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4x4 Conversion/ Cummins Swap/ 460 Swap "Built Not Bought"
We are self-funded high school/ college kids just having fun and taking “built not bought” to its fullest potential. The goal of this post is to inform and engage the interest of the dying breed of young gearheads out there like us! Hope everyone enjoys, and ill update/ reply best I can!
It all started with my first truck I bought when I was 16 from a family friend. He was the second owner of this beauty of a 87 Ford F-250 2wd 460 gas guzzling farm truck with only 110k on the ticker!
Putting the idea of Built not Bought into full spirit some buddies and I fiddled with the truck for a few years doing the kid stuff we all did once…. Whips…. CBs……toolbox…. Tube bumper… KC’s… etc. Come senior year the whole plan escalated. I purchased an 86 Ford F-350 4x4 pickup rolling chassis for a frame swap for my 460.
So for the swap I researched and researched till I had everything figured out for the 4x4 frame swap. Decided that senior year spring break in Cancun or the fort wasn’t for me. Senior year spring break meant an excuse to spend a week straight on the truck and do so actual cool sh** with my buddies!
We first moved the trucks to the only place we had to work. An old cattle free stall barn, a couple old tool boxes and a whole lot of not really knowing what the h*** we were doing and we got the frame swap completed in only a month!
Sold the body and un needed parts off the orange truck leaving me with only the frame and a total $$ amount spent on the swap so far at $450!
Frame moved into the super awesome shop we had…..lol!
Improvised walls for the shop…
Truck rolled in and ready for teardown.
Pulled everything with just an engine hoist…. Oh and the 1000 hp 2wd custom Sonoma…
Some frame restore on the 4x4 f350 frame. Rust converter and roll on bedliner… only 150$
Cab and motor on the frame… why not fly around with no doors, bed, fenders, no exhaust or anything!
Finished product of about $500, 7 high school kids, and a whole lotta long days and nights.
More to come on our next project to come this summer. Cummins swap into the F-350 and the 460 going into a 96 F-150 2wd!
After a 100$ Orielly paint job and a few other items…
For the second part of the swaps we are going to take the carbed 460 out of the 87 and plant it in this 96 F150 2wd to build a quick little SOB! We again are doing all the work ourselves and this time have a little better of a shop and have all acquired some more “complete” tool sets!
Here’s the Cummins picked up for the swap. 94 ppump 12v with nv4500 and dld t-case. Bone stock and only 215k miles!
Plan is to pull the motor and work on it in the next few weeks until we are all out of school and can start the builds. I'm sure there will be questions to come on both builds!
Nice work! I would love to take on a project like that, but I don't have the space.
It looks like the only thing left is to swap out that 4x2 emblem for a 4x4 one
haha 4x2s gotta stay! never forget where you started. Space is definetly a hinderence. Done alot of work on this truck in the yard and driveway. Thank goodness for good friends
subbing, i love the built not bought concept, this should be textbook definition of it, wish i had the space/money to do the same thing yall are, kudos!!
One step closer! Motor pulled and cleaned up a little, gotta rebuild the starter and do a little TLC before I do much else with it. Is a great relief to have it pulled and safe. No bigger kick between the legs than if your investment falls from 8 feet in the air if the hoist breaks!
LU LU LU LIEUTENANT DAN! YAH AINT GOT NO LEGS!
Back to another week of Rose-Hulman Engineering fun but will have another update later in the week!
Quick update for anyone following or interested. Got the starter rebuilt. (New contacts from Larry B's) easy enough and 20$ instead of a new 280$ starter! Got the motor moved to the shop and set up and running on the pallet!!
"Not sure how to post videos on here so ifanyone can enlighten me there id appreciate it!"
Next is check oil cooler and head gasket to asses my oil in the antifreeze problem.
The sticky piston soot can be one of a few things; weak or sticky injector, weak plunger on that cylinder from the pump, worn rings, or even a leaky hg.
What's the intake side of the head look like? Clean and dry?
The sticky piston soot can be one of a few things; weak or sticky injector, weak plunger on that cylinder from the pump, worn rings, or even a leaky hg.
What's the intake side of the head look like? Clean and dry?
intake side is clean and dry. I think may be head gasket. The gasket was pretty torn up and was letting oil into antifreeze as well.
Intake being clean means valves and seats are good....when they are fried up or super worn it can cause your issue as well, combustion is not complete and it slots stuff up.
Head gasket is certainly possible, oil in combustion chamber causes a cakey mess, especially oil that isn't injected.
Are you doing any pump work? Injectors? Probably time for at least an injector rebuild.
More news on the swap. Been really busy finishing up school and starting my internship but I have the head gasket replaced, the garage cleaned up enough and am ready to get rolling.
Always pullin puss....even in the shop
I found something interesting while checking the KDP on the motor. There seems to be JB or something on the timing cover and when I opened it up the KDP was missing. All gears were good and I havent pulled the oil pan to see if its in there but I assume something happened before me so a previous owner took it out or fixed the whatever it broke coming out.
also a mismatched bolt or 2
should be pullin the 460 this week and getting going!
04-27-2016, 06:09 PM
