Hi all, I have recently come across a deal I cant pass up. Through my job I can grab a VERY recently wrecked 1997 F250 with the Powerstroke 7.3 turbo. The miles are low and the truck was T-boned. I will be paying $300 for the whole truck.

I have as some of you know a 1989 F150 single cab short wheel base. I have replaced everything in the truck from steering to brakes and axles. The body is pristine and looks all original. I recently had a fresh 351w with a built AOD (4r70W internals). The issue is 9mpg on 32's with 3.55 ratio. I am wanting to keep the interior IE dash and gauges as original as possible. I know the 1997 is an OBDII and will require a lot of wiring to convert.

The question is can I swap the engine and splice the harness to work with a OBDI cluster? I will be switching to a 5 or 6 speed and swapping out the Axles to include a straight front axle.

another question: Does anyone know what the MPG would be with the lighter truck?

I am trying to find a good link for the swap and have found some bronco and other swaps but everyone is swapping the dash and front clip.

Thanks in advance.

 

You would be in for a WORLD of wiring nightmares.
I would of been SO much easier if your truck was 92+

Also the engine will not bolt into the f150 frame without issues

Then there is the diesel weight into a half ton.

Basically what i am getting at is, you are trying to put the wrong two trucks together

 

If Georgia doesn't have smog testing that would affect you, look into a 4BT Cummins swap. Lighter than a PowerStroke, plenty of grunt. Look around for a fully mechanical variant, such as something out of a bread truck. You would still need to compensate for the extra weight of the 4BT, but not like a powerstroke.

If you do have smog testing, you should probably look into finding out why you're getting such lousy mileage. My F250 4X4 460 with 4.10 gears gets better than that.

 

I put a 1989 IDI into a 1991 Bronco so it can be done. If the donor is a 2wd truck the springs will work in your '89. The wiring is going to be tough - I think the easiest thing would be to use all the donor wiring both under the hood and in the cab. Use the donor dash and door panels as well. That way all the stuff that make the motor run and the gauges work and such will be from the donor, you will just have to mate that to accessories like power windows and such. Your firewall will have to be modified to take the '97 main connector which is square whereas yours is round.

As for MPG, this may mean nothing, but my Bronco got about 20 MPG.

 

Thanks guys that's what I figured. I am going to find a 1992+ truck and do the swap in it then. I havnt given up on my old girl just can't pass up this opportunity at a nice swb powerstroke turbof 4x4.

Yeah my truck just needs the Maf conversion and a tune is all the speed density is unable to handle the build is all It will get there

 

Do yourself a favor and just rebody the donor truck

 

Different generation truck, and completely different engine. The OBS dash won't even bolt to the bricknose cab structure without fabrication. Brad's last statement (in post 2) nails it; the OP should find an OBS 3/4-ton or 1-ton truck.

 

Throw the f150 body/interior/cab/bed on the f250s frame ? instead of putting the motor in the truck put the truck on the motor ? idk lol

 

1989 cab will still not allow the OBS dash to be installed. And there's nothing in the thread indicating that the F250 frame is any good. If it were, it probably wouldn't be $300.

 

Fix the '97. Putting a 7.3 in a halfton is like using a ranger to move a mobile home.... It would be way easier to fix the 97 and drive it. And for $300, You can't go wrong.

 

There's a way to do anything with enough time and patience. It saddens me that pretty much all the posters on this thread throw cold water on the guy's idea.

 

Not throwing cold water but a 6.9 is right at 1k lbs dry. 73 isn't far behind that. To heavy an engine for the frame.

 

9 mpg with the current set up?