1977 Ford F-150 Mud Toy
 

I got a few questions. I recently aquired a 77 Ford F-150. Dann 44 Front Locker, and is to believed a NP205 Transfer. 351M Motor, newer headers, carb and cleaner. My questions is its a toploader 4SPD, besides shocks, struts and tires, what else can i do to her that will make her good in da mud. I just got a new Ford 9" 3.50 Ration Pumpkin rebuilt for her thats posi. Any suggestions? she has rancho shocks on her now. Any help is appreciated!

Welcome to the site;

Are you really gonna run a locker in the front, and a LS in the rear? Seems as though the locker would serve a better purpose in the rear of the vehicle, and might be less of a hassle when you hit the ruts with the wheels spinning at full speed.
That being said, 3.50 gears? What size tires are you running?
That 351M did not make a bunch of power new, matter if fact the factory Hp numbers were a little sad. Helping this thing out is going to make a much greater difference than worrying about shocks.
Get the drivetrain together, keep good tires under it, and make sure you can turn these tires.
You have a few more variables to consider. Being succsesfull in the mud is about having tires that can displace mud, an engine that can turn the tires with adequate wheel speed, and the proper gear selection to help keep the engine in its optimum power range.

Well, seeing as the truck was like this when i bought it, im not turning it into a full fledged mudder, just something to play in the trail with you know? The tires that are on her are BFgoodrich 35X12.50R 15LT's, like i said the 3.50 ratio. The trucks got adequate power, she has no prob on a trail in like rim deep mud which is fine, i just need to know like what to look for before really testing her. She has 120,000 miles on her. Did oil & Gas filter, new gas tank, rear axle seals and bearings, pumpkin carrier in rear 9", new 90W Lucas oil in rear, Oil change, filter, Cap, Rotor, wires and rotor, coolant flush and fill, headers and exhaust. Brake pads, Disk, Shoes and Calipers. New rear cylinders in rear. Should i do the fluid in the tranny and in the transfer case as well? Just dont want something failing on the trails you know.

Also, i may have miscoded the front Dana Axle. The front Axle is indeed a Dana 44 4X4 axle, but what i meant by locker is it has Front Manual Locking Hubs lol, im a moron for using the term locker. The case has 4L, N, 2HI, 4H.

Are you sure its got a toploader 4sp? I would check the oil in the tranny and t-case. You have a gear drive NP205 t-case. The only thing that kills them is running out of oil.

Welcome 77BlackBetty to FTE, you have the same truck I do, cept mine is a shortbed, and like 75F350 said, you gotta spin them meats in the mud if you want to go anywhere. I am completely happy with my 351Measly, but I am not going to be mudding it, just trails up here in the mtns and such. Not saying it wont work, but the 33's I have on mine are about as big as I would go with the 3.50 gears we have. If you are just normal trail muddin and playing around, I would get some nice meaty mud tires and have fun. I have the TRXUS Mud terrains and they are a great sloppy mud, rock all around good tire.
Welcome again to FTE
Joe

Sounds like you are off to the races man. You get the fluids changed, just because it is a good idea, and you are golden. Head out and run it. The truck will then let you know what it needs. Looks like the limiting factor will really be the 3.50 gears. 35 inch tires are tall, and that final drive ratio may get you around, but is not optimum. This may came as an upgrade later.
U also noticed that you mentioned struts, and your truck does not have struts, it has four shocks, and could actually have six shocks, but shocks only. You do have a nice rear axle, and a fairly nice front axle. This D44/9 inch combo is decent for mild use, and the 35 inch tires are right on the edge of pushing the limit threshold.
Again, traction is going to be key, learning off road driving techiques will get you further, and provide you with a ton more fun than spending money on the rig right now.
Drive it and learn its character and most important the limitations. Knowing these and developing some driving skills will be more fun than you will know what to do with.
Once you learn the limits, and find some weak points, you can then set some goals for upgrades.
Gears and tires are probably gonna be on top of the list for future mods.

Welcome to FTE from "across the waves" mate......sounds like a fun truck you've found already, find its and your limits then figure out if you still want to make any changes :)

welcome to FTE!

sounds like a helluva truck.

yes, you do have the NP205 transfer case if you have the shift pattern listed.

maybe you should post some pics of it so we can see what you got.

Thanks a lot for the help guys, it really appreciated. Just got back from the shop, tranny is refilled with lucas as is the transfer case. I lubed all u joints as well as the front steering components. Tomorrow morning im going to hit some light trails to see if i can find her groove. Ill be sure to take some pics and see what she can do

Perfect! I took her off road today and she was pretty darn good till we hit the really deep mucky mud. I kept her in 2wd up till that part. I rarely got out of 2nd gear which was nice too. One question again tho, i have had her parked in my garage bay for about 6hrs now and i noticed like one drop of coolant from the rear of the engine near the clutch area and where the flexplate meet, looked from the top of the engine and checked the freeze plugs, not leaking there. Perhaps the Intake Manifold. Trucks not moving, i have a daily driver. I know the shop manual says the intake has 2-4 coolant passages there. im suspecting it to be the culprit

One drop of coolant isn't anything to worry about imo. Especially not after a hard day in the mud, but if you're wanting to isolate the source look for the simple things first...do you have a coolant overflow bottle or does your rig just have the hose going down alongside the radiator?

no coolant overflow bottle, just that rinky dink hose. But the leak is near the rear of the engine, i seen a lil trickle of it on the plate inbetween the bell housing and the tranny. so my guess is its a intake manifold leak. Drained a bit of oil and nothing is leaking internally so i think that might be it.

Unless you see a big puddle, don't worry about it too much pete, you may Never find a Tiny leak :)

Yea, drove her again today, waiting to see if the puddle shows back up. Only time will tell