okay guys I know this should be more of an information forum but I'd love some opinions... Should I restore or modify my first '78. I know I'd like to correct the 351M "problem" either by putting in high(er) compression pistons and a cam to correct the timing or putting 400 parts in my block. Thats the "resto" route, The mod route would be to throw a 460 in it which would probably eventually also be stroked out to "5" somethin'. I'd love to hear some opinions from some of you who have already gone through with this, c'mon guys, throw some ideas at me.

P.S... my minds made up on the stance, 2" lift with 33's; not too much but a little more aggressive than stock

 

Well Rifleman, my favorite trucks on this website are a happy medium of both. I believe the hip term is "restomod". Picture your truck with the body and interior stock with factory option trims and such. Than maybe do a little lift to get nice fender clearance for those 33's (this must be a 150) with some not too fancy rims. Then pop the hood and go nuts, the sky's the limit in there. Too stock isn't that fun and mods can get out of hand. You can quickly "declass" a 70's Ford with too much lift, visors, graphics, antennas, stickers in the back window, and all that other crap we slapped on those things in high school! Walking the fine line between resto and mod is the key to having a cool truck in my humble opinion.

 

The 351m & 400 are fine engines but dollar spent for power a 460 is tough to beat.
The 460s seem to be getting harder to find.
I'd put a 460 with a 4.30 stroke in it and make the rest of the truck look some what stock. That's the way I like'm

 

the largest sums of money will probably be paint untill the motor gets reworked. The truck cost me $400(runs good but no box and bad cab corners), I'll need a new fuel tank and at least one u-joint (just off transfer case goin forward). I paid $600 for a complete body thats ready to sand and paint other than the dent in the right rear of the cab(he sold me the donor piece to fix that too). Anybody know what it takes to get these old motors to run on ethanol, I saw an article in Hot Rod where a guy races his Tempest Le Mans on E98. Is it just a different carb setup?

UTfball68... I absolutely love the looks on that 77!!! You really did hit that one out of the park when it comes to class meets kick A$$. how much did your paint job cost? Im pretty set on solid color (although I do love that red n' white). When I look at mine sittin' there I just can't seem to get the color purple out of my head! Maybe somethin' like crown royal purple with a little metallic???

 

I agree with this statement.

A 'restomod" is actually a good thing on these trucks as long as it is not taken too far extreme. Say for instance, upgrade your front axle to a Dana 60, or build a nice 460 and replace the 400, etc.

Adding items that improve the truck is normally what I'm looking to do rather than just throw a bunch of crap together. To each his own, but there are a lot of ford items and parts that make these trucks great, it is just a matter of putting them together nicely.

I love the simplicity of these trucks and their classic looks. I own a 2001 Ford Lightning, and my 79 F250 gets way more attention then that thing does, lol, go figure.

 

somethin' just makes me think I should stick with the "M" block, maybe its all the negatives I read about it early on and being labeled a "smog" motor. One of the older guys I talk to around home says that he had the same truck I have now with the "M" block and said with a little attention it became pretty formidable motor. When I bought the truck it didn't have any emissions equipment and says "non-catylist" on the covers. The 400 route is somewhat appealing because these 150's actually came with them from the factory so its somewhat more original in that regard, although I would definitly fix the compression and give it a good cam. Im not sure what would cost more, finding a 460 worth building up or tracking down the 400 crank.

somewhat off topic but I've seen stroker kits on flatlandracing.com that go in 460's bored .080 over that bring the total cid out to 806!!! anyone know someone whos put one of these sick monsters in!!!

 

I agree with most that has been said here, do a 'resto-mod' but I'm even more simplistic about it than most, get the most out of the motor you can w/o goin' $$$$ crazy, get the body 'up to scratch';i.e, paint, tyres, trim done, nice wheels & nice sounding exhaust, then just quit there......not a High $ truck, but lookin' good, soundin' good & runnin' well.......that's 'my cuppa tea'

 

thanks for all the opinions guys I really appreciate it. I think 80F100man summed up what I've been leaning toward, nothing high dollar but somethin that will turn a few heads around town and eat up some rice burners while at it(which around this part of Wisconsin means Cavaliers and Escorts with "fart cans" on em!).

I think I'll go "400M Power"

 

Thanks for the correction, you learn somethin new everyday


"400 Power"

 

Ben is right. I did put a 460 (521) in my truck. I also prefer the resto-mod truck. When I started mine, it had a 400 in it and the intake was off and looked like it had seen it's better days. I originally was just going to put in a crate motor 460, but then my brother had talked me into the stroker route which definitely cost me more than my plan. But oh well. It has trickflow aluminum heads and a custom carb from quickfuel for E85 since the setup had a compression ratio of 10.5 : 1. I just recently set it in and fired it up. Some little tuning yet, but all in all it sounds great. I probably have around $8K in the motor.

The rest of the truck is just being restored. If it's not really good used than it's new, so that's driving up the cost. When it's all said and done, I'll have what Ben has in his probably give or take. I wanted to keep the cost down, but when I dove into it, I just kept tearing it down and replacing. After you get so far into the project, it's to late to turn back so you keep going. I have alot of work to do, but on the downhill slide I hope. There are a few things that I really didn't need or could have gone a cheaper route, but chose not to. Like the $500 aft axle 32 gal fuel tank to eliminate the in cab. Aluminum instead of cast iron heads. A $500 new seat, a $500 new wiring harness. A brand new front grill that cost me $600 instead of using a decent used one. A brand new C6 tranny instead of a used one. New front driveshaft instead of the old one. So, I could have saved some money, but not a whole lot. The body work I'm not doing myself, so that's kinda expensive.

If I can get my truck as nice as Ben's than I'll be very happy.

 

I think that's a plan. I would love to get these trucks together along with some others and tour a bit. Heck, right now, I'd just love to be able to drive mine more than just out of the garage. LOL.

I appreciate the comments on my truck. Looking at trucks like yours just gives more of an incentive to keep going. AFA the engine bay, I did have some inners painted black and was going that route, but than I figured it would be way to dark under there so I just used the same paint that I used on the frame. I would have to say, it really make a difference. I still have to get some things straightened out in the engine bay and maybe put one of those nice dressup kits on the hoses and what not, but so far it's going pretty well. But, 3 years in the making, I do start to get impatient.

 

My truck is nowhere in the same league as these guys, but still, I did what I wanted. It is your truck, so do what you want. Personally, I like the body mostly stock, the rest whatever you want.

If you like "plum crazy purple" and want an LS1, do it. You hold the purse strings. (I wouldn't really like to see that, just saying) I like factory chrome, but it can be expensive if you don't already have a decent set.

Good luck, and post pics