I have been toying with the idea of a specialized plow truck.What I really need is a 6' box regular cab truck.I also wanted the 300 six and a 5 speed so that I could do more of my own repairs with more room in the engine compartment.I was thinking of a pre 97 F150 so I could have locking hubs.But I was hoping that I could swap in bigger solid front axle to do away with the independent.Most of the plowing would be to push drifts at the end of driveways since I do alot of snowblowing.I just wanted the smallest length possible.Also I could replace a clutch but not able to repair an auto tranny.Is there much of a difference in frame size between a 150 and 250 ? Thanks for any info...

 

There isn't much difference between the frames, but you're setting yourself up for some problems. The M5OD transmission is puny, and I don't foresee a long service life in a plow truck. Next issue I see is the 8.8/D44 combo. Again, on the puny side and not much service life in a plow truck. Final issue is that the 300 is going to be a very gear dependent plow motor. You're probably going to want 4.10s to be happy plowing.

My suggestion would be to find an F250 parts truck with a small block pattern ZF5, 4.10's & 4x4. Scavenge the axles & the transmission/transfer case and bolt the whole setup under the F150. Thing about this plan is you're going to create a whole lot of extra work, especially when you consider that your "parts" truck would make a great plow truck as it sits. Yeah, its probably going to have an extra 2ft of bed, but realistically, that's not going to make much difference in the turning or backing radius of these trucks.

 

You would be much better off with an F250 automatic with the inline 6.
-No swapping axles and parts
-A manual plow truck you will ruin the clutch from over use, you want an auto
-Much better suspension for a plow with a 3/4 ton truck

 

I am plowing now with an F250 V8 auto.But most of my work is snowblowing in a townhouse development and I would only need to push out big drifts at the end of the drives.Right now with the extended cab I cannot make the swing into the driveways.I know the only way to go is with an auto,but was trying to come up with the smallest package I could and still transport 2 snowblowers.A Jeep would be ideal because thats what I started with 20 yrs ago but no way to transport the blowers.

 

Reg cab longbed? Thats what my F250 is.

 

+1 on the F250 reg cab longbed auto. Mines a 95 with the 351. I plow with one commercially and have had good luck with it. It does all the Ford stuff sometimes (steering column bearings, wheel arch rust, broken transfer case link, etc) but it gets the job done very well. You really want an auto for plowing because you can get in the middle of a long push and have to upshift to keep forward momentum, the truck will buck sometimes and then you'll have to start over or hone on it to keep the pile moving. It's very hard on clutches, but the big thing is if you ride the truck 15 or 20 hours straight in a snowstorm (Which is typical, not a once in a while thing) your left leg and lower back WILL feel rough by the end of a plow shift. Years of it will show in your aches and pains. I feel ya on the 300 inline, I kind of wish I had that engine as well. I'm pretty partial to inlines. I may actually swap mine over to the 300 when the 5.8 goes because I have one in the garage