This is an excellent starter for me. As it's not something I will drive terribly to often obviously. So I will be able to afford bits and pieces. And thank you so much for your time to find the links for me.

 

yes of course lmao. I want it to not over heat first would be good. Obvio clean up that wiring would be cool beans.

 

With that much lift and the fact that he lives in FL, not gonna be rock crawling, he should be fine with a drop pitman arm.

 

Unrelated, sort of, to the OPs basket case of a truck but I recently changed my '79 over to Hagerty and was pleasantly surprised by their rates for full coverage. It really wasn't that much more than what I was paying for liability only with another carrier. Nice thing is, they insure based on value you can prove from invoices rather than "book" value. There are mileage limitations but if it is not a daily driver, it's not something you'll probably need to worry about.

OP, If you do move forward getting your truck road worthy again and dump a bunch of money into it, it would not be bad idea to check into Hagerty.

I am in agreement with some other posters, that I don't think what you have is a complete show stopper and it is something that you can work with. There are a number of safety issues that have already been pointed out that should be first on the agenda to fix. As far as the 5.0 that is in there, they can be strong engines and unless you plan to enter tractor pulls, mud races or tow heavy with it, the 5.0 with the right cam and carb tuning should work well. You'll probably need to play with gearing too, but with the bigger tires you're running you should do that regardless of which power plant you go with.

To keep things in perspective, at my family farm we can get away with a single barrel, 318ci in the mid 70s D600 Dodge grain truck hauling full load of grain. And that's the newer "more powerful" grain truck, the other grain truck we use is a '54 Chevy 2 Ton with I think a 240 or 260 inline six. You certainly won't win any races in them, but with the correct gearing they can haul quite the load.

 

nah I don't plan on any of that other stuff. Thats beyond my affordability. Id really just like it to run without overheating and be safe to drive at least up to 65-75mph. Although I would like to build sidewalls for the flatbed and haul stuff like stacks of plywood or 2x4s, simple construction stuff. Hagerty won't cover me for one reason or another and I would have to call them to find out why. As far as I know it does have a ***** thumpa cam and a very clean carburetor i.e it isn't dirty or it's been rebuilt. I was told the 4x4 doesn't work it needs new spider gear?? So it's just 2H for the time being. I do plan on swapping the trans at some point in it's life. Although I'm not entirely sure what. I've read of a ZF5? I'm not a fan of the granny gear. But I'm uncertain of how any of that really works. But for starters I should correct the current motor with proper parts. And investigate the steering arm thingy doodle. As far as the tires I have full turning radius left and right and don't rub or get caught on anything. But if some people are saying stuff ain't right I'm not gonna argue.

 

Well your could just get some basic "farm truck " insurance, like liability or what ever your minimum required by state is. And mention FLAT bed, that makes truck insurance cheaper in the mid west anyway. Spider gears are stripped in the front....that is a job for the experienced with some special tools.

ZF5...hard to find and then $$$, NP-435 (4 speed) is really in all actuality a 3 speed, and granny 1st is not used by most, NOT all, just not me for sure. The none synchronized 1st is like you have to be 100% stopped, clutch all the way on and do not force it. And no real 1st to 2nd under heavy in town acceleration. And NO down shift from 2 to 1 for sure.

Start in 2nd and go with it. As far as the truck advice.... not right or not as it should be to be SAFE, and safe when driving on pavement is what matters. You know the ol bus load of nuns saying...I bet they do not have Hagerty insurance either.

 

I was able to comfortably get 2nd to work properly for technically a first gear. I used to own a 67' F100 that had the granny gear, I didn't like that so I thought maybe I could work the 2nd as first, hell it works on harleys why not. But yeah I didn't use it alot bringing the truck home. And as far as the down shifting I just keep in neutral until I stop completely or just get into 2nd or 3rd whichever is nessicary. I never engine brake. Anything transmission will be done by a certified shop for sure. I have no problem turning a drive shaft around but a truck or car trans is out of my knowledge. Like I said I don't plan on any off-roading, maybe going down a dirt road with bumps and lumps but not anything crazy, so the 4x4 isn't an extreme nessecity to me anytime soon. Hopefully after Milton(hurricane) stops by Disney world I can start to correct some wrongs starting with the easiest most affordable stuff.

 

For overheating issues I would follow recommendations already provided such as adding a shroud and/or different fan set up. Get rid of the electric water pump and put the correct mechanical pump on that will work with your belt system.

Safe driving at highway speeds is achievable, first thing is to fix the safety issues related to steering and brakes. Make sure the tires are balanced, once you get above 40-45mph with unbalanced tires your teeth will want to rattle out of your head, that was my experience anyway when I tried to run some 35s without any balancing. You could do something similar to what I do on my Harley and that is balancing beads inside the tire. On the Harley I use ceramic beads. For bigger truck tires I think you can get away with BBs or lead shot. There are charts available through web search that show how much weight to add based on tire size.

I have looked into a 5 speed swap. Whether you go with a ZF5, NV4500, M5OD, TR4050 or any other option that may be out there, you will have to do some level of modification and/or find the right adapters for clutch engagement and mating to engine and transfer case. I have a '79 with a T-18 and NP205 considering the same kind of swap.

I have considered Gear Vendors Overdrive. I like the idea of turning my 4 speed with granny gear into a 7 speed. 1st gear will remain as is, for the GV OD to actuate you need to be going a certain speed, which is faster than you can go in 1st gear. 2-4 though you will be able to split with the overdrive unit. 2-2OD-3-3OD-4-4OD, fourth overdrive will actually be an overdrive gear. I don't like that the GV OD mounts to the output of the transfer case and only provides OD in 2wd.

I have seen on the Gear Vendor's website that for custom race applications they offer a overdrive unit that goes between the transmission and transfer case. I haven't reached out to them about that setup, but have given some thought to the idea of getting a custom overdrive unit from them that will replace the tail housing between the trans and xfer. I know this wouldn't work with the current main shaft due to its length, but if I swapped for a main shaft that is shorter in the transmission that it might be possible.

Whether you decide to go with a 5 speed transmission swap or add an overdrive unit it will be an investment of time and money. I think I like the idea of a 7 speed using my original transmission and transfer case combo versus swapping to a newer transmission.

The other thing I am doing due to lack of overdrive is, I am building my engine to run best 2500-3500 RPM, my thought process being those are the RPMs the truck is running at on the highway, I may as well build the engine to make the best power at that RPM level.

 

Here is said 67' F100.

 

I start in second gear unless loaded or towing heavy with any of the granny 1st 4 speed transmissions I have driven.

I use engine braking quite a bit. I don't use the clutch to shift in most cases too. It's how I learned I guess.

 

I wont judge, if it works it works. For now since I'm starting to not trust the whole deal, it's either not being driven or won't be doing any towing or heavy loading until these safety issues are fixed. Really wish I had known more about it before I jumped 10 feet in front of the gun. Kinda wish something would have hit me in the gut 1/4 way thru the ride there telling me it's not a good trade.

 

Well, the silver lining is you'll get to learn some stuff...I will let you decide what that stuff is.

Regarding the shifting and engine braking, when done correctly it is easier on the clutch and brakes. To shift without the clutch you match engine speed to the gear speed. For example, downshifting from 4th to 3rd, blip the throttle a bit and slip out of 4th into neutral. Move shifter towards 3rd apply a little bit of pressure to shift into third, rev engine to match what it would be at whatever speed you're traveling in 3rd gear, when the engine speed matches you'll slip into gear like hot knife through butter. Don't match speeds, well you're grinding until it fits...

By downshifting like that and letting off the throttle you're using the engine compression to slow down, reducing wear on your brakes and since you didn't do anything with the clutch no wear there either.

You can upshift as well, from a stop, let out the clutch get up to speed, where you would normally press clutch and shift, just shift instead, might require a blip of the throttle to unload drivetrain to pull out of gear and a little rpm to slide into next gear. If you are at correct engine and road speed it'll shift just like or better than when you use the clutch. With modern transmissions that are synchronized, you can just jam gears with or without the clutch, older, non-sychronized transmissions your only choice to shift smoothly was to do so matching speeds.

 

I am familiar with rev match shifting. I just didnt know you could do it with an auto. Learn something new everyday.

 

Where did I mention auto? I am referring to manual transmissions.

 

Would this fan work as well? I found it local for a good price.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/r...=true#overview