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The other AZ 4wd conversion The store brand version

Projectjunkie

Whatever
Joined
May 19, 2020
Member Number
306
Messages
2,963
Loc
Tucson Az
Alright, here's my first take on a mid life crisis, on a budget

I found this in a guys backyard, from the road I figured it was a hammered mid 70s low option farm truck, nope, very clean 79 with factory air, hell yeah

The goal is shine up the factory paint and bright work, spend a few hundred dollars on the interior

convert to 4wd, currently 302, unsure if c4 or c6, I haven't picked the truck up yet

I have several drive train choices, and several axle choices.

Goal is reliable cruiser inn 35s or 37s

I have a small block c6 1356 in a 89

I can go efi 351 e4od, I have a aod 1356, a 5.0 4r70w awd explorer, a 7.3 zf5 4wd, etc.

I have leaf spring super duty diffs in 410, coil spring super duty diffs in 373

I have some feelers out on 05+ 430 diffs

at this point I'm thinking make the 302 run, put the c6 1356 in it, hopefully find a 5 lug d44/9", if not, go 99-04 super duty

I need it moving quickly, get collector car insurance on it and make somewhat useful

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Broncokyle88 said:
I’d lean towards 5.0 4r70w, bolt a 1356 to it, and run the leaf sprung super duty axles.

5.0 is easy enough to get running stand-alone, same with the trans. Overdrive is nice if you want to daily it. 4r70w is a good bit stouter than the aod. Weaker than the e4od, but a lot lighter and a smaller package. Moving spring perches and hangers is a hell of a lot quicker than doing the figuring to get a coil front suspension working right.

Looking forward to seeing what you build regardless of the direction you take. I love dent sides, and you always have your fingers into cool shit, so I’m excited.
Click to expand...

The 5.0L 4R70W would make for a nice driver, but I think the 7.3L ZF combo would be the coolest. Just FYI the front end is coil spring and radius arm already, so I am not sure leaves would be easier. House of Diesel swapped an '05+ Super Duty front in a dentside, and if memory serves, the suspension matched up reasonably well.
 
So, if this is the store brand version, what is the other one?

I'd keep the small block but go the SD axles. Better brakes and can go to 38-40s... 7.3 diesel is a heavy pig.

05+ axle will work with existing coil buckets. just make everything else, haha. I would keep the radius arm mounts on axle and just get the ruff stuff kit.

The hard/time consuming part will be the cross members.
 
Your beautiful truck and pretty brake lines is the name brand build:grinpimp:

tentatively, if the 302 runs well, I'll be rocking it with the c6 1356 combo for a while

I'm crawling down the coil sd 60 rabbit hole, the frame is 5" narrower, but I'm working through a YouTube build that seems to address it

if you've got a lead on some builder fab parts, I'll check it out

the biggest 05+ issue is gearing, I can find 373 under $500, but 410s as 430s are rare and bucks

I have a quote request in to lkq for some diffs

I think the 7.3 is off the table, I'll hold that back for an obs crew build

My highboy had a 1st gen Cummins and 618 tranny, it was fun and got great mileage, but in reality, I just need a reliable cruiser

if I went for a swap, it'd probably be the explorer 5.0 4r70w, I'd likely eliminate the side tank and put a bronco or suburban tank in the rear

I was cruising classic Broncos last night for the explorer info

Hopefully I can pick this up at the end of the week and dig in
 
Projectjunkie said:
Your beautiful truck and pretty brake lines is the name brand build:grinpimp:

tentatively, if the 302 runs well, I'll be rocking it with the c6 1356 combo for a while

I'm crawling down the coil sd 60 rabbit hole, the frame is 5" narrower, but I'm working through a YouTube build that seems to address it

if you've got a lead on some builder fab parts, I'll check it out

the biggest 05+ issue is gearing, I can find 373 under $500, but 410s as 430s are rare and bucks

I have a quote request in to lkq for some diffs

I think the 7.3 is off the table, I'll hold that back for an obs crew build

My highboy had a 1st gen Cummins and 618 tranny, it was fun and got great mileage, but in reality, I just need a reliable cruiser

if I went for a swap, it'd probably be the explorer 5.0 4r70w, I'd likely eliminate the side tank and put a bronco or suburban tank in the rear

I was cruising classic Broncos last night for the explorer info

Hopefully I can pick this up at the end of the week and dig in
Click to expand...


I'm actually collecting parts to do a 05+ dana 60 install into my 1978 F150 4x4.

For the arms I'm going with WFO Concepts (RuffStuff makes them too but are currently out of stock and WFO has the option of receiving them welded. *I'm lazy and don't want to spend a bunch of time clamping them just right to get them true*):
https://www.wfoconcepts.com/pr/Unive...nks/3203/19908
or
https://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/R2348.html
(RuffStuff also has universal radius arms+mounts if you didn't go with an 05+ Dana 60)

To address the frame width issue RuffStuff makes these Frame Outriggers:
https://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/OUTRIG-45.html
 
I don't think the width difference of springs will matter much. On stock truck they are angled back by that offset amount.

Suggest making a good plan, start with figuring out ride height needed for 37s. This will dictate many things including the engine cross member design, coil bucket height and so on. If you need front diff to go up above bottom of frame rails, it will get tricky, and good whiskey will become necessary.
 
Got my oldest daughter to help me clean the engine bay, weeds and spider webs gone, now it's just regular dusty and grimy

motor spins with a ratchet, she pulled plugs, I oiled the holes and walked away for the day.

got a few minutes today, spun it overt with the starter, then installed plugs and wires and gave it a puff of ether. Nothing, checked spark, nothing, cap and rotor decent, started the flow chart, hopefully it's just corrosion in the duraspark connectors

I put a $50 hei in one and was satisfied, but I know they are failure prone, I'll attempt to fix this one before moving on. The cheap HEI is nice to get a truck running to work thru the rest of the issues

I got some frame and axle measurements from this truck and potential donors, one being an oddity, 78ish econoline van with pathfinder conversion, low pinion ds d44/d60 8 lug combo coils, radius arms, 410s.

this one is unlikely due to low pinion, the height I want, and the relatively short length of the c6, but i measured anyways

I couldn't get every dimension, ie, coil buckets, if it had an engine

Lower coil center to center. Top

79 f150 2wd. 43.5" x

77 e350 4wd. 46" x

99 f250 4wd. Na. Na

05+ super duty. 46.5" 45.5"



Outside Front horns. Width at radius arms

79 f150 2wd 34. 34

77 e350 4wd. 41. 42

99 f250 4wd. 41.25. Na

05+ super duty. X. 38



Rear frame. Rear perch centers

79 f150 2wd. 37.5

77 e350 4wd

99 f250 4wd. 38. 45

05+ super duty



I'll see if I can't fill in some of the blanks later, maybe it'll help somebody, I couldn't find the info
 
This exact truck and project tops my list, if I can ever get my poop in a group and finish my current junk. I’m looking forward to seeing this come together!
 
If I was spending your money I would find a running donor superduty with whatever engine\trans combo you like and pull the body off, shorten the frame and bolt the dentside onto it. It gets you all modern drivetrain with a stronger frame and making up few body mounts and shortened rear brake lines\ driveshaft VS all new suspension\ steering\ engine\ trans mounts\ brake lines\ driveshafts\ fuel system etc.
 
350TacoZilla said:
If I was spending your money I would find a running donor superduty with whatever engine\trans combo you like and pull the body off, shorten the frame and bolt the dentside onto it. It gets you all modern drivetrain with a stronger frame and making up few body mounts and shortened rear brake lines\ driveshaft VS all new suspension\ steering\ engine\ trans mounts\ brake lines\ driveshafts\ fuel system etc.
Click to expand...

Well, that's an option, and I'm trying to avoid that for this truck, as I'll likely build another Fummins, probably OBS on a 08 chassis with a p pump 12 valve.

In addition to all the crew cab diesel tow rigs, I'll still want a loud lifted cheap regular cab to run around in :laughing:
if this 302 runs, it's game on. If it fights me, I'll make new plans
 
Well if all else I guess superduty frame for OBS and OBS frame for the dentside? Hmmm go fast style build using a OBS 5 lug TTB setup? I'm just throwing ideas out lol
 
79 302....that's even more gutless than my 351M. I'd rather have a 300.
 
D-Rat said:
79 302....that's even more gutless than my 351M. I'd rather have a 300.
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Yeah, well, it woulda been tolerable with 410s, but the compression test isn't looking so hot

4 and 8 each have 25psi

truck was parked because of a top end rattle

when I got to #4, I was thinking loose rocker, but if #8 is roached too...broken cam? Unlikely coincidences?

I'll pop covers off and see what I see

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Whichever list of parts you decide, keep it simple. That's the beauty of an old truck anyway.

The 05+ stuff is cool, but I'd just do leafs or old school radius arms.

Could always just lift the stock scissors too?
 
Aight, let's talk about a snowball :laughing:


parts truck numero uno

89ish f250 5.8 c6 1356 d50 ttb rats ate wiring harness, fluids look good, believe it's mechanically sound

$600 worth of 4bbl intake carb China HEI and mech fuel pump to make run

or attempt to make efi work, I'll circle back to this


numero dos

89ish f350 was 351, e4od 1356
Truck had sat, allegedly ran when parked

potentially mix that e4od and harness with other truck

numero tres

91 e350 van
5.8 c6. Smoked c6, I've heard the engine run
I'd hate to have to pull an F'N harness out of a van and leave the engine behind, but it could be done

A pirate had a 351 c6 4wd van he e4od swapped, he mentioned some significant 5.8 switch, sensor, emissions, year specific shit that might trip me up trying to use that harness and ecu with the engine being long gone, I don't want to get into that mess

I kinda like the idea of ripping the f250 apart and dropping it in with the carb, because I have a spare engine, and bad c6 isn't a big commitment

there's more, but that's enough for Tuesday
 
Projectjunkie said:
Aight, let's talk about a snowball :laughing:


parts truck numero uno

89ish f250 5.8 c6 1356 d50 ttb rats ate wiring harness, fluids look good, believe it's mechanically sound

$600 worth of 4bbl intake carb China HEI and mech fuel pump to make run

or attempt to make efi work, I'll circle back to this


numero dos

89ish f350 was 351, e4od 1356
Truck had sat, allegedly ran when parked

potentially mix that e4od and harness with other truck

numero tres

91 e350 van
5.8 c6. Smoked c6, I've heard the engine run
I'd hate to have to pull an F'N harness out of a van and leave the engine behind, but it could be done

A pirate had a 351 c6 4wd van he e4od swapped, he mentioned some significant 5.8 switch, sensor, emissions, year specific shit that might trip me up trying to use that harness and ecu with the engine being long gone, I don't want to get into that mess

I kinda like the idea of ripping the f250 apart and dropping it in with the carb, because I have a spare engine, and bad c6 isn't a big commitment

there's more, but that's enough for Tuesday
Click to expand...

PM me... I have a number for ya if you want to talk to the guy with another parts truck. :flipoff2:
 
Here we go

1989 f250 in pieces
I intended to comp test it first, but the engine bay was a rats nest, and I've got another 351 if it's bad. Or I'll scrap all that and go plan D
I'll test it on the trailer tomorrow

my daughter helped, she'll be driving soon, taking over my DD, so she's helping me get this truck together, she wrenched, towed me around with the super duty, and backed up the truck and trailer as needed, while I turned my little boy loose on the quad, he's as dirty as we were:grinpimp:



the super duty is a 300k mile 5.4 truck with 4.10s I got for a song. It's been a handy yard dog, earned its keep when I sunk my truck and trailer after a storm, but it's likely to give up its axles next week unless a rolling 4wd 70s chassis comes thru

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photo34773.jpg
 
This isn't dead yet.

the 5.8 attached to the 4wd stuff didn't comp test well, 2 cylinders at 80psi

engine #3 is a 90ish e350 5.8, I've heard it run on efi 2 years ago, then ran it on ether this week, then compression tested it, it passed

I'm looking at $650 between carb, intake, distributor fuel pump and regulator, then maybe some monkeying with kickdown

I need some ford guy advice here

1)
How miserable would a factory EFI swap be?
I intend to buy a bronco tank and module, or maybe possibly use this vans single rear mount tank setup if it clears

I don't want to throw away money, or have future problems.

2) is 4bbl worth it on a stock engine? I think I can source a factory iron 2bbl intake for 30-40 and 2bbl motor craft carbs are simple, saving me some cash

3) I forgot to look, what's the likelihood the 5.8 has a mechanical fuel pump port?
 
Broncokyle88 said:
Bump- rangerrod has a painless harness and computer in the for sale section for a damn good price. It comes with a motor that needs some loving too
Click to expand...

Thanks for looking out!
I picked up an iron 351w 2bbl intake last week, my thinking is KISS, cheap 2bbl carb and HEI dist for now to get it moving. Pulling the second 5.8 should happen in the next week or so...
 
Broncokyle88 said:
I know there’s a certain year mustang that was carbed with a serpentine belt, but by the time you get a new cover and pump you are probably better off wiring up an electric one instead of trying to make weird shit work together.
Click to expand...

Hmm, that must be the front cover I have on my 351, its reverse rotation WP with a carb provision. I could have sworn that it matched the whole accessory drive that is/was early 90s F-series, but I did get some parts from a friend that messing with Mustangs and Capris. I have a block off plate on it with an electric fuel pump since its in a Ranger chassis.

Skip White HEI dizzy was like $40 6 years ago, best thing I did for the ignition parts. Quality Duraspark replacement parts seem non-existent. I have a Edlebrock intake and 4bbl and with some mods the carb does ok, sucks on anything technical, but run the balls down the road. I've got a Motorcraft 2bbl that I keep saying I'm going to throw back on.

I run a Carter P4070 electric fuel pump, factory in a bunch of applications so they're typically well made. Wired a low oil pressure switch in the relay circuit for less chance of dying a fiery death.
 
So my engine donor will be a 90? E350, tentatively pulling it this weekend

I plan on keeping the timing cover and all accessories on it, the win is the saginaw ps pump.

I'll look at that pump, it sounds like what I'm after, something a littler better than a $15 Amazon pump

Admittedly I've run a few off brand engine swaps thru my mind on this, but I think it's gotta be the carb 351 c6

I am a tiny bit concerned about the 1356 clearing the frame, the one measurement I didn't get is frame width of the 79 at the t case, I know it's narrower at the radius arm mounts
 
We got the van 351 half pulled.

then a week ago I found my laydown yard broken into and my 99 f250 axle donor stolen. I followed tire tracks, found the contents of my connex at a tweaker compound, but my truck has yet to be located.

I'm on the hunt for a high pinion d44, drum is ok, 8 lug is ok
 
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