Rusty is the mirror image of the 83 F150 I bought for parts/trans swap project - colors, condition, even the bed mat!

 

Glad to be of service.

Sarcasm and smartass are two services I provide for free. I'm good enough at them to charge, but they just slip out too easily......

Gary knows I was just picking at him. He knows me well enough to understand that if I ain't picking at you, I'm prolly mad at ya....

 

You could just get one of these and mount it to a receiver hitch.

Pickup Truck Crane - 1/2 Ton Capacity

 

RW - that's the plan. As for the straps, I ran out at 8. And the PO apparently carried something very large and never strapped it in as the front of the bed mirrors the gate. The bed must be 4" longer than stock.

CC - I've been known to over analyze things just slightly. And over build. And over strap. And over and over and over.

Ken - That color combo was featured in many of the adverts of the day. My kids got me one in a frame for displaying last Christmas and it is just like Rusty - although maybe in better shape.

Kyle - Thats a good idea! The receiver is massive on Rusty and would easily handle the load. Thanks!

 

What a great idea, we normally see larger versions of these mounted up front of the tray, but that's a great little unit.

Stick one of these off the hitch to take the load and steady the back of the ute and it would be really sweet

Heavy Duty 2000 Lb. Capacity Top Wind Trailer Jack

And this gear is so cheap! I'll go cry in the corner now

 

Brad - That's a good addition as it would stabilize things.

Well, I got the engine and we had no problems at all getting it home. Here's Rusty with the engine loaded:


And here are some shots before I start tearing into it. While it is clean there is overspray that suggests to me that it isn't from the factory. For instance, the overspray on the oil cleaner. Was the waterpump blue from the factory? So, I suspect to find things aren't original inside. But, if the crank is good I'll be happy. Plus, I have heads to put back on Dad's engine if I want and then I could build this one up. Decisions, decisions, decisions.....

Supposedly this was from a '78 F250, has only 35K miles, and came from the factory with a 4bbl intake and Motorcraft carb. And, you can tell it had factory air. But, I don't find any reference to a factory 4bbl 400. You guys know?

 

I had a 351m that I ran cleveland heads and intake on.

See if you have 4 barrel exhaust ports or 2 barrel.

 

I have to tell people that all the time. Sharp tongue and a free flowing filter.

I knew you meant nothing by. Y'all seen pretty close so I'm sure he did too.

It's been a very bad, trying week and reading anything y'all have had to say has been an escape.

 

That's one heck of a deal if you can salvage a few things like you said.

It got me looking into some 302s on craigslist. If it's not 100% obvious,I know hardly anything about these things. It would seem like a good investment to tear an engine down and maybe even rebuild it before it's time for mine. That was the idea: old truck new drive train.

It has been a privilege to sit in on these conversations and get a glimpse into the thought process.

 

In my opinion you should look at a 351 Windsor. It bolts to the same parts as the 302, but has more power. My old 83 longbed was always dull with the 302.

These trucks are heavier than most people think.

 

There are rumors of such a thing and I've even seen a picture that ostensibly claims to be just that... but it doesn't exist in the books anywhere and NumberDummy will confirm that (who has the 70s stuff). So, if Ford was playing around with that setup, it never made it to production.

Yes, the water pumps were painted.

That looks like the wrong shade of blue (too light) for the year, another thing pointing at non-original-ness....

 

The bellhousing area shows the correct darker blue. Someone gave that engine a krylon rebuild, as the fuel pump and oil filter are partly painted. That means it was either never stuffed into whatever it was going to go in, or they never changed the oil if it did......

I would verify that it IS a 400. On sale day, all 351M's magically turn into 400's, just like the older 360/390 transformation..... I never trust anyone on this, it must be proven to me, or I will assume it's the lessor.

I've heard rumors that a 4V 400 was offered in 1970. never seen proof. The only 4V intakes I have ever seen for a 351M/400, were aftermarket.
351C intake won't fit either. the 400 block (and 351M that was based on it) has a taller deck height than a 351C, just like the 351W is taller than the rest of the windsor blocks.

 

More proof it isn't what it was claimed to be. The ac and alt brackets *should* have been black.....
Rear sump pan..... Hmm, either a 70's 4wd, or an 80's truck. All V8 2wd trucks from way back to 1979 had a front sump pan.......

 

blue silly-cone showing at the rear edges of the pan. It's been off before.......

 

Rogue you are correct. Thinking back on it I had the cleveland intake sitting on a junk pile next to my Ranchero. I was 19 or so. I am now 42, and I think it is still sitting there. I ran the stock 351m manifold on the Cleveland 4 barrel heads. I had to run 70 mustang exhaust manifolds due to the four barrel ports.