I might have a chance to buy a Bonus Built truck without an engine or transmission. I'm going to try my hand at building and flipping a truck, this will not be a high end show truck, just something that will look nice for someone to bomb around in and have a good time. I can do all of the mechanical, body and paint work myself. I just need to know what a suggestion would be for a decent engine from a modern vehicle would be. I'm thinking a V8 from a F-150 with the transmission. I'd even (gulp) go with a SBC. I'm just looking for something that is low cost and easy, still somewhat common and easy to get parts for.

What are you suggestions?

 

Who is this? and what have you done with Bob!

 

If you are going to try and sell it and not loose your shirt.... a take out power train might be your best bet. I would stay away from most modular and newer Ford stuff as you will find it hard to recover the costs involved in making it work. Small block fords and Chevy's will be the easiest and cheapest route with Chevy having the edge. For something more modern LS packages have become fairly cheap and are small enough to fit easily. When I was shopping for a truck anything not Ford powered was off the list.

 

I'd say if you could find a late 80's square body crown vic/grand marquis with the 302/351 and AOD for cheap, or other similar vintage car/truck with the same drivetrain, then convert it to carb so you don't have the expense and hassle of the electrics, that would be ideal to make a nice, Ford powered driver for someone. With the overdrive, you wouldn't have to mess with the rear end gearing. My 2c.

 

My last swap was using a wrecked '90 Mustang GT in my '66 F100. I had a mustang shop in the good ole days so I can pretty much blindfold myself and identify most of the nuts and bolts. Using a complete car is definitely the way to go in my book. I kept the EFI which was the whole idea for me...I hate carbs...please no flames i know they are simple and i'm warming up to them a bit. I came up tuning mustangs so that's just me. The truck got the mustang fuel pump, computer, 5.0L engine, AOD tranny and all the misc sensors and stuff. It was a fast and easy swap. The truck already had a SBF in it so engine mounts were already there. Basically over 2 weekends I snatched the old out and put the new in. I'll admit I have my mind and tools setup just for mustangs so pulling/installing 87-93 fox body drive trains have been second nature ever since. Afterwards the truck was so nice to drive. Started easily every time with no choke and pedal pumping. AOD made the highway driving great. It was way faster than the brakes so I had to be careful but reliability was good. I looked at an old '87 fox parked at a body shop a couple months ago. It was a complete car. Guy wanted $800 for it. To me something like that would be the way to go. And I have personally inspected an F100 near Houston, TX that had the fox body fuel tank mounted between the rails on the passenger side...in front of the axle. He had several trucks and claimed doing it that way was his preferred method. I'd have never thought it would fit but it did. He had the same drive train as I did. I drove out there when I was looking for another truck about 10-12 years ago.

Wayne's post above is just as good...just a different donor! Hard to go wrong with a 5.0L...they are tough engines.

 

Simplest is a carb engine and non computer control trans out of any vehicle. If you are running the factory rear then you want OD.
FI ads the fuel system and extra wiring, electric speedo, and other miscellaneous expenses. I prefer FI but unless you have experience or friends it can get expensive.
I am a GM guy so I would drop in a carbed 305 or 350 and a 200r4 or 700r4 so I could keep the original fuel system and make minor wiring changes. Parts are cheap but maybe SB ford stuff is as well?
Keep a good tally on the number of hours you spend doing this and at the end you can see if you really made money or not.

 

Bob - I - What - where , Why,why,why,why

 

I would fix the bodywork (rust) which is your main skill, and leave it without a drivetrain. Let someone else ruin it... But unless this is an F-1, I'd be amazed if you can really flip it for enough to make it worthwhile.

 

Who are you and what have you done with Bob??

Did the aliens land in Wisconsin? Is our old grouchy, dyed-in-the-wool restoration guy currently being rectally probed by some thin bodied green skinned aliens with huge heads and great big eyes?

What's next? cats sleeping with dogs?

.....somebody stop the madness!!!!!!!

Bobby

 

Well, being the enabler that I seem to have become because of all of you, I like the idea of putting a V8 with AOD in it.

But then, it's not my money and not my time. But I'd really like to follow that build. If you're gonna flip it, you wouldn't even have to paint it red.

 

Here is where I'm at. The business I'm in has it's ups and downs and lately it's been slow. I get a decent job in, work on it and get it out the door and then my shop is fairly empty for a week or more. I have a heated 2500 sq. ft. that sits idle. I'm trying to find something I enjoy and might be able to make a little extra money. I can do 99% of the work myself so it's just my labor and the cost of parts and material into the truck.

It won't be a show winner but a nice truck for a person who wants to tool around town in an old truck. I'm fairly lucky in finding things I need on CL, eBay and just asking around so I think I can keep costs down. It's something I want to try, if I end up not making a buck then I'll take it as a lesson in business and learning what not to mess with.

 

Oh yeah, for those of you that are concerned, I have not been taken over by little green men. If this was a truck I was building for myself it would be all period correct parts and paint colors. I want to build something that will appeal to the general public, this is not a slow moving old truck, at least not for most.

 

Bob, did you just get done watching a Fast 'N Loud marathon? Can reality TV be far behind for our friend in Wisconsin? You have a sure sell with the dairy farm and flipping old Ford trucks! I'll Executive Produce. One day you're thawing cow manure in your shop and the next day you're on an impossible deadline to finish the truck before the rich buyer from overseas jets in to pick it up and drive it cross country. Chris could be your wacky sidekick.

My vote is to leave it all Ford.

I've got a 460 still mounted in a 77 F-350 Camper Special. I'll make you or anyone else a good deal on it!

 

Post pics Bob. You may find a buyer here on FTE.

Heck, I may want it.

 

I went on eBay today and searched Ford F1.....try it and see the prices that a few very average trucks are already bid up to.