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Been following along closely. There's a 87 (I think) F250 4x4 with a junk body but good drive train with a 6.9 IDI near me for sale. Been seriously thinking about getting it & following your path here.
It looks really nice! Did the painter do a cut-and-buff after to give that smooth mirror finish?
Can'thelp but notice the holes in the frame. Is that affecting any rigidity or strength in the frame?
the painter will cut and buff after it’s all together.
I was also concerned about the Swiss cheese frame? After some research I’m sure it’s plenty strong. I’ve even read about a couple truck pullers that look for these frames for pulling trucks???
haven’t heard of any of the 3/4 tons having frame problems.
hope im not wrong about this. Only reason for using it is that it is a very low mileage frame and running gear. And it was cheap.
I just got an education in 73-79 door locks.
I’ve discovered two different types of door locks. I’m using the key locks off of my 79 doors so the key will work. I also used one of the door latches off of the drivers door of my 79.
I have no idea what year the new/ used doors are? I’ve stripped 3 sets of doors along the way. I’ve hound that the arm on the tumbler/key locks pivots on some and not on some. Then I found that the rod from the tumbler slides up and down on some latches and not on others. Some it just pokes in a plastic clip. I now have one of each on my truck.
i may leave it or I may install the other latch from my other 79 door and switch the arm o back on the tumbler.
doors are hung and adjusted.
We call that "Ford doing Ford things" around my place. They didn't seem to have changed many of the big things aside from the grille on the dents, but there are enough little things that got messed with to drive a guy crazy at times. Like there are also different styles of window regulators as well. Earlier ones are bolted in & later "can" be riveted in. The shape / lines of a 73 cab are just slightly different than a 79 cab, and there are some different stamping on the back. Some 2wd cabs have the removable trans cover & some don't. Lots of little annoying things.
Installed the motor Tuesday night. It sure seemed far forward. I built the motor mounts off of measurements from another guy who built a similar truck. He explained that I would have to move the engine forward 2.5 inches.
I measured and had well over 3 inches of clearance.
i pulled the engine perches from my 83 parts truck and installed them to try the motor in the stock location.
it’s in there but tight.
I pulled it back out and trimmed up the firewall flange on the drivers side. Now the motor sits in the stock location. No need for an oil filter relocation kit and I can use the stock driveshafts.
I’m a very happy camper.
Last edited by Ar. Hillbilly; Mar 5, 2026 at 03:56 PM.
Motor and transmission are installed. Going after a transfer case to transmission gasket this morning and hopefully new u-joints and I’ll have the drivetrain installed. Next will be the heater/ac box and the wiring.
I’ve been making some progress. Motor, transmission and transfercase are installed. Drivelines painted and new u-joints installed. Everything underneath it is installed. Cleaned up the heater/ac box and painted it. New heater core installed. Made a screen to go in place of the ac coil. Got the box installed. Quite easy without inner fenders installed.
I’m sorting out the wiring. The heater wires that go to the fan motor have been cut. I have to figure those out and the wires to the neutral safety switch have been cut.
the transmission is out of a1983 and the plug for the neutral safety switch is different and the wires are a different color. I may cut a plug off of a bullnose and install it.
other than that I believe the wiring harness is good.
spending a whole lot of time cleaning bolts and cleaning/sanding and painting parts.
looks like I’ve done nothing but I’ve spent a lot of hours on it the past two weekends.
