Well, I too have started working on a Supercab 4x4 truck. Thanks to excellent threads from Helipirate, Chase Truck, Hrdrkn, and others, I've gotten some excellent information regarding what I'm getting in to. I always hate to hijack other people's threads, so I'll post what I've been doing so far. As of now, the truck is stripped down to it's frame, it's been sandblasted, and this week I'm planning on chopping 16 inches out of it for a short bed. We'll see if that actually happens. I'm not sure if I can post pictures, but I'll give it a shot. More than anything, I hope this thread will be a good place to get some answers when I hit some snags, as I've already seen a wealth of information on other people's posts. Let the fun begin.

 

So, my lack of technological prowess notwithstanding, I'll eventually try to post some pictures. I never did take any pictures of the truck before I started working on it, but it was pretty thrashed. It had a double layer of floorboard carpet to cover up the huge holes that had rusted completely through the floor. I bought the truck on Craigslist in Indiana sight unseen for $400 as a non-running truck. It had a 351 engine, C6 transmission (which the previous owner said was blown up), an additional C6 in the back seat of the truck (the previous owner never got around to replacing the bad one), an NP 205, but most importantly, it had a good frame. I had already acquired a solid 1976 two wheel drive supercab, so at least I had a good body to work with. A few years back I had also managed to scrounge up the highly coveted 1979 kingpin Dana 60 front end out of an old F-350, which up to this point had been sitting in a chicken house on our farm, waiting anxiously to be put to use. I only had to promise my as-yet unborn child to the previous owner to get that axle. A small price to pay. Anyway, the frame has been stripped to a rolling chassis, it's been sandblasted, and this week it's heading to a fabrication shop that specializes in chassis work to have 16 inches sectioned out of it for a short bed. That's as far as I am right now, and since my wife and I are building a house while we're living with my parents, that's about as far as it's going to go for a while. I'll try to get some chassis paint on it soon, so as not to waste the effort of sandblasting it. Expect progress to be painfully slow, but I'll try to keep this thread updated.

 

I guess with any project, you have to define your goals in order to reach them. For this project, I plan to install a Cummins (I know, it's never been done) backed by an NV4500 and an NP205. The frame already has Dana 60 axles front and rear, and it will soon be the appropriate size for a short bed. Because I don't have the fabrication skills that others on this site do, and because this is my first foray into this territory, I'm having to rely on outside help for a lot of the big changes. I do have experience working on older trucks, but some of these modifications are beyond the scope of what I feel comfortable undertaking. You don't really want to go hacking on a frame and burning it back together unless you've got a pretty good set of welding skills. Fortunately, there is a shop just down the road that is honest, reliable, and most importantly, capable.

I had a buddy ask me not long ago why I didn't just go to a dealership and buy the truck I want. Aside from the astronomical price of today's trucks, I think most of the people on this site would agree with the adage of "They just don't build them like they used to." In addition to the pure aesthetics of these trucks, there is something to be said of seeing the product of your own hard work. With that in mind, I'm looking forward to the challenges this project will entail. After all, who doesn't like a good problem solving exercise?

 

I've been looking at different options for mounting the Cummins in the 1978 frame. A lot of guys have excellent descriptions of their work fabricating brackets and crossmembers, but as I've mentioned before, I don't have a background in metal work. I did find a couple of places that make mounts for putting these engines into older Ford trucks. I'm not totally clear on this site's policy of referring to outside vendors who are not sponsors, so I'll try to avoid stepping on any moderator's toes or getting myself in trouble by naming the vendors.

One company, out of Kalispell, MT, sells a set of bolt-in mounts for the older Ford frames. This leaves the issue of crossmember clearance, which I do have the ability to address. The other company, out of Great Falls, MT, sells complete replacement crossmembers. These are understandably a bit more expensive than the mounts alone, but they solve the issue of clearance with the Cummins motor.

Does anyone have any experience with either of these two options? If I had to guess, I'd say most people tackling a project like this are capable of fabricating their own mounts (like ChaseTruck or Hrdrkn). The mounts I've mentioned above seem like a viable option for those of us less comfortable with a welder, but I'd love to hear from anyone who has actually used these, or other, companies for this purpose. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give.

 

Go ahead and name the companies - you won't get in trouble.

I've seen the stuff from Ford-cummins & personally was NOT impressed. I can do MUUUUCH better for much less. Then again I guess they are stepping up their quality a bit more recently. Still though - I wouldn't fork out what they ask for their stuff for the quality you get in return.

 

That's exactly the kind of information I'm looking for - from people who are knowledgeable about either the product or the process involved in making these modifications. The other company I was referring to is Autoworld MT; from looking at their product line, they look like they manufacture some quality stuff. Their crossmember would also solve the clearance problem with the 4x4 crossmember. On the other hand, you definitely pay for it. Still, I've found that I rarely save money by going with the less expensive product if it's not made well. If the FordCummins motor mounts are way more expensive than they should be and are not very high quality units, I would be better off having a local shop fab something up, especially because there is a dedicated off-road and driveline shop right up the road that puts out some quality stuff. Thanks for the input. Now, if I can just figure out how to post pictures in the thread as opposed to the album, I'll be in good shape.

 

You can use Photobucket. I have found that it is the easiest. Here is a youtube video if you don't know how to use it.
How to upload pictures to the FTE Forums. - YouTube

 

Jon,

Thanks for the heads-up on that. I'm not the most savvy individual when it comes to computers.

 

Thanks to Jon, who is clearly more knowledgeable about computer-related matters than I am, I have cracked the code on posting pictures. Even rednecks from Georgia can be taught, given step-by-step instructions on YouTube. Much appreciation for the tutorial.

So now, I can share the astonishing amount of progress that I have made on this project in the past few years. My excuse for taking so long on this used to be that I was living in Africa, but that isn't the case anymore, so I need to get on my horse and do something. I didn't take any pictures before I started stripping it down, but I'm sure you can visualize what a rusted-out truck from Indiana looks like. You can see the doors, hood, and other various parts sitting in the background of this picture.



If there was any doubt as to what kind of shape this truck was in, take a look at these floorboards:



Sadly, this body was heading for the scrap yard long before I got hold of it. The bed was blue, so it clearly wasn't original, but it was so badly rusted that the replacement transmission that the previous owner bought to fix the blown-up one wasn't sitting in the bed, it was sitting in the back seat of the truck. I guess he just got tired of fooling with it and sold it for $400. As I had been looking for a 4x4 78-79 supercab for about two years, off and on, I couldn't pass this one up. Having a rust-free donor truck for the cab and bed made the decision a little easier. After scrapping the engine, both transmissions, the cab, and the bed, I actually made money on this truck. Scrap prices have gotten pretty good over the past couple of years.

 

From what I've seen Autoworld's stuff is nice. Have only seen a few pics though.

There are a few guys on here trying to get me to sell copies of my motor mounts. They are made for the "highboy" trucks though. Might fit 78/79 4wd as well but haven't tested that yet.

What year frame are you using on this thing?

 

I held out until I could find a 78 or 79 frame for a couple of reasons (the frame I'm using is a 1978 model). These trucks had power steering, rather than the problem-plagued power assist from the earlier 70's trucks. Also, the highboys had narrower rear frame rails than the 78/79 trucks, which had the same frame widths as earlier two wheel drive trucks. If I went the highboy route, I wouldn't have been able to bolt on the bed from the 1976 two wheel drive truck without some modifications. None of these issues are insurmountable, but to a relative novice like myself, I decided to make things as easy as I could for myself.

I've seen the amount of fab work that you've put into your trucks, and I don't have the skill set to do it myself or the money to have a shop do it for me. Perhaps a little experience and a few years down the road I'll dive into something that requires more fabrication skill than I have right now (I've got a 1968 F-100, the first vehicle I ever owned, that has me visualizing some projects). You've got to realize that for the past six years, every time I broke equipment, I handed it over to the maintainers who knew a lot more about making it fly than I ever will. My understanding of the 70's truck frames is that the highboys had identical under-cab sections to the 78/79 trucks, but I have no idea if mounts for the two frames would be interchangeable. I do appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions. I've read your thread from beginning to end; man, you should write a book on modifying these trucks (which is basically what you did with your thread). It's guys like you and some of the others (Hrdrkn, Behemoth, etc.) who are willing to take the time to catalog their efforts that make these things possible for guys like me.

 

Super Cab 4x4 will definitely be my next project. Glad I could help you with the pics. Glad that who ever made that video did because it is hard to explain it to some people. I just have that video bookmarked. I think for my truck I would do the 7.3 powerstroke. But Cummins are nice too.

 

I've had that same conversation with myself, and it took me a while to settle on the Cummins route. Back in 2001 I bought a new standard cab long bed Superduty with the 7.3 and a six speed manual. I love that truck and will probably be buried with it (or in it). A few months ago I bought a non-running 2002 Superduty from a junk yard and got it running again. The engine only has 106,000 miles on it; it was a wiring nightmare and the automatic transmission is shot. My original idea with buying the wrecked Superduty was to swap in a manual to replace the toasted automatic, replace a few body panels, and retire my original truck to life on the farm (the wrecked truck is a supercab XLT, much nicer for using around town than my regular cab XL). I got to thinking, though, that a Powerstroke might work very nicely in the 1978 truck (are you getting the picture that I have way too many trucks sitting around?). I've come to the conclusion that for simplicity's sake and for the power potential of the old Cummins engines, I'm going to go that route. Again, due to my inexperience with fabrication, I'm looking to go the route with the most aftermarket help. The Cummins swap into Fords has become like the small block Chevy swap for hot rod guys; there is a lot of support out there for guys like me. Perhaps later down the road I'll embark on something else a little different.

 

Ya I want the 7.3 with 6 speed. My buddy has one and I love it. Still have never driven the Cummins but I want to before I totally decide.

 

Also we had four classic vehicles and we live in housing community. Our lot is 100 x 70 ft.