.....


We are on the same page...


Stay tuned for details.

 

To elaborate on the above,


We started taking measurements and the beams are comparatively "all outta whack"... We thought about finding a set of F250/350 2wd beams which have dropped in on other F150's, but we started kicking the idea around of just making a monobeam out of the van stuff. This would benefit us in the sense that we could use the stock TTB F150 springs, and they would probably be perfect for the extra weight of the IDI plus turbo kit, and we could retain the stock radius arm mounts and coil bucket location...


The issue is that Im about 95% sure the van beams are cast (Vs. Forged for the Earlier stuff).... Which means it would be difficult to weld... Even If I could preheat the crap out of the beams and steel "tie bar", I would be looking at Tig welding it with my machine at full tilt and stainless rod, and that would limit me to 3/16" wall on the tubing... The other option is a pre-heat and running some nickel SMAW rod, doesn't help my Amperage situation though.... We are still kicking around the F250 beam idea with we can find a set of beams for dirt cheap (Gotta save the budget for things that matter )....


The other issue we have found, is the rear Dana 70 is a wide track axle with a 73" WMS, and its the 2U model, which makes it a bit of a little ******* for finding the right parts for... I have a line on a semi-float 10.25 for dirt cheap that already has 3.55's... If I can get my hands on that, we'll use it.


more soon with pics...

 

I have no idea if the parts would jive, but what about a 70's F350 king pin mono beam with 80's 8 lug king pin spindles that have the front mounted steering linkage? There are quite a few "if's" in that scenario but it would be clean if it did work... just a thought.

 

I actually looked a bit on the subject today, and you got a good combo of parts, the only issue is the kingpins... They are a pain in the ***. We are hoping for an easy solution with balljoints first, but your option isn't out of the question.

 

Yeah, too bad there were no 2wd ball joint mono beams that I know of... 8 lug F-series TIB would sure be a lot easier, but the steering wander just flat sucks... especially in the desert where the semis rut the pavement and the spacing is wider than the pick up. I love Ford but their 80's IFS was not one of their better designs.

 

Are you sure it's cast iron and not just cast steel? Cast steel welds just as good and works just as easy as forged steel. I highly doubt that the beams would be made of cast iron.

 

99+ F450/550 2wd have tubular monobeams with balljoints.... 8x160 though. 10.5" ftw

 

I have an 87 f250 parts truck. 2wd, anything you want. its a roller, no runny tho.

 

Im going to look into that... I fully agree, why on earth would there be cast iron steering side suspension parts, that would seem like a safety issue to me.

 

I could build one of those just from parts I have laying around most likely...

 

Noted.....

 

So things are going to start breaking loose here...


Keith has been parting out his truck, and the engine is ready to come out. I have a US-Shift controller and harness on its way for the E4OD. We will be pulling that from the bus within a few days. Keith is seeing if his neighbor wants to help and toss a new set of clutches and shift kit in while we have it out. We are also eyeing an ATS torque converter here locally.


I also ordered a set of total seal rings and got those on their way. I hope to be tearing things down by this weekend.


Keith Sold the D70 and we picked up a Semi-float sterling for the truck. I am on the hunt for a cheap set of 3.55's to drop in, I may have to hit the JY this weekend and see what I can find.


And Finally, Im working on getting the new R&D Stage 3 turbo for this thing... Its a 69mm unit that flows 18lbs/min more than the current stage 3, and should spool as fast if not faster than the current 66mm unit.


Ill get some pics flowing in here soon...

 

Looking forward to this one!

 

PArts truck is 355 I think

 

This hasn't been updated in awhile, so its time...


We got Keiths engine out of his truck and ready to be torn down... I got the Total Seal rings ordered and delivered...


The Baumann/USshift Quick4 E4OD controller arrived...





I also picked up a couple of Trac-loc's from the JY (One for this and my bronco)... I was amazed at how much bigger the Semi-Float shafts are compared to the Full floats... Not that it matters, they are both 35 spline.


I managed to find a set of 3.31 10.5" gears on CL that I picked up for $50, and those will be perfect for the trap speed we are looking at.... Keith picked up an aftermarket Differential cover... I do believe he has ordered the rear disc stuff as well, but not super sure of that.


We were looking at doing that Mono-beam, but to get this thing on the dyno, we might pick up a set of 2WD F250 beams from Bruteford... That being said, as Jonathan said above, I think the mono-beam will be the way to go for the strip.


Keith picked up a Diesel gauge cluster off ebay, so we got that factory Tach covered...


Now since I am not trying to remember the last month, I can give a detailed update from this evening, since we got his engine torn down. For something that has seen 30+psi and upwards of 38 psi fully loaded, on stock compression, for the last 15K, this engine was beautiful...


It has 35K on a .020" rebuild... No sign of cylinder wear, and only one of the rod bearings was showing any copper (Still trying to figure that out). The mains were all in perfect shape, which is excellent, because it proves that the Main girdle kit with more fastener load, without a line hone, doesn't distort the bearings at all.... I personally liked that for my own piece of mind (Yeah yeah, I got that every engine is different, but this engine was beat hard, and I was expecting to see copper).






The other thing I thought quite humorous, was the carbon traces on the pistons and heads.... They are literally twice as wide as the Pre-cup throat and "ditch" on the piston crown.... Its clear that IDI's weren't supposed to have this much fuel, by design anyway... That being said, This thing is in such good shape after knowing how hard it was beat, I am as confident as ever in the ability of the 7.3 IDI to handle a whole lot more than where we are right now...





I am of the opinion that the normal Pre-cup cracks are a non issue, even to the fire-rings... Almost all of the cracks are to the fire-rings, where they just stop (Head is a lot cooler there), and there was no sign of gasket failure anywhere...


Anyway, Ill get some stuff up soon, the engine is fully apart now in the R&D shop. I need to clean things up and get the pistons milled/coated, and everything back together... Pic's soon.