Well im seeing everyone out here starting to throw in some pics of their builds, i thought id thrown a few in of mine.

78' F150 Stepside 4X4
300-6 engine, NP435 4-spd, 205 T-case.
D44/9"

Ive been working on this project for about two and a half years now, I work in a copper mine in northern British Columbia and the only spare time I have (about 4 days off a month) have been either riding my dirtbike, drinking heavily, or working on this beast!! Keep in mind that I lost a bunch of the before pics of the green beast, but the first pic here gives you a good idea of what I started with!

This is her with only a 4" BDS lift and 35's, thats the only thing I added before I tore er down.

This is the last day of operation, decided to take it out and sink it...looks good doesnt she!!5e8e27a7.gif - Image - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting" target="_blank">http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t190/Tha_Stepside/5e8e27a7.gif"' alt="Photobucket" border="0">


Torn down to just the suspension (soon to be replaced) and the cab.

RUST!!!




SOLUTION!!








New door skins!!




Ok now for the rest of overything, black paint for the chassis (POR 15, that stuff is awesome), removed crappy BDS Springs and blocks, replaced with Deaver Superflex coils 4", new rear leafs (stock) with a shackle flip.








Brand new 72' Ford Stepside box, 1/4" steel bed welded in, custom cross sills, brand new fenders. As you can see the fenders arent wide enough, so they are off to a fab shop next week to have 2-3" added on to compensate for the wide tires. The box will be mounted another inch lower and forward, the shackle flip moved the axle slightly foreward so i put a 4" lift block with a 4 deg. taper in reverse in place of the stock block, brought the axle back and corrected the pinion angle. What is still in store?

300 bored 0.030 over, zero-decked, 0.010" off head, 3 angle valve grind, efi exh mani's feeding a dual 2.5 in exhaust, Crane 260H cam, BBC roller rockers, Offy C intake, Holley 390 or Performer 500, various ignition upgrades. I built a similar engine for a buddy (detuned slightly) and he laid down 225hp@3100 and 340lb-ft@2000. This one will be a torque monster!!

Axles will be the 9" with 35 spline Detroit Locker and forged 35 spliners!!
D44 will have forged yukon axles and a True-Trac....Both will be at a good 4.11:1 ratio!!

I think that the time spent has been worth it, this is my favourite truck ever!! I love these body styles with a PASSION!! Let me know what you think, any improvements I can make?, and criticism will be accepted and noted for future improvements!!

cheers

 

Well i definitly like it. I'm also liking all these builds that are going on. Keep up the good work!

 

Nice truck man i have a 77 in the early stages of project mode. I was planning on building a 300 until my dad built a 461 for his truck, therefore i was prompted to building a 521. I like the looks of it with the lift, right now i have a leveling kit and 315/75/16's. The plan is to do a 6" lift, space out the rear fenders, and run 37-13.50 with 17 or 18" wheels. The only thing i dont like is the drop bracket, im trying to find a kit that comes with "bent" radius arms, for better clearance and no drop brackets. Good luck with the resto, and keep us posted.

 

Try CAGE Offroad, they sell aftermarket arms.

 

Thanks alot man!! Ive been looking a James Duff arms but theyre for early bronco, been trying to figure out what the difference would be.

 

Holy hell!! $845.00 on second thought ill probably just build em. I think i have some DOM tubing leftover from the SAS in my ranger anyway. Thanks for the tip tho.

 

Nice work!!!
I'm curious to know why these trucks cabs rust out in the lower back corner like that. Where did FORD go wrong here?

 

ford didnt put any drainage holes in the corners, lets all sorts of stuff build up back there. You wouldnt believe what i pulled out after the cuts. So when i put mine in, i drilled a few 1/4" holes in the low spots, now that i know how to do them (im a heavy mechanic, so sheetmetal really isnt my thing) im gonna try the holes and see where they go, and if they rot out again...MORE STEEL!!

 

Coming along nicely i love the buildup going to be one mean truck when finished

 

I was originally gonna go with a built 390 from a 68' Torino GT, but its going to be used as a truck....so i think the built 300 would be more in my court with the 300+ ft-lb from 1500-3500rpm!! i want a stupm puller, not a missile

 

I was going to scrap the 300 first thing when I got my truck. After 7 years of driving it, I love how the 300 makes it's power. It is a great all around wheeling engine.

Keep up the good work

 

Nice looking truck. I like the build up threads as well. It is always nice to see what people are working on.

 

That a LB stepside?

 

nope thats a shortbox bro, the original box was completely rotten. Tried for over a year to track down a 73-79 stepside box, but couldnt find one at all or even parts piece by piece. So i opted for the 72' box and now im making mods to make it work for me.

 

Nice truck, awesome work. Can't wait to see the final product.