Yep, its the same one... I found (on Ebay again), a reman, which mounts to the outisde of the frame, only requiring a spacer plate on the inside, and rotation of the pitman arm 180 deg. They are indexed anyway, so it was easy. I will try to download some photos, but I am not the photograper you are, by any measure.

Baja..

"Proceed at the Speed of Right, and you will never go wrong"

Finally, a long overdue update. Work has been keeping me busy, but with the likelihood of moving looming in the near future - the pressure is on to get the major pieces in place!

Finished boxing the frame.

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Now time to finish up the drag link so I can maneuver this beast around. I used a lathe to 45 the end of the drag link tube to make a nice welding surface.

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My friend who is shop owner and a 4x4 specialist insisted that all steering components be tig welded to keep the heat down and increase strength. He said that steering is one place where you don't want to go cheap. I had him tig weld the drag link for me and then I smoothed out the edges with a grinder and sandpaper on the lathe.

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Painted and installed.

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I had to get the rear ride hight as close as possible to get the correct pinion angle reference to mount the engine at the right angle also. I tacked the rear hangers in place and used the stock Ford lift blocks to raise things up to the proper height. Surprisingly, ride hight came out just about perfect using this set up. This will be good enough to get the engine mounted and transport the vehicle when I move.

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Finally, the motor is going in! Engine has been set in the correct location to build the mounts.

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The ideal is to get the engine as low in the frame as possible to keep things from being tipsy and keep a low center of gravity. You also want the engine angle to match the rear axle pinion angle as closely as possible within reason. You don't want the engine output shaft to be directly in line with the pinion on the rear axle, but rather 3 to 4 degrees off. This allows the u-joint to make a full rotation rather than just wearing in one spot. If you don't change the cross member under the bell housing and you are using a 14 bolt rear axle, it won't be possible to center the output shaft and rear axle and the correct angle will be self evident. Notice that the engine is sloped front to rear in the frame for better drive shaft angle.

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Here are the mounts and how I made them. I am using the stock dodge mounts off the engine and will build around them.

I cut out matching pieces of 3/16" steel for each side and shaped them accordingly.

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I went ahead and drilled in the correct location based on how my engine was sitting in the frame. I also beveled the edges on both sides of my hole.

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Here they are getting tacked in place. Notice that the ears on the mount are slightly higher and lower respectively to match the angle of the engine. There was a 1/4" slope over the distance of the mount (4").

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Motors back out to finish welding, bolting, and gusseting these in place.

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Installed the new dodge motor mount to replace my worn out one and installed polyurethane inserts. Interestingly, the polyurethane inserts fit perfectly on the side with the new mount, but required heavy modification to fit the other side.

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It's late, everything is back in the shop and I will continue tomorrow.

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Now if my corn would hurry up and start growing!

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Back to work. Started out by using the factory holes as a guide to drill through the mounts. I will be using bolts, but I also will be welding the mounts to the frame a little bit. I don't want to lay a fat bead all around the mounts because all that heat may weaken the frame in that area. So, I will go with bolts and a little bit of welding here and there where it counts.

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I cut out the plates that will connect to the mounts and bolt to the frame.

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Welded up the mount ears solid.

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Plates are drilled and ready to weld.

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Passenger side needs to be cleaned up, but is basically done. I added the gussets on the top that connect to the frame to keep the mount ears from wandering. Also, i cut the corners out of the plate on the bottom of the mount so water and debris can escape.

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I went ahead and installed my new oil pan tonight. I like to take my time and make sure I get a perfect seal on oil pans.

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I slowly torqued the bolts down in several steps, ending with my torque wrench at 18 ft lbs.

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I started working on the boxed section of the frame where the 1979 F250/350 4x4 power steering box will mount. I started out by drilling out 1" by 1/4" wall tubing to the correct bolt diameter (slightly over 9/16) using a friends lathe. The lathe worked awesome.

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Then I used the lathe to bevel the edges in preparation for welding.

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Then I drilled out the plate that I already formed to the frame in the correct locations for the steering box bolts to fit the tubing I just drilled and beveled. One side of the tubing will be welded to the plate and and the other side to the frame. This should make the boxed portion of the frame where the steering box connects extra strong which is important when you are running big tires.

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Nice work your doing gotta love them lathes and mills I just used square box tubing and a 5" piece of c channel to make my 79 power steering box bolt up to the frame your right must have them gussets in there with big tires even with small tires I'd still use gussets to keep the frame from sandwiching together around the bolts. Any idea on a completion date yet?

Completion date? Never? My hope is to have the motor installed and the steering done. And the cab on the frame by mid next month.

I still need to do the following when that is done:

Clutch
Trans mount
5 gear nut fix
Advanced adapters adapter to NP205
1410 yoke on NP205
Mount NP205
Drive lines
Rear springs
Rebuild front axle with locker and 488 gears
Electrical
Fuel tank
Radiator & inter cooler
Body & Paint
Steering column
Interior
On board air
:-X22

Awesome write up--I literally spent three hours at work tonight reading the entire thread and looking at the pictures. Pretty excited (and it looks like the rest of the forum is too) to see the rest of the build. :-X06

This is my first 4x4 build, so I am learning as I go. Luckily, I have a good friend who is a 4x4 and mechanical specialist who answers my questions and points me in the right direction. Hopefully my write up can be beneficial to others and they don't have to make the mistakes I do and can improve on what I am doing. I know a write up like this would have helped me a bunch just to give ideas and information :-X22.

On to the progress :-X04. Finished up mounting the plate for the '79 Ford power steering box. BE CERTAIN TO TACK THE BOLT ALIGNMENT TUBING IN PLACE WITH THE POWER STEERING BOX INSTALLED AND BOLTED. Do whatever it takes to get a good tack on the tubing so everything will line up later. I didn't do this and I ended up being a little off. No harm done, just extra headaches to get everything to line up.

I went ahead and drilled holes through the other side of the frame with the bolt alignment tubing acting as my guide. Then I welded the old stock holes up and ground them smooth.

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Then I welded the bolt alignment tubing to the boxing plate and ground the welds smooth.

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I went ahead and filled the gap on the cross member with a piece of scrap steel and welded everything up.

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And there you have it! I didn't mount the box yet because I am out of paint, but I will have it on there shortly and finish up the steering in a week or so.

The good news is, that I installed the motor tonight and everything lined up nicely. I finished late and it was too dark to get good pictures, but I will take better ones tomorrow. For now here is a teaser :-X18

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Pretty soon this thing is going to start looking like a truck again :-X06

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There is nothing that says I am proud to be an American louder than seeing some Detroit steel come together. Happy 4th :-X03

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Plenty of clearance around the firewall and the trans will be sitting in a nice spot :-X06

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And I even got it to fit into the garage :-X24

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Not gonna lie, I am excited to see this come together. Gonna be so freakin sweet!

Jesus said, "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?" I didn't follow His advice, so I have to figure this out one piece at a time. Some day this beast will be done, but that day is not tomorrow.

I did get the bushings made for the polyurethane cab mounts today though. I couldn't find a aftermarket hardware kit for these, so I had to make my own with the lathe. You can by hardware and mounts as a complete kit through LMC, but since I already had the polyurethane ones - this was my best option.

I started with 1/4" wall 1" DOM tubing cut to the appropriate length. Then I used the lathe to shave away the appropriate material and bored out the hole for the bolt to the appropriate size. I went with a 1/2" bolt hole for the radiator mount and 9/16 for the cab mounts.

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It's amazing how everything is fitting together so nicely. The exhaust down pipe from the donor Dodge dropped in like it was made for it.

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Here is a sneak peek at the ride hight of my truck with the custom lift. If I had to do it over again, I would use the 4" Superduty springs instead of the 6" to make it a little lower to the ground. Oh, well - BIG trucks are fun too.

You will have to add 4" to the over all lift and imagine 8" taller tires.

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After sizing up the bed and making sure everything lined up as expected. I took the bed back off and welded up the cross members on the rear half of the frame. I went ahead and left a 28" X 28" space in the rear for the gas tank. One thing to remember before welding your cross members permanently in place is to make sure your frame rails are equal hight of the ground, and that the frame measurements match when you measure in a "X" pattern over the length of the frame. Everything has to be lined up perfect. I had to place the jack on the passenger rear side mount and press up a half inch to get it in the right spot since the springs are for mock up purposes only and will be replaced with the correct ones soon.

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great pics....awesome project

Power steering box & pitman arm installed :-X06

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I used a Chevy tie rod end instead of a heim joint to save a inch or so on spring travel clearances. I had to take the pitman arm to a machine shop and have the hole tapered for the chevy tie rod. I ordered the tie rod and weld bung from parts mike.

Great work! I'm surprised there was that much fabricating to install that 79 steering box. I read either on this forum or the Fordification site that it was pretty much a bolt in.

The 1979 Bronco and F150 steering boxes are different from the F250 & F350 4x4 truck boxes, but I still don't think they are close to being a bolt up deal.

Obviously, my steering box is a '79 F250 4x4 box and and has 4 bolts instead of 3 and requires a bit of frame modification to mount.

What is your steering box off of? It's the Fordification site that says: "the 1978-1979 F250 4wd box that had 4 mounting holes and are becoming very hard to find and expensive). On a side note, if you can find / afford the ’78-’79 4wd sector definitely go this route with the conversion, as it is almost a direct bolt on to the Highboy." Which is what I've got.

I am using the same box as quoted (1978-79 4x4 F250/350). Obviously this is not a bolt on since a 1970 highboy uses 3 mounting holes instead of 4 found on the '79 box. The bolt holes don't come close to lining up either when you try and mount it. Maybe they are talking about later modeled highboys? 1973-77? As you can see, it is not "almost a direct bolt up" on 67-72 trucks.

When I pulled this steering box there was two to choose from at the local pick and pull, so they are not so supper rare either. Or maybe I just got lucky :D

Well regardless I sure appreciate you blazing the trail! It'll make it a lot easier on those who follow...

I just discovered that these 5th gen trucks were built in brazil until 1992 !
does anyone know how to get a hold of one ?

They build old school VW busses in Brazil also, but the emissions are not up to par for the US market. They are virtually impossible to import as far as I know. The best way to get ahold of one is to move to Brazil.

i read somewhere that once an import vehicle is 25 years old, it doesnt need to meet US emissions and safety standards, so you could possibly get a mid/late 80s bumpside. if what i read is true that is lol

Time to set CASTER. Caster is that thing that most people don't think about when messing with their front suspension. Caster essentially is the angle at which the front axle sits forward to allow for stability. The easiest way to describe this is to think about a motorcycle. If a motorcycles forks to the wheels were strait up and down, you wouldn't be able to ride the bike over 20 MPH without getting a death wobble and wrecking. If you stick the forks out too far, then your turning radius becomes impossible. You want to find the right angle for stability and turning radius.

Here is how to set caster on your high boy with custom suspension:

Find a flat spot on the axle that is parallel to the axle at "0" degrees (strait up and down). This spot for me on the 79 Ford Dana 60 is the cover with the zerk fitting on top in the center of my high steer arms. I took the cover off and used a file to ensure the surface was perfectly flat. after filing, I would check on a flat surface to see if I was perfectly parallel at 0 degrees with a digital level. Remember that there are very few surfaces that are truly 0 degrees flat, so you will have to check the angel of your surface and match that with your cover surface that you filed.

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Next I reinstalled the covers back on the axle and checked my angle with the digital level. Remember that you need to be on a relatively flat surface to check the angle. I took a piece of flat steel and laid it on the ground, then placed my level on it. It was dead on. Also, you need to make sure your truck is sitting at your expected ride hight both front and rear. Check the angle on the flat part of the frame. Mine was nearly dead on.

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My ideal caster angle is 7 degrees. Things were really close but needed some adjustment, so I broke the tacks on the custom front cross member and and shifted it accordingly to get closer to my ideal caster angle. I ended up setting it at around 7.2 degrees.

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Once everything was set and I checked and rechecked the angel about 10 times, I welded the front cross member in place.

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Next I welded the factory cross member braces in place.

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Notice that my cross member ended up back slightly from the factory position. This leads me to believe that doing a Super Duty spring swap in the factory cross member location will lead to a excessive caster angle. Many have done this swap with acceptable results in the factory location, but it seems that the turning radius would be decreased. Of course the rear shackle length would affect this also, but if I had to guess - I would say that a Super Duty spring swap with the factory front cross member location would lead to about a 10 +/- degree caster angle.

Well, the time has come to close another chapter. I loaded up and left Castle Valley, UT to move to Ogden, UT. I had been pushing hard to get things done on the truck because I knew this was coming. The truck is safe and sound in it's new home. I am going to try and get as many things done on the truck as possible, but time and resources will be low as always. My new responsibilities Pastoring in Ogden and Logan will keep my focus elsewhere for some time. The big push is over to get the truck rolling and moved.

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I also was busy doing a motor swap on my wife's Honda Accord. Her parents bought the car new off the lot back in '92 and she has fond memories of riding to school with her brother who died in a motorcycle accident, so I revived it again with 326,000 miles. The swap to a JDM H22A was complete in just about a month. 130 HP to 200 HP makes the little grocery getter a little more fun get around.

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New house, New son, New responsibilities at work = not a lot of time. But don't fear, I will keep moving forward on this project and get it done.

Great work, looking forward to more updates!

What he said.

Thanks Redneck. I need to motivation to get moving on this project again. A new house and job have consumed my attentions for now, but I will see this project to completion hopefully sooner than later. Next step is to re-gasket the Cummins and take care of the Killer Dowel Pin. Hopefully I will be working on that soon.

Pastor
 

Project looks good so far. I've been in the same boat lately. I had a 4bt project to finish (done- now a DD 03 F150 Supercrew). My wife has taken over my 4b project as her van (03 honda) dropped the tranny for the 3rd time in 170K. All else is good, i just can's see fixing it again. Anyway, I did know you are a pastor. I am as well. I've been pastorig for 12 years. Just over 5 years where i am now and i hope to be here much longer. Keep working at the project. I'm going to try to get my 69 CC F350 over to my place from my dads pretty soon.

So any updates?

It is time to resurrect this build thread from the dead. My wife got a job, so I actually have a little bit of money to work on this thing again. I hope to have the majority of this thing done by the end of summer 2015 :-yeahrigh

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Removing the fan proved to be more complicated than I thought. I ended up buying a cheap chain wrench from harbor freight. It was a little short, so I had to put a allan wrench through the last unused chain length to reach. I wrapped it around the pulley to keep things from spinning and :-X22. Note: fan nut is reverse thread.

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Now time for that Killer Dowel Pin...

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Nothing fancy, I just fabricated a retainer out of some thin sheet metal. This should work perfectly.

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A little paint for the cover before re-installation. Then I installed a new front crankshaft seal. I used the crankshaft pull bolts against the installation tool that came with the seal to center and guide the new seal in place. A slight tap of the hammer after everything was under tention, and it popped right in. I finished tapping the seal into place with a rubber hammer and the installation tool.

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Gapped the crank sensor to .050

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And there you have it! KDP, front crank seal done.

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Good to see you back in project mode.... lookin good.

Awesome, awesome,awesome! Love this thing and great fab and welding. Diesels rule!

Next step: rear main seal & clutch. I used some flywheel bolts with oversized washers to evenly start the rear main seal. Once it was started, it tapped into place easily.

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I took the flywheel to the local machine shop for resurfacing, then installed the new pilot bearing.

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I installed the newly machined flywheel and torqued the bolts to 101 ft lbs.

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Finally, I installed the new clutch. I torqued the pressure plate bolts to 21 ft lbs.

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I wanted a nice Valair clutch, but $900 bucks was a bit pricy for a project whose budget is already out of control. I decided to go with a Luk Pro Gold Performance. At $250, it was a little bit more budget conscience. I figure since a clutch is a consumable item, I can always replace it with a $900 clutch later on down the road. I think the Luk will perform for my application just fine.

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I somehow lost my clutch release arm that goes in the bell housing when I moved last year. I spent all day looking for it, but it is no where to be found. $65 from the dealer. Money, I did't want to have to spend :-banghead

Good to see you back in the build.... great photos... and some clever tricks you used there...

Feliz Navidad amigo

Baja