Hello. I got a project truck for my high school graduation a few years back and I just got the parts truck to fix it up. I have a (f150 1987 1/2 ton 302 modified automatic carborated) The parts truck is a (f250 1990 3/4 ton 351 manual First Gen fuel injected). How hard is it going to be to swap this? And any tips or tricks that could help. The f150 body is in great condition and the f250 body is trashed. The previous owner slammed it into the back of a semi trailer. But all the important things are in great condition. I have all the tools and a cherry picker and every thing I would need and am very machanically inclined so I won't have any trouble in that area.

 

What do you intend to swap, put the F150 body on the F250?

 

I want to swap all the f250 machanicals into the f150. So the engine with Fuel injection, trany. Front and rear diffs every thing possible except the f250 body its self

 

What about the frame? If you're using the F-250 frame then you are "just" moving the F-150 body to the F-250 frame. If you are using the F-150 frame then you are moving all of the F-250 parts over piecemeal.

I put "just" in quotation marks, because although it can seem like a body swap is simple, it does get more complicated than you might expect. Some of the complications stem from the VIN being on the cab, so the most straightforward way to manage it is to use the title that came with the cab.

If you're swapping the F-250 driveline into the F-150 frame and body, none of the steps are all that hard, but there are a lot of steps. the biggest problem is likely to be the front axle ad suspension. The 4WD F-250 uses leaf springs. I didn't catch if the F-150 is 2 or 4WD, but either uses coil springs. And I THINK I've read that the 4WD suspension will just bolt over from an F-250 to an F-150 (with the exception of the springs), and from a 4WD to a 2WD, but I can't confirm that.

You will need to use the computer and wiring from the F-250 engine to get the fuel injection to work. Not sure how well that would tie into the wiring that's in the F-150 cab.

 

Yeah I knew I was going to have some troubles there with the wiring and hanging the clutch bracket might be a pain. I don't think it would be possible to put the f150 cab onto the f250 frame because of the length difference. It's an extended cab with a long box. The f150 is a standard cab with a short box. I would have loved to do that instead of pulling and replacing all the parts. Both trucks are 4wd. And I have both of the tittles too.

 

Clutch shouldn't be a problem. You'll need to move the pedals from one cab to the other.

Yeah, frame length makes the cab swap a lot less attractive. If you REALLY wanted to you could cut a chunk out of the SuperCabs frame to shorten it for the standard cab, and then more farther back for the bed. But that really doesn't sound like a good route (let along the possibility that the frame might have been bent in the accident that totalled the body).

Swapping the F-250 drivetrain over to the F-150 is certainly doable. As I said, the front springs will be the biggest problem. I might stick with the F-150 front suspension to avoid that hassle (also I think the leaf sprung TTB is a big step down from the coil spring TTB for ride quality). I'm not sure I'd bother with the rear axle either. Getting the wider F-250 springs attached to the F-150 frame, or attaching the narrower F-150 springs to the wider perches on the axle aren't that hard. But unless you're going to beat on it I'm not sure it's worth it.

The biggest effect will be from the engine / trans swap. That'll make the F-150 a whole different truck!

And by the way, "extended cab" is GM-speak for SuperCab.

 

What's the goal here, what kind of truck do you want to end up with, does it need to be as cheap as possible, etc.? Ya really haven't given us enough information to provide good advice.


If you want to end up with a jacked up 4WD regular cab short box on big tires that's one thing. If you just need to get something drivable that's another. Or?

 

My main plan was to just put the f250 engine and trany into the f150. Because the 302 in it now is underpowered. I got excited because of all the better parts on the f250. So I was trying to see what it would take to just swap everything. But like I was saying I bought the f250 for the engine and 5 speed tranny everything else was just a bonus. I know I'll have to pull out the wiring harness from the f250 if I want to use the fuel injection. If I don't I'll have to buy a new intake

 

The engine/transmission swap should be pretty straight forward just a lot of work that you appear to be aware of. You may even be able to get away with using the same driveline.

Just about everything short of the cab, bed, and front axle is swappable, just have to put in the work. The biggest question is if you want the heavier duty axles. I personally am not a fan of the 8.8, the 10.25FF is a much better axle. But the front swap to convert to heavier duty and 8 lug is something else entirely. That would require frame modifications that are best done with the engine out and may be above your skill level. So better to make that decision before swapping engines so you can do it when you do.

 

Will there be any alignment problems with the stick shifter and the 4wd case shifter in the cab?

 

There's a center floor panel that unbolts, the transmission hump, you'll need to swap that from one cab to the other.