I have a 79 F250 4x4 reg cab long bed. 400 going to another truck of mine. A/c truck 36 inch military tires. Wore out front leaf springs with a no no block lift of 2 inches. Dana 44 front and 60 rear.

I bought the complete chassis from the 89 f350? 2wd no body. C6. has 2 fuel tanks, d70 duelly rear end.

Goal for truck? Pulling rig, drive it 3 or so days a week to work, goose neck option wanted so I don't want to lift the truck too high but as high as I can and still use a goose neck.

Wanting info before I get surprised with stuff I don't know later...if you have done this swap or know someone that has etc your thoughts are more than welcome, I'm not a professional by any means but I do have a fellow FTE member who is that is doing the install. I want to know everything about this swap that I can and have this thread to come back to for reference.
Questions:

1. I heard I need at least 2 inch body lift so that I could take off valve covers etc...is this correct? What if I do the hydra boost brake conversion to save space, will iI still need the bl? I might even go with an aftermarket a/c system and that will save space in the other side.

2. With the weight of the 7.3 idi 900 lbs or so, what is the maximum lift I should go in order to be able to use a goose neck? My neg arch springs are done... I was thinking 4 inch lift springs.....or highboy springs for 3 inches or so?

3. To use the diesel's c6 auto tranny I'm going to need a divorced transfer case? I would like to use the auto tranny.

Any pics of these conversions are welcome and of course any information I will thank you in advance. I'm sure I have more questions.
__________________

 

These are all the pictures I have of the project I did with a friend of mine. It's a 78 F150 (not a highboy).

I made my own engine mounts that bolted down to the original mounts from the 351M in the truck.

The 3" body lift helped immensely. The 4" suspension lift was enough to hold the extra weight of the truck, but he never used his for towing.

This donor 6.9 and C6 came out of a 1985 2wd pickup. Went into a 4x4 truck with a 3" body lift and a 4" suspension lift. It's sitting on 35's in the picture.

The two different C6 transmissions can be torn down and you can make your diesel C6 into a 4x4 by swapping all the diesel stuff into the gas case, with the exception of the output shaft. The 4x4 OS is slightly shorter than the 2wd one. So it has to stay in the 4x4 case. Then it's as easy as re-assembling everything in the opposite order of you taking it apart. C6's are stupidly easy to rebuild, and only take a handful of tools that most garage mechanics have anyway. Nothing special required.

 

Also, user 51fordf5 has a very similar truck to the one I posted. He drives his regularly. You can ask him for any pictures you want. He didn't do most of the work for the engine transplant, but he can tell you how to hook everything up to the stock gauges and wiring. I used the '85 donor truck for my wiring.

 

Awesome info and pics! That C6 info was great!

If you would have yanked the ac, and done a hydraboost conversion so you could get rid of the brake booster do you think you would still need the body lift? I just dont want the truck too tall, but understand that I may have to do it. Thank you so much for the information!

 

Hydroboost definitely would have given me a lot more room on the driver's side of the firewall. And I bet that having no a/c box would have given me all the room I needed on the passenger's side. Now, if you're willing to do some fab and fiberglass work, I bet you could modify your a/c box and tilt it away from the engine to gain a little extra room.

 

Oh, and had I done it again with the engine mounts, I definitely would have figured out a way to make a full cross member work, like the '85 truck had. Make it that much sturdier in the engine bay.

 

There is no possable way to fit the A/C box without a 2" body lift, Mines a 2x F150 and it fits like a bug in a rug no body lift if you go turbo the inside box needs to go anyway need the room for the down pipe.

 

That is great information, I need! Thank you?

 

Can I just add that you should not do your motor mounts like that?

If its working so far that is great but thats a lot of weight that isn't being supported by much of anything. (from the looks of the pictures)

They should be fully boxed and welded to the frame to be safe. 1200# hanging off of two pieces of plate is kinda scary

 

And that would be exactly why I said that if I did it over again, that I would have built a full crossmember. I ended up getting moved by the military out of the state before I could totally finish the guy's project. As far as I know he drives it just the way it is. But I never liked those engine mounts not being very strong.

 

A cross member and mount are 2 different things though. A crossmember can incorporate a mount but they each serve a different purpose.

A mount supports the weight of something (i.e. engine)

A cross member disperses the weight of something or strengthens something (i.e. frame crossmembers that stiffen the frame).

I see what you're saying now but your message didn't come across clearly to me.

If it were I, I would have left that for mock up and then finished it. I wouldn't let someone drive around like that but thats me. In my state I could fail that for inspection because it has been modified and I know its unsafe.

over

 

I'm glad to see someone else putting an IDI into a dent.

1. If you've got the money, do the hydroboost conversion. If not, you can just do a 3" body lift which is the amount needed for the brake booster to clear the valve cover. I tried it without, and it just won't fit with no body lift. No idea about the A/C as I do not have it in my truck.

2. I would go with the highboy springs, if they'll only give you 3 inches of lift. I don't think you want it much higher if you're wanting to tow a gooseneck. You should be fine with that, the truck I've got is a 79 F150 4x4 and it's lifted 4 inches with a 3 inch body lift but it's definitely too high to ever tow a gooseneck. If I were you, I would try to do the hydroboost to avoid the body lift and then you could even do a 4 inch suspension lift and be fine. If that isn't possible/or you have a flatbed on the truck, you can always do the 3 inch suspension lift and then do the 3 inch body lift on just the front so that the bed will not be any higher than the suspension lift makes it.

3. Already covered

The engine is mounted with the towers from the 6.9 welded and bolted to the frame. This isn't the only way of doing it, but it's pretty easy. Also, if you end up going with a 4 inch suspension lift, you should be able to clear a PSD oil filter as you can see in my picture.

[/URL]

Another thing you might want to know is about the cooling system. The diesel radiator will NOT fit unless you cut the frame. It didn't fit on my 150 anyway. I got a 3 row aluminum radiator made for a 351 and there was no room for the mechanical fan. 30 minutes at the junkyard and I found a fan off a Lincoln Mark VIII and pulled it. A little trimming and flat iron and here she is all mounted up:

[/URL]

If you're concerned about that ^ being sufficient cooling, it keeps mine at 190 all day and the fan will suck any lightweight person up against the radiator (not really, but it is very strong). If you're towing, you MIGHT want to look into something more heavy duty. Or just making the mechanical fan work. What I have might be fine, but I can't tell you for sure since I've never towed with it.

Any other questions, just ask.

 

If I were you I'd opt for an E4OD super low first and OD making the computer work isn't hard if you have some electrical skills you'll gain 3-4 mpg's over a C6 and use the lighter T-case...I have the diesel booster can in mine with no body lift but had to modify the orignal booster brackets you go into my album its all in there with measurements that will help ya out.

 

Any other advice? I can use any and all advice! It is going in the shop soon to start on it.

Question? Do you think I should wait on the lifts(bl and spring) until it is sitting in the truck at the shop and then go from there? The reason I ask I because then I will know exactly or close anyway to how much I need to lift it for the trucks specific need? Specificly because I want it lifted the bare minimum.

Truck as it sits has 2 inch front blocks (i know..from po ,they are gone as soon as I know my lift needs)

36 inch military tires, I want the 37 inch military radial newer tires..

Will have bed on truck.

Any questions you have? Thank you in advance!

 

51ford,

I thought I would buy/find a radiator for the camper special trucks? Does that sound fine?