Agreed. At this point it's almost a necessity. My F-150 of similar specs, but an auto, while decent around town I've noticed it lacking in some areas. Obviously the 300 isn't a speed demon but I feel like it's acceleration could use some help for modern day driving habits and maybe it's the auto not kicking down right but it's top speed on some hills is atrocious (65 mph/100 kph tops). The turbo would definitely help in both of those situations.
I've lucked out in some regards as a co-worker is buying a Dyno Dynamics dyno so now I no longer have to worry about strictly road tuning an aftermarket ecu.

 

A little side tracking today. Tested all the EATC components and the SD wheel together. Got a bad sunload sensor so we'll have to go pull a few more at the wreckers another day.
First hooked up and seeing that actuator moving


Used a bulb to act like the blower motor
High

Low


And changed to Canadian

 

I'm about to start a rebuild on my 89 F250 as well. Awesome pictures and great build! Can't wait to see more. Any advice on keeping I6 or swapping for a Diesel?

 

Awesome build man! What all did you grab to have the compass/temperature rear view mirror work in your truck?

 

You need to grab the rear view mirror with the mirror mount that's glued to the windshield, the compass is built into the mirror so you just need some length of wiring and the temperature sensor in front of the rad.

You can find these mirrors in mostly chevys and Nissan's vehicles.

 

Thanks, my advice would be pretty bias just because I have no use for a diesel. If I were to do this without having the sentimental attachment to the engine my grandfather had in this truck I would probably go with a V8 for ease of building power. A 408 stroker to be exact. If you have a use for the diesel then go for the swap but bare in mind that it's not an easy swap as the whole power train will require changing.

Thanks, and exactly as ifrythings said above

 

Thanks, and exactly as ifrythings said above[/QUOTE]

Thanks! I just wasn't sure if there wasn't a separate module or controller for the temp or compass, I know most are built into the mirror (minus the temp sensor of course) just wanted to check!

 

So it's time I update this thread with some progress.

Cleaned up, painted and installed the van power steering bracket and a new Saginaw pump. Just have to figure out all the lines now since I have the Hydroboost and Saginaw.




I buttoned up the fuel system earlier with a new Motorcraft fuel filter and the correct lines from it to the engine. The 351W lines did not reach and I had to go get ones from a 300 equipped truck. (351 on left vs 300 on right)




Also threw on the rear sway bar while I was back there.



Managed to find an unused plastic tank for the rear, of course after I already installed the metal one. So out came the metal one and in went the plastic.



On the long weekend I picked up what will become my new body donor swap for $500. '96 F-150 300/5 speed. It's mostly rust free (or what passes for rust free up north) and will speed up the body work and paint process.


This past week my brother and I started loosely setting stuff up for the engine break in.


That's what I'm up to at this point; finding or ordering all the things that I've lost over the years and various moves and get it fired up before winter. Going to start planning a gantry crane build to make swapping the body from the grey truck to my grandpa's easier.

 

Engine looks good! Nice to see a fresh 300 that isn't covered in 12 quarts of oil.

 

Thanks, looking forward to seeing how the rebuilt engine does. I haven't drove one that wasn't over 250000+ km.

I also ordered up the exhaust flange so I can start planning out the manifold build.

 

Found a squirrel's been using the jute on the carpet I had set aside in my shed that was to be used on my build as nesting material
Figured I'd take it and the Super Duty seats out of the shed and put them into the truck to hopefully be safer. Between roughly placing the dash in for engine break in purposes and putting the seats in it's almost looking good

 

Ran into an issue getting everything ready for the engine break in.
My Saginaw pump doesn't have 2 return lines for both the steering box return and the Hydro Boost return.
Found a few write ups that say not to tee both lines to a single return or it doesn't work very nice and you get poor breaking, which defeats the purpose of the Hydro Boost in the first place. Thankful I found a solution on this site (yay for knowing how to use the search function!).
Found a post from Numberdummy that lead me on the right path to look into the '70s era Ford cars. Some of them came with Saginaw and Hydro Boost and the pumps have 2 returns to start with. Bolts into the same van bracket but it's physically bigger reservoir but fits. Shaft size is the same.
Now I realize I could have just drilled a hole into the reservoir and soldered a fitting in for a 2nd return but I wanted something that looked "originalish" and I like how the top return line went up and to the side. It'll be perfect for the line from the steering box to the cooler in front of the rad and into the pump.

 

Another parts update. Got my exhaust flanges in for the manifold build. When the shop renos gets a little more settled I'll stick one of the spare engines in the corner on the engine stand and start fabricating. Just figuring out the turbo flange and then it's all pipe work.

 

Well engine break in is imminent and it's about time
Got the Saginaw/Hydro combo all fitted up and roughly plumbed in. Planning on running a trans cooler inline for cooling purposes which will happen after the body swap.

Topped up the fluids while my brother ran some temporary ground wires. Also swapped out the distributor for the '94 version and had to change the throttle cable bracket out as the new cable I got was for a newer engine as well.

Unfortunately while filling the coolant we had our first leak. The thermostat housing was leaking and of course it was easy to see why after pulling it off. Luckily I have 2 spare engines to rob parts from now

 

Time for another update.
Engine is broken in but not without issue. Ran it up around 2000 rpm for 15-20 mins and then noticed some coolant flying around from the fan. I haven't located the leak yet but I have a suspicious it might be the water pump. Perhaps a seal dried up in the 4 years since building? Maybe it was faulty from the get go? Who knows. I build a home made pressure tester set up to hopefully find where exactly it's leaking from.


Between life, the weather and having to work on the daily driver though progress is still slow. I did manage to get another parts truck with some good pieces I'll be using in this build.