Well, me and the stepfather got to thinking again (oh shi-!). He thinks it would be more effective to put a more modern engine in my C600 than rebuild the 239 I have in it. there is a knock int he bottom end from what eh says, and it is just not worth my money I will have in it. So he suggests putting in a 460 or something to that effect. The only thing he wants to know is if there is a bellhousing made which would allow this change over, or if we would have to change the tranny as well. Nothing wrong with more modern, but I am just uneasy about changing it's originality. His other idea was to buy a bus and put the cab on that chassis, and of course I am not going to sacrifice that much of the truck. So the engine it is. We can get our hands on a running 292, but as I said before, he thinks modern would be a more feasible option in terms of actually using the truck for work. The 460 would offer the torque and HP necessary for the job, but god would that thing suck down the gas. I guess it is just a trade off, have an engine which may get you up the hill, or one that will to more expense.

 

C600 as in cab over? Will you have to remove the cab to make this swap? What trans do you have, T98? 5 speed? I think an FE (390,etc) is the only engine that will bolt up to your trans (maybe). I swapped a 390 and T18(yuk!) into my 53 F600 years ago.... lots more power, and it was a fairly easy swap. Good luck, T/M

 

Yes, it is a cab forward. The tranny is a T-98 4 speed. I am not certain if we will need to yank the cab, the whole front end can be torn down, so I suppose the engine could be slid into place one way or another (this might prove impossible).

 

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Okay, we are between a 360 and a 390. I ruled out the 460, simply because that is an unnecessary amount of power. I talked about the electrical system to some people and the suggestion was to swap all the electrical components for 12V stuff. Certainly this is a must for the charging system and ignition, but are there some loopholes I can use to prevent replacement of everything else?

 

Get the 390 - the 360 is just too low-compression and short-stroked to compare to the 390.

As for the electrical stuff, not sure what you can do with that - change all the bulbs?

 

Oh, you might want to ask the 12V conversion question in the appropriate-year truck forum here on this site. They will be sure to have the answers.

 

You can't use the t98 transmission , the input shaft is too long for a FE bell housing, except pre-64 bells improbable to find. Shorter input shaft transmissions include the t18 and np540 4 speeds, and 5 speed np541, clark 282, ih T34 etc. these are really common in junkyards, I saw a 5 speed near me for $150. Look in the parts storage school bus, IH trans works too, but not the bell housing. Post your T98 with the 7" input shaft and 239 bell housing and clutch on the classified section here, along with your location (for shipping cost estimation). Y-block people are looking for these, if you're close I might make an offer.
Going to 12vdc, '57 and later vehicles used a 5 volt gauge regulator that you will need to install in your gauge feed, the lights are simple plug in replacements, the only thing left is the heater motor-swap it for one from a 57 or later vehicle. If you have a radio, use an electronic voltage regulator like from Newark electronics in the power feed. I suggest going to a '74 60 amp alternator right away, nobody has dressed the commutator right on a generator for me since 1972. 90 day life max after 1972. Hopefully your donor engine will come with a bracket for one.

 

Well, never mind the engine idea. The entire plan has melted into something I wasn't even thinking of. We are ditching everything but the cab. Putting the cab on a mid 80's F-250 body which has a 4.9L 300 V6 Propane. The rear end looks to be a 1-ton though. This will be a treat. I did not want to resort to this, but it is the only logical way to run this truck daily. The junkyard is giving us the truck for $500 and the leftovers (80's cab, and my truck's chassis).