hey all i'm new to the forum and also new to the 300 six of ford. i know it's darn near indestructable. right now i'm looking at buying an 84 f150 with the 300 and a borg warner T18 four speed. i was wondering if anybody could tell me some things to look for that could possible problem areas before i buy it and also if this is a good combination for towing. i'm in the army and would like to use the truck to tow uhaul trailers from duty station to duty station. it would also be my daily driver.

also if i buy this truck i would like to improve the breathing of the truck with upgraded intake and exhaust and also put some 33's on the truck for a little better stance and occasional playing in the mud holes. if i go with the 33's what other improvements should i invest in to make it a better all around truck for work and play?

thanks in advance and looking forward to any help you can provide to me.

 

Welcome. I am a new guy here as well.

My first Ford was an 84 with a 300/6. She went 237,000 miles with me and the USMC.

Mine started as a 2wd and came with the POS 4spd OD. That later got upgraded to a T18. I'm not sure if 84's came with a T18. They aren't hard to swap out though. I did mine in a barracks parking lot in Camp Pendleton in a couple hours.

On a 28 year old truck, I say check the body, especially the cowl (how plugged with leaves & stuff). I'd also check the bottom of the B pillers - theres a pocket inside that can get stuff in it and if it gets wet can cause body cancer.

Gears will be something to look at as well if your gonna go to 33's and want to tow with it.

Unless it has been restored your gonna have to do some work. How long are you going to be at your current duty station? You'll want to have enough time to go through the truck to make it road trip ready before you get your next set of orders.

The next thing to check is the emissions - have they been tampered with, removed, etc. You might be somewhere that doesn't have a smog check now, but you might end up somewhere that will require it. (and even if you keep your home of record plates, some bases require you to comply with local smog laws) We all know the basics of mechanics or can easily get some help - but the smog stuff from that era can be another story.

Good luck in your search and let us know what you get.

PS - Thank you for your service!

 

Hey 84f150guy12, welcome to FTE.
We've got a lot of really good guys here, who have an incredible amount of knowledge about these old trucks. ctubutis, franklin2, Gary Lewis, and 85Lebaront2 are a few that come immediately to mind, but there are many others. My truck had the 300 and my father-in-law always said it was gutless, but it did pull his boat to the Chesapeake bay and back many times. It has the ford 8.8 with 3.55 out back and the SROD transmission. Increasing the tire size may require regearing the back end to make it suitable for towing. Others can tell you more for sure. You can add headers and aftermarket intakes that will let you add a bigger carb to increase performance, and there are aftermarket cams, as well, but with the 300, you can't get very wild or it won't behave well. Tell us more about your project, and we'll certainly be glad to help.

Where are you stationed? The public profile said "co" so I assume Colorado and that would be Fort Carson? I retired from the Army Reserve this last December with nearly 17 years active duty. Started my military career when Nixon was president. Needless to say, things have changed a bit, and to be honest, It's a young mans game. I understand the sacrifices one makes being in the Army, and for your service, I thank you.

 

The T-18 gearbox has a very deep non-syncronized first gear.
You should have no problems getting moving with 33" tires.

 

hey all thx for the info. i should have plenty of time to work on the truck cause it looks to be in really good working order. it was a daily driver for the person i'm buying it off of. everything i'm planning on doin to it is more personalizing and improving.

thx old red truck about the emissions i didn't even think about that to be honest. where i come from back home there aren't any emissions and there aren't any here in colorado springs.

i've seen the recommendation before of upgrading to 3.55 gears just for a better running truck. here's the next question i have in regards to gearing. if i regear the rearend i would also have to regear the frontend also correct?

if i throw a set of 33's under the truck will it necessitate lifting the truck to create clearance between the tires and body?

86fordtruck i'm stationed at ft carson. i've only been here about 9 months so i've got plenty of time to go through the truck more thoroughly before i start pulling things with it. My end goal with the truck if i buy it is a daily driver that will pull a uhaul trailer and on the weekends go trail riding and playing in the mud a little bit. pretty much a good all aroudn wheeling truck.

thx guys for the info so far. if you can think of anything that would be helpful feel free to shoot me a message and let me know. again thanks for the info.

 

You will love that combo. Bulletproof trans and powerplant that makes power right where you want it too, way down low.

 

Answers in red.

 

Nonsense.

The 300 will behave quite well when properly tuned.

You can build a 275 horsepower, 400+ torque monster that'll run better than a stock 460 and still get 16/17 MPG if you keep your foot out of it.

Ford didn't fully realize the potential of the 300 until they discontinued it due to fitment problems (too long) in the 97 to 2003 body style F-series. Before they could get the cross-flow heads fully tested and mass produced, the motor was discontinued.

Go to the FordSix forums and look under the 240-300 big block six section and start reading up what is possible with a 300.

The Frenchtown Flyer is running a 300 with 3 500 CFM 2bbl Holley carburetors on one of the prototype cross-flow heads and is getting over 500 horsepower, if I remember right. Naturally aspirated.

X

To the OP, your truck the way it is now is a great daily driver, and a good towing machine up to what the truck was originally intended for. The 300 has been known to be heavily overloaded and still move the large loads without a problem. The T-18 transmission in the truck is also a great transmission. Don't expect to go fast unless you put some goodies into the motor. Stock, it is still a great, long-lasting motor that is good for 4x4, towing, and daily driving. The 300 was put into F600's way back in the late 60's, early 70's. The motor was also produced from 1965 to 1996 and there are plenty of parts available. So much so that almost any parts store has parts or can get them for you within 24 hours. Plus, it is readily serviceable, and has a track record for longevity through the roof. These 6's, in extreme cases, have been known to go 500+ THOUSAND miles with regular oil and filter changes. Most average cases are around 200 to 300 thousand mile lifetimes before a rebuild. IF taken care of.

I see your truck you're buying is a 1984. That was the first year that all American produced 300's were computer controlled carburetors. Prior to that, Californian models were computer controlled.

When you pop the hood, look up underneath and see if any of the emissions equipment or ignition components have been tampered with. If they have, you'd best prepare yourself to swap to the Duraspark II ignition, which is a non computer controlled carburetor. The swap information is everywhere here in the 1980 to 1986 forums, and is all completely plug and play. It's no problem, really. The only thing you might have trouble finding is a wiring harness for the DSII setup, which this can easily be found at a junkyard.

Your 1984 will more than likely have the hydraulic clutch setup, which is a plus. 1983 and older setups used a mechanical linkage that is known for wearing out at specific points. The 1984 solved this problem, but they had to put in a firewall reinforcing plate on the firewall of the cab so the cab wouldn't crack.

Welcome to FTE and thank you for your service.

 

thx guys for the info. i'm not looking for a lot of horsepower or torque just something to improve breathing and make the engine a little bit better. according to the owner of the truck it's already been converted to the DSII ingnition. like i said the primary use for this truck would be daily driver duties and hauling a uhaul trailer when we move to different duty stations (our 02 liberty with the v-6 just doesn't cut it lol) with weekend trail riding/light mudding fun thrown in. not sure on what rearend is in it just yet i'm going to look at the truck next weekend for the first time.

thx again guys. keep the info coming if there's anything new.

 

You'll want to make sure he converted it properly.

There should only be 1 wire going to the carburetor, for the electric choke if he's kept it electric. Other than that, no wires, as there should not be a feedback carburetor on the motor.

The distributor should have a vacuum advance.

The ignition module should be mounted on the drivers side inner fender on the top of the splash shield over the drivers side tire, under the hood, next to the washer fluid jug.

I don't really remember if the coils are different between DSII and feedback or not.

There shouldn't be any home-done wiring jobs done to the ignition system. If done right, it should all look factory with no chopped up wires (minus the disconnected emissions equipment).

 

Welcome aboard

 

thx for the info on the info on how the conversion should look 83f1503004x4. it'll be helpful when i go to look at the truck. thx for the welcome powerjoke4life. i'm really finding some good information from all of you guys on here in such a short about of time.