Thanks bkaul! I had no idea what they were, they look alot different than the charcoal canisters Im used to seeing in my old toyotas Ive worked on. The canister down on the frame rail looks like it has a homemade bracket holding it in place, maybe they added it to the system when they added the auxiliary fuel tank.




Here's another question. The radiator in my 79' is cracked, it also got pushed into the the fan clutch and chewed a huge circle pattern into the cooling fins. Someone added an additional trans cooler to the system (see the above pic) in addition to the one in the radiator.
My green 76' has (I think) either a 360, or 390 with a manuel transmission. It has a noticeably smaller radiator than the white 79' with the 460.
So here's my question, or two questions actually. Do you guys think the smaller radiator would be able to keep the 460 cool? This almost sounds like a dumb question as I type it, but I figure enough of you have done engine swaps, maybe someone has run this setup in the past with success...My second question is if I ran that smaller radiator that came out of a manuel truck, do you think the aftermarket trans fluid cooler I mentioned above would be enough to do the job?

 

Adding a second fuel tank would be a good reason for the second canister. That makes sense.

As for the radiator, I'll let someone else handle the capacity question if they have the experience (though my suspicion is that it would be marginal), but I would be leery of running just an auxiliary transmission cooler. The one in the radiator transfers heat to the engine coolant, which is much more effective than transferring heat to the air. Most of the aftermarket transmission coolers are designed as an auxiliary cooler - that is, they take the already-cooled output of the one in the radiator and cool it a bit more - rather than as standalone units. A large enough one could work by itself, but I don't know that I'd be comfortable trying it without doing the math to be sure it was sized appropriately, if it were my truck.

 

Thanks again bkaul. I will have to locate a radiator shop in my area and see if it is repairable.

 

Very cool. Yet another steal. I wish I had deals like that near me. X2 on selling the Yota for funds - I know it's hard when you've got time and money in something, especially if you've got a bunch of memories with it

 

Yeah, I'm still on the fence about selling the 4runner, I keep going back and forth on it, like you said, I have alot of time, money and memories in it.


I have a question on frames. Can anyone tell me if my 76' F150 and my 79'f250 frames are the same? I did some searching and Im pretty sure they are the same, (the 4wd ones are different)I eventually want to do a crown vic ifs swap and I'd like to use my 79' since it has a better cab, just want to make sure it's possible to do the swap on a 3/4 ton.

I was messing around with Microsoft paint program the other day, give me an idea what it will look like after its shortened and lowered...

 

I pulled the tailgate off the green truck, and gutted all the parts out of it. I can use the plastic clips that hold the the rods to the handle on my white tailgate, as they are missing. The rest of the green tailgate is swiss cheese. I was able to cut out about the only rust free peice on the whole tailgate, was thinking about shaving the outside handle and relocating it on the inside. I like the clean apperance, Randle did an awesome job on his 70' "Home Brewed" build, I might have to borrow some ideas from him.




^^^Borrowed the mirrors off of the 79'. At least I can see out of these ones, lol. Anone know what the color of my truck is called? Sometimes it looks like a pale green, but the interior (which has the best finish) looks more yellow. When I washed it, it looks more yellow.


^^^My helpers

 

I'd run the Vin code for the paint color. .
As for that trans cooler,I went the same route. I don't remember the size but mine looks similar. (Maybe bigger). I got one of the biggest ones I could find,but I probly went overkill. Idk how to tell if it cooling correctly without a gauge, even with a add on gauge what is the correct temp? Idk. I ran mine stand alone though. With yours(if its extra) than you take some of the heat out of the radiator and have it more efficient for the coolantwhat I read while choosing mine, was go 2 sizes above what was recommended as a cooler size as aux if running as standalone.

 

Nice thread Rusted. Good looking dogs too. Hate to see the truck get dinged up but glad you are ok. Looking forward to your plans of the short bed and CV swap.


I keep going back and forth with a mustang 2 style front end or CV. Wanting to go triangulated four link out back too.

 

Thanks RD for the info on the trans cooler, that's some good info. I might have a line on a used replacement radiator on CL, I need to call on it tomorrow.
I definitely need to decode my vin one of these days!

Thanks blue. The dogs give me some comic relief when I'm out tinkering around. The Boxer belongs to my neighbor, but she spends about 90% of her time at our house, and the Pit is ours. They're best buds, neither have a mean bone in their bodies, and get along great with our kids.

I can't wait to start making some progress, I might try cutting the front coils like you did to lower the front until I can get me a CV ifs.
A triangulated 4 link would be cool! Not sure what I'm going to do for the rear yet.

 

As I mentioned before I plan on making my truck a short bed. I've seen a couple different ways of cutting and shortening the frame and was looking for some input from you guys on which way you think would be the best.


^^^ here's a crude drawing of the two types of cuts I'm considering. Pic A is of the Z cut, and pic B is of the Step cut. Which ever method I end up using, I plan to fishplate the inside of the frame to reinforce it.

I've found a couple build threads that have used the Z-cut method:
72 F100 project, longbed to short conv, CV swap, 20s - The FORDification.com Forums

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...get-build.html

I've seen episodes of "Trucks" and "Gearz" where they used the "step cut" method, here's a thread on that:
How to shorten a LWB frame - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network
So what do you guys think?

 

I used step-cut when I shortened my '91 F150. I also fishplated the inside. If you're a competent welder you'll never break it, especially if you use it as a 1/2 ton. Not like you're going to be carrying any heavy loads in a short wheelbase, lowered 1/2 ton.

How do you plan to work with the taper in the frame. The frame tapers out wider right where you'll be making your cut.

 

Thanks for the reply and input. I was leaning towards the step cut method first, then after reading some build threads and looking at pics, I thought the Z cut looked easier, as far as making the cuts, and with the tools I have to work with. I think both methods would hold up, like you stated, if done properly. And you're correct, I wouldn't be hauling anything extremely heavy with it, it would be more of a cruiser, possibly a dd.

I'm glad you mentioned the frame being tapered, that was a good point, and one I wasn't aware of. For some reason I was thinking only the 4x4 frames tapered towards the rear. After reading your post, I went out and crawled under my 76' F150 with a tape and started measuring. To me it looks like the best place to cut would be under the cab, towards the rear of the cab. This would require more work (pulling the cab, possibly relocating the rear cab mounts) but as far as I can see, it looks like the straightest section of the frame. Maybe this is why I haven't seen any short bed conversion build threads for the dentsides, only for the bumps...

 

I found most of the info to decode my vin# and door sticker for my 76' (I think) I just have a few blanks to fill in. I figured I'd post it here to make it easier to find later. I mainly wanted to find out what the color of my truck was called. It took a couple of different sites to find the info, this is what I have so far:

Vin #: F15YLC26632

133 U F150 AG A 14 J 06050 1976 41
_________________________________________

F15= F150 2wd pickup

Y= 360 cu in. 2bbl V8

L= Michigan truck assembly plant

C26632 = numerical sequence of assembly: 1976


133= 133" wheelbase

U= light green

F150= F150 2WD, 6050 lbs GVWR

AG= Green vinyl interior

4= Style side pickup/bench seat

A= 4 speed NP 435

14= Ford 9" rear axel, 3.00/1 non-slip, 3750 lb rear axel capacity

J= power steering

06050= GVWR

 

According to this reference:
Decoding '73-'79 Ford Truck VIN Tags - FORDification.net

A would indicate a 4-speed manual (NP 435) transmission
AC doesn't appear in their lists of trim codes ... is it possible it could be AG? That would be green vinyl for '76.
06050 = GVWR in lbs
A1 = DSO: Ford of Canada Central (Lincoln/Mercury)

 

Thanks for the info bkaul, I used that same link when I was researching, but somehow missed the trim code section, you were correct, I went back and looked at my vin tag, and it was a AG (green vinyl), which is what color my interior is. I went back and edited my last post to fill in the blanks, thanks again. I might have to decode my 79' next just for fun, lol.