Hey andreweh, welcome to the forum!

 

double post

 

Thanks Ben. That helps me alot in deciding the direction of my truck. For now, I would be happy to go highway speeds with my truck. I may think about a 9 inch rear, or just re-gear the rear end I have (if that is easy).

 

302 intro'd Spring 1968 in Passenger Cars (1969 in Bronco's, F100's & Econolines). 289 cancelled af the end of the 1968 model run.

221: 1962/63 / 260: 1962/64 & 1965 Mustangs assembled before 8/23/1964 / 289: 1963/68 / 302 = 1968/96 / 351W = 1969/96.

 

Well now the more and more I read from you guys the more and more I think I'm way over my head. The truck is in pretty good shape so I thought this would be a challenge but not this over my head. I'm going to need to do way more research into this before I spend any money. I still think the 302 setup right, is the way to go for what I'm going to be using it for(daily driver back and forth to work) I'm planning on a ten thousand dollar budget not worrying about paint or bodywork and a thousand on the interior. So that leaves nine for everything else am I dreaming or can it be done??

Thanks so much for every comment it helps way more then you think!!

 

Hey Andrew,
I hope I didn't discourage you. Why don't you tell us
a bit more about your truck. What's in it? Engine, Trans, Rear end,etc.
What would you like to change? If it's running & in decent shape you should be able to personalize it & shape it up to be what you want.

My list starting out was:
1) Get the smelly gas tank out of the cab.
2) Fix/Upgrade the brakes so I can drive in my 1M pop. town.
3) Change gearing so I can drive with the traffic on the highway.
4) Fix the "death wobble" in my suspension/steering.
5) Put in A/C & a radio.

I got carried away after that ....A common problem on here.

Ben in Austin

 

Lol, I mean the body/frame/axels/glass/box/grills/bumpers and so on are in good shape. There is no drivetrain in it so I really need that figured out. All I was saying was theres a lot more to think about then what I was thinking. All the little things add up vary fast!!

 

Ahhhh... nonsense. It all sounds like a bit much, but thse kinda projects are not an overnight sucess. Those clowns on TV make it look easy, but they've done a ton of them and at best I'd like to see any of these week-long built cars and inspect it with a fine tooth comb.
Anyhow, like Ben suggests, make a list of what you'd like to do. You have the right idea, sit down and explore options for each thing you want to do the truck. Take the engine for example, call up some local machine shops and talk to them. If any are worth their weight, they'll take the time to figure out what you need and try to work with you. Alot of these guys have access to cores for a good price too. Do that for all your items on the truck. This build will take a while, but don't rush it.

Also, ask away on the forums here. Investigate our trucks and compare things about them that you may or may not like. With your budget, i think it is VERY doable. I'll be into the ballpark of $5000 getting my truck onto the road, less paint, and not a fancy interior. (not including the cost of the truck) I did go a little above and beyond on a few things, but that's the way i wanted to do it. i certainly could have saved more. I shopped around and was able to save here and there which also made up for the mistakes i made too! You'll be fine, just be sure and do your research, and just be realistic, don't get too carried away.

 

Why don't you just find a good running used motor for the time being, that will get it moving, then work on your dream motor over time..just a thought.

 

Hey Andrew,
Drivetrain thoughts... Hmmm...
Some items aren't too spendy -

o I bought a 2001 Ford Explorer 8.8 axle that came with disc brakes & highway friendly 3.73 gearing for $125 at a salvage yard. I had help but the rear end is not that horrible to do - one six pack job on a weekend with a friend to help keep you company. (That solves the rear end & gives you nice brakes - You can also do the same thing with a 9 inch rear end from a Ford F150).

o Driveshaft - Getting them shortened up & balanced is pretty reasonable as well - $150 or so.

o Transmission - I went with an AOD automatic - I spent a bundle working this one out but in talking to the shop guys - they rebuild them on the side for $400. If you pick one up at the salvage place - you can find an old timer trans guy to rebuild it reasonably. I think a 5 speed manual can be had reasonably as well.

o Engines - A nice pretty new one with some mods can be spendy as you saw up above. A 302 is a good choice - look around & see if you can't find a deal on one locally. A 289 is about the same as a 302 in size as well & here in Texas they are practically giving those away. (The small block from those other Detroit guys are probably the cheapest engine solution out there if you aren't too stuck on Ford only parts - No stones please).

Keep working on your plan - You are getting there. Sorry If I discouraged you - my fault.

Ben in Austin

 

How about a engine trans out of a 95 - 98 Mark VIII LSC?
4.6 L DOHC, 32 valve, aluminum block, 290HP, 4speed automatic, good gas mileage.
Sweet looking engine.
Heck you can buy the whole car for $2-3K

 

What do you think of this idea??

Ford : F-100 Ford : F-100 - eBay (item 290668451000 end time Feb-13-12 06:26:57 PST)

 

Hey Andrew,
The guy has obviously done a lot of work to the rolling chassis.
It's kind of weird that he'd sell the chassis & keep the body? Why would that make sense to him?

There's one pic on there with a close up of the headers & there is a little round thing coming up from the power steering rack. You need to be able to envision how you are going to get your steering column hooked up to that. I can see some challenges there.

It's a unique offering - I wonder what his minimum acceptable bid is?

Ben in Austin

 

Yeah that'd be a tight squeeze for the steering shaft. Another option would be to pitch those headers and run either stock mainifolds or a different set of headers, maybe a shorty header or something.

Says listing was ended by the seller. Wonder what happened? Seems odd to me too that he'd sell a complete chassis with eng/trans and keep just the body. Especially since all the work had already been done to that chassis. If it was a stocker frame and running gear, i could understand that.