so, a friend found a '56 in boise for me, but it has no engine or transmission.

what i would like to know is how much would it cost to put in say an I6 300 or a 352 FE V8 and a 4 speed manual to match it? how hard is this to fit it to the truck? what needs to be done? I don't have much expertise in that but i do have a couple friends around town who could help me out.

 

Welcome to our side of FTE, and congrats on your 'new' truck. Like anything, cost will depend greatly on how much you do yourself and how much you have to pay others to do for you. There's lots of room for either engine and there's kits to help make it happen if you don't have the experience to fab your own stuff.

 

I haven't bought it yet, I wanted to know (ballpark) how much it was going to run me. last thing i need is to jump headfirst into a several thousand dollar project i can't afford. (just to get it driving that is). it will be that much in the end as i customize it, but slow and steady wins the race, not sure what that race is though...

 

The devil is always in the details. The little things will add up. One way might be to find a running vehicle and swap the engine/trans over. Might be a good place to hone your fabrication skills, and you would have the advantage of hearing the engine run (hopefully) and having all those small parts that can add the cost up of swapping in an engine. It might take a while to find a good deal on a donor car/truck, but it might be your best bet. So to answer your question on cost, you could check out what suitable donor vehicles are going for, add the price of the 56 f100, a very optimistic minimum of $2000.00 in "other costs" (make driveshaft, rebuild brakes, new hoses, reupholster the seat, etc) plus any out source labor costs you might have. This is assuming you do 90% of the work your self, or barter for labor.
Best of luck

B

 

yeah, only time i will use outside help that i pay for is when neither of my friends have the tools or expertise to do so. basic policy between us is so long as you pay the materials, its all good so.. nick owes me anyhow for the last time he used my idealarc haha...

what i know in terms of cost: the truck is $500, shipping cost is $600, a donor vehicle would probably cost 500-1000, but after i get the parts i need i can scrap it and recoup some, depends on the weight...

only thing i will need done by outside help that i pay for to be done is painting and new tires.

 

Painting - $3k+, even for a very basic job with minor bodywork
Brakes? convert to dual master cylinder, new lines, new hoses, new pads/shoes - $400+
New driveshaft to match new engine - $200
Radiator? what shape is it in? Is it even there? $300+

I think you're kidding yourself if you think it can be done for pocket change, it's never as simple as it looks at first glance.

 

Welcome to the best forum ever. Lots of help here. I'll second Oldb's assessment and estimate. Fixing all the rust, a DYI paint job, and new door and window seals has run me about that much. My engine and tranny only cost $100 but rebuilding them the way I want will be $2 - 3000. My radiator is ok but it will need to be replaced with a new one some day.

 

i figured it would take about $5,000 to start, but i wanted a little more accurate figure.

 

I'd say you're on the right track. This is not a cheap hobby.

 

Wait, there are still cheap hobbies!?!?

 

Hey Dustin,
First off I love your F250 - beautiful truck. I think bringing an old truck back to life is a great group project for a bunch of young guys. You like welding - couldn't be a more fun project than working over the sheet metal on an F100. The hardest part of this project is the body work, cab, bed, fenders, running boards, et al. Stick some running
engine/trans in it & invest in some good brakes. I don't think you'll break the bank if you keep expectations low & your buddies help you out.

The expensive stuff is:
- Paint - Leave it with a nice patina look or go with Tractor Paint.
- Front Suspension - Resist the urge to tear it apart. There is nothing cheap about the front end.
- Engine/Trans - Get a nice 302 or 289 with a C4 transmission.
- Wheels/tires - Just stay used.

Good luck over there.

Ben in Austin
1950 F1

 

Thanks, only bad part about her is the fuel mileage.

Ive been looking into building an old truck up for a while now, no way can i afford to do so all at once, its a long term project. Only requirement is that its older than my uncles 1966 f100 that he is working on restoring haha.

 

Just to give you a ballpark - I started my 50 two years ago when I bought it in pieces. I went through basically everything. I did everything myself except machine work and three brake line flares. I also did the body and paint myself, which is the first time I had done either. Disc conversion, toyota ps conversion, etc. So far, the 289 and C4 are holding up fine.

All said and done, I have around 6K into it, including the $450 purchase price. I figured I was around 3K into it,but when I added up my purchase sheet, it came to a little over 6. All of those $20-40 parts add up quick.

I once read that take your estimates and multiply the cost x3 and the time x4. Good guidelines.

The only thing I will add in about your thought on a 4 speed is that trying to make clutch linkages work from scratch can be a real challenge.

Keep us posted on your decisions.

Good luck,
Dave

 

Hey Dustin,
My 21 year old son drives our '50 F1 all over the place. He has access to a 4 door car if he chooses but you know he always picks the truck. It's a chick magnet - I've never heard him complain about the gas mileage.
It get's surprisingly decent mileage on the highway.

Good luck over there - go with Dmack's #'s advice above.

Ben in Austin
1950 F1 (351W/AOD)

 

The '93 get 7mpg if im lucky. If im holding at 65 or so in 5th gear it might jump to 8 or 9.