So, I'll start off with a bit of a background of the truck/project/daily driver. I bought my 1975 f250 Ranger 3 years ago ( interesting i found out its light duty, single piston cals in the front.) It's got the original Fe 390 with a c6, got it with 92k miles. Cool thing was on the previous owner history one of the owners my dad knew back in the day (small world stuff, kinda cool.)

She's been stubborn, but hanging around with the older muscle car guys i've learned quiet a lot and upgraded the ignition to MSD and put a 650 holley dual feed vac secondaries carb on it and still have the old one sitting in parts on a shelf. Being in the city i get horrible gas mileage, and now that i've been wanting to get into wheeling with my friends I kinda have been torn about reusing my 390. Thus entails where I'm at now.

I originally bought a 75 highboy frame with a 4.10 dana 60 and an np205. No front axle which i started to get really frustrated with tracking one down. Then i got super lucky, one of the older dudes i know and spend a lot of time chatting with and helping him when i can on his projects had a 93 f350 turbo IDI truck at his shop. We got talking and ended up buying the frame and axles from him for....wait for it....$500 and favors helping him at the shop with fixing his car and his wife's car.( Gotta learn some how being an apprentice mechanic.)

The frames got a Dana 60/ Sterling Rear with by rough estimate, ill have to actually recount them, i believe 3.55 gears. the frames in wicked shape and i decided i will mount the np205 into it and use the 93 frame to swap my 75 over to 4x4.

This is going to be a very slow/long process as i know this conversion and build isn't gonna be cheap, so I'm working on what i can till i get more parts and I'm actually looking to do a 12 valve cummins swap. The MPG for a daily driver really sold me on this and i have started to read CO425's build thread to get a better understanding of the cummins itself, as i personally have almost never worked on a diesel engine.

 

Welcome to FTE! Cool truck. Cummins or the 7.3 is the only way to go in my opinion. Co425 hands down has the best build thread on FTE. The amount of detail is unreal so that's the thread you will want to follow. His engine is really turned up though and cost alot of coin but other then that his set up is pretty much spot on flawless. Others will chime in and we are all here to help!

 

You have a very nice truck to start off with. My only advice is to source and re seal and or rebuild the engine you choose before you tear down your truck. Also source as many of the swap parts you can before starting the actual swap. Having the truck running and driving for as long as you can is a definite bonus in this game.

 

I was thinking of finding a whole running and driving Cummins for the swap( not cheap but, i can part out to get some of the money back.) But i have been thinking about having the truck on the road still....Could try to track down another f250 with a decent body and ownership. It's hard to say cause there is a lot of ways that i could go about tackling this but, getting more parts sourced out is my best option....hell im still trying to get my hands on a 4x4 steering column.

 

Started tearing down the frame so i can give it a good cleaning and paint it.( I'll have to touch up a lot of areas once the ball gets really rolling.) Cleaning up the axles and also checking to see what may need to be replaced on them, Ball joints on the D60 don't have any play, not sure about the axle shaft U joints haven't gotten the chance to really check them.

Also started cleaning up some small things and painting. Trying to re use a lot of stuff, gotta go through and chase threads and clean em. So far everything's going as I'd like, already started to discuss with my dad how i may tackle mounting the np205 in the frame but can't really do it till i have the 12v and 2wd auto.

 

Did some more cleaning, started organizing all the hardware into bags so i don't lose track of where everything went. Started cleaning the axles up, still pondering on what paint to use for the frame and axles....thinking i may use good ol Por15.

But good thing is i got some more info on the 12 valves and what to avoid/look for. Going to see a friend's friend that actually has done the swap in his dads 75 highboy to get a close look at how they did it. I got a few buddies now keeping an eye out for a 94 12v for me, one might actually know of one and let me know within the week.

Its beer time tho!

 

Buying the whole truck is definitely the way to go. It will usually end up cheaper in the end too, plus you have the piece of mind of knowing that it's a running, driving engine. I bought my whole donor truck ('94 Ram 2500 st cab long bed 2wd auto) for $3200. Considering junkyard engines go for $2,500 and are missing a lot of parts, plus you get to sell off the rest of the donor, it's a win-win.

 

That's what i'm thinking what may end up happening. Buddy might have a line on one for me tho, might get lucky. If not i'll keep hunting for a good deal/solid donor. Be nice cause i can get all the stuff ill need including the hydro boost system.

 

are you using the frame and all from the 90 or just the axles? if just the axles be aware that the spring perches are wider on the newer axles. personally i think it would be interesting to see someone use a newer chassis with the old body but then again i might be weird so who knows.....

 

I am using the Frame also, I'm just taking things apart to clean and paint. The front cab mounts are exactly 45' center to center and my cab is also 45' center to center the rears are out 2' on both sides (easy fix.)

 

outstanding I will be watching this thread to see how things go. also another benefit of the 90 frame is you have bolt in options for goose neck hitches, not sure if you care about that or not. also there are a fair number more suspension products for the newer chassis.

 

It was originally a city owned truck, its got a hitch with the 4 and 7 plugs, doesn't have a 5th wheel style tho. With it being newer it also has better front end steering components. Which i've seen a lot of guys upgrade the highboy ones. Just for ****s and giggles i looked up the difference in costs of a 4 inch lift kit and, yup the newer frame was a hell of a lot cheaper too. ( tho i do not plan on putting a lift in this until i've finished it and drove it for awhile before i go all crazy.)

 

will surely be interesting to see how it goes for you.

 

Yeah, this is my first big project. As i've rebuilt 2 motorcycles before. I know this isn't gonna be cheap by any means so I'm getting parts and stuff when i can afford em. As of right now i'm working on getting all the dough to score a full running 12 valve. its a huge key to get the ball rolling on the swap, cause i could then get the T case mounted and the drive line sorted out. Then do the body work and swap.

 

i hear you man i'm trying to save pennies for my own cummins swap.

just a nugget it the divorced transfer case from the highboy frame is in good shape you can use that which will allow you to use a 2wd dodge as the donor. thats what i'll be doing on mine. the 2wd trucks are usually cheaper by a few thousand dollars sometimes more