Well I have been looking for a project truck and yesterday I bought one. Its a 1992 F-250, xlt, 5-speed, 460, 4wd.

The good:
The interior is in great shape, dash is near perfect and door panels are great also.
The dash lights, interior lights, and all gauges (except tach) work.
The body is completely rust free
From the cab forward there are absolutely no dents or dings.
The power windows, and locks work!!
The 460, seems to be running good for its age
Already has a gooseneck ball and trailer brakes
drives great (for its age), I bought it then drove it an hour back home.

The bad / unknown:
it has an exhaust leak
the rear main has a small leak (kind of expected)
the A/C is low on Freon (must have a leak), but the compressor is not locked up and will run, just cycles off.
The passenger side door will not open with the interior handle (found that out after I got home)
Clutch lets out very near the bottom (not sure what than means)
Reverse is tricky, feels like it shifts in fine but will scrub when you let out of the clutch, you can eliminate this by either pumping clutch before shifting to reverse or shifting to another gear before shifting to reverse, once engaged fully it does not pop out. (maybe a slave cylinder?)
cruise control doesn't work (not really concerned about that)
tach doesn't work
oil pressure gauge is running a little lower than half way, also it doesn't fluctuate any so I am questioning its accuracy.

Plans:
This will mainly be my tow rig / hunting / farm truck. I want to get as much torque as I can. Since it has an exhaust leak I need to get addressed, I will probably get a set of headers and new exhaust all the way back (I'm in Alabama so I will not go back with cats). Which headers should I buy, best and bang for my buck? As for mufflers I want the quietest, best flowing muffler I can get, which one would that be, flowmaster 70, magnaflow, borla? And should I get 2-1/2" dual exhaust or 3"? I plan to just have the exhaust dump out under the bed just before the rear axle, any pros or cons to doing this?

I plan to replace the plugs, wires, dist. cap, and fluids shortly. Up the timing to 12° and I will probably add some sort of free flowing air filter and remove/smooth as much as I can in the stock intake and probably insulate the intake box and tubing. What air filter does best and any tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

That is a great looking truck I wish I could find something like that here in n.y. But it's next to impossible to find one clean like that especially with the 460 and 5 speed. Good luck with it. I had a 350 with a 460 but it was an auto. If it was a 5 speed I would still own it

 

First off I would put a mechanical oil pressure gauge on it before running it to much if you are questioning the oil pressure.

Sounds to me like it needs a slave cylinder for the clutch. Personally since you say it is a "project truck" I would replace the slave, and clutch just to be sure. I am not sure but I am pretty sure ZF5s have internal slaves. Check to make sure it is up on fluid first.

Most people say leave the stock intake box and just get a new air filter of your choice. Personally I have regular ones in all our trucks minus our 02 F250 and my 88 F150 which have air aid drop in filters (not the entire intake).

Passanger door not open is probably the common stretched cable problem they have on 92-96 (and 97HD) Fseries.

For headers not sure what most people like personally I think I see a lot of people whom like Headman and BBK.

For exhaust I am pretty sure a flow master 70 and a 3" is going to be a lot louder.
Trav

 

Congratulations on the 7.5L! I would recommend the 70 Series Big Block Muffler, as you mentioned, for your truck. The 70 Series muffler will give you a great tone at a mild to stock sound level. If you decide not to dump your tailpipe before the rear axle, Flowmaster also offers a side-out Force II Cat-back system for your truck that utilizes our 70 Series muffler.

 

Congratulations on the new truck! It looks beautiful!! Trucks of this age in that kind of original condition are very rare, so count yourself blessed! What color is it? I'm having a hard time determining if it's grey or beige. Either way, very nice!

I am no expert, but I have a few thoughts for you on a couple of the things you mentioned...

Exhaust - you are talking about quiet and good flowing. Unfortunately though, quieter exhaust usually means more restrictive due to extra baffles inside to quiet the sound. I'd suggest you decide which is more important to you, quiet or less restrictive and choose based on that. Of course you could get one that is a compromise between the two. I recommend either Flowmaster or MagnaFlow (others can be good as well though). In my experience MagnaFlow tends to be more mellow sounding while Flowmaster tends to be more raw (not necessarily louder, just beefier maybe).

Cruise control - there are quite a few things that could cause the cruise to not work. The simplest would be the fuse, so I'd check that first. One other possibility is there's a plug-in connection for the cruise system on the brake master cylinder. There is a recall on the original ones due to the possibility of fire, so if the original owner didn't have it fixed, it could be simply unplugged to eliminate the risk. Check to see if it's plugged in there. Whether or not it is, I'd double check with your local Ford dealer to make sure the recall has been completed so your beautiful new ride doesn't burn up!

Air filter - what I'm about to say is controversial, with many folks on both sides of the argument... I like K&N filters. However, I don't recommend getting their (or anyone else's) cold air intake. I tried the CAI on one of my previous trucks and had many problems with the filter cone falling off repeatedly and ended up fouling my MAF sensor twice. However, the drop-in K&N replacement filters are great. I've had one in every vehicle I've ever owned. They are a little less restrictive than a traditional cotton filter, have a million mile warranty, and can be cleaned and reused many times over. No matter what you use though, the key is to at least make sure you have a good clean filter in.

Best of luck to you with your new ride! I hope you enjoy her and don't run into any major headaches during your restore! It looks like you have a great platform to start with!! Keep us posted.

 

Thanks for all the responses. I know quiet and free flowing exhaust is basically an oxymoron, I will probably get either a flowmaster 70, or a magnaflow muffler, probably depends on price and availability from the exhaust shop I end up using.

I am really wanting some feedback on headers, what should I look for to build low end torque? And I am hoping to hear from someone that maybe has some experience they could share. I would love to get them ordered in the next week.

 

The cost of headers with all their issues are best not bought. Opening the exhaust too much will reduce low end torque. A 3" single is a good option. Talk more with the Flowmaster Rep on here. He has made a suggestion you might follow up on.
But headers I don't think will give you enough to justify the cost. If you do decide then small/long tube will be your best torque option.

 

When it comes to Flowmaster mufflers, this is a misconception. Flowmaster mufflers were actually developed over 30 years ago as a way for race car drivers to meet strict sound level requirements that were being instated at many local tracks without reducing the performance of their vehicles. Our engineers have designed each series of Flowmaster muffler with maximum efficiency in mind. It is entirely possible to find the sound that you are looking for without reducing performance.

 

I have stock manifolds, gutted front cat, and intact second cat with 3" leading to a 70 series Flowmaster that dumps in front of the rear tire. This is on a 351W but figured I mention it anyway. It's louder than stock (obviously) yet still without any bark (more of a low tone) and it doesn't sound like all the kids' trucks with "dual exhuast". I like it, and have had it for 4 years now with no signs of it failing or getting louder with time.

I also like my K&N drop in filter. I've had my truck 10 years and bought one paper filter just to see if I noticed any difference in mileage, otherwise I just drive/wash/dry/oil/repeat.

Can't help on headers. DieselBrad might have an opinion? Pretty sure he has a set on his 460 truck.

 

Craig most of the time cheap headers is what cause a lot of issues not just headers in general. That and people not putting a good gasket on them.
Trav

 

Trav, good headers are $500+. There isn't $500 of improvement. The $500 can be used for other things like tuners, good exhaust, etc that will give much more bang for the buck.

 

Therein lies the paradigm. ...

Headers, hi-flow cat, and other popular upgrades.

Do you drive the truck enough to justify the cost of the investment?

 

Look in my build thread in my sig. I have hedman mids on my sig truck and they sound amazing but I've been blowing gaskets left and right because I kept using hedman gaskets. If you do go with headers, order a set of remflex gaskets. A little thicker and softer to fill in any imperfections in the cylinder head.

As far as exhaust, I originally had as ingle 3 inch with gutted cat and 24 inch glasspack that dumped just behind the rear axle. Had a nasty exhaust note I loved but couldn't hear anything in the cab because of the drone and the muffler had whole in the side of it. Then I ordered hedman mids and drove with nothing but headers and a y pipe for 3 months. The 02 sensor was at the tip so it ran rich and did a hellish burnout. Or so I'm told you know....

Now I have hedman mids to a single in/dual outlet turbo muffler 2.5 inch tailpipes with 3.5 inch tips straight out the back. Has a low rumble at idle but sounds sweet when you open it up without any cab drone on the highway. Happy balance that I'd strongly recommend

 

This is true that they are expensive for a great set but just like anything you have to pay to play. In the Harley world if you don't get a good set of the Headers then the muffler was no good not sure if it is the same in the truck world. (Haven't done a custom exhaust on the truck world Yet!)
Trav

 

Truck guy, could you tell a difference in power once you added your headers.

I am absolutely going to put headers and a full exhaust on the truck soon, but I really want to buy the best setup for my application