Lately I've been toying with the idea of getting my grandpa's old welding truck back in running shape. As the title implies, its a 58 F250 (might be a 350? I'll get the VIN next weekend) 2wd, straight six (deader than fried chicken), three on the column. The body is pretty straight with little rust, but I'm not too worries about cosmetics. What I have in mind is swapping in a different engine and getting everything working like its supposed to and just having something cool to tool around in. Maybe pull a trailer or yank a stump out of the ground or haul firewood or something like that. Do stuff with it so I won't be tempted to hurt my daily driver. Might even convert it to 4wd with one ton running gear if I come across the parts. I figure it ought to be fairly straightforward with the front axle being solid i-beam and leaf sprung.

Anyway, for a powerplant, my grandpa has a 390FE just sitting around collecting dust; how big a deal would that be to swap in? I'm a big fan of the 4.9L in my dd, however, so might a 300 I-6 be a good choice, too? Would either if these connect to the trans or will that need to be swapped out, too? There's an good NP435 on the back of the 390 but, did these year trucks ever come with a floor shift and could I swap trans humps or will I need to fab something up?

 

Well to tell you the truth it shouldnt have a 350 unless its swapped over and 350 is a chev so i hope it aint a chev motor it could be 351 or 352 they made that i like your idea of fixing it but a 390 for a daily driver might be a bit hefty for the fuel bill if you get my drift 300-6 maybe a suitable choice i dont know how easy they swap in good luck

 

It has a dead inline 6 in it. He said it might be a F-350 and not a F-250. Any ford engine would be a good candidate (I think). With gas prices going up all the time, a smaller one would be good to just "tool around in".

As far as anything bolting to the current trans...I really have no clue.

 

Yeah, definitely not a SBC 350! After reading more in the forum here, I'm thinking it must've been a 223. The last time it ran, the valves on all but two cylinders were frozen and broke the rocker arms when my grandpa started it up. He then drove it up and down the driveway a couple of times before parking it where it is now. Yep, it ran on two cylinders and from what I remember was pretty quick, too! Must've been the uber deep gears. 4.56 or something like that from what I've been told. The truck was supposed to had slid the rear tires if you downshifted too quickly and wouldn't get over 55 mph or so.

 

yep sounds like 4.55 gears. that what im running in my 64.

 

For a killer In-line Six 300 c.i.,that also gets decent gas mileage,check out Col. Flashman's specs in his gallery.Steve

 

The Colonel's motor is very trick, no doubts there. Might be a little much for what I have in mind however. I'm thinking about just finding a stock pre-EFI 300 and doing a good rebuild on it. Maybe toss in a cam while its apart. Run EFI manifolds to a single outlet muffler. If it turns out to run half as good as the big six in my '92, I'll be happy!