'79 F250 2wd project truck

[LEB Ben]

Man that's a good lookin rebuild...really diggin those valve covers too.

 

[ford141]

that truck is so sexy i am crying and jittery at the same time......I would do that truck it is so sexy very nice writeup and great pics!Looks like ur doing an EXCELLENT job!!!!

Dayuum flareside... if you need 5 minutes alone with it I can logoff...



Seriously though, thanks for the kind words. I've got a lot of time invested in this truck so far, and I still haven't touched the body yet. I'm planning on getting the doors cleaned up and painted before it hits the road this summer, they are about the ugliest part of the truck at this point. Planning on a full repaint during the winter of 2010.

 

[TexasNomad]

I have to ask a few things..
HOw long did all of this take you?
And what parts did you use to lower the truck?
I really want to do this to my truck

 

[ford141]

I have to ask a few things..
HOw long did all of this take you?
And what parts did you use to lower the truck?
I really want to do this to my truck

Well, I've had the truck for three years, and it's still not done... That's really a tough question to answer.

As far as the suspension, I had it apart for 2-3 weeks, but I also did some other work to the truck while it was apart, like painting the frame, eliminating overload springs, C-notching the frame, welding in roll pan, 1/2-ton spindle conversion, etc. The engine and tranny have been out for about 16 months, but I haven't worked on it steady the whole time. I did rebuild the tranny myself, which took me about a month due to my extremely slow meticulous pace. I also have a lot of time in little details on the truck, like the hidden LED license plate lights recessed in the roll pan, the hidden class III hitch behind the flip-up license plate, the 100mph speedo conversion, other small details that I've forgotten.

The basic suspension setup is 3" DJM dropped beams, combined with a 5" rear axle flip kit. Tires are 255/70/15 on 15x8 Ford steel wheels. With this setup, the truck sits perfectly level front to back, but I am planning to lower the front another inch to give it just a slight rake. I can go an addition 3-4" lower in the rear with the C-notch, but I'm limited by the I-beam design in the front. Future plans (3-4 years out) include a Mustang-II type front suspension swap, along with a home-brewed EFI setup for the 460. But I won't get too far ahead of myself...

 

[RustyCJ]

Lookin real good. Thanks for the info and pics.

 

[flareside_thunder]

Not to put a bug in ur ear but I saw a complete turbo setup for an EFI 460 for 500 bucks.......Tex you could throw Gen1 Lightning suspension on it and it'd drop it a lil bit.....

 

[ford141]

Not to put a bug in ur ear but I saw a complete turbo setup for an EFI 460 for 500 bucks.......

Really? Seriously, where? My buddy and I have been scheming a turbo big block setup for a while now, in fact we already have a line on some used hair dryers. I didn't mention it, but I was planning to to a twin turbo setup on this thing after I do the EFI conversion. I even had a thought to try a blow-through carb setup on it with the motor as it is right now, as I have another buddy who has some experience with blow-through setups. I NEED TO KNOW NOW!

 

[ford141]

Update: Finally Driveable!

Wow, so its been almost 3 months since I updated this project; man, time flies. Anyway, the truck has been running for about a month now, but I've been too busy to post some update pics. I finally uploaded pics tonight, so I figured I'd share with you guys. Still have some bugs to work out, but she runs pretty good. Will spin the tires from a 10mph roll in 1st, chirps 2nd if you get on it from any speed. Fun for now. On to the pics...


I ended up scoring a brand new unused front bumper for cheap from a guy at a swap meet who was cleaning out his garage. It's a Taiwan bumper, but it was cheap, so it will work for now.

The motor looked so good after I dropped it in the truck that I had to clean and paint the engine compartment as well. Glad I did, I think it turned out pretty good.

Interior pics:

That's all for now.

 

[1973 F-100 4x4]

Looks awesome!! Glad to hear ya got 'er put together and runnin'!

 

[Raptor22]

So you put an older front end on it?

What are you going to do about the doors?

Nice project though.

 

[ford141]

So you put an older front end on it?

What are you going to do about the doors?

Nice project though.

Ya, I just like the '77 grille better. The truck will get repainted in a year or two, but will remain the stock two-tone.

 

[Raptor22]

Ya, I just like the '77 grille better. The truck will get repainted in a year or two, but will remain the stock two-tone.

I guess thats your choice. I have always preferred the 78-79s myself.

 

[fordrka1975]

Man that truck sure looks nice! Thanks for posting the pictures of the axle flip and the dropped look, you've got me thinking. The number 306 on windshield looks like a dragstrip number, have any E.T. ?

 

[ford141]

Man that truck sure looks nice! Thanks for posting the pictures of the axle flip and the dropped look, you've got me thinking. The number 306 on windshield looks like a dragstrip number, have any E.T. ?

Ya, but the last time I had it at the track was right after i completed the drop and the motor was stock, except for a 68-71 timing chain and dual exhaust. It ran a 15.60 at 88mph with the truck bogging hard off the line. Haven't made it back yet with the new setup, but will go back soon. Hoping for mid-low 14's.

 

[73F100Shortbed]

Looks real good.

 

[TexasRho83]

To me 79 was the best last year that Ford made a truck.

/agreed................

 

[flathead95hp]

I like it, looks badass.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Any updates?????

 

[ford141]

Wow, haven't seen this thread in a while. I haven't done anything at all to the truck in over a year, just been driving the wheels off of it. Put 3000 miles on it this summer alone (it only comes out in the summer). I built a shop this summer and I've also been truck pulling with my 79 F350, so I haven't had much time to mess with this thing. BUT, just this past weekend I swapped an old Holley 750 double pumper on it in place of the 750 Edelbrock that's been on it since I built the motor. The Eddy never did run right, it always ran out of fuel at WOT and had a stumble off of idle. The Holley cured that, and it runs better than before. A buddy of mine is going to loan me some slicks and I'm going to get it to the track within the next few weeks. Need to finish up a few loose ends before then and we'll see what she does. I have to beat my old time of 15.50 back when the truck was stock...

 

[ford141]

I also realized that I've got to edit my profile, since both of the trucks pictured (77F150 and 05F150) are gone, and have been replaced with a 79 F350 and an 04 Super Duty Crew. The F350 is a 4x4 with a 460/C6, and is used for truck pulling/off roading. The SD is my daily with a V10/6spd. I'll have to get some new pictures up.