A little at a time
 

OK, here's the deal. I've got a low-mileage f150 with a lot of rust. I've decided to mod the engine and drivetrain as money allows and later find a cab/chassis to swap. As of now I've got a 300/SROD 4x4 combination that I'm looking to modify into a sweet 300/ZF 4x4. Right now the engine is going to get an Edelbrock 500 cfm or maybe a q-jet on top of a clifford water-heated intake and EFI manifolds. Is it worth searching for a suitable q-jet and tune it or just go for the Edelbrock? As for the ZF, what else would I have to change to make it fit? Could I upgrade the clutch to a larger unit, and will my current starter, block plate, crossmember, and driveshafts fit? Thanks in advance and give me any other ideas/pointers you may have.

I have been looking into the Q-jet option and have just about given up on it. I am a big Q-jet fan but there seems to be no manifold offered for a spread bore. You would have to use an adapter to go from spread bore to square bore which give up the advantages of the giant secondaries. So go with a big two barrel or a square bore four barrel.

The Clifford water heated manifold is probably the best choice for your winters. You will also want to rig up an air cleaner with the hot air pickup off the exhaust manifold too.

I am not an expert on this stuff, but I do my homework, and this is what I've found. the ZF s5-42 will bolt right up to a 4.9, and depending on the year (for example, mine is a '94, which uses the BW 13-56 t-case), your transfer case should bolt right up. Now, assuming you pull the ZF from a truck of the same length, with the same setup (or buy it per application, as I am), you should have no problems (i.e. driveshaft length, starter, etc). As far as clutches go, there is the 10" and 11" clutch for my year. I don't know which I have, but I know that when I put my ZF in, I'm going to use a Centerforce II clutch. I've researched it, and they are great clutches.

i'll second the centerforce clutches. i replaced my stock one when it went out with a centerforce 2, i have a 93 and it had a 10" in it. im pretty sure a 11" would fit but not sure. ive got 10k on the clutch and i offroad with my truck and everything works great so far.