How to not buy a truck off craigslist.

[tcanin00]

who makes that radiator ?

I bought it from Autozone, holtz. Its made by Spectra and is $156: http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/1979-Ford-F250-3-4-ton-P-U-4WD/Radiator/_/N-ivehoZ9pdak It seems to maintain the temperature very well. I don't have a gauge hooked up, but it stays on the "m" of normal on the stock gauge.

 

[tcanin00]

Good work. Looks sweet. How does it sound?

Here is a video clip of it with one tail pipe on. The sound quality isn't the best, but it gives you an idea:

 

[tcanin00]

Well, as it turns out I did not start my job on the 1st thanks to the shutdown. Great.
Anyway that gives me more time to work on the truck, just no way to replenish my savings account. That aside, I decided to install parts. Here is the new fuel tank in place:


It was $99 from JEG's, and no oversize shipping charge.
Finished the exhaust system:


I decided to upgrade the lights, too. They are also from JEG's and are a direct replacement of the sealed beams to Halogen H4's.


Not bad for $95, and they throw light very well. I also replaced the steering dampeners with a set of ProComp ES 2000's:


We then reverted our focus back on the rusted out bed. My buddy Ross and I took turns stitching in pieces to have something to bolt it down with and some rigidity. Here is Ross in action:


Once that was done, it was time to patch the cab floor. Here is the seat and part of the rubber mat out, ready for cleaning and repairs:

 

[Beach66Bum]

what can you say, truck sounds awesome!, all the work you're doing is totally awesome!!, upgrades are awesome!!!, did I mention awesome!!!!

 

[1970Custom]

A man after my own heart, even if its a Dent....


Awesome work man, keep it up...

 

[tcanin00]

what can you say, truck sounds awesome!, all the work you're doing is totally awesome!!, upgrades are awesome!!!, did I mention awesome!!!!

Thanks, amkatt1! It is awesome to be able to restore and upgrade what I think is one of the best trucks of all time.

 

[tcanin00]

A man after my own heart, even if its a Dent....


Awesome work man, keep it up...

Thanks, 1970Custom! I am assuming you are a Bump Side owner from your screen name. I almost bought a mint 1969 F-250 when I first started working on this truck again, but decided against it since I can not leave things alone.

 

[1970Custom]

Yep, Bump owner here.

Mine is about to get a 460/ZF/1356/D44 transplant.... plus floor boards and a bunch of other stuff...

How's that dual in/out sound compaired to a traditional dual system?

 

[tcanin00]

Yep, Bump owner here.

Mine is about to get a 460/ZF/1356/D44 transplant.... plus floor boards and a bunch of other stuff...

How's that dual in/out sound compaired to a traditional dual system?

You have quite a bit of work ahead of you. Do you have a build thread on it?

The muffler is basically two glass packs in a turbo case, but doesn't sound as raspy. I think it has an excellent tone and I posted a short video clip on here if you want to hear it.

 

[1970Custom]

Haven't started the project yet...

I try not to base too much off of clips, never sounds the same as in person...

 

[tcanin00]

Haven't started the project yet...

I try not to base too much off of clips, never sounds the same as in person...

Whenever you start on it make sure to post progress.

I agree with you about sound clips. I recorded it with my phone and the quality isn't the best. I don't think higher end cameras can really capture the sound accurately.

 

[Big Jim F150]

Well another Dent saved from the crusher, thank you for your service to this country

 

[tcanin00]

Well another Dent saved from the crusher, thank you for your service to this country

Yes Big Jim F150, it had nearly rusted away into oblivion. I also wanted to say to everyone who followed this build, that the truck was finished (to a point), inspected and road legal, and has traveled 4,000 miles or so under its own power. I'll stop procrastinating and post the rest of the pictures soon.

 

[Dirky]

It's really good to see you doing this. More and more of these old trucks hit the crusher every day. One auto wrecker I normally visit for Dent parts recently crushed most of them, leaving only what's left of a super cab they have sitting on blocks... Probably wasn't room for it on the tractor trailer...

Keep up the good work!

 

[tcanin00]

It's really good to see you doing this. More and more of these old trucks hit the crusher every day. One auto wrecker I normally visit for Dent parts recently crushed most of them, leaving only what's left of a super cab they have sitting on blocks... Probably wasn't room for it on the tractor trailer...

Keep up the good work!

Thanks Dirky! Yeah, the yard I go to doesn't keep older trucks around long. They do have a decent selection, but you have to buy whatever you find right then. Almost two years ago they had a nearly perfect wheelbase bed and I didn't have the money for it at the time. Two weeks later I went back with money in hand, and it had been crushed by a front end loader.

 

[tcanin00]

Also, as promised I have owed everyone who has followed this thread pictures of progress. So, on to that.
The first is another action shot of Ross welding the bottom of the cab. I have taught him how to out of position weld rusty metal. What better way to learn?



Once we had replaced the cab floor with plate steel I deiced it was time to address the cooling system with this shiny and new AFCO Racing cross flow radiator:



Installed with a two speed late model Thunderbird fan controlled by a Dakota Digital controller:



This, however did not work. As it turns out, the engineers who designed the original cooling system got it right with a copper vertical flow radiator and a mechanical fan. I proceeded to remove my rocket surgery cooling system and replaced it with stock components with the exception of adding a thermostatic clutch fan. What right looks like:



Then with the cannibalism of an emission system from a late 70's Lincoln Town Car it is able to pass emissions:





A first in the history of the commonwealth, inspection stickers on this truck:

 

[tcanin00]

After getting the cooling system sorted out, I decided it was time for a proper set of tires. 36x13.5x16.5 Interco IROKS to be exact:





The tread pattern is amazing, and the compound is very soft even though these are the radial version:



Now that the major hurdles were crossed it was time to personalize it with the addition of stickers. The first is a statement of its Biblical fuel economy:



And the second is how I feel about stick figure family stickers:



Since the truck was basically a new toy and I wasn't concerned about gas mileage, I drove it on a regular basis for the rest of the winter. I didn't get another chance to drive through a blizzard as I had done with my rear wheel drive car. There were a few off road tests to see how well it did, and the combination of the truck with the IROKS worked extremely well. I was able to crawl trails that would be difficult on a four wheeler or with a Jeep.
Unfortunately, after about 1,500 miles the ailing transmission had enough. As I shifted from reverse to first, I removed the gear shifter without tools and the trans was stuck in reverse:



Yes, I am short for my height and that is why I need this truck.
Here is where the shifter was attached:



The severed limb:



This could only mean one thing: replacement of the transmission. I was able to find one out of 1987 F-250 for a reasonable price and proceeded to tear my truck apart.
Here is what lurked in the bell housing:



Since I am not a fan of breathing this stuff in I donned a respirator and went to work:



This was the source of the asbestos shavings:



It was a Center Force clutch kit:



The clutch itself positively identified the engine. I was under the assumption that this motor was the 400. After ordering a clutch kit for a 400 I found out otherwise. The 400 and 460 share the same 12" clutch disc, I'm not sure if the pressure plate is interchangeable though. The 351M uses a different flywheel and a 10 1/2" disc. So I have at least the flywheel from 351M. Since I would assume the 351M is balanced different than the 400, this would have been a short lived motor if the wrong flywheel was installed. Lesson learned and moving on.
Here is the newer trans installed:



I remember reading on this forum that you can use an engine lifter to raise and lower the trans and the transfer case. That was the best advise on how to make this repair, hands down.
I also repainted the transfer case, since I was in there:



And the driveshaft too:

 

[tcanin00]

The gearing of the newer trans is quite different than the original, which had ratio gaps wide enough to fit another transmission in. The newer one is a close ratio unit which gives me four usable gears, allowing me take off in first and not have to slip the clutch for second gear take offs like I had to do with the original. I think the original first gear ratio was 6.38, correct me if I am wrong. I haven't looked up the gearing of the newer trans, but I know first is numerically lower than the original.
I had a few other issues to sort out after the trans. The first was the steering. Since the IROKS are much softer they exaggerated problems that weren't noticed before. One was the play in the intermediate shaft between the column and the steering box. Problem solved by a new Borgsen shaft from LMC Truck:



I also replaced the steering gear itself with a rebuilt unit from Read Head Gear. I don't have pictures so you will have to take my word for it.
The next order of business was the ignition. It seemed like I could not find a decent base timing setting that either did not ping or cause hard starting, or both. I decided to try a Proform HEI distributor:



For the most part it was the problem to my solution. I need to do some ignition curve tuning but it works pretty well. If anyone decides to do this, don't use the original coil feed wire from the ignition switch since it has an inline resistor. Use the one of the wires that originally supplied power to the ignition module. I can't remember which one it is, but there are only two wires in that plug.
I also replaced the headers with set of Flow Tech mid length's since the ones on it were from a junkyard and were leaking. That made a significant difference in the way it ran, much smoother power delivery.

 

[tcanin00]

Now for what everyone has been waiting for, off road action shots! I had my buddy Ross drive while I took pictures. The first is on the bridge leading into coal reserve trails:



Then I took some blurry pics while on the move:





Mandatory poser shot:



Which lead to a lack of flex shot:



Followed by another:



And another:



There were some mud puddles along the way, so we emptied them out:



We did film the truck in action, but I haven't figured how to make the computer give them to me.
I have been wheeling the truck almost every weekend since when these pictures were taken in early spring. I try to take conservative lines and not get too carried away in the mud. I enjoy crawling more than slinging mud anyway.
There is much more planned for this truck, so I'll try to keep you guys posted as its happening instead 6 months after the fact.

 

[jebadiah04]

DUDE,

I AM IMPRESSED.


Good work! My 86's shifter came out of the T-18 just like yours! lol. I was like, huh, thats funny. i was stuck in 2nd gear luckily and could drive a little bit.

It sucks ford decided to use a chevy steering set up on those years, my K5 had the push pull and it has bad brake steering and power steering issues, pulls one way with brakes, the other under throttle...genius i say. genius.

That thing has made a complete 180 from when you got it, and the work you have done is great. Keep it up.

Paint it lime green!