Well guys, here it is my build thread.

I've had different ideas of what I wanted to do since I got my '86 F250 Lariat.


Obviously then I was hooked like most of us

I had the original plan to do a frame off resto on it and build me one mean machine.

Alas, employment changes, time and other things got in the way and it put a serious damper on getting things done in the time frame that I wanted.

So long story short....I had to cheat a little.

I found another '86 F250 that a guy was working on and had done the majority of what I wanted to do to it already.

I know, I know, it's supposed to be "Built not Bought" right? Well, forgive me my fellow FTE members, because this felt like the right decision.

So now, this just showed up last night...


I know what you're saying..."what the hell, it's not a Bullnose, what is this SH@!"

It's still a '86, don't worry, the hockey puck that owned it before me put a '87 front clip on it. (i'll get more to that hockey puck comment later)

So basically here it is:
It's a 1986 F250 XLT that started its life out as a co-op truck. The hockey puck before me decided he wanted a "muddin' truck" and wanted to basically make a huge monster truck. He had the frame sandblasted and painted, and then installed a Skyjacker 6 inch lift, along with a home-made 4 inch body lift with some, get ready for it....44 inch tires!! They're the largest damn tires i've ever seen!!! He lives out on a farm and basically lost interest over time and just stored it away in his shed. It was about ready to go in for paint but the body guy flaked out on him and basically left his truck not even half done as far as paint goes. So it's been sitting for the last 4-5 years in his barn, waiting for me to come along and get my grubby little hands on it .













So that's what it's like on the outside. Obviously with anything you buy that you haven't done yourself (and done correctly), there's bound to be some little issues that you have to fix that the previous owner basically makes you scratch your head and say, "what the F@#! were they thinking?!!?"

The good: The frame is done, and done right. You can tell it was sandblasted, and painted with what appears to be good quality paint that should last a good long while. The uber expensive Skyjacker lift is already installed and basically ready to go. It has (what he told me) a Dana 60 solid front axle and matching Dana 70 rear axle out of a '97 F350...so no need to go junkyard hunting for one of those. Finally, it has a absolutely PRISTINE bed from a 87-91 dual tank, long bed on it (I don't like the curved wheel wells, but those will be fixed when I put on the Bushwhacker cut out flares on it for the 80-86 style). Basically what happened was the the bed was taken off and stored while the truck had a utility bed on it instead. The bed doesn't have more than 12 miles on it, and you can tell!!! You can eat off this thing it's so clean!









The bad:

Because it had a 4-inch body lift on it...certain things needed to be 'adjusted' by Mr. Hockey Puck to make it still work. He messed up the shifter linkage installing some sort of adapter so it would reach...now the original holes won't line up with the column linkage. The steering shaft was welded and lengthened 2 inches to compensate for the lift, so now the column is basically making the cab tilt back against the bed because of it.

I guess the floor was starting to rust on both sides and Mr. Hockey Puck decided he would either A. weld patch panels in himself, or B. Take the truck to a Maaco equivalent shop for welding students. I mean, it is seriously BAD





This is underneath the driver's side:








I guess the weld job didn't look all too good up top, so to help "smooth it out", he laid what looks to be either fiberglass or bondo all over the inside of the cab:








Next problem....he installed a 'home-made' 4 inch body lift:



Do you see that black, heavily squished rubber piece at the top of the mount?? Yeah....that's a hockey puck with a hole in it, and a foot long bolt ran through it with gigantic fender washers to make the length 4 inches. A F@$&#!* HOCKEY PUCK!!! And not just one, ohh no, that'd be too easy, he had them on EVERY SINGLE BOLT he used for the lift.



Finally, the motor hasn't run in over 4 years. He seemed to think it was a 400. I told him that it would have to be a 351 because it doesn't have the correct valve covers to be a 460, and I don't think they put factory 400's in F250's in '86 did they?? He didn't seem to be too familiar with the truck and what it had done to it when he sold it to me, so i'm kind of fearing what's in store for me down the road.

So as of right now, that's all of the main problems I need to fix. Luckily, I have already pulled another complete 460 with C6 AND trans axle from another donor truck that will be going in here:







I will get the floor repaired correctly, and I plan to sandblast the underside of both the cab AND bed, and then have them undercoated with either Rhino Liner/Line-X, or give the Dupli-color stuff a go and see how that holds up.

I was originally planning on taking the cab off of my blue '86, and use it for this truck. But, i've had a change of heart and decided to do something radical with my build....

The new F250 I just got is a non factory A/C truck. Which would be a complete PITA to make it a factory A/C truck (IF it's even possible). So here's my radical plan...

I'm going to gut the entire truck, and install a custom wiring harness from Ron Francis, and then utilize a Vintage Air system, and do away with the damn near 30 year old vacuum lines and essential problems that go with utilizing such old technology for air conditioning. I've seen these Vintage Air boxes at work at a recent hot rod show where they were showing off the products, and let me tell you...it makes life sooo much easier!!! Everything you need is enclosed under the dash in a nifty little box. The blower motor, the heater core, etc....everything is all under the dash AND comes with a warranty!! Granted, it's a sort-of short warranty, but it's still better than something that LMC or your local Auto Zone can offer. I also have a factory A/C dash that i'll be putting in the truck so I can have vents, rather than defrost or heater only. Plus, going the Vintage Air way, you deal with away with all of the vacuum line nightmares, and chasing leaks all over the place. It's fast, simple, and easy.



Also, I plan to utilize F.A.S.T.'s new 4 barrel fuel injection unit, rather than mess with tuning a carb after a few years of service.

Self Tuning EZ-EFI 2.0 Fuelairspark.com




Now onto today...I started out by basically getting the truck back to looking 'normal'. I took the UGLY front clip, and the STUPID body lift off.



Body lift before on the bed:


Body lift removed on the bed:


Now it's back to 'normal' height at least:


You can see how the cab is leaning against the bed because of the steering shaft.

Normally, the bed SHOULD have 20 bolts holding it down...he only had 4. So I will be ordering more eventually for it.

The build will take a long time, with the majority of the money going to paint and body work to make it look good.

But i'm happy to be a part of the FTE community, and FINALLY able to come to the table with something you can all experience with me.

Thanks for your time.

 

Looks like you have a good start on a really cool project truck with a great story to go along with it! The things some people do to vehicles just makes you scratch your head, the steering column "repairs" are down right scary.

I want to see the 44's mounted on it. lol.

 

I do too! The only problem is that now that I took the lift off, the 44's will rub BAD. The only pictures I have of it when it had them on it was when it was buried in his barn...

 

Definitely a project. And you were correct in it not being a 400. Those were discontinued after the 82 model year. I'll be around to offer insight and ideas for you as I continue to work on my 250

 

Thank you, I appreciate the help! I will need help definitely with identifying the motor and transmission for sure. I can just check the bolt pattern on the tranny to see what kind it is. But the motor I'm lost on. Don't know where to look for identifying numbers to tell me what it is. I'm sure it's not a 460, because it doesn't have correct valve covers that my 460 has. I will be tearing it out here soon and will have it up for sale. It'll be really cheap too because I know it's nothing special.

 

Wow, what a machine
With that lift plus the body lift plus the extra flex via the pucks you would have got sea sick riding in it
Not to mention the illegal mods to the steering...and the chook poo welding on the cab.

But you're cracking on with resolving the issues already and it looks good.

Nice one

 

400: 1971/79 Misc FoMoCo Passenger Cars / 1977/79 F100/350 / 1978/82 Bronco / 1981/82 F150/350 & Econoline.

 

Post a few shots of the block, and give us a count on the valve cover bolts. I'm going to venture a guess that it's most likely a 351W.

 

I zoomed in close on one the pics where the valve cover is visible. Looks a bit fat for a W, so it could be a 351M/400.
Count the bolts in the valve covers, and check the upper hose connection. The t-stat housing will either bolt to the front of the intake vertically (W) or on the front of the block horizontally (M/400).
Given the level of stuff that was modified on that truck, it's quite possible the engine has been swapped from an older truck.

 

Looks to me that the fuel pump is bolted to the timing cover, so this cannot be a 351M/400.

351M/400's do not have a timing cover per se, just a flat engine cover plate.

The fuel pump bolts to the left (drivers) side of the engine block, its bolt pattern is at 6 & 12 o'clock.

351M/400 = 8 valve cover bolts per side / 429/460 = 7 bolts per side / 221/260/289/302/351W = 6 bolts per side / FE's have 5 bolts per side.

A dizzy that has a cap with male ends and an adapter below: introduced in 1977.

 

The loose engine/trans was said to be a 460. It's the engine installed in the truck that he is unsure of. It was claimed to be a 400......

 

I took some shots of the valve covers and thermostat today. I also took some of the tranny pan. I think it's a C6, but not sure.

Here are the valve covers:








I saw this number at the front of the motor, can't recall where it was exactly though:



Here's the thermostat:



I believe it's a 351W.

Here's the tranny pan:

 

351M/400 and C6.

 

According to NumberDummy it has 6 valve cover bolts, so that would mean it's a 351W

 

Definitely an M block. It has the vertical rib on the driver side, the vertical thermostat housing, and looks to have 8 bolt valve covers. I am very familiar with that setup, since it is my F250. Odds are good that Mr Hockey Puck swapped in an old motor.