I've been going to start a build thread for some time now. I finally have coughed up the $$ to become a paying member so now I can post pics in a thread. My plans for this build is to drop in a 4bt Cummins and a ZF 5 speed. I think it is going to be a sweet combination when it is done. I have researched some of the diesel swap forums and have come to the conclusion that if I dont get at least 22 MPG out of it when I'm done something is definitely wrong. My intentions are to get the swap done with a minimum of downtime since this is my daily driver. I will be purchasing and prepping as much as I possibly can prior to pulling out the current 351M and NP 435 trans. I am hoping to have it all gathered up and ready to go by the time the snow melts and it warms up enough that I can get around for the summer on my Harleys. The truck currently has 3.55 gears in a 9" and D44 combo, NP 435 trans., NP 205 married transfer, 351M and running 235/75R15's. I plan on keeping the D44 and 9" with the 3.55 gears, the NP 205 and will probably upgrade to 31x10.50 tires when the ones on it are worn out. I bought it from the old man who bought it new. That makes me the 2nd owner. It had 175,000 well maintained miles on it. It has been repainted once but is the original color. It had some rust issues in it, the cab floors were beginning to rot out and so was the bed. I have already had the rust issues repaired and painted back up. Here is the truck basically as I bought it.............

 

I guess my first post wasn't entirely correct. The truck had the wheels pictured on my donor truck (which sacrificed its bed to repair the orange one) on it when I bought it. .............




I currently have the ones shown on the donor on the orange one for the winter, I dont want the salt and corrosion to screw up my turbine wheels!!!!!!!!!!!

Like I said in my previous post, the truck had some rust issues. I didnt get any pics of the floor pans before they were repaired but here is the bed............





I actually poked the hole in the left wheelwell with my thumb when I was looking at the truck before I bought it. I told the old man I bought it from that I had done it and he said (with a big grin on his face) " Well I guess that settles it...........You've got to buy itnow" ..................LOL..........I had already made up my mind I was going to buy the truck but hadn't told him that yet. I actually used the rust issues to hammer him down from $3500 to $3000. I bought the truck and drove it home 3 hours with no real issues (except for almost hitting a deer 20 miles from home)
On the drive home I decided to nickname the truck "Pebbles" since she is such a cute little carrot top. I already have a 78 Chev 1 ton I use for firewood and farm chores named Barney and a Ford tractor I call Fred so the choice was kinda obvious............and Pebbles kinda fits right in with the rest of my Flintstone Fleet of vehicles........Gotta go to work now so will post more later............got a lot of things to catch up on in this thread.

 

I’ve seen a lot of rust but not there in the wheel well. What part of the world did this truck come from?

 

Yeah was the first time Id seen it like that too............Truck came out of SLC, UT.........they salt the s**t out of the roads down there since Morton salt company is right there on the salt lake.......I bet its pretty cheap!!!!!! I don't get it why they rusted out there in the wheel well. The wheel arches on the outside of the bed were good......Thats where they usually start rusting. I have wondered if the old boy ran a lot of gravel roads and kept the underside of the wheel tubs pretty well shined up so when winter rolled around the salt started eating at them..........just a theory
Surprisingly, the rest of the truck is nowhere near that bad. I had a good shortbed sitting here at home when I bought the truck so wasnt too concerned with the bed. Had to put new floor pans in it and the cab supports were still in great shape.......No new reinforcements under the cab floor either. The cab corners were just starting to go so had them re-done too..........Should be good to go for a while now.

 

Have You found Yourself a 4bt?

 

I could be wrong but i dont think salt is gonna bother unpolished wheels.

 

My passenger side was rusted in the rear of the quarter panel like that too.

Josh

 

sweet, cant wait to see it get under way. it hink you will do better then 22mpg, prolly closer to 30

 

I really like your swap. Here is a nice easy to use gear calculator to help you find that sweet spot to maximize your mileage. Keep us updated on your progress.
Gear Ratio Calculator

 

I thought I had a complete cupcake van located near where I live. I was going to go look at it this weekend but the guy emailed me today and is sh**ing backwards on me now and says he doesn't want to sell it. So, I guess I'm still looking. I have another one located but need to call the guy back and get some more info. It's only about 3 hours away so not that big of deal. This one is just the motor, I was hoping to find a complete van..........

 

That's a great looking original truck. Good luck with your swap. I want to do either this or a 300 L6 swap in my 77 F150 4x4. I'll be interested to see how yours turns out. Keep us posted.

 

I like that rear contour bumper too. You may or may not know how hard the brackets for those things are to find. I searched for over a year before I found some so that I could replace my ugly old step bumper.

 

You can get the bumper brackets new from LMC now.
Kind of takes a little out of having one.
4bt's don't show up here often. But I'll see how Your's goes then see how bad I want this LOL

 

A little of topic but are you sure LMC sells brackets for a contour/sport bumper on a 1979 f100. Been looking long time for these. Thanks, Dtodd

 

Well They list them for the 64-72 trucks that use the same rear bumper. Now someone will have to tell Me why the bracket won’t work on the newer truck?
I thought they were the same.
Thinking is what normally gets Me in trouble
I just happen to have both trucks side by side in the shop. I get home I'll look.