Thanks! The 74 was the only truck dad ever bought new, and the 2nd truck he owned in my lifetime. I was 9 when he brought it home. I *almost* got it when I turned 16, but he decided to keep it, just no one expected him to keep it another 30 years........ He did build a GT390 spec engine, and beefed up the C6, but the truck has seen well over 500K total miles. 200K of those, it ran on LP. Wish that system was still around..... It came off when the hotter 390 went it.

The 80 F150 I bought in 97. Very little has changed on it since then. At least, not what anyone would notice.... I've certainly gotten my $1500 worth out of it.
I plan to swap the 300 & C6 in it, for a 5.9L Cummins and NV4500 5 speed. The I6 and C6 have been very reliable, but having seen over 100K miles since I bought the truck, the engine is starting to get tired. Perfect "excuse" to upgrade to an even stouter engine/trans combo. I expect to see well over 25 MPG after the swap, so that makes it even more appealing.

 

What conclusions did we come to in a earlier thread we had on this? I have forgotten. I think in that thread I brought up the use of easy-off oven cleaner to get the anodize off the aluminum, and then polishing it. I know the aluminum trim on my 64ss has this anodize, it's a coating to protect the aluminum, but after many years it gives it the smokey white look. But once you take the anodize off, you can polish it up to look like chrome, but you have to keep after it since it's now raw aluminum. The oven cleaner idea is what the chevy guys use.

I know that thread had many replies and many different ideas,, I don't know if we came up with a good way to do this.

 

I would not hesitate 5 seconds to use parts off the later truck and put them on the earlier one you want to keep.

About the rearend; You really only need the heavier rearend if you are going to be hauling something heavy with this truck. If you are going to fix this thing all up and just cruise with it, the original rearend will be fine. But if you like the idea of the heavier rearend, go ahead and put it in BUT, double check the gear ratios. You never know what you are going to end up with. Check the axle code on the door jamb of both trucks, and then post it up, we can figure out what ratio the rearends have, and what your intended use is. If the original semi-float rearend is a 3.08 or 3.55, and the heavier duty is a 4.10, you might not want to swap the rearend in. The 4.10 rearend will make the engine have very high rpms on the interstate. Just be sure of what's going to happen and your intended use before you do something major like that.

 

Good point about checking the axle ratios. If they are the same, or the full floater has higher gears, there is justification for the swap. But, if the current axle has higher gearing, and the truck isn't going to see a lot of heavy hauling, then it would be the better option.

 

I'll photograph both door jam stickers and post them.

 

Subscribed

 

(popcorn) waiting for pics of the door sticker.

 

 

 

well here it is...can't read anything...

 

she looks better already!!

 

Can anyone tell me what this white box is?

 

where would would guys buy suspension parts and what brand? I'm thinking new shocks and springs and new Ball joints and tie rod ends... and so it begins... "I might as well do XXX while I've got it apart..."

 

That's an ignition module. They are color coded around the area where the wires go in. So just any box wont work.

I cant see crap from the door sticker.

 

Yea there is nothing to see on the sticker... I can just make out what info is supposed to be there but anything for this truck is long since faded away... is there any other way to get that info? VIN maybe