahead and get a heater core. If it's not rusted out already, it won't last long.
Thanks! Ole Blue is definitely Ford Tough.

The toolbox was all my father. He was an old school sheet metal craftsman who could build just about anything out of metal. He built a few of those toolboxes for friends and family in addition to this one. Doesn't matter what Ole Blue ends up looking like, that toolbox stays! Wish Dad's health now allowed us to work on Ole Blue together like he wanted to years ago, but I've got my son working on it with me, so it's staying in the family.

I'll keep my eye on the heater core... Never even crossed my mind to be concerned about it. Looks like Rock Auto has them pretty reasonable.
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