Ya`ll may remember that my F-250 had engine issues a while back. So after calling around and finding out that I could have one for $475 (217,000 miles) or a bunch for $600 with over 100,000 miles, I decided that I was going to put a new one together.

Then I remembered that the yard in town had recently gotten in a 94 F-250 that was packing big block power. So I went and talked to them and they said it ran good and the truck was only scrapped because of a bad brake line . I threw a battery in it fired it up and was rewarded with 114,000 miles, no smoke, and no rattles. Other than the typical 460 manifold leak it was healthy. The price? $350. And well, since I`m a wall to wall engine kinda guy, I bought it.

I wanted to put a Voodoo cam in it and a set of headers, but the budget is tight and I miss my truck, so the manifold bolts are getting fixed, new oil pan gasket and rear main, and that's about it for the moment. Maybe later. Anyways, on to the pictures.

Here`s the truck


Engine porn



My rebuilt big block trans


460 frame mounts on the left, 351 on the right.


What they`ll look like installed.
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For the record, I wont do another swap this way. All the brake lines became casualties in the process of getting the driver side mount off, and it was a time consuming PIA between taking off the old ones and going to my buddies and cutting the 460 mounts off of one of his junkers. The price was right (12 pack of Killians for the mounts and a 460/c-6 brain), but the last time I did this I used L&L swap mounts and I personaly think that`s the way to go.

Anyways, I`d hoped to get the mounts bolted up and the manifolds off, but I got bolts that are to long , and I`m doing this outside because the garage is full of truggy, the wind is blowing like a sob, and the fire danger is real high and I`ll need my torches to assist. I`ll keep you updated.

Nice find!! and cheap to.just goes to show what is out there if one looks hard enough..as the saying goes "One mans junk,is another mans treasure" Good luck with the truck and the swap!

What a score.Which truck are you going to put this in?

Work kept me late most nights this week, and last night I ran into a neighbor whose 351m I`m going to rebuild. He finally got the engine out so I had to shuffle stuff around in the garage so I could get it on a stand. I did mange to get a few things done. Not as much as I would have liked, but something none the less.

Got new brake lines put on.


Picked up the right length bolts and got the frame stands on.


I found a write up over at Powerstroke Nation that showed how to put grease fittings on 92-97 4wd shifters to keep them from breaking. I liked the idea, so I did it to mine. Probably a good idea seeing as mines been replaced with a 96 part already.


I also made some improvements to my used $100 china pos cherry picker to make it so it wasn`t such a scary sob.

I did get the truck pushed back up to the garage. I`d hoped to get the trans and transfer case back in, but it was getting late.

Oh and Cliff, the engine is going into the blue F-250 in my first post.

Very Cool.

you've been busy, work looks great

I stuffed the trans and transfer case in tonight. Not really a whole lot of progress, but it`s something. I didn`t really get to carried away with hooking stuff up in case the trans has to move to end up in the right place for the engine. Holding up the front of the ole c-6 ended up being yet another use for my big bar.

I`ve really got my fingers crossed that the trans works. The reason? A guy I haven`t seen in seven years stopped by last Friday evening. He recently moved back from Colorado. Brought a 78 F-250 extended cab 4x4 with him. Well the torque convertor blew up so he decided to have the same guy that did mine rebuild his. Two months later and it`s still not right.

On a side note, these will be the last pictures for a couple of weeks because the little woman is heading to Ohio tomorrow and taking the camera with her.
I`ll keep things updated and post pictures of details later. After all, everybody wants a gas guzzling big block, Right?

And as always, thank you for the comments.

Justin a little progress is better than none. I hope your trans works great for you

And a gas guzzling small block 351W Justin

Ridgerunner said:

Justin a little progress is better than none. I hope your trans works great for you

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Progress over perfection is my mantra anymore. I try to do a little every night. Got my fingers crossed on the trans.

How`s that cluster coming?

primetime said:

Progress over perfection is my mantra anymore. I try to do a little every night. Got my fingers crossed on the trans.

How`s that cluster coming?

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I am waiting for the paint to arrive so I can paint the needle. got a deal for $2.50 cents + shipping.

amkatt1 said:

And a gas guzzling small block 351W Justin

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I`ve had 351 HOs that do as good as 14 with a c-6 and 3.55s in a 4x4, but my blue truck was only knockin down 8.5 with a c-6 and 4.10s. It really dropped with the hubs locked in and carrying the plow. I really don`t see the 460 doing any worse.

Ridgerunner said:

I am waiting for the paint to arrive so I can paint the needle. got a deal for $2.50 cents + shipping.

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Sweet. Well I`m out fellas. 4:30 comes early. Yall have a good night.

I love my big block, only thing i'd trade it for is a big diesel... that C6 really needs to be swapped though, a ZF would look SOOO much more better in there...

1970Custom said:

I love my big block, only thing i'd trade it for is a big diesel... that C6 really needs to be swapped though, a ZF would look SOOO much more better in there...

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Big Blocks rule! When I first got this truck my plan was to jam another 351 in it and then swap in a 460/ZF. My buddy the scrapper had just gotten a 91 F-250 4x4 with a 460/ZF that had a rod knock. He was going to sell me the engine and trans for $150 and I was going to swap it right about now. Then he srapped it because prices started dropping and he got nervous.

A 6.9 did cross my mind, but I don`t have a diesel c-6 and the guy who has them stacked up like cordwood doesn`t have a 4x4 T-19 or any of the other trinkets I would need. Besides, a 6.9 and 4.10s without OD is done for at 55-60 mph.

I got the manifolds off the engine tonight, but then my mom and sister stopped by, then my uncle, and we ended up regaling each other with strip club/topless stories of days gone by. There might have been a smoothy or two involved.

Found out the EGR tube is fubared , and I only have to extract two broken manifold bolts.

I did sit in it and make vroom-vroom noises though.

Ahhh vroom-vroom noises......that takes me back. Subscribed!

flareside_thunder said:

Ahhh vroom-vroom noises......that takes me back. Subscribed!

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X2 to that.... vroom vroom, chirp!

Manifold bolts are kicking my rumpy. I`ve heated, drilled, pounded, but they just laugh at me and say how do like us now. And just what did Ford make these bolts out of? I`ve been killing drill bits and getting nowhere. It doesn`t matter if they are made in USA Irwins, China Tin coated crap, or how slow or how much cutting oil I use.

Of course my torches thought they should get stupid so I had to fix them.

I`ve got most of my nickel and dime stuff together though, so once I cross this hurdle I should have it licked. Although headers might be in the budget by that time.

Hope you get them out. What kind of torches are you using?

Ridgerunner said:

Hope you get them out. What kind of torches are you using?

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Oxy-propane. It`s a set I picked up 5 or so years ago. I took the valves in the head apart and lubed the seals, and they worked for awhile, but they started acting up again. They`re fixed for the time being. I just need to pony up for a new set.

They`ll come out. I will win. I`m just really over broken bolts.