Looking for ideas to make a 78 f150 4x4 as safe as possible for my son who has fallen for this great body style truck and wants to drive this for his first truck. I know there well built but I want to make sure he is as safe as he can be when driving it? Been doing a little research and just haven't come up with a whole lot.

 

The easy stuff would be a collapsible steering shaft & a shoulder harness seat belt if it doesn't already have it. Rear disc brake conversion would help it stop sooner.

 

Make your son promise to never drink & drive, text & drive, talk on the phone & drive, pop pills & drive, smoke dope & drive, smoke cigarettes or cigars while driving, grope his girlfriend while driving.

If he ever does any of the above, or you suspect that he does, make the truck disappear & make him walk until he is out of your house.

The safest vehicle on the road is not going to help at all if the driver is drunk, high, or not paying attention.

 

Aside from the above:
Make sure the brake system is in great shape. Replace parts, lines and hoses. We don't care how fast it goes as long as it stops.
Make sure the steering system and suspension are ok. Including tires.

 

We're going to redo the suspension and the brakes all around. F350moneypit, Did you mean collapsible steering column? Also does anyone know if any of the seat belts are better than others? Scottscott, As far as the other. The truck will be mine if any of that goes on. Thanks for the advise.

 

LED lighting for brake and tail lights. It is imperative that others see you! I am working on making my cargo light into a high mount third brake light like the newer pickups.

Same goes for front turn signals, high quality LED lighting for maximum visibility. I also plan to add daytime running lights to mine.

I agree with others on top notch braking system and good suspension to keep the tires in contact with the road.

3 point safety belts... I think they all have to meet minimum safety specifications, just be sure the mounting points are solid and not damaged or rusted.

 

Truck has one shoulder harness already, but matter what you do to the truck, like seat belt upgrades (4pt ='s overkill ), it does no good if he does not wear them.

Steering/braking/handling upgrades no good if he is a normal 16 year old and a typical none experienced/trained driver.

Mode the truck all you want, but being a attentive defensive driver can maybe only help prevent a accident. Defensive driving school might help his confidence, but when a car cuts you off at highway speeds it is human nature to turn away FAST.

And normally cross into the other lane and smack the car next door and then loose control due to driving inexperience, speed, wet pavement, some big off road mud tread tires and some body roll.

78 F150 has absolutely NO airbags, crumple zones, ABS, rack and pinion new car steering handling characteristics. 4x4 handles different than 2wd, higher center of gravity.

Collapsible steering column, rear disk swap, front and rear sway bars, is about all you can do to the truck itself. Do not mean to rain on your parade, my dad always said "watch out for the other guy".

 

As many have said, make sure brakes, steering, wheels, tires and fuel system are in good shape.

Also drive it around to make sure all the bugs are out so it is reliable. After many years, the fuel systems on these trucks often need attention. Inspect the steel lines and replace rubber lines. If the tank has not been pulled and cleaned or replaced recently, now would be a good time to do it.

If dealing with snow and ice, or even rain, a few hundred pounds of sand bags will help balance it.

Mostly, have fun. My daughter loves driving my dent from time to time and does fine with it.

 

He needs to know that foolish acts have severe consequences. His safety and the safety of others around far outweigh his adrenaline rushes or responding to cellphone calls and texts.


I have lost loved ones and my uncle is in a wheel chair right now because of the foolishness of careless drivers, namely texting while driving.

 

I believe it's all been covered. Mostly by scottscott, common since is the way better part of it all. And your doing it right by making sure the suspension, steering, lights, and brake work like they should.
You really can't do much as far as the "Other Person" but I think you're doing everything right.

Unk Bob

 

Instruction goes a very long way. Teaching him by your experience will make up here he hasn't established any yet. You didn't list where youre from yet. But theres lots of things that the DMV/RMV handbook doesn't cover i.e. a large truck goes over the centerline on a slushy day and you have 30#s of slush hit your windshield, how do you react? same goes with large puddles, water falling from overhead bridges. With an old truck, what happens if the engine stalls when youre driving down a hill in a turn? how to stop in adverse conditions with no ABS. If its a stick, how to start up a steep hill.


I'm an Army pilot, no matter where I'm going, road/air I have the P.A.C.E. method:
Primary
Alternate
Contingency
Emergency
it came with experience, not just the other day the engine stalled out on my going down a steep hill, in a turn approaching a stop light. I didn't hit anybody and stopped safely. Not having power steering or brakes sucked, (I dropped the truck into gear and pop-started it)
The most dangerous thing with new drivers is their lack of experience and over confidence. an empty parking lot is a great place to practice what happens when the rear end skips out or brakes lock up, engine quits etc etc.


Lastly teach him how to fix the truck so when it breaks down you don't have to come to the rescue.

 

Great tips! Only thing I can add is high back seats if you want to get them. Will help if he gets hit from behind. My friend's dad installed a little box in the glove compartment of his truck. It had a BB that set into a half drilled hole in the middle of two slants. If my friend drove around too fast, it would roll out of the hole and not get back in. He would then have the truck taken away for 2 weeks as a punishment. He was always blaming us for ratting him out.

 

I did this 3rd brake/cargo light conversion on my '69 Ranger with a red/white switch back LED with an 1157 dual element base/socket.

 

I'll add a few more.
No dark limo window tint. Don't jack it up on the suspension or with body lift. No giant tires. No loud thumping stereo. Add a hard tonneau cover on the bed so he can't load the back up with his stupid friends.

 

I meant collapsible steering shaft like a Borgeson unit (made out of D-shaft)
My '75 f-250 4x4 w/ integral power steering box does not have a collapsible shaft between the cab and the steering box so if I got into a BAD head-on the steering wheel would go through my chest; and that is how my cousin died but he was in a late 80's ford tempo car which may have already had such a shaft. A collapsible shaft would shrink down like the slip yoke on a driveline and hopefully not force the steering wheel into the driver.