1978 F-150

Hey y'all. I just bought me a 78 F-150 with the 400m and a c-6 bolted to the back of it. I have never done the best when it came to installing and timing a new distributor. The guy who does that part for me lives 800 miles away now, so it's hard for him to do this for me. If anybody has any suggestions for me on this old beast let me know please. Also, what is the best exhaust setup on this engine? I have no emissions laws where this truck is registered so I can do whatever I want. Thanks for any help and/or suggestions.

Pull number one plug and hold your finger over the plug hole. Have somebody bump the starter until you feel air pressure. Turn the engine over by hand until it is at zero degrees. Back if you thing you passed it forward if you don't think you went past it. Then set the distributor where the rotor tip is at no.1 plug wire. You may have to rotate it slightly until the engine starts. Pull the sprout after shutting down restart and set the timing correctly.
I've missed before and had to reset the distributor the second time.

Cool thanks for the info. But I still have one problem. I can't get the Distributor to go all the way in. I still have about an inch to go. Does anybody have any experince with these engines? I've never done anything with a v8 with distributor, just a v6 with electronic timing. I'm pretty much dumb when it comes to this engine. Don't really know much about them. Also, any suggestions on what I can do to beef this big block up without incinerating my wallet? I found some hooker headers for $400. Anybody have a better brand suggestions?

Turn the engine over ever so slightly and the distributor will go in the rest of the way. It's been a long time since I played with stuff like that. Hope to do it again some day.:)

problem is the teeth have not dropped in . also the rod that punps the oil has to go in the bottom of distributor.if i remember on my '78 f-100 i had to let the distributor in off but when it drops in it will be timed . the gear teeth have to drop in .you can tell when you get it to drop in right as the rotor will line up on number 1 plug wire.you might have to play with it until you get it to drop in and turn to #1 on the cap.the gear on the bottom of the distributor has to turn as it drops in and if you drop it in with the rotor pointed to #1 it will turn and be off...

Is your front axle pumpkin pointed upward toward the cab?

Try rotating the rotor or distributor base slightly they don't just drop in.

Thanks guys for all the great info. I haven't had much chance to work on it these last few weeks as I had to leave town unexpectadly. I will give each one of these a shot and get back to you with any info I might need. Also, has anybody ever put 4 valve heads on these engines and are they worth the trouble? I have had several people ask me if it would work because they would like to see this engine pump out 400+ horses naturally aspirated. And just to be 100% sure, I can use most parts off the 351m on the 400m correct? One more thing, this is a 2WD drivetrain. I would have prefered a 4x4 but you don't always get what you want. Again, thanks for the info and time ya'll have given me.

well guys, I'm going to go ahead and get some top-end work done on it while I have the time and some money. I have the intake manifold off and I'm working on getting all the rockers and rods out and labeled up, so they don't have to re-seat to different rockers/rods. Does anybody have any suggestions of where to send the heads to get the best work done on them for a decent price? I currently live in the Hampton Roads Virginia area. Would it be cheaper to just get the aluminum 351m heads? Or should I just stick with the stock ones? I'm having alot of trouble getting the head bolts off to. I've stripped out a ratchet and broke two sockets. What else should I try? I don't want to strip the head bolts off. I know it was dumb to use a ratchet anyhow, but it was cheap I just wanted to give it a shot. Thanks guys for any info.

Use a breaker bar and a six point impact socket.

Alright. Got the heads off and cleaned, installed, torqued down, the intake manifold is on and carb is on. Everything is ready to roll... except the distributor. I have tried bumping the starter with another guy watching the distributor. I am having a really hard time keeping the oil pump rod standing up long enough to get it lined up with the bottom of the distributor while trying to get the distributor itself in time. I wouldn't hurt anything if I put some axle grease down around the oil pump rod to keep it standing up would it? I am lost on what else to try. I am trying to learn at the same time as doing. Sometimes it drives you up the wall. I'm getting tired of it being the only thing from keeping me from starting the engine. :banghead: Thanks for the help. Also, if anybody has any other ideas on how to get the oil pump rod to stand up, please let me know.
Thanks,
John

They are sometimes difficult to get back in. You may have to turn the top slightly while pushing it down while wiggling it as well. I have a 79 f-150 and I was told to put on a set of used cleveland 2 barrell heads to help it out as well as a towing or R.V. type cam. These along with a new or good used 4 barrell will help out more than the headers I think. Later on if you want you can put on some headers which I have found on some general searches on the internet. They are great trucks!!! Mine has the 400 as well with an auto.

the rod has five points on it and the bottom of the distributor that slips over it has to match up as it is like a 5/16 five point socket. it takes some turning and wiggling to get the distributor to drop over the rod.also you have to drop the distributor in off mark to get it to where your able to rotate it to #1 plug wire.in other words it will rotate as it drops because the gear has to turn to let it drop in place.you might end up pulling and dropping the distributor a couple of times before you get it right.the rod is what drives your oil pump.a little grease won't hurt anything.if you've bumped the starter over then your gonna have to get it back in time before you drop the distributor in or everything is gonna be out of time.