Hi all,

My husband and I just purchased a 1978 F-150 Ranger as kind of a project. It runs but will sometimes shutoff/lose power when we stop or slow down. My husband hasn’t really looked into it too much yet so I figured I’d try to check to see if anyone has had this issue or may have an idea as to what it could be. My husband is friends with a guy who is pretty knowledgeable about Ford trucks and he thinks it may be an electrical issue. We are new to owning a classic truck so we have a lot to learn! Excited to get this thing back up to snuff! Thanks!

 

since your 78 has a carburetor on it, it will not be electrical unless it has been modified with aftermarket EFI.
my bet is the carb needs to be rebuilt.

 

The first thing I would look at is the igition module etc. if it's original. They have lots of problems. Float level on the carb could also cause it.

 

Thanks! Will look at that as well.

 

the thing about ignition modules is, when they have an issue and kill the engine, it stays dead until the module cools off.
if it restarts imediatly, it is usually going to be a carb issue.

 

okay, yes it is restarting immediately.

 

If it was mine, the first thing I would check is the fuel filter and then the pickup screen in the tank.
Thanks, Please keep us posted as to what the problem was.

 

Thanks for the tip! I will pass this along to him. He seems to think, after tinkering a little bit, that it is the carburetor. But I think he plans to replace some fuel lines because they look pretty bad.

 

Just want to thank you all for your responses and tips. It did seem to be the carburetor. And it’s running pretty well now! Now the cooling system has to totally be redone but my husband is going to tackle that too.