DesertGoat
Active member
welp, copying over my build thread here as a copy-paste from the Polygoats forum & much of the same info from DR.
Maybe i'll actually keep this one updated. probably not though, lezbe honest.
So as some of you may have seen from the internets, I bought myself a new old truck. It's a 1974 F350 regular cab long bed. I *believe* it's a camper special because it has the goofy spare tire thing in the bedside, two fuel tanks, and all the little clip thingies in the side of the bed for a camper shell or slide-in. Pictures first because I know your attention spans are short.
Why did I buy this when I have the F1Fundred (henceforth referred to as "the bumpside")? Well, for quite a while now I've been wanting to address all the little things about the bumpside that have been driving me nuts for years. More on that later.
This truck was a pretty decent deal. It's pre-smog, has no cancer, runs, drives, legit registration, it's totally complete, and importantly the body isn't completely wrecked like most of these old farm trucks are in the sub $5k range.
Short term plan - Fix up the small issues, use it as a second car / shop truck until i'm ready to go off the deep end with the build.
The wheels are 16.5" so tires are generally unavailable, the tires are dry rotted. A few gauges don't work. Tail lights have some weird wiring issue going on. Most importantly - it spits oil at high speed & load. My fear: engine is blowing by a shit ton. We'll see.
Long term plan - Baja Rig generation 2. Desert cruiser, explorer of the land of tacos & cervezas.
There's a few things I can use the team's input on so feel free to chime in on the list below!
The side note here is that I'll be looking for this truck to solve all the things that I routinely complain about in the bumpside and don't have the means to fix without a massive unspeakable teardown & mega effort.
Body:
Shorten this to a regular cab wheelbase
Hang bedsides on internal bed shell - keeping as much bed sheet metal as possible. Critically: floor, inner fenders, tailgate.
Probably McQueen glass. maybe Autofab. flare width requirements depending.
Keep the steel hood - my bumpside's fiberglass hood has issues with thread tearout, it's not heavy enough to use the factory style hinges + springs, and forces the need for hood pins.
Front glass - probably going to have to be Autofab - mcQueen's requires using the glass hood I think.
Driveterain:
targeting ~450 hp. I expect this truck will be heavier than the bumpside so obviously more power is required.
Must be faster than Dan, duh.
Also need to improve total range - either fuel economy or fuel capacity.
Requirements: must run on 87 octane (~9:1 compression ratio)
Option 1 - keep the 460. rebuild it. go EFI this time. E40D transmission (want overdrive, better mpg better highway manners). Some transfer case TBD.
Pros: Ford heart, 460 is familiar, big blocks are cool, net cheaper b/c i have the core already
Option 2 - #LSSwapEverything // 5.3 or 6.0 maybe. 4L80. whatever t-case is appropriate.
Pros: tons of knowledge available, can find easy, better mpg, uniqueish, more room for activities?
Concerns - total overall higher cost, total system length concerns. Stubby driveshaft?
Suspension:
Dana 44 TTB - ChoFab? stock plated? TBD. Custom cross-member wizardry required certainly.
Rear axle is already a dana 60. Keep that?
4-link. Tuck under the bed as much as possible. Maybe "tub" the bed floor for diff clearance street-truck style
Single 3.0 coilover & bumps on all corners.
Rear bed cage as sleeper as possible, no tube-work above the bed rail line. Seal the bed from the tires.
Interior:
keep it simple, stupid.
Radio, intercom, DD-type aftermarket seats
simple cab cage
Don't cut up the dash, dummy
Re-use the factory steering column, dummy.
Replace all the weatherstripping & window seals etc
Not sure what to do about the gauge cluster yet.
Air conditioning!!!! vents & controls are already there.
Maybe i'll actually keep this one updated. probably not though, lezbe honest.
So as some of you may have seen from the internets, I bought myself a new old truck. It's a 1974 F350 regular cab long bed. I *believe* it's a camper special because it has the goofy spare tire thing in the bedside, two fuel tanks, and all the little clip thingies in the side of the bed for a camper shell or slide-in. Pictures first because I know your attention spans are short.
Why did I buy this when I have the F1Fundred (henceforth referred to as "the bumpside")? Well, for quite a while now I've been wanting to address all the little things about the bumpside that have been driving me nuts for years. More on that later.
This truck was a pretty decent deal. It's pre-smog, has no cancer, runs, drives, legit registration, it's totally complete, and importantly the body isn't completely wrecked like most of these old farm trucks are in the sub $5k range.
Short term plan - Fix up the small issues, use it as a second car / shop truck until i'm ready to go off the deep end with the build.
The wheels are 16.5" so tires are generally unavailable, the tires are dry rotted. A few gauges don't work. Tail lights have some weird wiring issue going on. Most importantly - it spits oil at high speed & load. My fear: engine is blowing by a shit ton. We'll see.
Long term plan - Baja Rig generation 2. Desert cruiser, explorer of the land of tacos & cervezas.
There's a few things I can use the team's input on so feel free to chime in on the list below!
The side note here is that I'll be looking for this truck to solve all the things that I routinely complain about in the bumpside and don't have the means to fix without a massive unspeakable teardown & mega effort.
Body:
Shorten this to a regular cab wheelbase
Hang bedsides on internal bed shell - keeping as much bed sheet metal as possible. Critically: floor, inner fenders, tailgate.
Probably McQueen glass. maybe Autofab. flare width requirements depending.
Keep the steel hood - my bumpside's fiberglass hood has issues with thread tearout, it's not heavy enough to use the factory style hinges + springs, and forces the need for hood pins.
Front glass - probably going to have to be Autofab - mcQueen's requires using the glass hood I think.
Driveterain:
targeting ~450 hp. I expect this truck will be heavier than the bumpside so obviously more power is required.
Must be faster than Dan, duh.
Also need to improve total range - either fuel economy or fuel capacity.
Requirements: must run on 87 octane (~9:1 compression ratio)
Option 1 - keep the 460. rebuild it. go EFI this time. E40D transmission (want overdrive, better mpg better highway manners). Some transfer case TBD.
Pros: Ford heart, 460 is familiar, big blocks are cool, net cheaper b/c i have the core already
Option 2 - #LSSwapEverything // 5.3 or 6.0 maybe. 4L80. whatever t-case is appropriate.
Pros: tons of knowledge available, can find easy, better mpg, uniqueish, more room for activities?
Concerns - total overall higher cost, total system length concerns. Stubby driveshaft?
Suspension:
Dana 44 TTB - ChoFab? stock plated? TBD. Custom cross-member wizardry required certainly.
Rear axle is already a dana 60. Keep that?
4-link. Tuck under the bed as much as possible. Maybe "tub" the bed floor for diff clearance street-truck style
Single 3.0 coilover & bumps on all corners.
Rear bed cage as sleeper as possible, no tube-work above the bed rail line. Seal the bed from the tires.
Interior:
keep it simple, stupid.
Radio, intercom, DD-type aftermarket seats
simple cab cage
Don't cut up the dash, dummy
Re-use the factory steering column, dummy.
Replace all the weatherstripping & window seals etc
Not sure what to do about the gauge cluster yet.
Air conditioning!!!! vents & controls are already there.
pics below.
