Well here's my new project. It's a '79 F150 4x4 with a 300 I6 and a 4-speed granny. It's actually the most photogenic truck ever as it looks beautiful in the picture but is a mess otherwise. It has led a long life on the coast of florida and has a ton of rust problems; passenger floor pan hole, rear bottom cab hole, and the bed is rusted out on all 4 corners. It is the original engine and transmission, and it's never been rebuilt. All original (rubber and all) with the exception of a few things like the water pump and power steering pump. The engine runs pretty decent and the transmission is a champ for a 30 year old truck. It sat for a long time in a guy's side yard and I got it after the next guy fixed it up a bit.

Now that we've got the history out of the way, on to a few questions if anyone would be so kind. I've been looking around the forums but I haven't found any pertinent info so far. I'm a serious novice so forgive me if some of this seems a little trivial.

I've got a rust hole, maybe 3"x2" in the rear bottom of the cab behind the seat. Would it be reasonable to just cut it out and weld in some sheet metal?

Also I've been looking at the possibility of getting a 302 to replace the old I6 but I'm at a bit of a loss on how to do that. I've looked into rebuilt engines but of course you have to give them a core of an equal engine sooooo i'm out of luck there. Short of spending a ridiculous amount on a new crate (not willing to spend that much) what exactly are my options?

Wish me luck I've already failed miserably at putting new door seals in (the passenger door wouldn't close all the way). First things first all new rubber then I'll go from there.

 

First off let me say welcome to FTE! There are many people on this site that can answer just about any question you may have.

I would try to fix as much rust as possible because if there is a little bit of rust, in no time it will be a serious mess.

This all depends on what are you going to do with the truck later on. Off-Roading, Hauling A**, Daily Driver, or all of the above?

Might I add that looks like a very straight truck and congratulations on your purchase!

 

Welcome to FTE.

Weld in a patch? Sure. .. really easy. And if yer a novice, there's no better place to build your skills than a place where it won't show. Dig?

300 vs 302... I think ya should keep the 300... keep it simple and mobile while ya get the little things up to snuff.

The 300 is a torquey six banger. If ya wanna hop it up, then get some headers, an Offenhauser 4-bbl manifold, and a 4-bbl carb of your choice. To me, Edelbrocks tend to the least fussy than say a Holley. Sounds like you're on a budget so look into Summit's house brand 600 cfm carb. They bought the tooling for the 3310 carb from Holley, did a bit if tweaking, and rebranded it as their own.

Door seals.. opt for 3M weatherstrip adhesive. The trick is to thinly apply adhesive on both surfaces and then let it air out til it is only tacky to the touch...A little goes a long way... it is essentially rubber cement so treat it as such.

 

Weld the hole no problem as for the rubber the seal will be tight with new rubber the longer the door is closed or the more it is opened ond closed the better it will get as for the motor thi I6 is a very good motor and cheap to rebuild (it has torque to spare) good luck bro

 

Keep the 300. I have a 78 f150 custom 4x4 and when i first got it, i wanted a 302 bad. Just because it was a v8. But keep the I6. It has a ton more touque. I put an offy intake, edelbrock and headers on mine and it really work it up! It's a whole new machine

 

Thanks for the feedback all. Rust if definitely my first priority, though the truck was recently painted (previous owner) so short of stripping the whole thing some spots i'll just have to wait until it bubbles. Sounds like it might be a good idea to keep my 300 and just give it some love, i.e. headers, carburator, and intake manifold. I plan on using it as my daily driver once I get it to a state I'm happy with so the order of things is going rubber, rust, engine.

 

I'd keep the 300 for now, but I totally understand wanting to put a 302 in it. If I was in your position I would save my money until I had enough to put a built 302 in (or something bigger?) I'm not trying to knock the 300 (IMO one of the best engines Ford ever made), but there isn't anything like a V8 rumble! You have to prioritize. What needs fixing the worst? You have to figure that out, and make a little bit of a plan and go from there. The truck looks really straight, good luck!

 

Ok yea since it will just be a DD I would keep the 300 in there. My truck had a 300 in mine but I swapped it for a 400 because it is a semi-dd and my truck to go ridin on the ridge with.

To make that 300 a SOLID engine I would put this on:

Offenhauser Intake
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/OFY-6227C/?rtype=10

Headers
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HED-89300/?rtype=10

Carbutator
600CFM http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EDL-1406/
or
500CFM http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EDL-1403/
(both of these are Electric Choke, 600CFM Manual Choke is EDL-1404 and 500CFM Manual Choke is EDL-1405)