Howdy folks,

I'm back to yet another planning stage of what my ideal vision for my truck is. This time, I want to plan out exactly what I want to do, one section at a time.

My ultimate goal is to restore it, but finances and family are more important right now. The truck will basically be for fun on-road, I don't have any good spots around me for off-roading.

So on to what I'd like to do:

Current setup:

1971 302, with E7TE heads
NP435, mated NP208
8.8 rear

Ideal setup:

351W, stoked to 408, possibly get Thumper to work on the heads, or get aluminum ones
ZF5 4x4, keep my NP208 for simplicity, and to keep cost down
Keep my 8.8

Exhaust, brake lines, fuel lines, things of that nature will be replaced with stainless steel, and any regular steel will be removed of rust, and POR-15 applied.

Users on FTE in no particular order, have inspired me to be meticulous on my trucks restoration: Luke76, Gary Lewis, 1980 Ford F-250, Piston Honda, Ranger 350, and displacement4me.

 

That's a good goal, and one that can be done incrementally. But, you should figure out what your plans are for the heads before you start the engine build. That's because you can, and should, run more compression with aluminum heads than with iron. The aluminum steals heat from the combustion such that you need to run almost a full point more compression to achieve the same results. That requires different pistons or smaller combustion chambers, or both. So it is good to know the plan before starting.

As for the tranny, the ZF5 can be done later as well. However, the small-block ZF's use an integral hydraulic slave cylinder so you will have to run a hydro clutch linkage. Your '84 probably already is hydro, but even if it is it may not have the reinforcement plate on the firewall, which I highly recommend. These firewalls were not designed for the forces a hydro clutch brings and Ford learned that early on with major problems with cracked firewalls.

 

Don't forget the small block ZF is 1 inch longer that the NP435, = rear shaft 1 " shorter, front shaft 1" longer, (to be in spec)

 

Gary, for the heads, would you go aluminum, or keep the iron? I know there are pros and cons to each. Personally, I'm leaning towards keeping the heads I have, as it will save me some cash.

Now, the ZF5, I was planning on finding one to swap in before I decide to get a 351w. I've been researching the caveats of that swap. My truck is indeed a hydraulic setup, and have Terrapin Manufacturing in mind.

reamer, thanks for that information, I have not found that bit in my research. I would imagine that the drive shafts ought to come from an 88-96 F250/F350 single cab long bed to match the distances?

 

I have a small block ZF sitting on my bench now, (make sure it's for a smallblock).Try to get the tranny hump floor cover too, it is higher that the one for the NP. I plan on cutting/lengthening my original shafts

 

I found several small block ZFs near me. I wonder if I cant find a small block truck tranny cover, can I use a big block/diesel truck's cover?

By the way, how far into the swap are you?

 

The question on the heads depends on what you want to do with the truck. Iron is cheaper, but by the time you have them worked they won't be a bunch cheaper. So do the math and see if extra punch and MPG beats the extra cost. I did that and went with aluminum.

 

Get the cover from the ZF donor truck, Not sure about a BB cover on a SB tranny.
Swap will not be till next spring, I want to get mileage data with the NP 435 first and wait till it blows-up or leaks more. But since they are hard to find around here, I got this one from a running truck for $350.

 

IIRC, there is only one floor cover for the ZF, regardless of engine.

 

Well then, good to know!

 

For the engine, Im looking for something with more oomph, but not a high performance engine.

The transmissions I found are from Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market, so I dont know if the trucks are there as well. I have a favorite yard near me that I know the owner real well, and he loves Fords too, so he always gets them in. I should be able to get one of these(taken from Fordzilla80's build thread)



Is this what you were refering to Gary?

 

I think that's the one. However, it confuses me as it has a hole for only the t-case shift lever and not the transmission. So it can't be for a ZF5. However, it has the step-up. Anyway, you want one that steps up like that.

 

This one is Shaun's automatic inspection cover, thats why its a bit confusing.

 

Oh. Duh! You said that.

 

I was thinking about this the other day, even though I still want to get a ZF tranny cover, I dont have to get one right off, as I have a 3" body lift, right?