1973 F-350 Super Camper Special

Ray requested some more info on my F-350, so here's a thread.

I bought it in 2009 for $900. It had a 390 with an Edelbrock Streetmaster intake, 750 edelbrock carb, headers, and 2.5" duals with delta flow 40 flowmaster mufflers. It had tons of vacuum leaks, horrible edelbrock off idle stumble, and the exhaust was loud as fuck. The steering also had 5 miles of play, and the headers leaked more than they sealed.





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So, I started cleaning it up, and repairing all the little things wrong with it. One of the first things I did, was swap the flowmaster mufflers for Raptor Turbo's. That quieted it down a bit.



Then I got a tailgate for it since its was gone.



Then I swapped the edelbrock 750 for a Summit 600 carb. It picked up throttle response and mileage.



I was able to get the original fender badges from the previous owner. They are the ones who painted it John Deere green. It was originally lighter green metallic with a white roof. Same as the custom classic trucks project truck, actually. http://www.customclassictrucks.com/techarticles/1101cct_1973_ford_f350_build/



Then, since it needed tires, and 16.5 size tires are just about obsolete... I decided to get different wheels for it. I couldn't find stock Ford 16" steel wheels for the life of me, but did find a set of the 95-97 factory Ford Alcoa wheels. They got a set of geolander A/T tires.



I was able to score the missing trim off of a junkyard truck, and also got a set of the factory stainless "west coast" mirrors.





The replacement stainless hardware cost three times as much as the mirrors!

Very cool, 'different' trucks. 140" wb trucks offered from '73-'79.

I'd love to own one.

From Wikipedia:

In 1973, a new model was offered, the F-350 SRW (single rear wheel) pickup. These were new heavy-duty pickups made with contractors and camping enthusiasts in mind. The trucks rode on a longer-wheelbase chassis but were the same overall length as an F-100 or F-250 pickup. Ordering the Camper Special package on an F-350 SRW made it a Super Camper Special which was designed for the much heavier slide-in campers coming on the market at that time.

More related facts:

1973/79 F350 Regular Cabs on the 140" wheelbase (all 2WD):

1973/76 Super Camper Special / 1973/79 Trailer Special / 1977/79 Camper Special - Ford dropped "Super" from the name after 1976.

There were F150 & F250 Camper Specials, but these were not on the 140" wheelbase.

1977 was the first year for 4WD Camper Specials.

No F350 was available with 4WD until 1979, and 4WD was not offered with the 140" wheelbase.

Ray

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Then I started working on Creature comforts. I swapped the broken door panels for another set, and added the woodgrain inserts from a '79 XLT Lariat.



Since the A/C was long gone, I swapped the block off plate for the slider vent on standard trucks.



Added courtesy lights:



Put a receiver hitch on and put it to work.





Since the streetmaster is a single plane intake, I thought the F-427 dual plane that was on my F-100 would be a better fit, so I swapped the two.







It was a good thing I did, as the spacer spings for the rockers were all broken.



So, I fixed that, and did the Holley jet trick in the rocker shaft oil galley to restrict the flow some, and keep oil in the bottom end.




So, the previos owners thought the rear gas tank had a leak, and they removed it. They are unique to the SCS, and are not reproduced. Luckly, they didn't throw it away. I got it from them, and replaced the sending unit with one from an '84 BroncoII, since they are the closest match.





It also got H4 conversion head lights, a relay harness, and LED conversion.





I also added an x-pipe to the exhaust. That help make it more bearable to drive on long trips, and quieted it down a good bit. But it's still damn loud...

Very sweet truck , that's back when a truck actually had some iron in it ! I had a 71 F-250 Camper special years ago . It had the little compartment in the same area of the bed, just not big enough for a spare like yours .

I LOVE that truck!! To quiet the exhaust, have you considered pulling the seats and carpet and puting in some sound deadening mat. DynaMat, Hushmat, Eastwood, there are a variety to choose from. I'm rebuilding an 86 F150 that has been in the family since new. Frame off resto-mod, but that's another story. That is one really, really nice truck.

It's just loud, like, I feel bad for cars next to me when I lay into it loud. When these mufflers are done, I'll replace them with a longer case turbo, like the dynomax "hemi" turbo.

This is without x-pipe:

Great play by play on the modifications. Nice looking truck.

Then I started working on Creature comforts. I swapped the broken door panels for another set, and added the woodgrain inserts from a '79 XLT Lariat.

Put a receiver hitch on and put it to work.

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Hi, first nice truck these are definitely antique toters for our other toys.

I wanted to ask what part number Curt hitch did you install??

thanks!

I really like the truck and the well thought out improvements you've done. Thanks for posting. Chuck

What's the black ragged spot on the rear end?

Hi, first nice truck these are definitely antique toters for our other toys.

I wanted to ask what part number Curt hitch did you install??

thanks!

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I couldn't find the order in my e-mail. I think it was for a cab and chassis truck with a drop bumper. The F-350 SCS had the narrow frame rails like a highboy or a pre '73 truck.

I really like the truck and the well thought out improvements you've done. Thanks for posting. Chuck

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Thanks. I sold it in February.

What's the black ragged spot on the rear end?

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If you mean the actual rag hanging there, it was the previous owner's attempt at deleting the rear fuel tank. I put it back in after that picture.If you mean the black spot on the cover, it was leakage from the fill plug.

I couldn't find the order in my e-mail. I think it was for a cab and chassis truck with a drop bumper. The F-350 SCS had the narrow frame rails like a highboy or a pre '73 truck.

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Exactly narrow like the HBs, did you have to drill holes to install it? I am trying to avoid it and use factory frame holes.

thanks for the info I acquired 2 of these within one week (a month ago) both 73 one auto one 4spd both 390\2bl.

Yes, I had to drill holes, and used spacers to avoid grinding the cross member rivets.

Found it. It's a Curt 14082.

Wow! That thing is the business. Really nice! I enjoyed looking at the pics. ::thumb::

Years ago - as I was dreaming about cars - I thought it would be cool to do a late model drivetrain swap in one of these trucks. Either a 7.3 Powerstroke or a V-10. I found a few locally for sale but time and money and about a million other things got in the way.

These trucks are interesting vehicles. The tasteful and very usable mods on this truck make it pretty cool too.

Ray

Found it. It's a Curt 14082.

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I found it on Curt's site 34" frame width, My Super Campers will appreciate it.

Thanks,,