Hello guys as the title states I'm planning on building a BBF F150.
The purpose
What is the purpose of this build? Well, I always liked the idea of a old truck with a big block pumping out serious HP and torque yet being nimble, light weight, and with accessories. What do I mean with accessories? I want it with A/C, heating, comfortable seating, a nice stereo system, cruise control, and etc. I also want to be able to roast tires, beat local ricers , and use it as a "truck".

Moreover, I am a mechanical engineer in the making. I'm currently working towards my B.S. What better way of learning engineering than working on one humanities greatest inventions? Which are vehicles.

The project
The base
I'm planning on building a f150 with a stroked 460 engine. I'll be starting with 1993 F150 XL ext Cab with 4.9l e4od 2wd. The truck currently has around 184,000 miles on it but the dash was obviously changed. I bought it for $1200.
The engine and transmission
The original engine is a severely abused 4.9l i6. If ya check out my previous post you'll know why I say "severely" abused. The original transmission is an abused e4od. Why abused? Because the trans was very low on fluid when I got it. Also the PO pulled at least 7k lbs with it because he managed to bend a very Heavy duty bumper, and he later told me he use to tow diesel trucks with it .

I intend to drop a stroked 460 (possibly to 545ci) with a C6 and 4.10 axle. This post is getting long so i'll end it here. Gave me your opinions and thoughts. Thanks

 

Here is the truck when I bought it.

 

Over the months I have replaced/fixed the following:

• Almost complete front-end rebuild
• All new ball-joints all around
• New tires (old ones where at least 10years old)
• new crankshaft/bearings
• Radius arm bushings
• New black lug nuts
• Better headlights
• Repainted front grill glossy black
• Repainted front bumper glossy black
• New intermediate steering shaft (Borgeson 000981)
• - oil pump
• - water pump
• -thermostat
• -coolant hoses
• -heater core
• - heater core lines
• Radiator deep clean

I'm sure I'm missing something. But that is as much as I can remember right now.

Here are some pics of it as of right now. Get ready for the picture overload.


Here is some of the ball joints I replaced.




Taking the old worn bushing.




Here goes the new one on.




Had to use some heavy duty straps to pull the arm back in.




There she is with the recently painted grill and bumper.




Damn son.

 

The dash.




Right after replacing the headlights.




other angle

 

Looking good man, I'm looking for aftermarket lights myself. Trying to get factory looking led headlights and led tail lights. Haven't found anything that works yet though. Keep up the good work

 

***edit, nvm my stupid question***
What are you going to do about the front hubs?
A 10.25 rear is going to be eight lug and uses wider leaf springs than your 150 does.

Maybe you intend to run mismatched wheels and carry two spares, idk?

 

Did I miss something about the 10.25 rear? 4.10s= 8 lug sterling?

Vulcan are you planning on using EFI or carbureted induction?

Depending on your power goals, you're going to want to focus some attention on the durability of the rear axle. 8.8s are fairly robust, but I would at least be looking at a good locker/ limited slip, probably better axles, and a girdle if you are going to stick with the 8.8. One down side of the 8.8 (doesn't really have to do with durability, more longevity) is the fact that the outer axle "wheel" bearings use the axle as the inner race. Not the only reason to consider a 9", but the 9" offers limitless upgrades, and affordable off the shelf disk brake kits which would help with your sport truck theme.

If the 545 makes even close to 1 hp/ in^3, you'll want to look into some sticky tires and definitely a set of traction bars from Calvert Racing.

The C6 can be built to handle just about anything, but if you are planning on cruising the truck and you're going to have 4.10s in it, you may look into OD options/ retaining an E4OD. I am not that familiar with those transmissions, so someone else would have to chime in on the practicality (from a performance standpoint) of using one. I do know the one you have is a small block bell pattern and wouldn't work behind the 460.

 

My bad.
I thought I saw "Sterling axle" in that first post.

You will definitely need to do something to control hop/wrap and strengthen a stock 8.8 behind a 385 stroker.

They can be built, but not like a 9" imo

 

With the rear axle keep in mind that your VSS is on the axle. If you ditch the EFI (not the best plan in my book) you'll only need to work out the speedo. But you might want to stick with stock '90s Ford axles to simplify it.

Can you get a 10.25" semi-float drilled for 5 on 5.5"?

 

You will need to replace the front springs with heavy duty ones, I bet. They're made to handle the smaller engines. The weight of the new engine could make it handle horribly.
4.10 gears are great, but I agree that an overdrive transmission is almost a must.
The big block you're planning will likely get 6-8 mpg in the city.... Maybe 10-12 on the highway with an overdrive tranny.
I like the painted grill, bumper & new lights! Good job so far!

 

Wow thanks for all the tips guys. Right now I'm trying to upgrade the suspension system so that it can accept the added weight. As of this moment I need to upgrade/replace the suspension coils and dampeners. The shock absorbers are completely shot. They are literally disintegrating. When I drive it, it feels as if i'm riding on a boat that's on top of marshmallows.

I was thinking about probably adding coils from a f250 or f350 that has the twin I beam suspension.

 

250s and 350s have leafs up front, might need to just order some heavier rated coils. I'm excited to see this progress! It looks good so far! I have the 460 in my 87 and it's got power. I imagine you'd be spinning the tires everywhere in a lighter truck! :thumbsup:

 

Stock carbureted cruise control relies on a sensor in the speedo cable and vacuum to drive the servo.

This underhood add-on may prove a challenge with a built 385.

I'm interested to see what you come up with.

 

He's talking about coils from a 2WD F-250 or F-350 (twin I beam is the 2WD front end, twin traction beam is the 4WD). Only the 4WDs have leaf springs.

 

Oh gotcha, my bad