Hi everybody I just bought a 76 F150 4x4 360 2brl, 4spd, all for $300. Trust me the truck looks like it is only worth $300. But I had to have it. I am planning to buy the following things for it but need to get them at the cheapest price because of budget is tight.
1.L and R fenders
2.Front grill
3.Tie Rods and ball joints
4.Power steering (This thing is a bitch to turn)
5.Exhaust system (Some sort of duels)
6.U joints
Also what other things should I check to make sure this truck will be able to run street legal.
Last question of mine I was wondering what kind of horse power and torque this engine will make when it is at peak condition.

 

First of all let me tell you I think you found a gold mine. It's my opinion and probably the consensus of Ford owners that the 360 although a fair engine it is junk compared to a 390. It ain't gonna win no horsepower contests. As far as steering goes you'd be surprised what greasing it up will do for you.

Trail Rider

 

Wisher, be happy with your $300.00 truck drive it until it wont go no more. You might get $300.00 worth of fun out of it. Start spending more and you will be peeing in the wind, would be my guess.


John

66 F100s
In the still cool hours of the night, you can hear chevys rusting away.

 

Take it from me who has two pickups that I keep restoring. You could spend thousands. I'm not that familiar w/ 4x4 steering, but I have converted one of my trucks to power steering and have just fixed the others manual so that it is much easier to steer. Does your 4X4 have a "rag joint" steering coupler disk? Is it stretched out and not very stiff and firm? If so replace it. Have you had a tire shop check the alignment and diagnose? Regarding Fenders, I replaced the ones on my 76 w/ offshore pieces from Eagle. Both were flawed in different ways. I would urge you to find genuine Ford fenders in a salvage yard. I returned the tailgate and hood I got from Eagle, the hood was very wrong. I ended up having body work done on the stock hood. I got a factory tailgate for big dollars but Ford may be close to out of stock. I could have gotten a Ford right fender but not left. Making a 360FE into it's best potential is probably the costliest of the pickup motors. The parts aren't cheap. My advise is to not put too much money into it but to try and make a small profit on it and get something nicer when you can afford it that doesn't need so much work. For instance, w/ a 2wd, I can't find any power steering gears for less than $200 as a junkyard core. $75 for a power steering column, more for the power steering pump and the hoses to make it work. Maybe a 4X4 owner can give you a better idea but right there you've doubled your cost. The exhaust shops I'v checked with charge a minimum of $250 for making new dual exhaust. Do your exhaust manifolds leak or are they cracked? getting the corroded bolts out could turn into a real pain, Many have snapped off bolts in the head. Don't get me wrong, I've spend plenty of money and continue to in persuit of restoring my 76 and 69, but beware that it ain't always cheap. Hindsight I could have bought a real nice good condition truck for less than I've spent rehabilitating mine.

Good Luck
BBT

 

Right now all I have for a exhaust is nothing. It is running off of the exhaust manifold, so exhaust is needed. Also how much would it cost to convert my 360 to a 390? What is the horse power and torque differance of the 2 engines. I am starting to fall in love with this truck. The only problem that I found out with today is that the wiring system is all mest up. Somebody must of really hacked at the guts to this.

 

Have the shop install one high quality 2-into-1 muffler instead of two of those cheapy turbo mufflers that'll blow out in a year or so. A welded seam muffler will far outlast a rolled seam muffler. Shuttleworth makes a nice unit that costs about $115. The amount of back pressure will be just right for maximizing the torque form that 360. The exhaust note is great too. I can email pictures if you want.

I'm on my third exhaust system after trying to cut corners on the first two. This last system set me back $430.

How much do you love that truck?? How long it takes to restore depends on how much money you have. It'll burn money as fast as you can dump it in. So be patient. I've had mine for 15 years and have over 10 grand into it including the 3 that I paid for it...and it's still ugly.

Also don't get too excited about messing with that 360. When it's motor time, get a 390, rebuild it, and swap it. Not that the 360 is a bad motor. You'll just get more bang for your buck from a 390 vs a 360 and you'll not be in a hurry.

As for fenders, if the truck has them, take 'em off and bang 'em as straight as you can and stick 'em back on for now. Who needs a grill?

What I'm suggesting is to put the money into the mechanical and electrical first and save the cosmetic stuff for last. If the frame is straight and free of rust, you can just about build a whole new truck around it if you're so inclined. Be careful to keep your priorities straight.

1. Saftey: Steering, brakes etc.
2. Reliability: Belts, hoses etc.
3. Performance, Cosmetic, and Convenience

Flush the cooling system and change all of the fluids. Flush the brake lines too.

There a lot of resources for resto parts and the Internet makes finding them a lot easier. To get a feel for the prices, order a catalog from Autokrafters.

<a href="http://autokrafters.com/pickupcat.html">http://autokrafters.com/pickupcat.html</a>

You already know about the #1 resource for Ford Truck owners...right here at FTE!

Good luck


-Jim

'76 F-250 4X4
<a href="http://www.ford-truck.com/pictorial/big/1976_f250_2.html">http://www.ford-truck.com/pictorial/big/1976_f250_2.html</a>

 

Got to agree with highboy. The first thing you need to do is get a bug deflector and paint "Money Pit" on it.

Work on the safety and reliablility aspects first and go from there. I've had my current ride since '90 and it's still the ugliest truck in the world.

Trail Rider

 

Well Hi everybody have decieded to rebuild my truck. The first thing I am planning to do is put a power steering in it. I have heard that there are acouple of types of power steering out there for my model year truck. Can anybody tell me what is the best system to go with, reliablilty and performance issues? Also were will I be able to find this at the lowest price possible?

 

For the power steering setup, go with an integral type as opposed to the power assist type. Maybe you can only get the integral setup on the 1/2 ton anyway.

The integral setup has all of the works in the steering box. Just 2 hoses go between thr pump and the steering box.

The power assist has manual box and a control valve at the end of the drag link. There are 2 hoses that go to a hydraulic cylinder connected between the tie rod and the axle. There are also 2 hoses between the control valve and the pump.

This is the setup I have and it's not very good. Even after spending lots of $$$ having everything rebuilt, new hoses and pump, the steering is heavy and not very precise.

Check out the junk yards. Most trucks like yours probably had power steering, so a donor truck should be pretty easy to find. Look at both 1/2 and 3/4 ton trucks and get to know the differences between them. You want to get all of the parts (except maybe the pump) off of a 1/2 ton truck. It's even better if you can get the pump off a truck that has the same engine as yours.

At the junk yard, remove and measure the hoses, but don't buy them unless they're in really good shape. No leaks allowed! You still get new ones at the dealer, but they'll be expensive, about $40 apiece.

Did you order those catalogs yet?? Be prepared for sticker shock! Check out the link below for the costs of some of the work I did on mine. Learn from our mistakes.

Good luck.


-Jim

'76 F-250 4X4
<a href="http://www.ford-truck.com/pictorial/big/1976_f250_2.html">http://www.ford-truck.com/pictorial/big/1976_f250_2.html</a>

 

There is something to be said about an ugly truck that has *****.

jay

 

It cost me about 800 dollars to convert a 1972 360 to a 390. this included machine work, rebuild kit, 390 parts engine ( locked up Marshall Reman., junk block). It cost me about 400 dollars to buy other items needed for installation in my 1976 f150: motor mounts, fuel pump, hoses, belts, front tranny seal, fluids, bolts, filters, paint. All labor was done by me, so , if your looking to have one built by someone else the cost would be considerabally more.

John
Jefferson City, MO
1976 F150 Ranger XLT, 390ci, -redneckmobile