I'm looking to start restoring my 79 f150 but im also going to make it into sort of a mud truck. I'm looking for ideas as to what i should do? i know im getting a 4 inch suspension lift, 3 inch body lift, and 37s. if anyone can give me suggestions that would be awesome! also im looking for some 16 inch rims that have a 5 bolt pattern if anyone could help me out with that also??

 

Welcome to FTE.

What do you mean by "a mud truck"?? Please tell us your drivetrain combination and we'll go from there.

 

Well, I want to be able to take it through mud and do some off roading, but id also like it to be street legal. and its a 4x4

 

Does your truck have a 351M or 400? Or has the engine been swapped?

Auto or manual transmission?
Gear ratios of the front and rear axles?
Deep mud? Rocky and/or dirt trails? What percentage on the streets vs offroad?
Budget minded (as in "bang for the buck") or high performance?

.. Btw, your body style is referred to as a SuperCab.

 

it has a 400 in it
manual
i have no clue what the gear ratios are
deepish mud not super deep, and probably more time on the street than offroad as im going to be driving it to school/ work daily
and im more budget minded but don't really have a set budget, i just don't have a ton of money to spend
and thanks i thought it was extended cab. haha

 

OK... Assuming it is reliable and all the 'hacks' have been corrected, now is the time for fun.

Engine
Headers & dual exhaust... max 2.5-inch mandrel bent tubing through mufflers of your choice.
4-barrel intake and carb. Weiand Stealth or Action Plus dual plane. Edelbrock or Holley carb around 600-650 cfm with vacuum secondaries. The latter to eke out some MPGs instead of blasting four barrels all the time.
Cam? Sure... your call. Keep it around .500 max lift.

Drivetrain/Suspension
4-inch or 6-inch lift from Skyjacker, BDS, or JBG. I hate body lifts. A 6 inch will require extending the driveshafts.
Extended rear brake hose with 4-inch and extended front and rear hoses with a 6-inch.
35-inch tires if you are not re-gearing. You will likely have 3.50 or 4.10 rear gears with a front axle to match. Even a 3.50 is doggy with 35s.. and horrible with 37s where a 4.10 would make more sense.

Tires.... your call. Pit Bull? Super Swamper Dick Cepek? Pro Comp? General? Mickey Thompson MTZ or ATZ? BFG??

Winch!!!

 

thanks! ill post pictures when i start it, but it probably won't be until spring. right now im just saving up money and gettin ideas and this was great seeing as how i have no clue what i wanted to do to the engine. haha

 

I'm doing the same thing, I've got a thread somewhere. I took mine down to nothing, redid the frame/etc and working on the body. It's gonna have a 6" suspension lift, 2" body, sold the 1/2 ton axles and will be swapping in d60's, 460 with 4spd on 40's.

It's gonna be a daily driver, but when I want to play in the mud it'll do it. It'll be good enough to put in shows, but I'm not gonna be afraid to get her dirty or beat up (I can fix it if it does). Hopefully I'll be picking up my d60 donor in a couple days.

 

good luck to ya! that sounds awesome!

 

im not very experienced in this stuff, so how much mandrel bent tubing would i need and what angles would i need for the dual exhaust to come out of the sides before the rear wheels? thanks for your help!

 

Your best bet would be tot take your truck to an exhaust shop (unless you have the equipment to do it yourself) around here a shop will do an entire exhaust system for under $400 and that's with mufflers (obviously depending on the mufflers you use the price may vary).

 

ill definitely have to look around here to see if anyone will do an exhaust system!