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OldTruckMan

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Hello: Charlie from Kendall, Florida. Been working on restoring my 1982 Ford F-150 for several years & hit a brick wall. Pretty discouraged and need assistance from more experienced folks. Hope I can find it here.
 
Welcome aboard from NJ. Best of luck with your restoration. I'm sure someone will chime in to help.
 
Thank you to everyone. I have owned my F-150 truck since purchased new in 1982. Since around 2015 it sat idle in my driveway for a couple of years until I began restoration & got it running quite well. However one day the engine quit at a light. Initially we diagnosed the problem as a clogged fuel line but that turned out to not be it and little by little it dominoed into other things like timing issues, etc.
We have tried a number of things but it refuses to run as it did before & my frustration levels are reaching an all time high. We know the engine did not overheat, although I have suspected that perhaps the timing chain may have something to do with it a few people that know more than I do assure me that it's not the timing chain. Right now the truck is back on my driveway & the best I can do with it is start it, it runs for a few seconds and stops.
I might give up and sell it as is but before I do I'd like to try reaching out for some advice in this forum. If necessary I can provide a detailed explanation of all that has been done to try to "fix" the problem and although so far nothing has worked I still believe that if the real problem can be discovered fixing it will not be difficult.
So folks, that's where we stand at this moment. Any advice is welcome as I am totally out of ideas.
 
I know Ford used a funky ignition controller system in the late 70's. I got to work on a few of those and lots of fun. I am not sure when Ford went OBD the first time. Guess I could check the Ford test cans. Yes I have one of those old ancient testers for the big three and limited imports.
 
Ok now list what has been done so far. We now know its carbureted with an ignition controller.
 
Quick research, not sure it's accurate, but here goes.

(1) Are you getting fuel? I assume so since it will start.

(2) Someone mentioned the oil pressure switch being broken, line/wire being broken.

(3) Have you checked the carb, taken it apart to inspect for buildup of corrosion?

(4) Are there any relays that are tripped? Referenced was an '85 with a 460, but it had one on the fender and two on the firewall. Also may be a really with a white button under the dash on the passenger side up by the firewall.

I don't know squat about the ignition controller for a Ford, it may be an issue, but I didn't get that far. I just saw some basic things mentioned. If I find anything else, I'll post it.
 
Old Ford controllers were a pain. The late 70's units could test fine and still not work.
If it starts and runs fine and just quits. I would start checking for loose, corroded and missing grounds. Especially if the carb still has fuel.
 
When it quits did you look down the carb to see if it still will squirt fuel? Do you have a spark tester? You need to see if your loosing spark. If you have fuel it's either the pick up coil in the distributor or the ignition module.
 
I know Ford used a funky ignition controller system in the late 70's. I got to work on a few of those and lots of fun. I am not sure when Ford went OBD the first time. Guess I could check the Ford test cans. Yes I have one of those old ancient testers for the big three and limited imports.

Yeah, see if it has an ECU like 7mopar is suggesting....
 
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