I’ve been lurking around here as I take care of a 96 F350 Box Truck for work, but I’d never actually had one to call my own.

Until now.

I’ve recently acquired a 1984 460 4 speed F250, west coast it’s entire life, and only 108k when I got it. That makes it the lowest mileage of any of my vehicles (360k on the mercy, 200k on the jeep). Other than the choke not working in the slightest it’s in really good condition, even has fresh tires so for the first time in my life I’ve managed to buy a vehicle that I can just start driving. Even the cruise control works (take that mercedes).

Well, buy isn’t exactly the right word, since it was a gift from my fiancé’s father. His father was the original owner and used it to tow a boat. He brought it down to CA (without having to add a cat!) and tossed a camper on the back for a mobile office. He wasn’t using it and I needed a work truck so I could stop destroying the axle on the jeep, so now it has come to me. That progression (and the “Fine family of cars” slogan on the keys) has given it the moniker “family ford”, which is a lot better than the jeep’s “green pig” or the mercy’s “where the **** is it leaking oil from this time”.

Right now I’m just driving the thing as a daily, I’m (slowly) fixing the problems in the jeep to get it back to daily use since it gets better than the 10mpg I’m getting in the truck. I’ve been spending most weeks on the wrong side of the country in rental cars for work though, so the MPG hasn’t been a huge issue, it’s only a problem when I have to drive for my commute (usually SF Bay to LA) and have to steal the mercy back from my sister who hasn’t gotten a car yet now that she’s back from college. I gotta say, something about having three pedals, four speeds, and 5 radio stations puts a smile on my face, it’s such a simple chunk of steel. It’s also significantly reduced my speeding habits as 65mph is just dandy in this thing and I don’t need the mpg hit from trying to do 70.

Once I have the jeep back there are a few little things to fix. I’ve already got an oil change and the usual new-to-me vehicle things done. I also purchased a radio for it, but haven’t figured out where I want to mount the antenna, and really, haven’t had time.

Already done:
Window seals - The original ones cracked and fell apart when I rolled the windows down, redid the weatherstripping and now they’re nice and quiet.
Headlights - One was full of water so I did both.

Little stuff:
Tailgate - I haven’t got one, the original is in a JY in Oregon somewhere, abandoned when the camper was added. I’ve since abandoned the camper, but now I need a tailgate.
Rear tank - I was told it leaks, so don’t use it. That’s fine around town, I just use the front tank. I’m thinking I’ll fix it by going to a 38 gallon tank.
Tach - God it’s annoying driving three pedals without a tach.
Choke - Right now I start it a few times in the morning until it stays running and then let it warm up while I go back inside and pack my work bag, but that’s getting old.
Radiator - Leaks slightly, I’m gonna get an all aluminum one from the same guys that built the all aluminum I have in the jeep.
Brakes - Could probably be better.
Third Brake Light - Big surprise it doesn’t work, may just need a bulb.
Mirrors - Are a cobbled together mess courtesy of the PO as he needed something wider to see around the camper.
Bedliner - Cause it’s a work truck.
Tie down points/Rails - Cause the hardware for the camper ripped up the mounting holes.

Maybe someday I’ll fix the paint, but right now it blends in so well with the surface rust that it’s “classic”.

And then, the future plans:

Step 1 - Ditch the carb. I know it’s losing the mechanical personality, but for reliability and performance I’d rather have EFI, has anybody done the ebay efi conversion kit?

Step 2 - Mo gears mo better. I thought about a 5 speed swap, but I’m leaning towards a ranger overdrive for gear splitting, I’d like to have a 2 1/2 just as much as I’d like to have an OD gear, .

Step 3 - Tow tow tow the jeep to the wheeling adventures!

It all seems so simple.

 

Congrats on the truck! Any gift you can immediately drive is a huge blessing.

The 10 MPG seems about right, but a ZF5 will bolt in an increase that probably 2 MPG - and that's 20%. But, from experience, finding a good one can be expensive as I paid $500 for a used one that ultimately needed a $1000 rebuild. So, use that as a comparison vs OD unit's cost.

 

Yeah, I looked at the ZF5, but I like the simplicity of the T19 overall. And the OD unit is around $1500.

I figure by the time I get around to that I will be ready to do a rebuild on the T19 as well, and that's pretty easy as I understand it.

Plus for towing a full size trail rig the gear splitting would be handy.

 

Don't forget that the 460 has a wide power band, so you don't have to keep it "on the boil". But you do need to get the highway RPM down to a reasonable level, so some form of OD is needed.

However, a ZF swap might not require a new drive shaft and its costs, which can be substantial. But an OD unit will. So, does it come with the drive shafts at that price?

 

Driveshaft is factored in, I've got a driveline guy I use for the jeep shafts and he does good work for a reasonable price.

That's all a year out though. EFI is the higher priority and that will give more gains than either trans option.

But for completeness, heres gearing with my current T19 plus the ranger (split ratios bold):

4.02
2.93
2.41
1.75
1.41
1.02
1
.73

So I'd be skipping true 4th going straight from 3 1/2 to OD, but thats not bad, it gives me 6 streetable forward gears plus 1st for low gear grunt (and a 3.22 reverse and a half).

The ZF has:
5.72
2.94
1.81
1
0.76

What would be really ideal would be to source a 5.11 T19 as that yields better splits. Otherwise I might adapt a NV4500 before trying to source the ZF5 as the NV4500 is easier to find.

 

I would like OD with my 300/T18 and thinking of going with a Gear Venders OD unit.
Might be a little more $$ but you can also split the gears but don't need to use the clutch or have an extra shift lever in the truck, done with a button and can be done under full power.


Now someone said it only shifts at 20 MPH and above so granny first and maybe 2nd may not be able to split but have never heard of this.
I know a few guys using the GV OD unit in 4sp cars and love it but never anything on no shift at low speed. guess I should look them up and ask.
Dave ----

 

I've looked at them, the clutch thing isn't a big issue for me, and I kinda like having direct control rather than having to run wiring. We'll see when we get there.

 

The manual transmission GearVendor module does give you direct control, it just has lock outs to keep you from damaging your truck and/or the overdrive unit.... namely preventing engagement in 4x4, reverse, and below ~25mph. These all have good reasons and are not bad safe guards to have in place.

Unless GearVendors has changed, the overdrive ratio is .78 not .73. With the close ratio T19 (which is what I had in my 6.9 diesel), the gear "splitting" capability is not that useful. The gears are close together already, and a 22% change is pretty much redundant with the next gear in your shift pattern. I'm not trying to dissuade you from buying one, just passing on my experience. The overdrive does help, but it's operation is clumsy and awkward compared to just having a 5 speed. Given a choice I would choose a 5 speed swap over the GearVendor. In my case I will be doing a 5 speed AND the GearVendor, but diesels really need to be kept in a low rev power band. Even so, I am only using the GearVendor because it came in the truck when I bought it. After driving it for 10 years I would sooner have a 5 speed and 3.55 axle gears instead of 4.10's and the GearVendor. I just cannot justify re-gearing a 4x4 so that I can get rid of it.

 

By "direct control" I mean a lever, no electrics. The ranger is .73, so that's what the numbers were.

Maybe it's just the way I drive but I do feel like I'm missing a gear between 2 and 3, and for some of the hills around here I'd like a lower gear to start out in, but 1st doesn't make sense.

I do agree that a 5.11 T19 would be a better candidate for a splitter.

Has anybody heard of these guys for the EFI swap (much more imminent): http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-429-460-351m-400m-351c-efi-complete-intake-conversion-kit-/151156567286?hash=item2331a22cf6

 

KG, I know you are looking into EFI and have a question?
Are you looking for multi port (last link) or throttle body type?


The TB type I have seen use your intake and replace the carb. Run a new supply & return fuel lines, a few wires and an O2 bung (would need this for any EFI) and be done.


Some of them "learn" as you drive and make adjustments where others you need to have computer & software to make adjustments.
I have older links for the TB type as I was looking into it for a 70 car I have but the carb is working pretty good right now.
Dave ----

 

I'd really prefer MPI over TBI for fuel injection. I know I could go with something simple like MSD atomic EFI and probably be done a lot quicker, but I figure if I'm doing the swap I want to do it once, and mpi is where it's at.

At the end of the day the ebay guys seem to be selling what is basically the efi system from a 90's 460, and that does pretty well on the box truck.

I also have a need for it to be able to be mistaken for factory, since I'm in CA.

 

OK just did not know if you knew and for others about the bolt on TBI systems. Something there is a need to look stock
Dave ----

 

Stupid question hour, I see that 80-86 beds are different from the 87-97 beds, which means I need a tailgate from an 80-86. It looks like f250 and f350 are the same, would an f150 gate work as well?

 

Bonus!

My fiancé removing the camper, cause she was better at shifting the thing at that point.

 

The same basic tailgate was used on everything from F100 to 350. However, the 1980-82 gates used metal straps while the 83-86 gates used flexible cables to suspend them. You can change out the straps/cables with some effort, but it is best to get a tailgate from the same type as your truck.

And then there's the style of gate, meaning the base one that just says FORD through several iterations to the top-of-the-line Lariat and its sought-after brushed aluminum insert.