so i had a build thread going in the engine swaps forum, but i`m pretty useless at updating it, so i figured id just show off the finished product.
so its a 1976 f250 4x4, 1989 12V cummins, 2wd nv4500, stock ford np205 divorced t-case, and stock dana 44/60
I installed a 2" skyjacker lift, and all new rear hangers and shackles.
Fuel tank is a bronco 2 tank.
the cab is rust free from a 78, and the box came from arizona.
i painted it a ford blue which i think is a mustang colour (seen it on gt350's)
i i bought most of my interior from lmc, i left the original headliner, visors and dash pad. and then had the seat redone locally. cost as much as buying a new couch .

The truck came off the road in 2012, and i stripped it down to the frame. worked on it slowly for the next 2 years, installing the cab that fall, engine and trans in the winter and then addressing the rear frame, suspension and fuel tank conversion the next summer.
After that progress was very slow, i was maintaining 2 other 30 year old vehicles and having the ford comfortably tucked away in the shop made it very easy not to work on. finally in may 2014 i decided to get to work, i focused on only what was needed to fire the engine (not for long, just wanted it to make some noise). once we successfully fired it up for about 5 seconds (no coolant, exhaust or wiring hooked up at all and pulling fuel from a gas can) i became very motivated to get it going. although the list of what was need was long. i was looking at still engineering the fuel, coolant, power steering and exhaust systems. plus rewiring the truck to charge and start with the the cummins. and then making the shifters and the intermediate drive shaft to actually drive it. and on top off all that i knew i still had to dive into full body and interior job.
Farley daunting, but only one way yo go...
over the summer i spent all of my time (and money) on the truck, and rather quickly the list seemed to get shorter. certain jobs i decided would wait till sometime after its on the road, Intercooler and axle rebuild being the biggest.
by the end of the summer the truck was finally somewhat mobile, and at this point i decided to switch from mechanical work to body work. i figured i would have enough motivation to finish the mechanical jobs after the truck was all shiney





September was basically just countless nights of sanding, and sanding....and more sanding. I was able to arrange a paint booth to use, and a trailer to tow it out there. so i set a date, oct 4th. it was crunch time up till then. even on the morning of the 4th i was at my shop at 5:30 am to finish the final prep.
once i got out there, I masked the truck off, was given a quick lesson in painting from the booth owner and got to work. 3 hours, 4 coats and nearly 5 quarts later, the truck was painted! the job inst perfect but i am still overly happy with the result.








the next 2 weeks we reassembled all the trim and glass. with the help of a couple friends we successfully installed the windshield and rear window.
then installed the new interior parts and freshly rebuilt seat. and then finished the mechanical work.






the final push to get it on the road came when my girlfriends Volkswagen wouldn't start, and instead of fixing it for her i decided it would be more fun to just lend her my land cruiser and finish my truck





anwyays, it has been on the road for 2 weeks and everything seems to work just fine. i haven't touched the the cummins in anyway to try and get more power yet, and it still seems to pull better then the old 360. plus my first tank got me 20mpg, witch had a lot of full throttle trying to set a high score on the boost gauge.
so i can not complain about that

 

Real nice ! The landcruiser is history

 

Great looking truck. It takes time for a big undertaking such as this as life goes on. How do you like the nv4500 trans?

 

I like the nv4500, nice and low first, and very short throw on he shifter.

Haha the landcruiser has a different job, small diesel 4x4

 

Very nice. In some ways I wish I would've gone with the non intercooled engine as you did. Would've saved me a ton of time fitting the radiator and intercooler.

 

Thanks, I'm a big fan of your build. I will adding an inter cooler later on, gotta take a break from it for a while haha

 

Looks awesome...congrats on getting it finished!!

 

That is one sexy bitch.
Congratulations.
Jealous.

 

I see you've got 35's and the NV 4500. What gear ratios are you running?

Ryan

 

It's still 4.10's. Just a little low for my preference, I don't have a tach but at 60mph or more it's starting to feel wound out. You can shift to 5th at 35-40mph

 

Nice truck. Great color. Having to drive the speed limit down the highway is definately worth it. That MPG is awesome.

 

Newbie diesel question here........what the difference with having an intercooler vs not? Mileage, horsepower/torque, both??

Ryan

 

20 mpg is very surprising...these trucks have the aero of a brick.

Did you confirm your odometer is correct with a GPS or atleast a highway radar sign?


Great truck...great build....great progress in a two yr span.


Color looks like an old Ford color called Caspian Blue.


I also like the roll-in mezzanine steps in your shop. Great idea...my ladder is annoying.