Hey guys! I've owned this '79 F-150 Custom long bed for a little over a year. It's got the old workhorse 300 Straight Six in it with the NP435 4-speed and whatever stock transfer case came stock to the truck. I bought it to haul my race car back and forth to the track because it was cheap and ran decent just looked like a hammered banana. I was able to purchase a new truck this year and now the poor thing is sitting and I want to do something with her to bring some life back into her and maybe find her a new home. Anyways I know the engine that is in it is a great for low end torque, but I want to make a decent mud truck out of it so I was needing some opinions. I'm not going crazy with the truck as I have a budget so I'm not looking to build a mean bogger just something to take off road every now and again and still be able to drive around on if I want. I wanna do a V8 swap and go with either a 302 or a 351W so I don't have to change the bell housing because as I have been told, and I'm not sure how true this is, but the 351C need a big block bell housing. Is that true or not? I would like to go with a Cleveland because of the better oil system they have and my grandfather had an old 73 F-250 with a 351C in it and that thing was a hoss! Either way I'm going to go through the motor and I might put a mild cam in it, I'm thinking around .450 with 106 lobe separation to give it a nice growl. instead of running a full new exhaust system I'm probably going to just put headers on it and some Cherry Bomb glasspacks with turn downs or side dumps. From what I've read the transmission that's in it will do decent for mudding but I'd like some feedback on if that's true or not. I would like to get one of the NV3550 transmissions out of a Jeep because I read all the time about people doing the swap and loving the outcome, but again I'm on a budget and those go for a premium. As far as axles go the rear axle is the iconic Ford 9-inch with regular highway gears in it that just got replaced not long before I bought the truck and the front axle is the stock axle and I'm not all that sure what that would be. I have to do body work on the truck so that it looks right and that's gonna set me back a couple of hundred, unless I can get lucky at my local salvage yard over the weekend, but when I straighten/replace all the body panels I'm going to leave the truck in primer black because I'm a perfectionist when it comes to paint and I hate shooting color on a road car without a proper paint booth, plus if I do resell it whoever buys it can repaint it if they want if I do the primer right and don't damage the panels having my fun. As far as tires go I just bought 31s for the truck and I don't see the immediate need to replace them, especially if I'm just doing a mild mudding build, but I'm considering down the road upgrading to 33" but again I wanna drive the truck on the pavement as well. I've looked at lift kits but I'm not sold on one just yet because I like the height the truck is at right now and unless I wanna find a pit every weekend I don't see the need to raise it just yet. Those are my ideas, I'd appreciate any feedback, good or bad but be respectful please. I've never built a mud truck before so I'm looking forward to and dreading the challenge ahead but I've built three race cars over the last few years so I think I am ready I just need some guidance down the right paths. Again all input is appreciated and thanks for reading and as always, Built Ford Tough.

 

sounds like you have a lot of this planned out, and you know what you want. my 1976 F100 is lifted 6 inches and im running 35's, its looks amazing imo, and is a hoss offroad i got a 460 in her though. i would say stay away from a 302 because they are not torque monsters what so ever unless you got money to put into it, i would rather use the 300 over the 302, and to answer one of your questions a 351c will bolt to a small block bell of a c6 or c4, so you could put a 302, 351w, or 351c in your truck if you'd like. i think your best bet is to use a 351w, it is a good engine, can produce a good amount of power with very little, there is a good aftermarket for them, and would be a good off road engine for your truck. just what i would do if i were you. have fun with what ever build you take

 

And just for the record, Ford NEVER put a 351c in a truck sold in America.