I'm relatively new to FTE, and this is my first post on the "big" board, so bear with me!

I purchase a 1978 F-150 in August. It has a new heavily modded 460/C6 with shift kit and rebuilt NP205. It runs on pump gas, but barely. It also has rebuilt front and rear axles Dana44/Ford9" with 3.5 gears (posi). You can see by the pictures that it's also has a fresh paint job.

I lurked on these boards for several months doing research before joining and have put together what I think is a comprehensive list of future upgrades. Knowing that many of these are preference vs. neccessity, I'm interested in feedback about my list. Specifically, any advice to save money, pitfalls, anything glaringly missing, suggested priorities, etc. Thanks to everyone for your interest and advice! This truck will be my daily driver, but needs to be off-road/survival capable for hunting in remote locations in Montana. List below in no particular order of precedence with my estimated total costs per. Thanks for everyone's input!

Truck To do List:

Exterior: (~2k)
Bed Liner (Under lip and inside toolbox)
Diamond plate bed rail/tailgate caps
Diamond plate toolbox
Tinted windows
Sliding rear window w/ chrome trim
Wheel well trim
Headlight bezels and grill
Tailgate and taillight trim
Paint ford letters on tailgate
Ford letters on hood
Paint underside of hood
Add chrome tow hooks front and rear

Electrical: (~2k)
Dual Battery with remote (Hellroaring)
Dakot digital Instrument Cluster
Stereo with speakers, amp and Sub box behind seat
Electric door locks
Electric Windows

Interior: (~$1500)
Paint
Touch up dash bezel
Headliner: abs style with speakers
Seat (seat covers initially)
Sound and heat insulation
Carpet

Mechanical: (~5k)
Brake upgrade - F350 booster and mastercylinder or electric pump, slotted Rotors, upgraded calipers
Gear Vendors overdrive
Steering column rebuild
Power Steering filter and cooler
Telescoping Steering shaft
Floor shifter upgrade
Block Heater

Suspension: (~$500)
Dual Shocks front and rear
Traction Bars
Dual steering stabilizer

 

Here's my $0.02:

• Upgrade to a 3g alternator. You'll need the extra juice for the dual battery, lights, and audio system.
• Auxiliary lights.. front, back, and side.
• Dakota digital gauges are nice but are pricey. Go Autometer for better value
• Gear vendors? Save your money.... how about a NP203/205 doubler?
• Auxiliary fuel tank
• A bed-mounted spare tire
• Tools: Hi-lift jack, Powertank, recovery straps, shovel, and a tire repair kit

My priorities would be reliability (engine, fuel, ignition, exhaust); suspension, brakes, and steering; functionality (your hunting trips); and then last it's a toss up between interior comfort, convenience & appearance. BUT, stopping rust anytime is a good thing. You might want to group things together to avoid having to dissassemble what was just assembled.

Single shocks are fine. Spring rates have more to do with ride quality than shocks.

Wrecking yards are a great source for parts. Don't limit your search to Dents or Bumps. It's amazing what can be adapted and modified... better yet if you can weld.

 

Thanks for the $.02! I priced autometer gauges and they didn't seem to be much less than the $500 dakota digital setup, especially if I went with some sort of premade bezel. Now I'm going to do some more research though. This is a top priority for me since I currently have no gauges functioning and no power to the dash at all! I think I have a 3g alternator already (I hope!). Unfortunately I'm in Afghanistan for a few more days, so I haven't been able to climb all over the truck yet myself. I'm going to read more about the 205/203 doubler. Mainly looking for a little better highway performance. Some of my hunting spots are a long drive! Thanks again for your input! I'll post upgrade pics as I do them.

 

I remember now what a doubler does...gearing in the opposite direction from what I need most often at this point. My truck is geared low enough for now. Mostly logging roads, etc. Nothing truly hard core. Highway performance is more important really. Montana is a big place! I might add it as a nice to have though...doubler and an overdrive unit? That'd be like 12 gearing options!

 

I hope you have deep pockets & alot of time, sounds good though................

 

HA! That's what my wife said. I told her I have the rest of my life...

 

Just take me with, and if either one of our trucks get in trouble...the other truck can be our backup.

Problem solved and much cheaper.

 

As a general rule, whenever I 'made a budget list' like you did.

TAKE LISTED COST, MULTIPLY BY TWO, AND YOU'LL BE CLOSE TO ACTUAL COST.

Enjoy.

 

This is a very good list Pete. As Silver mentioned the main priorities are going to be the reliability of the mechanical and electrical systems. I think with the fresh paint the truck looks nice on the exterior for the time being so you could move those items to the bottom of your list.

When I tackle a project like this I will generally knock out some the the smaller items and in the case of your project items like a block heater and sound/heat insulation are easy to do and relatively cheap compared with larger items like the abs headliner and GV Overdrive unit.

With it being your DD and hunting rig, I would focus on those items in the electrical and mechanical portion of the list that are going to help with the drivability and move the luxury items (power locks and windows, etc.) down to the bottom with the 'pretty up' items.

Best of luck, keep us posted on the project, and most importanly THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE! Without your sacrifices none of us would be able to have the freedom to enjoy these trucks.

 

Good advice I won't forget. Just don't tell my wife. Thanks!

 

Thanks Corey. I've got about 2k up front to get started, so I'm going to do the steering so I don't kill myself or someone else, a bedliner so I can use it the way I want to, and the burnt-out dash so I can make sure I'm not breaking it. We'll see if I can afford to do the brakes after that. They're adequate for now, but probably still next on the list! Oh, and definately a block heater asap.

 

My issue with the Dakota gauges is that it's electronic. I'd rather have a system made up of smaller systems that is easier to troubleshoot and replace. In the end, a better value in my mind especially down the road.

Doubler: Ah, okay. But a GVO behind a transfer case makes it really long.
How about an E4OD in place of the C6?

 

Yeah, I looked into the E40D. Might be an option some day. The C6 is brand new right now, so we'll see how it goes. Your point is well taken on the gauges. I made a big step away from the Dakota Digital set towards a set of autometer gauges today. We'll see where it leads me.

 

Well, sometimes compromises need to be made. A 460 isn't exactly known for MPG. I think what could be the most cost effective "swap" for MPG is to install a different set of wheels and tires for the trip to the hunting grounds. At $4 a gallon and 10 MPG, it's 40 cents a mile. Any, marginal improvement over the long run can pay ya back.

OH, some cheap horsepower (and efficiency) is to go with an open element air cleaner and filter... a 14x3 K&N is ideal.. it's amazing how restrictive the factory air cleaners can be. I replaced the oil bath cleaner on my 2 bbl '70 bumpside and I could feel an immediate difference.

 

I've done some research on different tire options, but even with the power I have I'm affraid I don't have much room to play with with my 3.5 gearing. I've heard that while upsizing lowers RPM at speed, that doesn't neccesarily result in lower mpg. I'm inexperienced in this area though adn open to input.

I have an open air cleaner. The engine has every mod in the book to sap every last bit of power...aircleaner, cam, stroked, ported, polished, racing headers, pully kit, electric fan, msd ignition, etc. etc.