Yeah Wayne can be almost impossible to get a hold of at times. His hired man that's there during normal business hours is a pretty good body man, and cheap, too. When he lived in California he had a few 56 ford trucks that he hot rodded back in the day. If you asked him, he's pretty knowledgeable and could probably help you out. How's it going with that locked up motor?

 

I managed to get it up on the road and do the pop the clutch thing. MMo everywhere out of the plug holes though. ready to put it in the shop and try the fixed cab on for size soon.
Work is starting to pick up again so I won't have time for about 3 weeks. Wayne has a pole truck out there with 20 inch rims and tires I'd like to get from him after I get the other cab on. Might even see about the rear end too if he's reasonable for a bundle thing.
Glad to see you back on the board. I got a city council meeting tonight so gotta roll.

 

So it's been a while since I posted, (again) so I figured I could give a little mini update. We fixed up a few grease seals that were making a mess, got the speedometer working, and some other small projects. Last week was garbage week for Fargo/Moorhead, and some friends found a couch they really wanted, so I offered to drive my truck out to campus and we drove all around north Fargo looking at the treasures left on the curb, and we found a good couch, three recliners (two actual La-z-boy brand) a nice, albeit dirty, grill, and all sorts of smaller items.



Seeing this old truck on campus has been a pretty big hit, I've caught multiple people sneaking pics in the parking lot of the dorm and at gas stations.




My friend really wanted to tape this sign onto the truck for when we were rippin around campus, so I let him. Bison pride is pretty much a religion around here, for those who don't pay much attention to college football.

 

Long time no post!

So I've been driving around some lately and I'm really regretting to say that I might want to switch to a more modern drivetrain at some point. The 223, which runs great and I love, is just a bit sluggish for what I'm looking for and need in something I drive around town as often as I want to. I think I've decided on the motor I want (SBF), and I would like a manual transmission with overdrive that wouldn't be super hard/expensive to mate to it. I've been thinking and discussing with my dad, and I think I have it narrowed down to 3 choices, but I'm open to suggestions, of course!

ZF5: I like this because it's a heavy duty transmission, and would more than handle anything I would throw at it, this is the one I'm leaning toward, as there is one behind a 2WD diesel at the junkyard I believe.

I don't like that this will probably be more difficult to accomplish and will probably have more fitment issues.

T5: I like this one because there's a lot of info on people that have done them, and should be the most available to find parts/transmissions that will work, and i believe will come up pretty close to the stock shifter location.

I don't like that they're a lighter duty transmission (are these the ones behind the 4 cylinder S10s?)

NV4500: Honestly, I don't know much here, just a recommendation that dad had, and said he would be able to find easily. He likes these transmissions, but I have a feeling this is the hardest option for fitment and installation.

Anyways, let me know what you think or if you've got other recommendations!

 

I personally don't see any problem with swapping in a more modern drivetrain. You'll get more power & torque and finding replacement or aftermarket parts will be a whole lot easier and cheaper. The 302/5.0L is a good choice for a driver. But if you are going to do the swap I'd go with the 351W. It will make a lot more torque stock and has more power potential if you want to do upgrades. But it really depends on what you want.

If you want a 5.0L the best/cheapest option would be Explorer's with 5.0L's. I believe they were in the 96-2000 or 2001 range. The are roller cam engines with decent heads. The down side is they will need some conversion parts if you want to run a carb.


The best stock 351W's are 94 or 95-96 trucks and vans ( the best is the first gen. Lightning but you'll never find one of them ) .The 95-96 5.8L's are the roller cam equipped. But again you'll need a bunch of parts to convert to a carb if that's what you want.

On either of them if you want to run the stock EFI system your best bet is to buy a complete driveable donor vehicle.


The transmission really depends on what you are going to use the truck for. If it's just a driver with occasional light hauling then a lighter duty transmission will work. Or if you are going to be doing heavy hauling and towing then you'll want a HD truck transmission.

The ZF is a decent transmission but it has it's own issue's like the bellhousing is built into the case and is none removable. So that diesel ZF won't work on a SBF( different bellhousings ) . So if you want a ZF you'll need one off a 5.8L or a 300 inline 6. The down side to the smallblock version is they have a hydraulic internal slave cylinder, no clutch fork. So you'll need to convert the truck to a hydraulic clutch master. And the transmission is much larger then a car or the stock 54 transmission.

The T5 isn't as strong but it's a lot easier to deal with and install. But if you go with a T5 get the world class version out of a V8 fox chassis Mustang. You might need to swap the tailshaft/shifter parts from a S10 version if the shifter on the Mustang one is too far back.


I feel the best option for a manual transmission in a fun driver is a Tremec TKO 5spd or the T56 6 speed. But these are going to be one of the most expensive options. And may require special bellhousings or adapters depending on which one you go with.

For my trucks I like the NP435 grany low 4spd's. They are dirt cheap, simple and tough. But they don't have OD and the gear ratio spreads aren't the greatest. but if there is ever a problem I can find a replacement for $50-$100. Or I can completely rebuild one for $300. But if I could afford them I'd be running the Tremec TKO.

I like to stick with the Ford parts so I can't help you on the NV's.

 

I too would suggest a 351W anda ZF5 from behind a 351 so you know they will work. You should be able to leave the clutch the same and mount a remote slave. I am keeping the under floor pedals and will have a slave cylinder mounted under my floor.

The 90's 351 computers are very simple with minimal sensors.